Former NHLer and current KHLer Sergei Kostitsyn may be heading to Calgary for training camp. The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson reports that Kostitsyn will be coming to Flames training camp on a tryout contract.
There was a rumor that Sergei’s brother Andrei Kostitsyn would be joining him in Calgary on a PTO, but Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun confirmed that Andrei will not be heading to camp, as he has a deal in place with a KHL team currently.
In the piece, Matheson quotes Edmonton Oilers prospect Anton Slepyshev on Kostitsyn’s precarious position and Slava Festiov’s plan to not allow KHL players to go to the NHL until after they turn 28.
Slepyshev knew of Hall of Famer Slava Fetisov’s idea to keep all Russian-born players at home until they were 28 before they’d be allowed to go to North America, but shrugged it off. Fetisov’s plan never got off the ground.
“I wasn’t that worried about it … but you never know what’s going to happen in the KHL,” he said. “Two days before the season, the league said Belarusians had lost their import status in the league and 40 players lost their jobs.”
That’s why former NHL winger Sergei Kostitsyn will be at the Calgary Flames’ training camp on a tryout after previously signing to play for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
The 28-year-old forward is a veteran of 353 NHL games split between the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators. He’s spent the last three years in the KHL and is on a deal with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod currently. That contract started this season and if Matheson’s report is true, then he must have an out to take this PTO.
Lots of familiar names are taking PTOs this season. Keep up with all the tryout contracts with The Hockey Writers’ 2015 PTO Tracker.