The former Hurricanes center will join top prospect Alexander Nikishin in SKA Saint Petersburg.

After agreeing to mutual contract termination earlier this month, former Carolina Hurricanes center Evgeny Kuznetsov has signed a four-year deal to return home to Russia.

Kuznetsov, 32, signed with SKA Saint Petersburg, one of the wealthiest teams in the KHL and also the team of top prospect Alexander Nikishin.

The Russian center had a short stint in Raleigh, appearing in 30 total games across both the regular season and playoffs after being acquired from the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline, but he made a memorable impact.

Kuznetsov really embraced his role with the team, preaching accountability and self-reflection and was a valuable piece for Carolina down the stretch even if it wasn’t maybe what was once envisioned.

‘Kuzy’ was a positive force in the locker room and scored quite a few timely goals as well.

Over his 11 year NHL career, Kuznetsov appeared in 743 games tallying 173 goals and 575 points. In 97 postseason games, Kuznetsov had 33 goals and 73 points and led the Capitals ins coring en route to a Stanley Cup title in 2018.

All the best to Kuznetsov in his new venture.