Former Carolina Hurricanes center Evgeny Kuznetsov will return to Russia to continue his career, signing a four-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg, the Kontinental Hockey League announced Wednesday.

Kuznetsov's contract with the Hurricanes was terminated two weeks ago by mutual agreement after he cleared unconditional waivers. Kuznetsov walked away from the $6 million salary owed to him in the final season of his $64.2 million, seven-year deal originally signed in 2017. Terms of his contract in the KHL were not announced.

Carolina acquired Kuznetsov from Washington before the trade deadline in March. Kuznetsov was the leading scorer and Conn Smythe runner-up on the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup run but has been up and down since. He had 13 points in 30 games in a limited role with the Hurricanes as they reached the second round of the playoffs.

The NHL in September 2019 suspended Kuznetsov three games without pay for “inappropriate conduct,” less than a month after he was banned from playing for Russia for four years because of a positive test for cocaine.

Kuznetsov more recently entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in February. Upon him being cleared by program administrators to practice, the Capitals put him on waivers.

Evgeny Kuznetsov leaves NHL, signs four-year deal in KHL

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