Not long ago, it looked as if Denis Gurianov was set to be a key secondary contributor for Dallas. However, he has struggled considerably for the last couple of years and it appears he’s opting for a change of scenery as Alexander Balabanov of Sport-Express reports that the winger is expected to sign a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. Back in April, it was reported that this was the likely outcome for the unrestricted free agent.
The 27-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2015 and while he didn’t become a consistent top-six option for the Stars, he put up a 20-goal season and averaged 30 points between 2019-20 and 2021-22, earning himself a couple of $2.9M paydays in the process. But he struggled in 2022-23, eventually being moved to Montreal who elected to non-tender him that summer.
Last year, Gurianov didn’t have a great market in free agency, waiting ten days before securing a one-year, $850K deal with Nashville. Things didn’t go well there either as he cleared waivers at the end of training camp, playing in 27 games with AHL Milwaukee where he had 30 points. That earned him a promotion in January but he played sparingly with Nashville for two months before being traded to Philadelphia where he played even less down the stretch. All told, he finished up the campaign with just 18 NHL appearances where he had one goal and one assist.
With a market that doesn’t appear to be materializing for him in North America, it would make sense for him to return to Russia where he’d have a chance to play a prominent role much closer to home. Assuming a deal is finalized, Gurianov will depart the NHL with 298 career appearances where he put up 52 goals and 61 assists.
