Nikolay Goldobin leaves Vancouver Canucks to sign with KHL team

Nikolay Goldobin’s time with the Vancouver Canucks has officially come to an end.

Earlier this year, it was reported that the 24-year-old winger would be leaving the Canucks to play in the KHL. The news was made official on Thursday as Goldobin signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow.

CSKA signed a two-year contract with Nikolay Goldobin. The past 5 seasons the 24-year-old forward spent in the NHL (19 G, 46 Pts, 125 GP) and in the AHL (68 G, 170 Pts, 190 GP) pic.twitter.com/IC0NgBwqwX

— KHL (@khl_eng) June 18, 2020

The Moscow native was first acquired by the Canucks during the 2017 trade deadline. Vancouver received Goldobin, as well as a conditional fourth-round pick, from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jannik Hansen.

Goldobin is a former first-round draft pick and was selected 27th overall in the 2014 NHL draft.

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While he was once considered to have huge potential as a goal scorer, the winger was never able to find consistent success in the NHL. During the 2018-19 season, Goldobin found some success playing on a line with Elias Pettersson. He tapered off, however, finishing the season with 27 points (7-20-27) in 63 games.

In addition, despite signing a one-year, one-way contract over the summer, off-season acquisitions of JT Miller, Tanner Pearson, and Michael Ferland also made it difficult to find consistent ice time among Vancouver’s group of forwards. He spent most of the 2019-20 season with the Utica Comets, playing only one game for the Canucks.