Zaitsev inks 4-year deal with KHL's Saint Petersburg

Nikita Zaitsev is leaving the NHL and returning to his homeland.

The veteran defenseman is signing a four-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg in the KHL, the club announced Thursday.

Zaitsev was an unrestricted free agent. He played parts of the last two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks after spending parts of four campaigns with the Ottawa Senators and his first three in North America with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 32-year-old posted career highs in assists (32) and points (36) during his 2016-17 rookie campaign but failed to collect more than 13 and 17, respectively, over the rest of his NHL tenure.

Zaitsev averaged over 20 minutes of ice time in each of his first five seasons. But his playing time fell below that mark in the campaigns that followed, and he was also beset by injuries. The Russian blue-liner logged 15:56 per night this past season while playing only 38 games.

He played only 46 contests in 2022-23, suiting up for 28 with the Senators before they traded him to the Blackhawks in February 2023.

The Maple Leafs signed Zaitsev as an undrafted free agent in May 2016. He played four seasons with the KHL's Sibir Novosibirsk and three more with CSKA Moscow before heading to North America.