Former NHL First Round Pick Abruptly Terminates KHL Contract After Struggling to Adapt Abroad
A former NHL first-round pick's KHL contract was abruptly terminated after he struggled to adapt abroad.
Many players who struggle to make it in the National Hockey League end up deciding to leave North America altogether to pursue their hockey careers, as we saw with Evgeny Kuznetsov last summer.
While most choose to leave for Europe, others decide to move to Russia to play in the second-best league in the world: the KHL.
However, adapting to the KHL isn't easy. Not only must players adapt to the different vibes on the ice, but they must also adapt outside the rink.
That's what happened with the former first-rounder Brendan Perlini.
Drafted 12th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2014, he took part in 262 NHL games for the Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Edmonton Oilers before spending three seasons in the AHL. Then, this season, he moved to Russia to play in the KHL.
After only four games with the Moscow Spartak, it was announced that the player's contract was terminated.
Perlini made the following statement to explain what led to his termination:
It'll be interesting to see if an NHL organization decides to sign him to a cheap contract to add depth to their roster.
The last time he was in North America was in the 2023-24 campaign when he played 37 games with the Charlotte Checkers, the Florida Panthers' AHL affiliate.
He had a great impact on his team, scoring 20 points, including nine goals.
In the NHL, he had the best season of his career in 2017-18, when he scored 30 points, including 17 goals, in 74 games.
