The Wild revealed today that Marat Khusnutdinov has signed a low-level deal with them.
Marat Khusnutdinov’s KHL squad, HC Sochi, was forced to stop his contract on Sunday after the player’s season came to an end, allowing the Wild to sign him.
The Wild have announced that they have signed Khusnutdinov, one of their top prospects who has been playing in the KHL since 2020. His KHL contract expired at the end of April.
When the Wild sent Luke Kunin to Nashville in 2020 in exchange for Nick Bonino and the 37th overall pick, Khusnutdinov, then 21 years old, was their second-round selection.
In terms of career points as a U21 player, the 5-foot-9 center is sixth in KHL history. Because his KHL contract is about to expire, he wasn’t given the ideal treatment this season, with restricted ice time and role changes. However, Khusnutdinov played well after being traded.
Khusnutdinov scored 20 points and scored six goals in 49 games for Sochi. By the end of the season, he had assumed a leadership position.
I’d be ready to wager that he would have scored similarly to his last season, in which he finished with 11 goals and 41 points in 63 games with SKA St. Petersburg, had he played the entire season this year without the turmoil surrounding his contract.
Khusnutdinov will be counted against the cap following the signing but will be treated as a non-roster player until his work visa situation is resolved.
Still, it will thrill Wild supporters to watch Khusnutdinov—a player of the highest caliber—leave his stamp on this Wild squad. The Wild didn’t need to make any trades to acquire him, making it one of the best deadline bargains ever.
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