The Vancouver Canucks are moving on from one of their AHL forwards.
The Canucks announced on Wednesday that they have placed forward Ilya Safonov on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
Safonov had just signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Canucks during the offseason. Now, his time with the organization is coming to an early end with this news.
Before this season, Safonov played each of the previous seven seasons in the KHL with Ak-Bars Kazan. In 331 career KHL games, the 6-foot-5 forward has recorded 65 goals, 63 assists, 128 points, and 185 penalty minutes.
Safonov appeared in 12 AHL games this season with the Abbotsford Canucks before this development. During them, he posted four assists, two penalty minutes, and a plus-1 rating. Overall, the 25-year-old forward had a pretty quiet tenure with Abbotsford and will now be hitting the free agent market.
Safonov's agent releases statement
Safonov's agent, Dan Milstein, released a statement regarding the big forward's contract termination with the Canucks.
"Ilya valued his time with the Canucks organization and built strong relationships with the coaching and development staff in Abbotsford. While he did not reach his goal of playing in the NHL, he leaves grateful for the opportunity and will always look back on his time in Vancouver fondly. He is returning to the KHL and looks forward to competing against top players from Russia, Canada, the United States and beyond, including former Canuck Evander Kane."
With this, it is clear that Safonov is leaving the Canucks on good terms and heading back home to the KHL.
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