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Oilers to terminate goaltender's contract; heading back to Russia next season

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Cooper Godin
June 4, 2022  (5:22 PM)
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When their playoff run ends, the Edmonton Oilers will announce that they've terminated the contract of 23-year-old netminder Ilya Konovalov.

The Yaroslavl (Russia) native was Edmonton's third round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. After parts of five season in the KHL, Konovalov signed his entry-level contract with the Oilers last spring, but his time in their organization is coming to a close, as mentioned.

According to Russian media outlet, Championat, Konovalov will sign with Dynamo Moscow for the 2022-23 season.

Note: the following is translated from Russian.

"There are certain legal issues in the NHL, as his club is still in the playoffs and cannot terminate his contract. But we have a preliminary agreement on all issues. And I will say that if we were not sure of his arrival, we simply would not make an exchange with Lokomotiv," Dynamo Moscow General Manager Alexei Sopin said.

He went on to add, "Will the transition be announced when Edmonton finishes the season? Yes, we have such an agreement that as soon as Ilya closes all his questions overseas, we will immediately sign a contract with him."

Konovalov appeared in eighteen games for Edmonton's AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors this season, where he had a record of 5-7-3 with a 2.73 GAA and an .893 save percentage.

Source: Championat.