Former Maple Leafs forward wants to return to North America

In his 32 Thoughts article on Tuesday, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that former Toronto Maple Leaf and St. Louis Blues forward Nikita Soshnikov is wanting to return to North America for the 2022-23 season.

"Nikita Soshnikov, who played 87 NHL games for Toronto and St. Louis from 2015-2019, would like to return to the NHL next season. He's playing for Avangard Omsk in the KHL. Playoffs start in that league right after the Olympics." Friedman said.

Soshnikov, a native of Nizhny Tagil (Russia), signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an undrafted free agent following the 2014-15 KHL season. In 87 games between Toronto and St. Louis, the 28-year-old tallied sixteen points (eight goals, eight assists), twenty-six penalty minutes and was a minus-six.

After the 2018-19 season, he returned to Russia and signed with Salavat Yulayev. Soshnikov had a strong first season back in the KHL, putting up 27 goals and 48 points in 58 games.

Given how he's played since returning to the KHL, there's a good chance that there will be strong interest in Soshnikov once Avangard Omsk's season concludes.

Source: Elliotte Friedman - 32 Thoughts

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