Former Vancouver Canuck Pavol Demitra has signed a one-year contract with Yaroslavl of the KHL in Russia.
Demitra's agent, Matt Keator, confirmed to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun the Slovakian forward is packing up his hockey bag and heading to the Kontinental Hockey League.
Demitra, 35, was criticized last season after scoring 16 points in 28 games with the Canucks. His play was hampered by injuries, forcing him to miss a slew of games in the 2009-10 season.
The previous season, Demitra was almost a point-per-game player, collecting 53 points in 69 games with Vancouver in 2008-09. Again, his point production was stunted by injuries that season.
The Olympics were a success for Demitra, who lead Team Slovakia and the men's hockey tournament in scoring with 10 points. He was also named to the Olympic hockey all-star team.
Unfortunately, Demitra could not translate his hot streak from the Winter Olympics to his play with the Canucks.
The KHL is the strongest hockey league in Europe and was founded in 2008. It currently has 20 teams in the Russian Federation and three in Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan.
The NHL and KHL are supposed to follow a mutual agreement to honour each league's player contracts, but controversy has followed the KHL when it comes to attracting NHLers overseas.
NHL players have been lured in by the fact that KHL salaries are not hindered by salary caps or high taxes.
Demitra played 16 years in the NHL, spending time with the Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild and the Canucks.
He tallied 304 goals and 464 assists for 768 points in 847 NHL games. He also scored 59 points in 94 playoff games over 12 post-seasons.
Former Canucks defenceman Brad Lukowich also signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
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