Yegor Rykov’s KHL Rights Traded to CSKA Moscow

Rangers prospect Yegor Rykov’s rights were traded in the KHL as his former team, SKA Saint Peterburg, swapped him to rival CSKA Moscow.

The 23-year-old defenseman struggled in his first North American season. Injuries kept him out for the first half of the season and, although he had some strong performances in the AHL upon returning, he equally drew the ire of the coaching staff at times and wound up in the press box on multiple occasions. Rykov was notably excluded from the Rangers’ expanded postseason roster.

With a European assignment clause in his contract for next season, Rykov has the option to return to Russia if he does not make the Rangers’ NHL roster out of training camp. This trade likely foreshadows Rykov’s return to the KHL as part of CSKA Moscow next season.

The Rangers acquired Rykov from the Devils, who drafted him in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, at the 2018 trading deadline as part of a deal that sent Michael Grabner to New Jersey.