For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about the possibility of Anton Slepyshev coming back to Edmonton for a second tour of duty, but that won’t be happening now as the forward just signed a two-year contract extension with CKSA Moscow of the KHL.

Earlier this week, Edmonton Oilers GM, Ken Holland, confirmed that the team had made a contract offer to Slepyshev to see if he’d want to take another crack at the NHL but it was not meant to be as the 25-year-old winger has reportedly decided to re-up in the KHL on a fresh two-year deal. According to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, Slepyshev will return to CKSA Moscow where he’s had some success since leaving Edmonton at the end of the 2017-18 season. Though we have no idea what the Oilers offered, Jim Matheson speculated that the offer was somewhere between $1-1.4 million, and likely on a one-year deal.

While losing out on Slepyshev may not seem like a big deal depending on your feelings towards him, this new two-year contract in the KHL does have consequences for the Oilers’ depth chart as it will bring the former third-round pick from 2013 past his 27th birthday, meaning the team will no longer hold his NHL rights. As a result, we could see Slepyshev’s name popping up again in the spring of 2022 when he’ll become a potential free agent target for the entire National Hockey League, provided that coming back to North America is on his wish list or that anyone will want him at that time. Then again, a lot can change between now and then so I’m sure this won’t be the last time we hear his name around here.

Personally, I was actually hopeful that Slepyshev would come back as it would have been a low-risk bet that would have, at worst, created further competition on the wings, something the Oilers haven’t had a whole lot of in recent memory. I always like to see guys battling for spots and having another viable option in the middle six could have really helped. Then again, I can also see why the Oilers didn’t want to offer too much for a player that was only able to muster 10 goals and 13 assists in 103 NHL games. As we’ve seen many times before — I’m thinking Anton Belov specifically — having KHL success does not necessarily translate to NHL success