Koko Pops Off: Alex Khokhlachev is off to Russia, joins SKA St Petersburg

It's official, then.

The first B's move of this FA period sees a not-unexpected departure

Despite being extended a qualifying offer by the Bruins, Alex Khoklachev is off to Russia to sign with SKA St Petersburg of the KHL, as officially announced on the Russian team's website.

The Russian forward, who played a total of 9 NHL games over three years with the B's without scoring a point but was a prolific scorer with Providence at the AHL level (23+45 last season) has said farewell to North America to return to his homeland, following several Russian NHL prospects like Sergei Plotnikov and Nikolai Prokhorkin in doing so this off-season.

The Bruins will retain his rights, but it'll be a surprise to see him back in North America now after never fulfilling the hopes the B's had for him and never really looking comfortable in Claude Julien's system.

Farewell and good luck, Koko.