Alexander Khokhlachev re-signs in KHL, no Bruins return immediate

Per a report out of Russia, Bruins prospect and lightning rod for hot takes, Alexander Khokhalchev has re-signed with the Spartak Moscow of the KHL for an additional year. Many, including Elliotte Friedman thought he would potentially return to America to play under his former Coach Bruce Cassidy as the two reportedly have a strong relationship.

The 24 year old Russian forward was a constant source of consternation among Bruins fans and brass alike during his years in the Bruins farm system, at times publicly complaining about a lack of NHL playing time despite being a prolific scorer in the AHL. All told he appeared in 9 NHL games over parts of 3 seasons, failing to tally a single point, albeit in only 10:17 ATOI under Claude Julien. His relationship with Claude Julien has been the subject of seemingly endless debates regarding his usage during his Bruins career, highlighted/lowlighted by his agent’s controversial tweets late last year attacking Claude Julien’s usage of Russian players.

His KHL career started off slow, leading to a trade from SKA St. Petersburg in 2016-17 to his current Spartak Moscow, where he was a steady offensive contributor finishing with 16g, 31a, 50p totals this season in 52GP. His Spartak team lost in 4 games against CSKA in the first round, with Khokhlachev scoring one assist in the series.

As long as the Bruins submit a qualifying offer each year, the Bruins will own his NHL rights until he turns 27 years old. At this point it is more likely the Bruins trade his rights to another team than they put him on their NHL roster if/when he returns to North America.