The New Jersey Devils have placed Yaroslav Dyblenko on unconditional waivers for purpose of terminating his contract. Dyblenko signed an entry-level contract last summer, and played in 54 games for the AHL’s Binghamton Devils this season.
Like many other KHL players before him, Dyblenko likely didn’t want to remain in North America just to play in the minor leagues. After parts of five seasons at the highest level in Russia, joining the AHL can feel like a step backwards for some players. Dyblenko was part of a list of players reported by Russian media recently that were expected to return to the KHL, which also included other confirmed departures like Andrey Pedan and Sergey Tolchinsky.
Dyblenko, 24, didn’t seem to have a very good chance of breaking in with the Devils over the next few seasons, meaning this isn’t a big loss for New Jersey. Technically, he could sign with another NHL team after seeing his contract terminated, but it’s much more likely that we won’t see Dyblenko on North American soil for some time.