After a relatively successful debut in the KHL, Tyler Graovac is going to stay overseas. The free agent forward has signed a new contract with Vityaz Podolsk for the upcoming season, ruling out any return to North America this summer.
Graovac, 29, last played in the NHL during the 2020-21 season, when he suited up for 14 games with the Vancouver Canucks. The 6’5″ forward scored three goals during that short stint, while also putting up nine points in nine games while on loan to the Manitoba Moose. Prior to that, he had played in 70 other NHL games, most notably during 2016-17 with the Minnesota Wild, when he appeared 52 times.
The 2011 seventh-round pick spent last season with Dinamo Minsk, scoring 26 points in 44 games, while averaging over 17 minutes a night. That’s way more playing time than he ever experienced in the NHL, where he was limited to fourth-line duty even at the best of times. It appears as though his time at that level is in the past, with this new contract moving him even further away from his last appearance.