Oct 4: It appears as though MacInnis has changed his mind. Adler Mannheim of the DEL has now announced a contract with him, replacing injured forward Tyler Gaudet. He will no longer be headed to the KHL.
Sep 15: After failing to get much of an opportunity at the NHL level, Ryan MacInnis has decided to try his luck overseas. The minor league forward has signed a contract with Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL.
MacInnis, 26, became a Group VI unrestricted free agent (for the second time) this summer after his one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres came to an end. The 2014 second-round pick has only played in 27 NHL games to this point, just one of them coming last season. In 49 games with the Rochester Americans, where he spent most of the year, he scored 11 goals and 27 points.
The son of NHL legend Al MacInnis, Ryan was an excellent junior player and has shown at least flashes of the ability to fill out a fourth-line role in the NHL. But with basically zero production – he has just a single assist in those 27 games – it’s hard to justify putting him in the lineup.
In the KHL, he should find quite a bit more playing time and the chance to see a more offensive role. It seems likely that we’ll see him in North America again some point down the line, though another NHL chance may be out of the picture.
Woah. I couldn’t imagine being an American and signing to go play for a Russian League/Team in today’s state of the world.
They never think what happened to Brittney Griner could happen to them. (And hey, the stateside agent gets his cut all the same, right?)
If they aren’t dumb enough to try to fly with dope it wouldn’t happen to them.