After spending last season in Finland, Joe Morrow isn’t on his way back to North America. Instead, the veteran defenseman has signed a one-year contract with Barys Nur-Sultan of the KHL.
Morrow, 28, played 162 NHL games before heading overseas last year, suiting up for the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Winnipeg Jets. After terminating his contract with the New Jersey Devils at the end of 2019, he joined Dinamo Minsk for what was left of the KHL season. He managed just three points in 22 games there, but will now test the waters again with another club.
It’s been quite the ride to this point for the 23rd overall pick from 2011. Morrow was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins but traded to the Dallas Stars for Brenden Morrow (no relation) before the end of his first professional season. Just a few months later he’d be flipped again, this time to Boston in the Tyler Seguin deal, after playing just 17 games in the Dallas system. After a few years in Boston he was left unqualified and signed with Montreal, just to find himself traded again to the Jets at the deadline.
Six different NHL organizations and now three overseas clubs by the age of 28, it’s been a roller coaster for the Edmonton native. There’s still time for Morrow to return to North America before his prime years are over (though a chance in the NHL is unlikely at this point), so he remains a name to keep in mind the KHL season ends next year.