Former Vancouver Canucks Goaltender Ends NHL Career at Just-30-Years Old to Sign In Russia

The second day of the National Hockey League's free agency window wasn't as busy as the first, but it still brought plenty of interesting signings including Pierre-Olivier Joseph with the Vancouver Canucks, who landed a one-year deal for the 2025-26 campaign.

We also saw some former Vancouver Canucks put pen-to-paper on NHL contracts with other teams, most notably Phil Di Giuseppe, who is staying in Canada after inking a one-year, two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets.

For some Vancouver Canucks, they weren't able to find new homes in the National Hockey League and have decided to take their talents overseas, including one of their former netminders - Spencer Martin.

In a press release on their official team website on Wednesday, KHL club CSKA Moscow announced that they've agreed to terms on a two-year contract with free agent goaltender Spencer Martin.

Martin, a native of Oakville, Ontario, joined the Vancouver Canucks organization through a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2021 in exchange for future considerations.

The 30-year-old netminder spent two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and appeared in 29 games for them during the 2022-23 campaign where he had a record of 11-15-1 along with a 3.99 goals against average and an .871 save percentage.

In January 2024, Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin placed Spencer Martin on the NHL waiver wire and the next day, he was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, splitting the remainder of that season between them and the Carolina Hurricanes.

There's a very good chance that Spencer Martin will be CSKA Moscow's starting netminder, at least to start the 2025-26 season, as the club lost last year's starter Ivan Prosvetov, who landed a one-year NHL contract with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Martin brings 66 games of NHL experience to CSKA Moscow with Colorado, Vancouver, Columbus and Carolina where he has a 24-30-8 record, a 3.56 goals against average, an .883 save percentage and one shutout.

Source: CSKA Moscow
Spencer Martin signs contract with CSKA