Vitali Kravtsov Finds New Home Just One-Day After Having Contract Terminated by Vancouver Canucks

Over the summer, Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin searched far and wide for some offensive help for the team's roster and after back-to-back solid years in the KHL, he decided to bring Vitali Kravtsov back to North America, signing the Russian forward to a one-year, two-way contract.

Kravtsov was given ample opportunity to prove himself throughout the team's training camp and preseason games, but ultimately, he was placed on waivers and assigned to the American Hockey League to begin the 2025-26 season, but it didn't go as anyone was hoping.

In the American Hockey League, the 25-year-old winger had a top-six role and the expectation was that he would be a key cog in their offense, but after ten games and just four points, the two sides decided to go their separate ways and Kravtsov was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

Less than 24 hours after being placed on unconditional waivers by the Canucks, it looks like the Vladivostok, Russia has found his "new" home for the next few seasons.

According to Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali, Vitali Kravtsov is expected to sign a three-year contract (2025-26 to 2027-28) with KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk, who he's spent parts of eight seasons with, including the last two before coming back to North America.

Kravtsov has suited up in 288 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk in his career, registering 160 points (81 goals, 79 assists), 45 penalty minutes and was a plus-13.

With Kravtsov now heading back to Russia for the next three seasons, it's safe to say that this is the last we've see of him, not just with the Vancouver Canucks organization, but probably in North America in general.

Source: The Province
Gone with a whimper: Ex-Canuck Vitali Kravtsov heads back to KHL