The Vancouver Canucks placed Vitali Kravtsov on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination on Tuesday.
If he clears waivers on Wednesday, he’ll be a UFA who’s expected to return to playing in Russia.
“Kravtsov wanted to go back home. It’s as simple as that,” CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal wrote on X.
The 25-year-old right winger didn’t crack the Canucks’ lineup out of training camp, instead playing 10 games for their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford, B.C. He put up a goal and three assists for four points and a minus-7 rating.
The ninth overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft has bounced between Russia and the NHL over the years, but just hasn’t replicated his scoring from overseas in North America.
In his draft year, Kravtsov cracked Chelyabinsk’s KHL lineup after producing well in the junior and second-tier levels. In the following campaign, he had 21 points in 50 KHL games, as well as six points in seven matches at the 2019 world juniors for bronze-winning Team Russia.
Fast forward to 2020-21, and after playing most of the season in the KHL, recording 24 points in 49 games, he got his first shot in the NHL with the New York Rangers in April 2021.
In his rookie NHL campaign, however, the former top prospect had only two goals and two assists for four points and a minus-6 rating in 20 games while logging 12:24 of ice time per game.
In 2021-22, Kravtsov returned to the KHL, recording 13 points in 19 games. But he got another shot in the NHL in 2022-23, appearing in 28 matches for the Blueshirts.
On Feb. 25, 2023, the Rangers traded Kravtsov to the Canucks in exchange for William Lockwood and a seventh-round draft pick. Kravtsov had three goals and six points in 28 games by that point in the season.
But in Vancouver, Kravtsov’s ice time fell from 11:25 to 10:50 per game, and he had a goal and an assist in 16 games.
In 2023-24 and 2024-25, Kravtsov played in the KHL for Chelyabinsk, posting 34 and 58 points, respectively. He even had the KHL’s best plus-minus last year, at plus-31.
On Aug. 5 of this year, Kravtsov signed a one-year, two-way contract to return to the Canucks organization. In two pre-season games for Vancouver, he had five shots and a minus-two rating.
Now, it’s uncertain whether the 6-foot-3, 186-pound right winger will ever play in the NHL again and expand on his six goals and 12 points in 64 career games.
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