Ilya Safonov to Leave Ak Bars Kazan for Canucks Move

Ilya Safonov is expected to leave Ak Bars Kazan and try to sign with the Vancouver Canucks after seven full seasons in the KHL. The Russian forward turns 25 by the end of May, and Vancouver could have him in the organization for the 2026–27 season if the move goes through.

Ilya Safonov and Vancouver

Safonov’s NHL rights already belong to Vancouver after last season’s trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. That gives the Canucks a direct path to a player who was drafted 172nd overall in 2021 and has built his entire professional run in Kazan.

Contract talks between the Canucks organization and Safonov have not started yet, but there is a chance they could begin soon. For Vancouver, the issue is no longer whether his rights are available; it is whether the club can turn those rights into a signed player after he steps away from Ak Bars.

Ak Bars Kazan Season

Safonov’s numbers this season give Vancouver a real reason to keep him in view. He scored 16 goals and added 17 assists in 68 regular season games, then chipped in two goals and seven assists in 20 KHL post-season games.

Ak Bars reached the Gagarin Cup Finals at the start of May after beating Metalburg Magnitogorsk, but lost to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in six games. Safonov’s playoff run ended there, after a postseason that kept him on the ice deep into the spring and stretched his season beyond the regular schedule.

Canucks Rights

The move matters because Vancouver already controls the NHL side of the equation. Safonov spent the past seven seasons with Ak Bars full-time, and the Canucks acquired his rights in a trade with Chicago last season, which leaves the club positioned to bring him over if a contract is reached.

For Vancouver, the next step is simple enough: get a deal done before the 2026–27 season. Safonov’s final KHL season showed production at both ends of the schedule, and his departure would close a long run in Kazan while opening the door to his first shot inside the Canucks system.