Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MOSCOW (AP) — Pavel Datysuk has signed for his hometown Russian club in the Kontinental Hockey League, ending speculation of a possible return to the NHL.
The 40-year-old center has signed a one-year deal with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, the successor to the team where he began his pro career in the 1996-97 season.
He posted a picture on social media of himself in the Avtomobilist uniform and the caption "beloved Yekaterinburg."
Datysuk left the NHL in 2016 to return to Russia with SKA St. Petersburg after 953 games for the Detroit Red Wings. He won an Olympic gold medal last year with the Olympic Athletes from Russia after the NHL did not allow its players to take part.
He left SKA last month after three KHL seasons.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP\_Sports
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.