Former First-Round Pick and Ex-Oiler Is Heading Overseas to Continue Playing Career

Klim Kostin is headed back to familiar territory, as he returns to the KHL club with which he once hoisted a championship trophy.

The league announced that Kostin has signed a deal with Avangard Omsk for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, returning him to the organization five years after helping them win their elusive first Gagarin Cup.

Kostin had previously played the 2020-21 season with Avangard on loan from the St. Louis Blues, where he scored seven goals and 18 points in 43 regular-season games.

He had an additional nine points in 24 playoff games. It was a performance that solidified him as one of the team's most important players that season and boosted his value.

Kostin returned to North America, splitting time between the Blues and their AHL affiliate before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2022.

That deal triggered the best stretch of his NHL career, where he popped 11 goals and 21 points in 57 games, and for a time, it looked like the Oilers had finally found a reliable power forward with an extremely affordable cap hit.

But the team's cap crunch forced an eventual trade to Detroit, where his production really dipped in a limited fourth-line role.

He was ultimately traded to the San Jose Sharks, where he regained his touch and finished the year strong with 10 points in 19 games.

Kostin re-signed with San Jose for 2024-25 but couldn't build on his momentum he collected in the previous season's stretch drive.

Kostin reportedly expressed interest in returning to Edmonton this offseason, but the 25-year-old instead chose to head back to Russia, where he once thrived.

For Kostin, returning to the team where he experienced championship glory may reignite his confidence and help him rediscover the form that once made him one of hockey's most intriguing young talents, which could very well lead to an NHL return one day.