Ilya Nikolayev: Goes on unconditional waivers

Nikolayev was placed on unconditional waivers by Calgary on Thursday for the purpose of terminating his contract, James Mirtle of The Athletic reports.

Nikolayev was never able to find his game in North America, after he was selected in the third round -- 88th overall -- in 2019. He played nine games at the AHL level with the Wranglers, picking up four assists, while also going scoreless in two ECHL games in 2024-25. He likely will sign with a KHL team in his home country of Russia, once he passes through waivers.