Mikhail Grigorenko signed a one-year contract for the 2020-21 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Financial terms were not released.
The 25-year-old forward will return to the NHL after playing the past three seasons with CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League. He had 64 points (22 goals, 42 assists) in 217 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche from 2013-17.
Selected by the Sabres with the No. 12 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Grigorenko played three seasons in Buffalo before being traded to the Avalanche on June 26, 2015. He had an NHL career-high 27 points (six goals, 21 assists) in 2015-16, his first season with Colorado.
"He's had some success here," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He was drafted 12th overall, went back to Europe. He's not the first player to do that. He will not be the first player to come back and have success.
"He's just getting into his prime as a player. He's 25 years old. There's a lot of levels for him to get to still. It's not like he's that old or plateaued at all. He can keep getting better the next five years."
Grigorenko agreed to a three-year contract to play in his native Russia on July 3, 2017. He had 116 points (46 goals, 70 assists) in 147 games for CSKA and helped it win the 2019 Gagarin Cup after leading the KHL in playoff goals (13) and points (21) in 20 games. Grigorenko also helped the Olympic Athletes of Russia win the gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics with four points (one goal, three assists) in six games.
"We do believe in his potential," Kekalainen said. "He's improved as a hockey player. We've watched him the past couple of years and the past couple of years he's improved. Time will tell."
