Flames losing former undrafted defenseman to KHL

The Daniil Miromanov experiment has not worked out as planned with the Calgary Flames, and the pending free agent defenseman is leaving the National Hockey League behind.

The 28-year-old is signing with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL for the 2026-27 season, as reported by Sport-Express’ Fyodor Nosov.

It’s not an overly surprising move, as the Russian defenseman spent most of the campaign in the minors with the Calgary Wranglers. He had a solid season in the American Hockey League, managing 11 goals and 38 points in 66 games.

He played only one game with Calgary this season, but suited up for 44 last year, chipping in nine points.

Miromanov began his NHL career with the Vegas Golden Knights; after going undrafted — and spending some time in the KHL — he played 11 games on the strip in 2021-22.

He was never able to carve out a significant role with the Knights, and split time between the NHL and AHL before joining the Flames’ organization ahead of the 2023-24 season.

The big right-shot defender probably would have garnered some interest on the open market, if only as a seventh defenseman. After clearing waivers, his $1.25 million contract could have been a reason why he was unable to land with a National Hockey League club. If that had been closer to the league minimum, there could have been some more interest for his services.

Returning to the KHL gives him an opportunity to play closer to home, and he’ll also have a chance to play a much more significant role than he has in the NHL over the last half decade.

The Flames are also looking to embrace the youth revolution, and at 28, there just wasn’t a path to more meaningful minutes in Alberta. If he can string together a strong 2026-27 season, it’s not impossible that he could potentially return to North America at some point later in his career.

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