Denis Gurianov has had a relatively volatile career in the NHL. Despite his height and shooting ability, he was expected to fall into the second round of the 2015 NHL draft. However, the Dallas Stars saw great potential in the Russian forward and went off the board to grab him at the 12th overall spot.
However, he has since largely fallen off the ice, producing less than 20 total points since the 2022-23 season. As a result, he was bounced around to Montreal, Nashville, and Philadelphia, playing only 41 games across all three teams. Unhappy with his ice time, Gurianov has left the Philadelphia Flyers and Milwaukee Admirals and signed a two-year deal with CSKA Moskva in the KHL.
Gurianov will not be the only familiar NHL face part of Moscow's KHL team. Joining the 27-year-old forward are Egor Afanasyev, Dmitry Samorukov, Ruslan Ishakov, and Nikita Okhotyuk.
Though he probably imagined he would be at a different point in his career at this age, Denis Gurianov will undoubtedly get more ice time playing in Russia. Given that he is joined by some of his NHL colleagues, CSKA Moskva will likely be a force to be reckoned with.