- Goalie Amir Miftakhov signed a two-year deal with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons
- Ak Bars traded his KHL rights to Shanghai for cash compensation
- Read below for the reported salary and how his year in Carolina’s system went
Amir Miftakhov is headed back to Russia.
The 26-year-old goalie signed a two-year contract with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons on Wednesday, one year after joining the Carolina Hurricanes organization on a one-year, two-way deal. The league announced it Wednesday morning:
This was not a straight free-agent signing. Ak Bars still held Miftakhov’s KHL rights, and Kazan sent them to Shanghai for cash compensation, according to the Dragons. The contract runs through the end of the 2027-28 season.
Championat reported the money at 45 million rubles per season, or 90 million across the two years.
Carolina brought him over last summer and never called him up. He spent the entire season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves as the backup to Cayden Primeau, going 12-8-7 with a .888 save percentage and a 3.25 goals-against average in 28 games.
Miftakhov was sharper in the playoffs, winning two of his four appearances with a .926 save percentage.
Tampa Bay drafted him 186th overall in 2020, and he crossed the Atlantic for the 2021-22 season, splitting the year between Syracuse of the AHL and Orlando of the ECHL. Rather than finish out his entry-level contract, he went home.
Three seasons with Ak Bars followed. His best came in 2024-25, when he played 30 KHL games and won 13 of them, and that run is what earned him the second look in North America.
Shanghai has turned into a regular landing spot for players cycling out of the North American pipeline. The club, still Kunlun Red Star to plenty of fans, added Martin Frk on a two-year deal earlier this summer.
Their season opens Sept. 6 in Nizhnekamsk against Neftekhimik.
