Evgeny Kuznetsov quits on the Carolina Hurricanes!

A shocking turn of events on Monday morning.

According to a report out of Russia, from Russian website Championat, National Hockey League forward Evgeny Kuznetsov appears to be done in the National Hockey League.

The website reports that Kuznetsov is expected to return to Russia where he will sign a multi-year contract with one of the Kontinental Hockey League's premier teams. That team, SKA Saint Petersburg, is expected to sign Kuznetsov to a four year term.

That is all well and good for both Kuznetsov and for SKA Saint Petersburg, but unfortunately Kuznetsov is currently still under NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Kuznetsov was set to enter the final year of an 8 year contract this upcoming season, a contract that carried an average annual value and salary cap hit of $7.8 million per season.

Strangely enough, this would be one of the highest earning years of Kuznetsov's current deal, with the Russian forward set to earn $8 million in real dollars with both his salary and signing bonus for this season.

Kuznetsov was traded to the Hurricanes midseason and would go on to play 20 regular season games for the team, scoring 2 goals and adding 5 assists for a total of 7 points. Kuznetsov seemed to elevate his game come the Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring 4 goals and adding 2 assists for 6 points over 10 playoffs games, and fans in Carolina will no doubt be disappointed that they won't see more of that this coming season. 

No word yet on the financial terms of Kuznetsov's new deal in Russia.