KHL star Andrei Kuzmenko signs his first NHL contract.

For some time we have been hearing rumors that Kontinental Hockey League star Andrei Kuzmenko was looking to make the jump to the National Hockey League, and we now have official confirmation of the fact.

According to a breaking news report from none other than Kuzmenko himself, the 26 year old forward has just signed his first ever NHL contract and will now become a member of the Vancouver Canucks organization. The news was broken by Kuzmenko via his instagram of all things where he published a photo of him smiling as he signed the contract to join the Canucks.

Kuzmenko is coming off the best season of his career with St. Petersburg SKA, one that saw him score 20 goals and add 33 assists for a combined total of 53 points over just 45 games played. He also excelled in the playoffs for SKA with 7 goals and 7 assists for a total of 14 points in just 16 playoff games.

Whether or not those skills will translate directly to the NHL, but this has to feel like a big win for the Canucks who were reportedly competing with several other teams for Kuzmenko's services.

Update: An interesting little wrinkle according to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, Kuzmenko is not technically eligible to sign with the Canucks until July 13th. Considering the photo that he has published on his Instagram appears to show him doing just that, I do wonder if the NHL will have any questions about his move.