Nashville Predators forward Andrei Kostitsyn has arrived in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk to sign a contract with the local team Traktor, the KHL team said Sunday.
The NHL lockout was proclaimed passed Saturday after the collective agreement between the league and players’ association expired and the parties failed to conclude a new one.
Traktor, last season's regular-season champion, announced the arrival of the Belarusian star on its website, stating that the player will ink a contract until the end of the season after passing a medical on Monday.
Kostitsyn, 27, spent seven seasons with the Montreal Canadians before moving to Nashville in 2011 to join his junior brother Sergei, who is yet to decide on his future.
Both played more than 150 games over the last three NHL seasons, therefore qualifying for the restrictions imposed on players from North America who want to spend the lockout in the KHL.
Earlier, Traktor confirmed that it had agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Kings defender Vyacheslav Voynov, who had started his career in Chelyabinsk.
The 22 year old won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in his first NHL season last year.
