Calgary Flames defenseman Daniil Miromanov is reportedly all set to return to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in his native country of Russia. As per Fyodor Nosov, a reporter at Sport-Express, Miromanov has agreed to sign a deal with SKA St. Petersburg ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Following his failure to maintain a regular role in the NHL with the Flames, his current contract, which carries a $1.25 million cap hit, will run out at the end of the 2025-26 season. With that, Miromanov will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in the summer.

Notably, Miromanov joined Calgary on a two-year, one-way contract worth $2.5 million prior to the 2024 trade deadline in March after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights, along with multiple draft picks, in exchange for Noah Hanifin.

He played 20 games for the Flames in the 2023-24 season, scoring seven points (3G / 4A), before making 44 appearances and recording nine points (2G / 7A) in the 2024-25 season.

In the 2025-26 NHL season, Miromanov appeared in just one game before he cleared waivers and joined the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL. He had a decent season for the Wranglers, registering 11 goals and 27 assists for 38 points in 66 games in the minor league.

The AHL helped bring the offensive play of the 28-year-old defenseman into sharper focus, which could suit him better in Russia.

Miromanov has been a part of the KHL with HC Sochi on a couple of occasions, in the 2017-18 and 2020-21 seasons. He competed in 73 KHL regular-season games, recording 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points.

Daniil Miromanov has bounced between the NHL and AHL for years

Daniil Miromanov has had a stop-start career in North America after signing an entry-level NHL contract in 2021 with the Golden Knights. He bounced between the NHL and AHL on multiple occasions with the Golden Knights and the Flames, but never settled into a more permanent role in either.

Generally, when a fringe player clears waivers in the NHL before his contract runs out, it can signal limited league-wide interest in him at that salary. If he is demoted to the AHL, his path back to NHL game time often depends on injuries, roster openings, or other team needs.

With that, Miromanov might have understood that his chances of staying in the NHL on a big-money deal for the 2026-27 season are slim. Even if he were to sign with an NHL team, there would still be doubts about him being bounced between the NHL and AHL once again.

This is why the reports of Miromanov leaving the NHL for the KHL might turn out to be true. During his time in North America, he made 94 NHL appearances, scoring 23 points (7G /16A) and recording 110 blocked shots as a defenseman.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Sahil Prashar