Detroit Red Wings sign Klim Kostin to two-year, $4 million contract

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman announced that the club has signed forward Klim Kostin to a two-year contract, paying $4 million. According to CapFriendly, the contract will have an average annual value of $2 million.

Kostin was acquired by the Red Wings from the Edmonton Oilers at the 2023 NHL Draft alongside Kailer Yamamoto; Yamamoto was subsequently bought out of his contract.

Kostin registered 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 57 games during the 2022-23 campaign. He added three goals and two assists for five points in 12 playoff games during the Oilers’ postseason run.

The Penza, Russia, product was initially drafted by the St. Louis Blues No. 31 overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. Kostin, who stands 6-foot-4, and weighs 216 pounds, made his American Hockey League debut in 2017-18 with the Blues farm team, the San Antonio Rampage. That season, Kostin registered 22 assists and 28 points in 67 games. During the 2018-19 season, Kostin represented Russia at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, collecting six points in seven games and winning a bronze medal; Kostin was named a top-3 player for Russia.

He made his NHL debut in 2019-20 and scored his first NHL goal not long after when he beat Nashville Predators netminder Juuse Saros. As the season shut down for the COVID-19 Pandemic, Kostin took his talents back home to Russia. During the 2020-21 season, he played for Avangard Omsk, and during the KHL Playoffs, he notched five goals and nine points in 24 games, helping Omsk win the KHL Championship.

Kostin was dealt to the Oilers from St. Louis in the fall of 2022 in exchange for Dmitri Samorukov.