Winnipeg’s Mikhail Berdin to return to Russia for 2022-23
The Winnipeg Jets have announced that goaltender Mikhail Berdin will not play for the organization during the 2022-23 season.
The Jets cited the advice and recommendation of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program as the reason. Berdin’s agent, Dan Milstein, tweeted that Berdin is returning home to Russia to be closer to his family.
Winnipeg Sun beat writer Scott Billeck confirmed no substance abuse issues were involved.
Per the advice and recommendation of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, Mikhail Berdin will not remain with the club for the 2022-23 National Hockey League season.
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 6, 2022Berdin, 24, was drafted in the sixth round by the Jets in 2016. He spent two years in the USHL with Sioux Falls before turning pro in 2018-19. He split time between the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and ECHL’s Jacksonville IceMen before becoming the full-time starter in Manitoba in 2019-20.
Berdin has an AHL career record of 65-50-11 in 126 regular season games over five years with the Moose.
Berdin was in the last year of his two-year extension with the Jets with an AAV of $750,000.
Berdin’s new KHL team has yet to be announced, but he did post a 6-3-2 record with SKA St. Petersburg during the COVID-19-affected 2020-21 season.
The Moose have a handful of goaltenders to choose from, including NHL-signed prospects Arvid Holm and Oskari Salminen. Holm had a respectable 12-10-2 record in 24 games as an AHL rookie last season, while Salminen is set for his debut effort.
The team also has AHL veteran Evan Cormier, who played 14 games with the Moose last year, and Liam Hughes, who split last year between the University of Manitoba, the Fort Wayne Komets and the Guildford Flames.