It’s not often NHL talents make their way to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). However, one former teammate of Elias Pettersson on the Vancouver Canucks, who lacked opportunities with the Tampa Bay Lightning has now snapped a ten-year drought.
The 2025-26 KHL season is approaching and teams in the Old World are making the final tweaks to their roster. All in hopes of hoisting the Gagarin Cup when it’s all said and done.
On that note, the CSKA Moskow has signed a former teammate of Pettersson in Vancouver, one who had had a rough stint with the Lightning. Eyeing a fresh start in the Motherland’s capital, the ‘Army Men’ offer just that for a former NHL netminder.
New beginnings
Spencer Martin has joined CSKA for the upcoming KHL campaign. In doing so, the former third round selection by the Colorado Avalanche in 2013 has become the first Canadian goalie to don the red-and-blue jersey in 10 years.
Spencer Martin #30 of the Vancouver Canucks arrives before the game against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on January 25, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.
“Hey CSKA fans, this is Spencer Martin and I’m very honored to be a part of the organization,” the 30-year-old netminder said in a video posted by @KHL_eng on X. “Happy to be here, it’s been a lot of work but also fun with my new teammates.”
see also
Auston Matthews’ Maple Leafs and Elias Pettersson’s Canucks in race against the clock for NHL’s top UFA, reports hint
Lightning didn’t even struck once
Signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay during the 2019 NHL offseason, the goaltender’s stint with the Bolts never truly began. The Ontario native didn’t play a single game for the Lightning, instead spending his time with their AHL and ECHL affiliates—the Syracuse Crunch and Orlando Solar Bears, respectively.
Tampa Bay traded Martin to Vancouver in 2021, and the netminder had a better experience in Vancity than he did in the Big Guava. Alongside Pettersson and company, Martin played 35 games with the Canucks, recording 14 wins. Martin would go on to be claimed off waivers in consecutive years, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 and the Carolina Hurricanes in 2024.
SurveyWill Martin and CSKA win the Gagarin Cup?
Will Martin and CSKA win the Gagarin Cup?
ALREADY VOTED 0 PEOPLE
After more than a decade wandering in the NHL and the minor leagues, Martin is off to a fresh start and new challenges in Russia. CSKA is looking to return to the glory days, which aren’t too far behind. In fact, the club won back-to-back Gagarin Cups in 2022 and 2023. With Martin in net, the organization in ‘The Third Rome’ is determined to capture its third KHL championship.
