From the Vegas Golden Knights:

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS SIGN FREE AGENT FORWARD VADIM SHIPACHYOV OF THE KHL TO A TWO-YEAR CONTRACT

VEGAS – May 4, 2017 – Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee announced today, May 4, that the team has signed Russian free agent forward Vadim Shipachyov (pronounced va-DEEM SHIP-ah-shoff) from SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (Russia) to a two-year contract worth an average annual salary of $4.5 million. McPhee will be available to media via conference call on Friday, May 5. Those details will be sent by the Golden Knights Communications Staff Friday.

“Vadim is a highly skilled playmaker who has had an impressive career in the Kontinental Hockey League,” said Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee. “He has won two KHL championships, has been among the league leaders in scoring the last two seasons and has enjoyed success at the international level for Team Russia. We believe he can be an impact player in the NHL.”

The 30-year-old forward finished third in the KHL scoring race this season with 76 points on 26 goals and 50 assists in 50 games. The 50 assists were the second most in the league. He also had 19 points on four goals and 15 assists in 17 games during the KHL playoffs, helping SKA Saint Petersburg win the league championship for the second time in his career (2017 and 2015).

During the 2015-16 season, Shipachyov skated in 54 regular-season games for SKA Saint Petersburg and tallied 17 goals and a league-leading 43 assists for 60 points. In his KHL career, Shipachyov has registered 137 goals and 275 assists for 412 points in 445 games split between Saint Petersburg and his hometown team of Severstal Cherepovets. He has served as either a captain or alternate captain of SKA St. Petersburg the last three seasons.

At the international level, he has played Team Russia on three previous occasions at the IIHF World Championships during the 2014, 2015 and 2016 tournaments. He won a gold medal in 2014, silver in 2015 and bronze in 2016 where he led the entire tournament in scoring and assists with 18 points on six goals and 12 assists. He also played for Russia during the recent 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.