MOSCOW, July 23 (R-Sport) – Former National Hockey League (NHL) forward Andrei Nikolishin on Tuesday shot down rumors that he is set to retire, by announcing he has been invited to Dynamo Moscow's preseason training camp.
The 40-year-old has yet to sign a contract for the upcoming season, and the agreement with the reigning KHL champions amounts to little more than a tryout.
Nikolishin has not skated professionally since leaving the Ukrainian league team Sokol Kiev after the 2011-12 season, sparking speculation in Russian media the veteran forward's career was over.
"I wasn't going to retire," he said in a video statement posted on Dynamo's website. "As long as I have the strength and the opportunity to play, I want to perform at the highest level."
Nikolishin, who had 16 goals and 45 assists in 36 games with Sokol, said he has passed a physical with Dynamo and begun practicing with the club at its training base in Pinsk, Belarus.
On Tuesday, the 6-foot left wing shared a somewhat carefree perspective on his future in Russian hockey.
"If I make the roster, I'll play next season," he said. "If not, c'est la vie."
If the grizzled veteran does go with Dynamo, it will mark a return to the franchise where he started his professional career, before leaving for North America in 1995.
Drafted 47th overall in the 1992 NHL Draft by the Hartford Whalers, Nikolishin played 628 games over his decade long NHL career, tallying 93 goals and 187 assists. He had his best season in 1995-96, scoring 51 points in 61 appearances for Hartford, which became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.
In addition to Hartford, he spent time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals, with whom he reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1998.
He returned to Russia in 2004 and bounced from CSKA Moscow to Lada Togliatti to Avangard Omsk to SKA St. Petersburg in the defunct Russian Superleague before playing four seasons with Traktor Chelyabinsk from 2007 to 2011.
A KHL All-Star in 2009, Nikolishin has 22 goals, 52 assists and 207 penalty minutes in 124 KHL games.
He won a gold medal at the 1993 world championship and bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics as a member of the Russian national team.
