Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul is reportedly heading to Russia to play in the KHL.
According to the National Post, Lupul will suit up for last-place Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
"(Lupul) missed the final month of last year and had back issues a couple of years ago and missed a lot of hockey," Lupul's agent, Peter Semonick, told the Post. "He wants to get in and stay in game shape, so for him it's not a matter of money, it's a matter of getting on the ice and trying to get back the time that he's lost."
Lupul played in the All-Star Game last season and tallied 25 goals and 42 assists in 66 games for the Maple Leafs. The 29-year-old from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta missed the last 16 games of the regular season with a separated shoulder.
Semonick told the Post that the Russian league made an exception for Lupul to play because he did not meet the criteria that were originally set for non-Russian players to join.
