ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russian forward Vadim Shipachyov signed Saturday with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League after quitting a deal with the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights.

Shipachyov returns to the team where he won two KHL championships. He is on a one-year contract which leaves him free to play at the Winter Olympics.

Vegas said Thursday that Shipachyov's contract was ended after he refused to play for its AHL affiliate. He is officially considered "voluntarily retired" from the NHL.

Shipachyov appeared unhappy with his former team in a statement issued by SKA on Saturday.

"They say one thing to your face and when it comes to hockey, something else," he said, adding that his NHL experience had been "two months of misunderstandings, smiles and conversations which had nothing to do with reality."

The centre was Vegas' second-ever signing and he arrived amid hype from his performances in the KHL and for the Russian national team.

Shipachyov scored in his first game for Vegas but that was the only goal of his three-game NHL career.