One of the Dallas Stars' key additions for the 2024-25 NHL season was defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who signed a three-year, $9.75 million deal with the team after splitting last season between the Anaheim Ducks and a second stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
And as Lyubushkin explained, he chose to move on from the Leafs because he felt their contract offer lacked enthusiasm, via Russian media outlet ICE.
“We couldn’t agree on the terms,” he says (translated from Russian). “The club was interested, as always in such cases. After the season ends, there’s an exit meeting with the general manager.”
“They made it clear: ‘We want to keep you, and we’ll negotiate with your agent.’ But once negotiations started, I didn’t feel any strong desire from their side,” he continued. “They said they wanted to keep me, but the terms weren’t acceptable. Both in terms of duration and money, it was very difficult.”
Lyubushkin is excited to join fellow Russian Evgeni Dadonov on the Stars and was in contact with him shortly after signing with the Stars. He also shared that he spoke with other Russian players who previously played for the Stars, all of whom had positive experiences with the team.
“We’ve talked already,” he said of Dadonov. But I actually know more about the organization not from him, but from Denis Gurianov and Valery Nichushkin. They all said in unison that it’s a great organization. All the guys loved it there in terms of life, playing, the team, the group, and the organization.”
Lyubushkin and the Stars have one remaining exhibition game on their schedule, a Thursday night matchup against the St. Louis Blues before they open the regular season on October 10 on the road against the Nashville Predators.
Ilya Lyubushkin joins his fifth NHL club
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A native of Moscow, Russia, Ilya Lyubushkin spent several years playing professionally in the KHL before signing with the Arizona Coyotes as an undrafted free agent in May 2018. He appeared in 41 games during the 2018-19 season, recording four assists.
In February 2022, Lyubushkin was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first of what would become two separate stints with the team. He then signed with the Sabres that offseason and played only one year in Buffalo before being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks.
After 55 games played with the Ducks in 2023-24, he was sent back to the Maple Leafs as part of a three-way trade between Anaheim, Toronto, and the Carolina Hurricanes.
In 353 career NHL games, he's scored five goals with 42 assists while adding four assists in 14 career postseason games. He's also represented his native Russia, winning a bronze medal in the 2014 World Junior Championship.
