Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk has signed a contract to play with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League for the duration of the NHL lockout. CSKA Moscow's general manager is former Red Wing Sergei Fedorov.
Datsyuk scored 19 goals and added 48 assists for the Red Wings in 2011, and has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the NHL's best defensive forward three times. He was rumored to be rejoining Ak Bars Kazan, the team he played for as a youth, but moved to CSKA when Ak Bars decided not to take any locked-out NHL players. He will join Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov on CSKA Moscow. Reports have indicated that Toronto center Mikhail Grabovski will also join the Moscow team, filling out its allotment of three NHL players during the lockout.
The NHL locked out its players Sunday, as the sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. The lockout prompted an exodus of players to European leagues like the KHL.
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