Danil Yurtaykin Waived, Contract to Be Terminated

“As far as I know, he’s on our list. We plan on taking him to camp.”

That’s what San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner said about Danil Yurtaykin yesterday — check out the 15:55 mark.

Today, CapFriendly broke that the San Jose Sharks had placed Yurtaykin “on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.”

Did something happen between yesterday and today? Did Yurtaykin say he wanted to stay home in Russia when invited to camp? Did Boughner simply misspeak?

Whatever happened, it’s been a sharp fall from NHL grace for the 23-year-old winger, who surprised many observers by going directly from the KHL to the San Jose Sharks’ opening night line-up last October. Yurtaykin, however, failed to distinguish himself in four NHL games, going scoreless. He also couldn’t find his footing with the San Jose Barracuda, notching just two goals in 37 games and skating team-low minutes.

Interestingly, just two days ago, KHL side CSKA acquired Yurtaykin’s rights from Lokomotiv:

ЦСКА выменял у «Локомотива» права на нападающего Данила Юртайкина. Взамен ярославский клуб получил денежную компенсацию.

23-летний хоккеист провёл сезон 2019/20 в Северной Америке, где сыграл 4 матча в НХЛ за «Сан-Хосе Шаркс» и 37 матчей – за фарм-клуб «Акул» в АХЛ. pic.twitter.com/5satNSsZFt

— ХК ЦСКА Москва (@hccska) December 22, 2020

A KHL source told San Jose Hockey Now: “I heard that he is waiting for contract termination to sign with CSKA. Transfer deadline in the KHL is December 27th. So they need to be quick.”

Per a San Jose Sharks source, the Sharks and Yurtaykin agreed to a “mutual release.”