MOSCOW, January 24 (R-Sport) – Former Philadelphia Flyers wing Stefan Ruzicka has joined Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL, saying his move from lowly Spartak Moscow was motivated by the chance to compete for the Gagarin Cup.
Ruzicka made the Western Conference semifinals twice in five years with Spartak, but finally decided to jump ship with the team languishing in last place.
“I want to continue the season in the playoffs,” Ruzicka said on Salavat’s website.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it with Spartak. I hope to fight for the top places with Salavat now. This will be our aim.”
Ruzicka, 27, has ben Spartak's top scorer over the last three seasons.
Salavat Yulaev won the Gagarin Cup in 2011 and is set to make the playoffs for the fifth-straight year, standing fifth in the Eastern Conference.
The Slovak forward spent three seasons with Flyers, notching up 17 points in 55 games before moving to Russia in 2008.
