Sheldon Rempal has his new team after being an unrestricted free agent for less than a day.
Rempal signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the rest of the 2025-26 season, worth, per Mikhail Zislis, 100 million rubles — the equivalent of $1.26 million USD. The deal is a significant increase from the $450K he would have made with the Hershey Bears.
Salavat Yulaev announced the signing of the 30-year-old forward with a video on social media that read, via Google Translate, “welcome home.” Zislis reports that Rempal is expected to join the team in “about a week and a half” once he receives his visa.
Rempal spent all of last season with Salavat Yulaev, recording 61 points (31 goals, 30 assists) in 68 KHL games and finishing fourth overall in goals and points. In the Gagarin Cup playoffs, he had 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists) in 19 games, earning the distinction as the KHL’s top postseason scorer.
At Salavat Yulaev, Rempal rejoins his former head coach, Viktor Kozlov, and forward Devin Brosseau, with whom he played two seasons at Clarkson University before his professional career started. Currently, Salavat Yulaev sits last in the Eastern Conference standings, collecting only 12 standings points in its first 18 games.
Rempal was able to pursue the opportunity after being put on unconditional waivers by the Washington Capitals on Thursday. A bunch of KHL teams reportedly had interest in his services, including Dynamo Moscow, CSKA Moscow, Traktor Chelyabinsk, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and Ak Bars Kazan.
The Calgary native initially signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Caps in July after his big 2024-25 campaign in the KHL. He impressed during Capitals Training Camp, especially with how aggressive a shooter he was, with head coach Spencer Carbery saying that Rempal “had every argument to say that he could play in the NHL tomorrow.”
Rempal, however, was cut from the Capitals’ training camp roster in early October. After passing through waivers a first time, he was assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where he registered two points (1g, 1a) in four games while skating in the team’s top six.
