Pierrick Dubé’s KHL tenure has come to an early end.
The former Washington Capitals forward has mutually terminated his contract with SKA Saint Petersburg and is reportedly coming back stateside to join another NHL organization.
According to NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner, Dubé, a 2024 Calder Cup champion with the Hershey Bears, is set to sign a deal with the New York Islanders. Given he’s coming over in the middle of the NHL season, Dubé will need to clear waivers before joining the Isles and then likely get sent to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders.
Dubé already has an established relationship with current Islanders head coach Patrick Roy, who coached him for parts of three seasons in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts.
Likely to make room for Dubé’s inevitable arrival, Bridgeport announced Wednesday that they loaned forward Cam Berg to the ECHL’s Worcester Railers and released defenseman Cam McDonald from a professional tryout agreement.
Dubé, a hat-trick hero for Hershey in Game 6 of the 2024 Calder Cup Final, will have four chances in the AHL to play against his former Bears teammates in March and April. He recorded 88 points (47g, 41a) in 124 games in his two seasons with the Bears.
The 25-year-old winger, who played three games for the Capitals during the 2023-24 campaign, started this season strong in the KHL with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Dubé had 14 points (7g, 7a) in 21 games before Traktor traded him to SKA, where he only played seven games and recorded two assists.
The rocky few months in Russia likely led France to leave Dubé off their roster for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics, despite him being one of the very few French players with any NHL experience. The Lyon native played for his country during the qualifying stage, posting five points (1g, 4a) in three games.
