Spencer Foo signs with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star

A pending Calgary Flames restricted free agent will be leaving the organization. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting – and we’ve since confirmed – that forward Spencer Foo has signed with Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League.

His KHL contract is a two-year deal that runs hrough the 2020-21 season. For the curious, Kunlun plays out of Beijing, China.

Foo, 25, signed with the Flames two summers ago after a bidding war – choosing Calgary over his hometown Edmonton Oilers. He had an impressive first pro season in the American Hockey League, putting up 20 goals and 39 points for the Stockton Heat and earning a late season call-up to the Flames. He had two goals in four NHL games to close out 2017-18 and seemed primed to make a push for a roster spot in 2018-19.

Unfortunately, Foo never really found himself on the big club’s radar this past season. The signing of Austin Czarnik seemed to take up the spot Foo was destined for. While he had another pretty solid AHL season with 17 goals and 38 points, he never really put himself in a situation where he forced himself into the NHL conversation.

The signing likely spells the end of Foo’s time with the Flames organization. He’ll be 27 when his KHL deal expires, which would allow him to walk right into NHL free agency. The Flames can give him a qualifying offer on June 25 to retain his NHL rights for a year, but it wouldn’t impact his free agency status in two years.