Former Stanley Cup champ Cedric Paquette seeking citizenship in another country
After spending the previous two seasons in the KHL as a foreign player, former Stanley Cup champion Cedric Paquette is looking to make a massive change.
According to Dynamo Moscow's director general Sergey Sushko, Cedric Paquette has submitted his documents to the government as a he seeks to obtain Russian citizenship.
If Paquette is approved for Russian citizenship, he'll no longer count as a foreign player on a KHL roster and would be eligible to represent the national team, who is currently only allowed to play in exhibition matches due to their ban by the IIHF. He would join another former Canadian, Brendan Leipsic, who who was granted citizenship by Vladimir Putin back in January.
Paquette, 30, appeared in 448 games in the National Hockey League with Tampa Bay, Ottawa, Carolina and Montreal before heading overseas to play for Dynamo Minsk during the 2022-23 season. After one season, he left Minsk and signed for Dynamo Moscow, where he had the second-best season, in terms of point production, in his professional career.
In 57 games for Dynamo Moscow, the Gaspe, Quebec native put up 35 points (22 goals, 13 assists), 27 penalty minutes and was a plus-six. In eight Gagarin Cup Playoff games, Paquette added seven points (four goals, three assists).
It's unclear when a decision will be made regarding Paquette's bid for Russian citizenship, but if he's successful, it'll be interesting to see how many other KHL teams will pursue him when he becomes a free agent, given he would no longer count as a foreign player.
| POLL | ||
Will Cedric Paquette return to North America before his career is over? | ||
| Yes | 14 | 16.3 % |
| No | 72 | 83.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
