MOSCOW (Reuters) - SKA St Petersburg have released former NHL All-Star goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, the Continental Hockey League (KHL) club said Monday.
"The contract has been annulled by mutual consent because of family reasons," the club said on its website (http://www.hc-ska.ru) without giving any details.
Nabokov, 35, has had a disappointing first season in the KHL after signing a four-year contract with the big-spending Russian club, backed by energy giant Gazprom, in July.
He has won only eight of the 22 league games, giving up more than three goals per game. In his last game against lowly Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Sunday he gave up three goals in less than nine minutes before being pulled out in the first period.
Nabokov decided to return to Russia this year after playing 10 seasons with the San Jose Sharks after the National Hockey League (NHL) club did not offer him a new contract.
The Russian earned $6 million last season in the final year of his five-year deal with the Sharks.
(Reporting by Gennady Fyodorov; editing by Justin Palmer)
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.