A shocking signing has taken place in the Emirates Ice Hockey League, the top men’s league in the United Arab Emirates, as former NHL forward Roman Lyubimov signed with the Galaxy Warriors for the 2024-25 season.
The 32-year-old previously played in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2016-17 season, scoring 6 (4+2) points in 47 games. Once Lyubimov debuts in the EIHL, it will make him the third former NHLer to ever play in the league, after Shaone Morrisson (2020-2021) and Ilya Zubov (2022-2024).
First NHL goal vs Detroit:
Lyubimov spent last season playing for the Brûleurs de Loups de Grenoble in the Synerglace Ligue Magnus. He scored 34 (12+22) points in 35 games, also helping the club win the Coupe de France, by recording 5 (2+3) points in 4 games.
A native of Tver in the Tver Oblast, Lyubimov spent most of his career in his native Russia. Lyubimov captained Krasnaya Armiya Moskva to an MHL championship in 2011, went on to score 111 (53+58) points in 514 career games in the KHL, and won a bronze medal with Russia at the 2016 IIHF World Championship — contributing 8 (4+4) points in the tournament.