Goaltender Michael Leighton was set to suit up for KHL expansion team HC Sochi this season, but the two sides mutually agreed to void his contract after the 33-year-old was unable to attend training camp due to illness.

“I was with Sochi and got sick and wasn’t sure when I was going to be able to make it there,” Leighton told The Windsor Star. “They have the right to look for another goalie and I agreed that I didn’t know when I’d be able to get there, so we both agreed to terminate the contract.”

Leighton had a strong 2013-14 campaign for Donbass Donetsk - the only Ukrainian-based franchise in the league - finishing sixth in the KHL in goals-against average (1.74), ninth in save percentage (.933) and tied for third in shutouts (six).

His intended move to Sochi was precipitated by Donbass' decision to suspend operations for one year after pro-Russian militants attacked, looted and burned Druzhba Arena, the team's home rink, back in May.

Leighton said this about his KHL experience:

Where I was last year, it was fine all year until close to the end of the year and into the playoffs. It did get kind of scary, because we weren’t playing at home. Teams didn’t want to travel to the Ukraine. Obviously you worry about things that go on over there. Hockey-wise, it’s just a business. You go over there, you play hockey and you don’t really hear about stuff that’s going on. I’m not a political guy. I don’t know what’s going on, besides what I watch on CNN and you don’t know how much of that to believe. When you’re playing there, we were at the hotel. We’d eat dinner as a team. You’d go to the rink and play hockey and then get on an airplane and fly to other cities. When the season was done and I was home, I was happy that I was home.

Leighton, best remembered for his role in helping the Philadelphia Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2010, added he would not hesitate to return to Russia to resume his hockey career, if health permits.

In 105 career NHL games, Leighton posted a .901 save percentage.