All summer long, there have been rumblings that Dallas Stars restricted free agent Valeri Nichushkin was not close to a deal with the team that drafted him 10th overall several years ago.

Today, it seems that there’s a little more fire to go with the smoke of that rumor.

Now, word the Nichushkin signing to CSKA Moscow will indeed occur. Nothing official yet, but going down that road. — Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 19, 2016

The young forward has been quoted in translated interviews as being unhappy with his playing time, usage, and not agreeing with head coach Lindy Ruff as recently as March of this season.

“Val loves it in Dallas,” agent Mark Gandler told the Dallas Morning News back in March. “He’s very happy there.”

Stars general manager Jim Nill told Mark Stepneski earlier this afternoon that he believe there is a KHL contract offer.

Nichushkin struggled last season after missing the previous season due to hip injuries. He was healthy scratched early last season to “get his head right”, according to Ruff. He was moved around in the lineup with many of his minutes coming from bottom six playing time.

The Stars have depth at the forward position. The signing of Jiri Hudler this summer provides another top six forward option to go along with young prospects like Jason Dickinson, Brett Ritchie, and Curtis McKenzie competing to make the roster.

That depth will come in handy for the Stars already, considering the hairline fracture Tyler Seguin has in his heel and Radek Faksa’s generic upper body injury. Should either of those two forwards have injuries that will cause them to miss time at the beginning of the season, the Stars are going to need that depth.