Breaking: Russian star has two year doping ban dropped

The IIHF has announced that it is cutting the two-year suspension to KHL forward Danis Zaripov from two years to just six months.

Hockey fans may recall that the KHL star was suspended in July after testing positive for pseudoephedrine. Well, Zaripov filed an appeal and the two sides have reached a settlement, agreeing on a six-month suspension. Because the offense was discovered May 23rd, Zaripov will be eligible to play in IIHF sanctioned events and the KHL this Thursday.

Zaripov was previously thought to be in discussions with the St. Louis Blues on a new contract, so it remains to be seen how this will affect those negotiations.

Stay tuned, there’s still more to come in the Zaripov saga.