Brendan Leipsic reportedly close to signing a new deal.

One of the most surprising stories to come out of the National Hockey League's stoppage in play thus far was the scandal involving now former Washington Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic. It was probably amplified at least in part by the fact that there was nothing going on in the world of hockey at the time but there was quite the backlash when Leipsic's private conversations were exposed by a still as of yet to be identified leaker, conversations that included crude comments about teammates, their wives, and illicit drug use.

It was a terrible look for the Washington Capitals and with Leipsic being a fringe player on their roster they made both the obvious and easy choice of simply cutting ties with Leipsic, terminating his contract immediately following the news. There was no question that Leipsic was done in Washington, especially given that he had levied insults at players from his very own locker room, but there was still some belief that he would land on his feet in the NHL. That appears to have been a road with a dead end for Leipsic however as now his agent overseas has all but confirmed he is done in the NHL, at least for now. 

According to a report from Sports Express Russia, Leipsic is on the verge of signing a two year contract with CSKA Moscow, one of the premier organizations in the Kontinental Hockey League. The timing of the current shutdown will no doubt work in Leipsic's favor given that the NHL's upcoming regular season will very likely see a significant delay due to how late the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs are now set to resume. The KHL cancelled their season which has no doubt given teams plenty of flexibility with their respective rosters, leaving an opening for Leipsic when he needed it most. 

It remains to be seen if he will ever return to the NHL one day, but given the fact that he was only a borderline NHL player to begin with I don't think teams will risk having the stigma of his comments associated with their brand. I can't say that I would blame them either.