It’s the grand conclusion to a ride of a lifetime. We had good times with Nikita, bad times with Nikita, and at the end of it all, never a full season at the NHL level with Nikita.

Today, as you can read above, the Leafs decided it was time to say goodbye to Nikita Soshnikov as they moved him along to the St. Louis Blues for a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft.

The move comes at the end of a mini-saga where people began questioning whether or not the 24-year old Russian forward was actually injured, or just placed on IR for mysterious contract reasons.

Soshnikov showed some promise in Toronto, once being described by Bobby Cappucino as something similar to, “Like Leo Komarov but with more offensive upside”. Playing 56 games with the big club as part of their rookie movement in 2016-17, he picked up 14 points while playing primarily on the team’s fourth line.

As for the reasoning behind the trade, there simply wasn’t a place for Soshnikov on the Leafs’ current NHL roster, as it’s hard to make the case to place him higher than any of the Leafs’ regular wingers. No longer waiver-exempt, picking up a fourth-round pick Soshnikov doesn’t immediately make the team better today, but it does open up an extra contract spot, as the Leafs now only have 49 (out of 50) contracts tied up at the NHL level.

The move may come with an emotional attachment for some, but as Soshnikov was an unsigned free agent, it’s a net win to get something out of him at the end of the day. Soshnikov was in the final year of his entry-level deal, and is set to be a restricted free agent this summer. It’s hard to really see a lineup with him as one of the best 13 forwards in the organization, and the move allows the Leafs to be a little bit more flexible heading into the February 26th trade deadline.

The move may be the sign of future buying on the Leafs front, but it’s hard to read too heavily into their motivation’s right now.

Sosh’s most memorable moment may have actually come with his first NHL goal, scored in Washington at the tail-end of the 2015-16 season. He let out a “woo” that’d make any Ric Flair jealous.

He endured a difficult end of the season last year, battling with concussion issues in a game in March that sidelined him throughout the final month of the season and into the beginning of this year. He picked up 17 points in 19 games with the Marlies, but didn’t have a regular place on the Leafs’ NHL roster, making his way into just three games this season.

Unfortunately for Bobby, he’ll be living out his NHL dreams in another Blue uniform.

Best of luck, Nikita.