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Report: Veteran d-man Lepisto garnering interest from NHL clubs

Ice Hockey - Winter Olympics Day 15

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 22: Juuso Hietanen #38 of Finland celebrates his third period goal with Sami Lepisto #18 in the second period against the United States during the Men’s Ice Hockey Bronze Medal Game on Day 15 of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 22, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Finnish d-man Sami Lepisto, who played in nearly 200 NHL games with the Capitals, Coyotes, Blue Jackets and Blackhawks, is reportedly being eyeballed for a potential North American return.

Per Russian news outlet Championat, Lepisto -- who’s been playing in the KHL for the last four years -- has received offers from NHL teams, according to the GM of his Russian-based club, Ufa.

Lepisto, 31, has enjoyed some fairly productive seasons in the KHL, though none better than this year, when he scored a career-best 11 goals and 30 points in 60 games.

Ufa’s GM, Leonid Vaisfeld, reportedly likened a Lepisto-NHL move to that of Evgeny Medvedev -- who, last summer, left Ak-Bars Kazan at age 32 to sign with the Flyers. Medvedev has appeared in 44 games for Philly this season, registering 11 points.

Lepisto’s KHL contract is up this year.

Lepisto hasn’t played in the NHL since ’11-12, when he was with Chicago. In addition to his solid play in the KHL, he’s also maintained a regular place in the Finnish national team lineup, appearing in both the World Championships and the ’14 Winter Olympics in Sochi.