The KHL tweeted today that Ilya Kovalchuk officially will stay in Russia for one more season and play for his current team, SKA St. Petersburg. As reported last week by PHR, Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Andrew Gross of The Record both reported that Kovalchuk had decided to stay one more year in Russia and come back to the United States next year when he can become an unrestricted free agent and negotiate with anyone.
Kovalchuk was still property of the New Jersey Devils and any way of playing in the NHL this season would have been reliant on the Devils trading him to another team. However, it doesn’t necessarily get easier for Kovalchuk now that he will be a free agent at age 35. Any contract he signs stays on a team’s cap regardless if he retires or is bought out. Therefore, a long-term deal is unlikely, although Kovalchuk’s asking price for this year was a three-year, $6.5MM per year deal.
The 34-year-old former first-overall pick in 2001 has played in the KHL for the past four years, putting up his best-ever season in the KHL last year when he scored 32 goals and 46 assists for 78 points. Several teams had expressed interest in the veteran, including the New York Rangers, the Florida Panthers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
I could see him getting 2/10 or so next offseason