Last offseason was hijacked at some points by Ilya Kovalchuk and his desire to return to the NHL. It seemed as though every day Kovalchuk would waver between returning and staying in the KHL, and eventually it became clear that he would not be able to find a deal that was acceptable for the New Jersey Devils. The Devils owned his exclusive rights, and would have needed to complete a sign-and-trade for Kovalchuk to play in the NHL during the 2017-18 season.
This year, the Devils aren’t part of the equation as Kovalchuk will be an unrestricted free agent, and it looks like we’re in for another sweepstakes (if you can call it that). Kovalchuk today was on Russian TV, and said that he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he didn’t try to win the Stanley Cup again. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express even tweets that Kovalchuk wants to play “several years” back in the NHL.
The first-overall pick in 2001, Kovalchuk will be 35 this summer when looking for a deal, which actually comes with both restrictions and opportunities. First of all, any contract he signs in the NHL now will cause a cap hit for the full duration regardless of what he chooses to do. If he retires, either legitimately or once again back to Russia, the full cap hit will be carried by whoever signed him (unless they trade his rights). Interestingly though it also brings the option for performance bonuses to be added to a deal, as long as it is for only one season.
Performance bonuses could be perfect for Kovalchuk, who obviously believes in his own ability but has been away from the NHL for several years. His last full season in North America was in 2011-12, and there’s no telling if he’ll be able to bring his former production this time around. Though he has remained one of the most productive players in the KHL this season, he’s part of a powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg squad who routinely rolls over opponents. Even if he signs with the Stanley Cup favorite (whoever that may be), the gap in talent between the best and worst teams in the NHL is much smaller than in the KHL. Kovalchuk will have to fight for every second of ice time in 2018-19.
The fact that he wants to win a Stanley Cup is interesting, given that several of the teams he previously mentioned as possibilities are entering a rebuild. Kovalchuk at one point said he wanted to play in either New York or Florida, but the Rangers are tearing it down and trying to get younger. The Islanders, though wanting to compete for the Cup, could be facing the loss of John Tavares in a few months, and have struggled down the stretch.
If Kovalchuk does come back to the NHL, which seems likely at this point, he’ll try to hit several milestones over the next few years. When he first left, the sniper had recorded 816 points in 816 career regular season games, including 417 goals and 399 assists. Even with his lost years to the KHL, if he played another few seasons there is a real possibility of him reaching 500 goals and 1,000 points.
Marc Bergevin will toss stupid money at him to make up for his Radulov and Markov whiffs.
No he won’t.
Realistically who can/would he join?
His past actions clearly demonstrate that he has no loyalty to teammates or management and years ago that would have precluded a player finding employment anywhere….but sports are just a dollars game now, so a comeback attempt is possible.
NYR?
It would depend on how much money he’s seeking as to which club he’d join. If he’s asking for 5-6 mil a year then he won’t be joining a contender.