Ilya Kovalchuk

[DudeImJason]

so Ilya Kovalchuk has commented that he wants to return to the NHL this upcoming season, now NJ has his rights so he can rejoin them no problem, if he wants to join any other teams 1 of 2 things have to happen:

1) every teams GMs have to approve it
or
2) the Devils can trade his rights to another team

this past season he put up 32G, 78 points in 60 GP while finishing 2nd in scoring in the KHL, at the age of 34 what do you figure he can do if he makes a return point wise?, I'm guessing 30/30

[Eskimo Brother]

I'm thinking 35/20 if he ends up in NJ. No one else to pass the puck to

[DudeImJason]

truetrue like Ovie he'll probably get a good amount of assists off rebounds, guess he could pass to Hall since he's a RW if he stays on NJ unless they keep Palmeri up on top line

I'm thinking 35/20 if he ends up in NJ. No one else to pass the puck to

[kovalchuk17]

depends on his team/linemates. hes got point per game upside still if he has a good center and dmen to play with. that may not necessarily be with new jersey.

[Jouko-Pouko]

truetrue like Ovie he'll probably get a good amount of assists off rebounds, guess he could pass to Hall since he's a RW if he stays on NJ unless they keep Palmeri up on top line

Kovalchuk is not a great player anymore. I guess 30/30 season could be possible but he'd need good linemates and loads of PP time for that. And Kovalchuk is a LW, not RW. Russian players mostly prefer playing their off-wing and Kovalchuk is like that as well.

[loco man]

The lighter schedule in the K will work to his advantage in regards to his age. I didn't watch him regularly, but he still seems pretty dominant - his point totals this year are legit and he still can snipe. You'd have to imagine he is on the top PP wherever he lands and is going to have a huge offensive zone deployment, so I think he has a good shot at 35 G.

Pretty stoked I snagged him off the wire and stashed him in reserves.

[Jouko-Pouko]

The lighter schedule in the K will work to his advantage in regards to his age. I didn't watch him regularly, but he still seems pretty dominant - his point totals this year are legit and he still can snipe. You'd have to imagine he is on the top PP wherever he lands and is going to have a huge offensive zone deployment, so I think he has a good shot at 35 G.

Pretty stoked I snagged him off the wire and stashed him in reserves.

He was good when playing with Datsyuk but seemed lost without him. He just can't perform without a stud center anymore, not even in the KHL. In the 11 games Datsyuk missed in the playoffs, Kovalchuk had just 5 points (and -3 rating). Datsyuk had a huge impact with the season Kovalchuk had, and that raises a lot of red flags for me on how well Kovalchuk can play in the NHL nowadays.

[Jouko-Pouko]

By the way, I'm not buying this whole thing. Kovalchuk is a very proud Russian, he most definitely wants to represent his country at the Olympics. I think this is just a ploy to get him a bigger contract to stay in the KHL. But of course I could be wrong.

[Magicstew]

By the way, I'm not buying this whole thing. Kovalchuk is a very proud Russian, he most definitely wants to represent his country at the Olympics. I think this is just a ploy to get him a bigger contract to stay in the KHL. But of course I could be wrong.

Thats what I was thinkig - or else a sign and trade from Jersey.

[Jouko-Pouko]

Translated with Google from https://www.championat.com/hockey/ne...matrivaet.html

Member of the Board of Directors of SKA Aleksandr Medvedev denied the information that appeared in the North American media, according to which the SKA forward Ilya Kovalchuk in the next season is going to return to the NHL. Recall that the forward's contract with the club ends on 30 April.

"We have already said that (Ilya) Kovalchuk, Vadim Shipachyov and (Yevgeni) Dadonov continue their career in the SKA. As far as I know, due to the fact that the NHL does not allow its players to go to the Olympics, Kovalchuk does not even consider options with the NHL" said Medvedev in an interview with Championat's Vladislav Utkin.

[ericdaoust]

I get the sense Kovalchuk would be Ovechkin-lite for the most part. Goal-heavy and relies a lot on the PP.

[kovalchuk17]

kovalchuk is captain of the team that just won the KHL championship while one of the top scorers in the league, does he actually need more leverage than that?

if he does come back and be a good fantasy asset, he'd need a good center and in a big city thats playoff ready (Does anyone see him willing to sign in say Calgary? I dont). The team would have to have a need for a mercenary offensive weapon on an established team (think kessel on pit, i wouldnt want kovalchuk around my team if theyre real young like edmonton) and willing to make cap space to sign him to a 6m+ contract.

This list wont be long, ones that I can think of at first glance: Boston, Florida, NY Islanders and Philly maybe?

[Jouko-Pouko]

kovalchuk is captain of the team that just won the KHL championship while one of the top scorers in the league, does he actually need more leverage than that?

He had the 'C' only in the playoffs after Datsyuk's season was over because of an injury - Datsyuk was the captain when he played. Last season, SKA sent Kovalchuk home during the playoffs because they didn't want him on their team. I believe they stripped him of the captaincy at that point as well. It wasn't certain he would even play for SKA this season but I guess they kissed and made up in the summer.

SKA won the championship because of Gusev-Shipachyov-Dadonov line while Kovalchuk was playing second fiddle. Kovalchuk wants to be the face of the league but he can't even crack the top line on his own team. He definitely needs more leverage to get what he wants - he also wants salary that's about the same as other teams have as their player budget for the year. He doesn't just want leverage against his team, he wants leverage against the KHL so they the league would step up and pay to keep him. That's what I think is happening. And it will work - the league has no problem paying a few millions to keep Kovalchuk.

[MZac]

It's intriguing fantasy wise but I'd hate to see him go to jersey. To be honest he won't help jersey, they should definitely look to trade his rights as soon as they can as the value will likely never be higher (not that I think it has a ton of value but it won't get better as kovalchuk continues to age).

[The Bottlenecker]

I'll believe he is returning to the NHL when I see it. Otherwise he is useless from a fantasy perspective unless you count KHL stats.