NHL

Ilya Kovalchuk’s Focus On Winning Stanley Cup As NHL Suitors Line Up

Ilya Kovalchuk’s Focus On Winning Stanley Cup As NHL Suitors Line Up

Former NHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk is seeking a return to North America because he “won’t forgive himself” if he fails to win a Stanley Cup.

Jun 5, 2018 by John Boothe
Ilya Kovalchuk’s Focus On Winning Stanley Cup As NHL Suitors Line Up

By Jacob Messing


After five seasons overseas, former NHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk is seeking a return to North America because he “won’t forgive himself” if he fails to win a Stanley Cup.

The 35-year-old Russian recorded 417 goals and 399 assists for 816 points in as many NHL games split between the Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils during his 11-year career.

Only twice in during that span did Kovalchuk fail to eclipse 30 goals in a single season. The first was his rookie season, where he scored 29, and the second was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, his final NHL campaign.

In 2013, Kovalchuk announced his NHL retirement at the age of 30, just three years into a massive, league-changing 15-year deal with New Jersey. He has spent the past five seasons with Russian powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League. In his time with SKA, he tallied 120 goals and 165 assists for 285 points in 262 games. He recorded another 23 goals and 43 points in 69 playoff games, winning two Gagarin Cups as league champion.

Earlier this year, he and the “Olympic Athletes from Russia” claimed Olympic gold as tournament MVP and set in motion his seemingly imminent return to North America.

As the owner of Olympic and World Championship gold medals, Kovalchuk is a Stanley Cup championship away from joining the Triple Gold Club. Kovalchuk would become the 29th member should he capture the Cup before he retires.

It’s likely the driving force behind his return, vocalized by his aspiration to win.

Kovalchuk told Russia’s Match TV that if he fails to try and win the Cup, “I won’t forgive myself for it when I get older.”

Kovalchuk is unlikely to return to his days as a point-per-game player, but he remains skilled enough and apparently dedicated to helping push a team over the edge. He will be highly sought after by a wide variety of teams, but if his intentions of purely winning are true, he’ll only have eyes for true contenders.

The immediate front-runners with a likely mutual interest are the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Boston Bruins. Cap space is limited for most of the listed teams, so Kovalchuk would need to sign a friendly deal to allow each team to keep the talent it already possesses. 

After claiming the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins remain potent with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, and goaltender Matt Murray. That’s not to overshadow the depth that comes behind them, but the addition of Kovalchuk would give the team perhaps the deepest top six in the NHL.

A dynamic top unit would be equally matched on the second line should Kovalchuk wind up in Nashville alongside Kyle Turris and Kevin Fiala. The Predators boast as much talent in the top 12 as any other team in the league, and while they failed to meet expectations this season, their window remains wide open. Even at 35, Kovalchuk would add even more speed and skill to the lineup and turn a more-than-reliable second unit powerplay into a 1B scenario.

Tampa Bay has been so close for the past several years with a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2015 and two more Eastern Conference Finals since. The potential addition of Kovalchuk would create arguably the best top nine in the league and could finally be enough to help the Lightning over the hump.

The Bruins have more cap space—nearly $9 million in total—than Brad Marchand haters may like to hear about. Boston also has two notable restricted free agents and a vacant backup role, factors that could help Kovalchuk find a mutually beneficial contract in Beantown. Kovalchuk, David Krejci, and Jake DeBrusk would then follow one of the league’s strongest top lines on a nightly basis. It would allow the Bruins’ third line of youngsters to go up against lesser talent and continue to display their skills in their sophomore seasons.

Should he sign just a one-year deal, he may opt for a cheaper base salary with wide bonuses to further help cap-crunching teams in his quest for the Cup.

There are more true contenders aside from these four teams, including the Winnipeg Jets and the Stanley Cup finalist Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights. Winnipeg is loaded with young talent and has even more high-end prospects coming in, so the Jets’ the need for Kovalchuk doesn’t really exist. Meanwhile, Washington will be high against the cap already and will throw the rest of its space at pending unrestricted free agent defenseman John Carlson.

Vegas’ dealing with another KHL star in Vadim Shipachyov might have left a bad taste in the franchise’s mouth. The Golden Knights would likely shy away from Kovalchuk as they take their plethora of cap space and shoots elsewhere—say an Erik Karlsson trade or a free agent signing of John Tavares.

Perhaps Kovalchuk lands on a slightly lesser team, such as an aging but still competitive San Jose Sharks squad or a Calgary team desperate to find a formidable right wing for Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau.


Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.