While “Ovhechkin-watch” flies around the media, a new rumour has surfaced surrounding Ilya Kovalchuck, current captain of SKA St. Petersburg. Although he’s well-known for his rather explosive retirement from the New Jersey Devils during the summer of 2013, he is now, or so rumours would have us believe, considering a return to the NHL.
The rumour comes from Finnish magazine Iltalehti who claim that a “trusted source” close to Kovalchuk has told them that the Russian sniper has told SKA management that his desire is to return to the NHL for the 2016-2017 season. The same rumour was floated last June around the internet and on various websites, and was made worse with Kovalchuk’s sister weighing-in on the situation.
The situation isn’t an easy one, as there are some problems and issues arise concerning Kovalchuk and the retirement that voided his contract with the Devils. In order to return in 2016-17 he would need the unanimous approval of all 30 teams at an NHL Board of Governor’s meeting. If he wanted to sit out a full year, and then return in 2017-18 his rights would be held by the Devils, and he would either need to sign with them or have another team trade for his rights. It would not be until the following year, the 2018-2019 season, that he is wiped off the list and is free to return as a free agent for any other team. Lou Lamareillo put it best: “He cannot come back until he is 35. He’s 31 now. You’d never look at someone coming back at 35.”
While the Devils maintain his rights to return to the league, what stands in the way is the rules surrounding the Voluntary Retired Player list, which poses several obstacles. Unless Kovalchuk sits out for a full year, then he’s stuck having to get consent from all 30 teams, as Bill Daly explained to the New York Post. On its surface, trying to get consent of all 30 teams, including divisional rivals such as the Philadelphia Flyers or New York Rangers, would be slim to almost none. Even if he is approaching his mid-30s, nobody wants to give another team a valuable asset like him. The only way he would get such consent would be if it were recommended to the board that adding a world class player to the league would be in the league’s best interest.
The other possibility would be Kovalchuk taking a full year off, and this might be more reasonable. A full calendar year off would allow Kovalchuk to spend a year with family, including his new child. While it might sound unlikely; with the state of the KHL, Russia and all the uncertainties of what might or might not happen, a year’s break might make the most sense. It would allow him to return to the NHL requiring only the consent of the Devils organization. The Devils might take the opportunity to add a goal scorer on a much shorter contract. There is risk here though, as there is a question as to what a full year away from the rink would have on his explosive skating.
It’s obviously a prime time for these rumors to resurface; the KHL is in an economic crisis, there are talks of lowering the league salary cap, and with the falling ruble, things look rather grim for the league. Kovalchuk is the highest paid player in the league, with a contract paid in Euros, but with a free falling ruble paying that contract becomes tougher for owners. SKA are backed by both Gazprom and the Rotenberg family, and are not in an bad position economically, but the question becomes how long these families want to fund a hockey team with the profits from other businesses. Add to that the ever-looming threat of a crushing salary cap, and this could be a catalyst to anyone moving out.
Speaking about SKA, Kovalchuk while having a rather average series, and enjoying the birth of his fourth child, had his season rather spoiled by the rise of Artemy Panarin. Panarin passed him in scoring and led a line that out-shone Kovalchuk’s own. It was a situation that was highlighted by the media.
Nonetheless, Kovalchuk still sits second in terms of points and goals amongst SKA’s players and remains one of the top scorers in the league. He has still been a dominant player on the ice, though maybe not quite the same as he was with the Atlanta Thrashers. He has been a key component in SKA heading to the Conference Finals in the midst of the 2015 Gagarin playoffs.
Main Image:
