Kovalchuk Confirms Intent To Play In North America

Zak Chiger Apr 8, 2018

After SKA was knocked out of the Gagarin Cup playoffs, Ilya Kovalchuk confirmed that he will be looking to come back to the NHL over the summer.

Ilya Kovalchuk said he's going to play in the NHL next season. And stay there for 2-3 years at least

— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) April 8, 2018

In an article for Russian news site RSport, Kovalchuk said that he said his thanks to the organization and the fans of SKA, and informed them that he wants to try and return to the National Hockey League.

As we have alluded to a few times on the site, Ilya Kovalchuk at the right price would be a good signing for the Rangers. His scoring ability and veteran leadership would be great to have around the Rangers young locker room. And having an older Russian player to mentor fellow countrymen Pavel Buchnevich and Vlad Namestnikov, should the latter be re-signed over the summer, and other young prospects in the Rangers system should not be discredited when considering Kovalchuk in free agency.

We’ll see what happens with the Russian winger, but he certainly intends on being back in the NHL when the 2018 season starts.

For the original Russian article, click here