Kovalchuk to Maple Leafs long shot with some logic
Signs point to return from Russia with six teams in hot pursuit
If Ilya Kovalchuk wants to return to the NHL after four seasons in Russia, he should be welcomed with open arms and would fit right in as an elite-level talent.
That’s the word from a pair of his former Atlanta Thrashers teammates: Ray Ferraro and Colby Armstrong.
“The perception of Kovy was different from what he was really like,” said Ferraro, a TSN analyst whose final NHL season was Kovalchuk’s first. “He’s always wanted to win. He cares more than people think. Is he a little bit selfish? Every goal scorer is.
“I would think Kovalchuk’s biggest weakness has always been (that) he thinks he’s the answer to every problem. But as he’s gotten older, he’s started to trust his teammates a little bit more. He’s a really good player, and a much better person than people would think.”
Following Alexander Radulov’s successful season (18 goals, 36 assists) with the Montreal Canadiens after a self-imposed exile in Russia’s KHL, word of Kovalchuk’s possible return has been spreading. No fewer than six teams, including the Maple Leafs, are said to be interested in the former No. 1 overall pick.
The enigmatic 34-year-old left winger with a right-handed shot was literally a point-a-game NHLer: 816 points in 816 games. He had 78 points in 60 games with St. Petersburg SKA last season.
“He’s a great skater, great puckhandler — a big, strong, fast guy. His goal-scoring ability is right up there. I can’t see him not getting 20 goals,” said Armstrong, Kovalchuk’s teammate for three seasons in Atlanta and an analyst at Sportsnet.
“He has a great one-timer. He uses a little stick with a toe curve. He has this awesome slapshot on the power play. Perfect shot, just perfect over the pads, every time — never misses.”
Kovalchuk is in the wrong age bracket for the young Maple Leafs, but they have the salary-cap space to handle the $6 million or $7 million a year it would take to sign the former two-time 52-goal scorer.
Intriguingly, signing Kovalchuk would allow the Leafs to dangle left winger James van Riemsdyk in a trade for a much coveted defenceman.
Also, it was Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello, then with the New Jersey Devils, who gave Kovalchuk that infamous — and since rejected — cap-circumventing contract worth $102 million over 17 years in 2010. It was renegotiated to $100 million over 15 years.
Just two years later, Kovalchuk filed retirement papers — walking away from the remaining $77 million — so he could return home to Russia, where he was paid more. That faux retirement angered some.
He didn’t help his reputation when he coaxed Russian teammates off the ice at the 2015 world championship before the traditional game-end ceremony that included the playing of “O Canada” after a lopsided loss.
“His reputation takes a beating — that’s fine. I put zero stock in that,” said Ferraro.
“Do people really know why he quit? Maybe it was more money. Maybe it was something else. There’s more to it than any of us would know.” Former Thrashers GM Don Waddell, who drafted Kovalchuk No. 1 in 2001, said the Russian was diligent about everything: from learning English after he was drafted, to understanding NHL history.
“He knew who held records. He was very informed, a lot more than our North Americans,” said Waddell, now president of Gale Force Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Carolina Hurricanes. “He was the kind of guy who did little things.
“We’d have tailors make suits for the players. He’d always make sure the trainers were looked after with two or three suits. He was very generous. He took care of the support people on staff.”
Kovalchuk’s simplest path back to the NHL is to re-sign with the Devils. The team he quit still retains his rights. They could then trade him to the team of his choice.
Others in the running include the Blues — where goaltending great Martin Brodeur, Kovalchuk’s former teammate, is in the front office — and Sharks, where his ex-coach, Pete DeBoer, is behind the bench. The Florida Panthers are another possibility.
“He’s easy to get along with. He’s a family guy,” said Armstrong. “I don’t think he had too much time for media. He wasn’t worried about it.
“In Atlanta, we had one beat writer. Then you come to Toronto and it’s: ‘Oh my god.’ It was just different for him to grow up in the NHL in Atlanta. He’s a guy that keeps to himself, a private guy, but not an old-school grumpy Russian.”