Have no fear of Kovalchuk
REGARDING the Rangers, whose playoff elimination tragic number was 14 points after the Blue Jackets beat the Flyers 5-3 Thursday:
1. Of course and absolutely the Rangers should and will pursue Ilya Kovalchuk when the scoring machine hits the open market as a 35-year-old unrestricted free agent July 1.
He would have been the right guy this year for the intended retool had the Devils been more amenable to shipping his rights across the Hudson for less than a firstrounder, and he is the right guy for next year’s rebuild/rebound season in which the Blueshirts should be able to compete for a playoff spot with some fortification.
You’re delusional if you believe the Rangers are going to throw a bunch of young lambs onto the ice to be slaughtered in 2018-19. The Baby Blueshirts will need accomplished veterans to help show the way, and Kovalchuk — most certainly along with Rick Nash, no guarantee to return after experiencing life near the top of the league in Boston — is one of the guys management will attempt to enlist who can do that.
Now, you may be thinking Kovalchuk, who has led the KHL in scoring each of the past two seasons and whose .511 goals per game average is 12th in NHL history among players with at least 400 goals, might be the natural sniper the roster and pipeline lack but that he is selfish and not much a team guy after bolting New Jersey for Russia in 2013 and isn’t the one to lead the way. Not so. Who says? Martin Brodeur for one, that’s who.
“Kovy is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Brodeur, who played four seasons with No. 17 in New Jersey, told The Post on Monday. “And I’m not talking about just his play on the ice.
“He was one of our most engaged guys in the room. He was great that way. He really cares about winning, and he cares about guys on his team. Away from the rink, and I think it’s unusual in the NHL for someone from Russia, but his wife organized dinners and was great with the team.
“I have only good things to say about him,” said Brodeur, who was at the Garden, scouting the match against Carolina in his role as assistant general manager of the Blues. “If he comes back, and it sounds like he might — I think he would have this year if it weren’t for the Olympics — he’s going to be a very good player for whoever signs him.”
All the kids here will benefit from veteran leadership, but perhaps Kovalchuk can have even a greater influence with Pavel Buchnevich, Vladislav Namestnikov and Alexandar Georgiev, if not with current SKA mates and projected future Rangers Igor Shestyorkin and Yegor Rykov.
The Blueshirts aren’t going to be the only team pursuing Kovalchuk, whose SKA club opens its conference semifinal series Thursday after having swept the first round. The Blues may be interested. We’re told Dallas will be in the mix. Perhaps the Panthers.
2. Entry-level contract slides apply only to players who sign at age 18 or 19, so there are no gamesplayed restrictions/considerations on Georgiev, who was 21 when he signed his three-year deal in July after the goaltender impressed Benoit Allaire at development camp.
Nickolai Bobrov is the scout who recommended Georgiev, likening him, we’re told, to Sergei Bobrovsky, who also went undrafted before he signed with the Flyers in 2010 at age 21.