Ilya Kovalchuk could be making his return to the NHL after a falling out with his current team, SKA St. Petersburg, in Russia's KHL. It began with the 32-year-old star violating team rules, and continued with Kovalchuk being sent back to St. Petersburg, then being cut from the roster (while SKA resumes a crucial playoff series with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) and stripped of his captaincy.
Update on the Kovalchuk situation: LifeNews is reporting that Kovalchuk was sent back to St. Petersburg for violation of team rules.
— KHL News - English (@KHLNewsEN) February 23, 2016
Sport-Express reporting that Ilya Kovalchuk will not play Games 3 or 4 vs Lokomotiv and has been stripped of SKA's captaincy. — KHL News - English (@KHLNewsEN) February 24, 2016
How it ends is still up in the air, but it is not just speculation that the winger could return to the NHL. He responded to SKA by threatening to terminate his contract with the team and go to North America. If Kovalchuk does wish to move to the NHL this year though, all 30 NHL teams would need to approve him, as he signed retirement papers from the league in the middle of his contract.
"Kovalchuk signed his NHL retirement papers in July 2013, terminating a deal with the New Jersey Devils that still had 12 years and $77 million remaining. Days later, he signed a four-year deal with SKA," said Sports Illustrated's Allan Muir, according to Stanley Cup of Chowder. "That contract runs through the 2016-17 season, but a return is unlikely even after it expires. Because Kovalchuk retired mid-contract, he would need the approval of every NHL club to regain eligibility. That's not happening."
Muir continued: "Alternately, he would be required to sit out a year after that contract expires, a period during which he'd be unable to play professional hockey at any level. Hard to see how that makes sense, on a personal or professional level."
Kovalchuk has been playing great in the KHL, as some former NHLers are prone to do, with 186 points in 185 games.
In July 2013, he left the New Jersey Devils to play in the KHL, just three seasons into his record-breaking 15-year, $100 million deal, and left $77 million on the table.
The Russian has 417 goals and 816 points in 816 NHL games, ranking him 18th in league history at .511 goals per game. Among active players, only Steven Stamkos, with .547, and fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin, with .629, produce a higher average.
