Ilya Kovalchuk has made it no secret that he wanted to return to the National Hockey League, after playing in the KHL for the last five years. And it appears he finally has his chance.
According to Sport Express’s Igor Eronko, Kovalchuk will be signing a two or three-year deal with the New York Rangers for $6 million a season.
Per source Ilya Kovalchuk is set to sign at 2-3 year deal with #NYR
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) April 9, 2018
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
Kovalchuk cannot officially sign a contact until July 1, since that is the beginning of NHL free agency.
Kovalchuk reported to be getting around $6m per-season w/ the #NYR on a 2/3-year deal. Not official until July 1st, of course. https://t.co/LAcpwZV0qU
— Alex Nunn (@aj_ranger) April 9, 2018
Kovalchuk will be 35-years-old next season.
The New York Rangers, who are in rebuild mode, just fired their coach Alain Vigneault. Ahead of the trade deadline, Glen Sather and Jeff Gorton wrote that “our plans will be guided by our singular commitment: ensuring we are building the foundation for our next Stanley Cup contender.”
A Message from Glen Sather and Jeff Gorton. pic.twitter.com/Q56CXS8vDc
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 8, 2018
During his 12 years in the NHL, Kovalchuk scored 417 goals and made 399 assists for his two former teams, the Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils. He was also very close with Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin.
"My plan is to play next 2-3 seasons in North America".
Was it Ilya Kovalchuk's final goal in his KHL career? pic.twitter.com/NIeHeNbc9U
— KHL (@khl_eng) April 9, 2018
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