After four seasons in the KHL, former NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk appears to be close to returning to North America.
Even at the age of 34, Kovalchuk will draw plenty of interest from NHL teams, and according to one report, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be among those.
How much has Tortorella changed? Enough so that Jackets have inquired about Kovalchuk's interest in coming to Columbus, Post has learned.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) June 5, 2017
Head coach John Tortorella and Larry Brooks famously sparred at times during Torts' time coaching the New York Rangers – Brooks deserves a credit on the YouTube reel of Torts' greatest hits – so the writer's take on the matter aside, it would be interesting to figure out how Kovalchuk would fit on the Jackets' roster.
The Devils retain the rights on Kovalchuk, who walked away from a $100 million contract to return to his native Russia with 12 years and $77 million on the deal. That contract was voided when he left, but as our Rob Mixer pointed out in The Fuse on Friday, Kovalchuk doesn't fit on the New Jersey roster at the moment given his likely salary but also his desire to play on a winner.
The Devils can trade his rights and seem to be leaning that direction. While Columbus hasn't traditionally been a destination for a player like this, much has been made of the Jackets' desire (or perhaps need) to add a big-ticket offensive player this offseason. Whether Kovalchuk would want to head to the capital city or if the Jackets could swing a deal remains to be seen.
It appears Kovalchuk would fit that bill. A three-time All-Star and the 2004 co-winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy (which he shared with Rick Nash), Kovalchuk had 328 goals and 287 assists for 615 points in 594 NHL games with Atlanta and New Jersey before heading to Russia. His offensive skills appear to be intact in the KHL, where Kovalchuk had a 32-46-78 line in 60 games with SKA St. Petersburg.
