In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on which team would be the best fit for Ilya Kovalchuk taking into account team need, style of play, potential linemates, cap situation, and more.
Todd Cordell
I think Vegas makes a lot of sense for Kovalchuk.
They're going to lose one, if not both, of James Neal and David Perron so they will need to add scoring on the wings. Kovalchuk would provide that and he has the skating ability to keep up with the high-pace they like to play at.
The Golden Knights also own the rights to Nikita Gusev, who finished 2nd to Kovalchuk in scoring on SKA last season. Perhaps Gusev would be more inclined to come over in 2019 (when his contract overseas expires) if he knows Kovalchuk will be with him for a year or two to help ease the transition.
Vegas is a warm weather team, a contender, and they have the money to pay Kovalchuk. They seem like a natural fit.
James Tanner
The best fit for Kovalchuk is the Oilers. They are currently using Nugent Hopkins on the left wing of McDavid and it's just not ideal to keep turning centres into wingers. Signing Kovalchuck to take feeds from McDavid makes perfect sense and would be completely amazing to watch. It then has the added bonus of giving the Oilers perhaps the best 1-2-3 punch in the NHL with McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins lined up down the middle. Kovalchuck to the Oilers is a perfect scenario and if the guy is gonna move back across the Atlantic to resume his NHL career at this late date, might as well do it in style and ride shot-gun with the best player in the world.
Peter Tessier The Kovalchuk retirement fund tour is about to go into full effect. Sure he can still play but those thinking he is the same player are probably underestimating the effects of time. Skilled he is but older too so I think a team who wants to consider Ilya is going to have to consider how they use him and where/who he will play with.
A team that feels his presence could put them over the top better be sure he’s fixing the existing problems preventing success rather than trying to hide them. I could see Montreal simply because they need almost any skilled player. LA because the need scoring, Edmonton for the same reason. Would Toronto take a stab at him as a replacement for JVRs scoring albeit a totally different kind of player?
Perhaps only LA would fit my belief from above but you could expand to more teams who want a highly skilled winger who may not be as fast as he once was. In the NHL today it will take a combination of desperation and belief from a few GMs and those who have operated like that in the past seen to be dying breed or at least reigned in. Basically I expect to be surprised because I don’t have a feel for this at all.
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