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Kovalchuk, Montreal, and more

November 16, 2019, 5:46 AM ET [6 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
There’s no way to say this kindly, so let’s just get it out there in the open: Ilya Kovalchuk’s run with the Los Angeles Kings has been a gigantic, complete, colossal failure. Across the board. Just the worst decision the Kings could have made, and an even worse decision for Kovalchuk himself.

Now, we can question the motives from the start. Kovalchuk returned to the NHL in search of a Stanley Cup, but ultimately chose the worst destination of the group, signing with a past-its-expiration-date Kings team because they offered a third year. (The Bruins, who were perhaps most interested in Kovalchuk, were not willing to offer a third year for the then-35-year-old.) But Kovy became a King, and has since produced 19 goals and 43 points in 81 total games with LA. It’s also worth mentioning that Kovalchuk has spent the last half or so of those games as a bottom-sixer. Because a bottom-six producer is what you think of when you think of Kovalchuk, I’m sure.

It’s been just a total nightmare.

But it’s a tenure that appears to have come to a merciful end, as the Kings have informed Kovalchuk that he will not be in the lineup ‘for the foreseeable future,’ and with both sides looking for a way out.

Fortunately for the Kings that’s as easy as getting 2012 Jonathan Quick back in the crease.

Signed to a 35-plus contract, the Kings will not get any sort of relief from a buyout. And the trade market is pretty barren, it would appear, based on their inability to move him in the offseason. It’s hard to imagine teams taking a chance on Kovalchuk without LA eating half the contract, too.

But I will say this: Kovalchuk should find a way to stay in the NHL. Perhaps I’m being a Wishful Thrasher here believing that he can still contribute in today’s game, but when you watch Kovalchuk, it would appear that the shot is still there, but that it needs to be utilized correctly. There’s still glimmers of the old Kovy in those skates (and that shot), but it’s about the right fit.

The Kings, I’d argue, were never that.

But now the question is if he can find it somewhere else. And how.

Here’s some other thoughts and notes from another week in the NHL…

- Credit to Claude Julien’s Canadiens. They put forth one hell of a game against the best team in the league on Friday night in the Capitals. Love how they did it after Alex Ovechkin absolutely crushed Jonathan Drouin, too. These Habs have some serious grit. Now, is it enough to last for a full 82 and push them back to the postseason? Not sure. But they’re certainly making believers out of some of us.

- Is Guy Carbonneau a Hockey Hall of Famer? I’m not trolling. I’m legitimately asking. I missed the majority of his prime (blame my parents), so I’m wondering. Just seems like your classic “Hall of Very Good” example that we’d use at a Harold Baines level if he played in the MLB. Then again, when you let three-time lockout champion Gary Bettman in, I suppose all bets are off. (Just half-kiddin’, Gary, thank you for putting teams in warm-weather cities. We all appreciate the February vacations.)

- The Maple Leafs still can’t play defense. It’s legitimately embarrassing at this point. I mean, is there another way to describe it? The Bruins straight-up railroaded the Leafs in their own zone on Friday night, and the slot was open all night. Look, I get it, you spent a billion dollars on your forwards, but at what point do you realize this isn’t going to work and do something to improve it? There’s no way this team escapes the first round (we’re saying this entirely too much) if this stays the same.

- Ryan Donato’s name is once again involved in trade rumors, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The 23-year-old has undoubtedly scuffled out of the gate for the Wild in 2019-20, with just one goal and three points in 17 games, and has bounced around the lineup in Minnesota’s effort to get him going. This is just a total meltdown from what Donato was when he broke in with the B’s in 2018. I wouldn’t be ready to call it quits on the talented sniper just yet if I were Minnesota, but the biggest worry with Donato when he jumped from Harvard to the NHL was if his skating game was ever going to improve and if he could develop into more than a one-trick pony. It’s easy to get by as an iffy skater when you’re in the ECAC. But the NHL? That’s a different story. Clearly.

Ty Anderson is a writer, columnist, and weird personality for 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, where he covers all things Boston sports. He has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, and has also been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. In addition to writing, Ty can occasionally be heard on the air at 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, and seen and/or heard on the NHL Network every now and then. He will not give you his email, so yell at him on Twitter (@_TyAnderson).
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