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On Kovalchuk and the Bruins loss to the Kings |
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After having his three-year $18.75 million contract terminated by the Los Angeles Kings and clearing waivers Tuesday, 36-year old Ilya Kovalchuk is now an unrestricted free agent. And according to Russian reporter Igor Eronko, the Bruins are interested.
Eronko goes on to add that Kovalchuk would like to remain in the NHL, sign with a contender at the league minimum and goes on to say the Bruins are interested.
When Kovalchuk returned to the NHL in 2017, the Bruins reportedly were interested, but Kovalchuk ended up in Los Angeles and with a much better contract than the Bruins would have been able to give him.
But now with Kovalchuk reportedly seeking the league minimum and the Bruins being able to afford him this time around, should the Bruins go after him?
I say yes.
The Bruins are desperate for help on the right wing and coming to Boston would not only provide Kovalchuk the opportunity to play for a contender, but also provide Kovalchuk an opportunity to log top-six minutes.
Oh, and he would get to play with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci.
In 17 games with the Kings, Kovalchuk had just three goals and six assists. But the writing on the wall was clear that Kovalchuk and the Kings needed to part ways.
Maybe a change of scenery and top-six minutes with talented forwards could spark Kovalchuk into being a reliable option on the right side for the Bruins.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly also interested in Kovalchuk, another team that is certainly a contender and provides the veteran forward with something the Bruins can not provide: the ability to play with a fellow Russian in Evgeni Malkin.
Signing Kovalchuk to a one-year deal at the league minimum would come as a low-risk, high-reward type of deal and would HOPEFULLY end the days of Brett Ritchie being forced into a top-six role.
It’s all a risk I’m willing to take if I’m the Bruins.
Speaking of the Kings… what an ugly loss Tuesday night at TD Garden.
Leading by one with 1:37 left in regulation, Matt Roy’s seeing eye shot forced overtime where the Kings would eventually end up with the extra point thanks to Anze Kopitar’s winner.
Here are some thoughts from the Bruins frustrating loss
Not Tuukka’s best game, and he wasn't shy to admit it
The Bruins appeared en route to another regulation victory at home, but after John Moore’s clearing attempt from his own zone got picked off, Roy’s shot was in the back of the Bruins net with some help from a Tyler Toffoli screen.
Despite the screen, it’s a save you’d like to see Rask make in that situation. Same can be said for Adrian Kempe’s shorthanded breakaway in the second period that gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at the time. Kopitar’s game winner came off a quick wrister on a 2-on-1 rush.
“I didn’t see it but it doesn’t matter,” Rask said of Roy’s shot “You’re out there and you have to give your team a chance to win, make those timely saves. I didn’t make any, so that’s the result. We end up losing.
I’m expecting to make those saves every night. Sometimes they squeak by but today, that breakaway, and even that tying goal there, even if I don’t see it, I expect to make that save. And then there’s the overtime goal. So that’s three timely saves you don’t make. Sometimes you might let one by, but … we’re moving on. Be better next time.”
Bruins shot themselves in the foot with missed opportunities
Had Sean Kuraly not missed on an open net,—and let me tell you the net was so open you would have thought Jonathan Quick had left the net for the extra skater—or had Patrice Bergeron and Anders Bjork been able to convert on their overtime high-danger scoring chances, we’d be signing a different tune after this one.
The Bruins evening was simple. They played well enough to win, but the Kings did what the Bruins could not do: capitalize on the majority of their chances.
“I thought we certainly played well enough to win,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Seems like everything we gave up went in the back of the net. Had plenty of chances to extend the lead in the third, we’re playing the right way, seemed to be in control then kind of harmless play and we didn’t manage the puck on the retrieval. Could have done a better job and all of a sudden it’s in the back of the net,”
If you don’t think Danton Heinen is valuable to this team, I kindly ask you to reconsider
Danton Heinen is never going to have a 30-goal season. Heck, he may never have a 25-goal season. But if you don’t think he’s a valuable part of the Bruins roster, then I don’t know what I can say to you without being a big ol’ meanie.
Starting on the third line with Anders Bjork and Sean Kurlay, Heinen found himself back up to the right of DeBrusk and Krejci by the end of the night. Some of that was because of his night, some of that was because of Charlie Coyle’s night on the right wing.
Heinen also picked up a power play goal by getting himself into the dirty areas and putting himself into a position for success. Yes, I know the goal went off his skate,—SHOCKED, that’d one didn’t get taken off the board—but hey, a goal is a goal and it’s a goal that doesn’t happen if he’s not doing his job as the net-front presence on the power play, right?
"He's a guy that we rely on for secondary scoring. He does play on the power play for either the first or second unit; we flip flop him and [DeBrusk], so we trust him to be able to contribute there,” Cassidy said. “I move him all over the place because I feel he can figure out what's required on that line on the fly. He's a good, cerebral player. He works hard. Danton is trying to keep growing his game, and he does a good job for us most nights."
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