Old Faces in New Places: NHL Free Agency Roundup Pt. 5

Here we go the fifth and final installment of the free agency roundup, and boy oh boy is it an interesting player. A player many people have either forgotten about or possibly never even knew, Ilya Kovalchuk.

Previous Season (With SKA St. Petersburg, KHL): 53 Games Played, 31 Goals, 32 Assists, 63 Points

While many people over the age of 18 will remember Kovalchuk as a goal-scoring machine who just rarely found himself on a decent team. He made the playoffs a grand total of three times in his 12 previous NHL seasons. Much of that has to do with being selected by the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnipeg Jets). The Thrashers struggled mightily to get any sort of foothold in the NHL, Atlanta isn't exactly a hockey-mad city (surprise, surprise). While the Thrashers organization was unsuccessful, Kovalchuk certainly was. During his eight years in Atlanta, his lowest goal total was 29 his rookie year. He peaked at 54 goals twice during his time there. His eight years in Atlanta were interrupted by a two-year hiatus when he returned to Russia and the KHL. Kovalchuk returned to Atlanta for five years and then headed for greener pastures in New Jersey. The move put Kovalchuk in the winning position he so desperately wanted, and he and the Devils made a run to the Finals in 2011-12 only to lose to the Kings. Kovalchuk was a big reason they were able to make that run putting up 19 points in 23 games. The lockout-shortened 2012-13 season saw Kovalchuk split time between Russia and New Jersey. The Devils took a big step back that season and Kovalchuk was again stuck on an unsuccessful team. He made the decision to not honor the remainder of his contract and bolted back to Russia. He has been there ever since waiting for the New Jersey contract to run out leaving him free to sign where he wanted. Before I get into his signing this off-season and what to expect I wanna touch on his time in Russia.

All five of his seasons in Russia were spent with SKA St. Petersburg. A team frequently marred in controversy due to the massive support they garner from Vladimir Putin. I'm not going to go in depth with this, but anyone reading this should certainly take the time, it's absolutely bonkers. Moving on before a Russian spy takes interest in me while I'm in Europe (shameless brag). Before looking into the stats there is one important distinction to make, the KHL season is about 20 games shorter than the NHL. During his most successful season, Kovalchuk accumulated 32 Goals, 46 Assists, totaling 78 points. All of that in just 60 games, so the guys still got it. His second most successful season was last year (see above). He will be coming into the NHL with plenty of steam, and a lot to prove.

Ilya will be returning to the NHL with non-other than the Los Angeles Kings, the same team that knocked him out of his only Stanley Cup Finals. Now I'm not saying Kovalchuk is the Durant of hockey, but I'm not, not saying that. I'll leave you readers to make that distinction on your own. What I can tell you is he's perfect for the Kings. The Kings have always been a strong defensive team and continue to be that, but they've constantly lacked top end scoring. The Kings were the number one defensive team last season giving up only 2.46 goals per game, but were ranked 16th offensively only scoring 2.89 goals per game. While the Kings did make the playoffs last year, they were swept by Vegas in four games. Heres the most alarming statistic in those four games they scored THREE goals. Yes, you read that right, three goals. This is where Kovalchuk comes in. He has one of the most impressive shots of anyone in NHL history. Hockey nerds like me will tell you the puck "jumps off his stick", meaning his release is quick and the shot is powerful. Kovalchuk should see himself on the wing for Anze Kopitar (a Hart Trophy finalist last year). If Kovalchuk does get moved up and down the line-up he should still see success on a wing centered by Jeff Carter. Wherever he plays Kovalchuk will make the line more dynamic. In addition to playing with two All-Star centers, Kovalchuk will see tons of power-play time. With his deadly shot and Drew Doughty, the Kings All-Star D-man, feeding him pucks Kovalchuk will thrive on the PP. Now, this blog got a little out of hand because of Kavlchuks wild path, but it needs to be noted that he is 35 years old. While he's no spring chicken players of his quality can get it done at that age. Now, the interesting part, predictions.

Prediction: If the Kings want to return to their cup winning form of years past Kovalchuk will need to make an immediate impact, and with the pieces around him I think he can: 35 Goals, 25 Assists, 60 Points. That's what I like to call a BOLD prediction.

Fun Fact: Kovalchuk was apart of the Olympic Athletes from Russia team that took home gold last Winter Olympics. Didn't really fit in the blog but felt it needed to be highlighted.

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