ILYA KOVALCHUK - Left Winger - 35 - $6.25MM Cap Hit - 2021-2022
LAST UPDATED 6/21/19
Kovalchuk has always been a divisive player. He didn’t help his supporters by fleeing to Russia almost immediately after signing an unprecedented and absolutely insane 13-year megadeal, causing a huge headache for the Devils organization that he left behind, but even after coming back from Russia and joining the LA Kings Kovalchuk still has his supporters, and his many detractors. Kovalchuk’s supporters point to the numbers and his play with the puck. Until this past season, Kovalchuk was a career point-per-game player, and despite his scoring suffering on a disaster of an LA Kings team, Kovalchuk still has the offensive skill to be an elite scorer. His shot has remained just as deadly as it was in Atlanta, and his ability to see the ice, utilize his teammates, and get into prime scoring position is still well above-average. His skating has gotten worse along with his age, but he isn’t an outright liability on the rush and can greatly assist a powerplay. His issue, though, is his play away from the puck. He’s a notoriously apathetic backchecker, seems disinterested in helping his team defend or chase down opposing rushers, and when he’s pinned in his own zone he rarely has anything positive to provide his defenseman, lacking the instincts, drive, or physicality to shut down opposing chances. While +/- is a deeply flawed stat and we greatly hesitate to use it, his lackluster of defensive play over such a large sample size is evidenced by the fact that Kovalchuk, despite being a career PPG player, has a career +/- that’s downright atrocious. with his flaws, Kovalchuk only really fits on certain teams playing in certain systems, and as evidenced by his 31 point performance this past season, he needs to fit well in order for his employer to get what they pay for with Kovalchuk. Despite all this. though, based on purely his offensive talent and pedigree alone, Kovalchuk is still a viable top-6 winger in the NHL.
Kovalchuk has always been a divisive player. He didn’t help his supporters by fleeing to Russia almost immediately after signing an unprecedented and absolutely insane 13-year megadeal, causing a huge headache for the Devils organization that he left behind, but even after coming back from Russia and joining the LA Kings Kovalchuk still has his supporters, and his many detractors. Kovalchuk’s supporters point to the numbers and his play with the puck. Until this past season, Kovalchuk was a career point-per-game player, and despite his scoring suffering on a disaster of an LA Kings team, Kovalchuk still has the offensive skill to be an elite scorer. His shot has remained just as deadly as it was in Atlanta, and his ability to see the ice, utilize his teammates, and get into prime scoring position is still well above-average. His skating has gotten worse along with his age, but he isn’t an outright liability on the rush and can greatly assist a powerplay. His issue, though, is his play away from the puck. He’s a notoriously apathetic backchecker, seems disinterested in helping his team defend or chase down opposing rushers, and when he’s pinned in his own zone he rarely has anything positive to provide his defenseman, lacking the instincts, drive, or physicality to shut down opposing chances. While +/- is a deeply flawed stat and we greatly hesitate to use it, his lackluster of defensive play over such a large sample size is evidenced by the fact that Kovalchuk, despite being a career PPG player, has a career +/- that’s downright atrocious. with his flaws, Kovalchuk only really fits on certain teams playing in certain systems, and as evidenced by his 31 point performance this past season, he needs to fit well in order for his employer to get what they pay for with Kovalchuk. Despite all this. though, based on purely his offensive talent and pedigree alone, Kovalchuk is still a viable top-6 winger in the NHL.
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