It is looking as if Ilya Kovalchuk will return to the Devils, but he’s in no rush to get back to New Jersey.
One day after it came out that Kovalchuk and three other high-profile players were offered a large sum of money to stay in the KHL — where they played throughout the lockout — it was learned yesterday Kovalchuk is on the KHL All-Star game roster, which is supposed to take place Saturday and Sunday in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Also on the roster is Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk.
The NHL and KHL have an agreement in how players can transfer, and the NHL expects Kovalchuk to honor his contract with the Devils.
“The NHL represents the highest level of hockey in the world,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We expect that the best players in the world will want to play here.”
According to Sovietsky Sport in Russia, KHL boss Vladimir Shalaev said: “The CBA will not be signed until Sunday. So Kovalchuk [has] no employment relationship with the NHL, and he is going to [the All-Star game in] Chelyabinsk.”