Kovalchuk situation raises many questions with few answers Despite a dispute with his KHL team, the former New Jersey Devils star’s first choice is to remain in Russia, TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli writes. 

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

Ilya Kovalchuk is expected to remain a healthy scratch again on Monday when his SKA St. Petersburg team resumes its KHL playoff run in the second round against Dynamo Moscow. 

The way Kovalchuk’s situation has devolved in Russia is nothing short of bizarre.  He was stripped of his captaincy and benched for four consecutive games as SKA upset Lokomotiv in the first round.  Reports suggest Kovalchuk was being benched for poor play. 

Multiple reports Monday indicated that Kovalchuk and SKA reached an agreement to keep him under contract through April 30, though he will not dress for the team again this season.  He was reportedly offered $1 million by the team to terminate his deal.  It’s unclear how much his contract with SKA is worth. 

It raises questions everyone wants answers to: If Kovalchuk and SKA can’t come to an agreement, will he return to the NHL?  And what are his options?  The truth is no one knows how this will play out, probably not even Kovalchuk at this point.  To speculate would be dangerous. 

However, any short-term return to the NHL is considered unlikely. 

In talking to those who know Kovalchuk well, the belief is that his first choice is to remain in Russia.  He returned there in 2013 to be close to his family, leaving 12 years and $77 million on the table with the New Jersey Devils when he signed voluntary retirement papers and mutually terminated his contract. 

In Russia, where the rules governing contracts are not as strict, Kovalchuk and SKA could well rip up the current deal (which has one more year remaining) and work out a smaller one.  Or, Kovalchuk could agree to terminate his deal and find a new club in the KHL.  Kovalchuk, 32, was chosen as the MVP of last spring’s Gagarin Cup final after SKA captured the first national championship in the club’s 69-year history. 

It is believed that Kovalchuk would only consider a return to the NHL if he can’t find a solution in Russia.  That’s where the situation gets tricky. 

Since Kovalchuk signed voluntary retirement papers at such a young age on a back-diving contract that was initially nullified by the NHL and led to the Devils being penalized for salary-cap circumvention, it is a delicate situation for the league.  His return would let the Devils off the hook on an enormous contract through 2025. 

“What I'd say on Kovalchuk: There’s a lot of different rules that apply to his situation,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told reporters in Denver last week. “ It’s a complicated situation, so unless and until he wants to come back to the National Hockey League, he wants to sign a contract, I’m not going to be able to tell you definitively what rules apply and how they apply. 

“What I would say is, having signed his voluntary retired list form and being on our list, that gives the Devils preferential rights to his NHL (rights).” 

The belief is that Kovalchuk would have to sit out all of next season, not play in any league in the world, and then the Devils would still need league approval for him to return. 

Or, Kovalchuk could apply to be reinstated, but he would require approval from all 30 teams.  Another option is for Kovalchuk to wait until he is 35, three years from now, at which point he would become an unrestricted free agent. 

However, there is believed to be a fourth option that exists, one that might allow for an immediate return to the Devils.  As pointed out by Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir in a 2015 article, there are contradicting clauses in the NHL’s bylaws that state that Kovalchuk could be transferred back to the Devils’ reserve list off the voluntarily retired list because it has been more than a year since he voluntarily retired.  That could theoretically open the doors to a playoff run with the Devils, since he would have been on their reserve list the entire time. 

As Daly said, it is complicated.  Would it be under the old contract, the one that was terminated?  Would it be under a new contract?  Would any of the other 29 teams grieve the process?  Would he have to sit out a year? 

And how much of an impact would Kovalchuk even make in today’s NHL?  He left with 816 points in 816 career games, but collected just 11 goals and 20 assists in his 37-game, lockout-shortened season in 2012-13. 

Nonetheless, any speculation about Kovalchuk’s return to the NHL is premature, since it is believed he wants to stay in Russia. 

“I have not heard anything,” Devils general manager Ray Shero told reporters Monday. “ If and when he decides he may want to come back to the NHL, the league will deal with it at that point and kind of see what method that could be.  I've just been following it in the papers like everybody else.  I wasn't here when he left or [know] exactly what happened.  I was reading about it back then.  I haven't heard anything at this point, so we'll see what happens.” 

Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.