Ilya Kovalchuk

Ilya Valeryevich Kovalchuk (Russian: Илья́ Вале́рьевич Ковальчу́к; born April 15, 1983 in Kalinin) is a Russian professional ice hockey Left winger currently playing for SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League. He debuted in the Vysshaya Liga with Spartak Moscow before continuing his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers, he began his NHL career with them in 2001-02 After eight seasons with the Thrashers, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils in February 2010, and later signed a 15-year, $100 million contract during the off-season after a 17-year, $102 million was rejected by the league as being an attempt to circumvent salary cap restrictions. Three years later, he retired from the NHL on July 11, 2013, having played 11 seasons. Kovalchuk is fifth all-time in overtime goals scored (14), and 18th all time in goals per game average (.511). He is the seventh highest scoring Russian in NHL history.

Internationally, Kovalchuk has played for Russia in the IIHF World U18 Championships, World Junior Championship, World Championship, World Cup and Winter Olympics, highlighted by back-to-back gold medals in the 2008 and 2009 World Championship. Kovalchuk was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as league rookie-of-the-year. He is a three-time NHL All-Star and won the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal-scorer in 2004 in a three-way tie with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash.

Early career
Kovalchuk played for Russian Super League club HC Spartak Moscow for two seasons before entering the NHL. Drafted by the Thrashers first overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, he became the first Russian to be drafted first overall in the NHL's history. In club-level competition, Kovalchuk wore the number 17 as a tribute to Valeri Kharlamov, a Soviet superstar in the 1970s.

Atlanta Thrashers
Entering his NHL rookie season in 2001–02, Kovalchuk scored 51 points in 65 games, finishing second in voting to teammate Dany Heatley for the Calder Trophy as league rookie of the year. Both were named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. After improving to 38 goals and 67 points in his second season, Kovalchuk scored 41 goals in 2003–04, making him a co-winner of the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy after tying for the league lead in goals with Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames and Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also added 46 assists for 87 points, tying him with Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche for second in the league that season, behind Martin St. Louis. Kovalchuk also participated in his first NHL All-Star Game in 2004.

Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Kovalchuk returned to Russia, playing for both Ak Bars Kazan and Khimik Moscow Oblast of the Russian Superleague. After the lockout, Kovalchuk returned to the Thrashers and scored 52 times, tying him with rookie Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for third in the league in scoring (behind Jonathan Cheechoo of the San Jose Sharks (56), and Jaromír Jágr of the New York Rangers (54)). He also tied his career-high of 46 assists for a career-high 98 points, leading the Thrashers in team scoring for the second consecutive season, while finishing eighth overall in league scoring. He also became the first Thrashers player to score 50 goals in a season.

In the 2006–07 NHL season, Kovalchuk's point production dropped for the first time in his career. He finished with 42 goals and 34 assists for 76 points. During a game against the Nashville Predators during the season on January 11, 2006, Predators coach Barry Trotz accused Kovalchuk with "always [playing] with an illegal stick." Trotz had asked the referees to check Kovalchuk's stick following a Thrashers goal, but claimed that Kovalchuk was able to switch his stick before the referees could check. Despite his drop in production on the season, Kovalchuk and the Thrashers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Kovalchuk scored one goal and one assist in his NHL playoffs debut as the team lost in the opening round to the New York Rangers in four games.

In 2007–08, Kovalchuk scored two consecutive hat tricks in a loss to the Ottawa Senators and a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 1 and 3, 2007, respectively. Later that season, on January 23, 2008, Kovalchuk was suspended for one game by the NHL for a hit from behind on New York Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsíval in a game a day prior. He finished with his second 52-goal season in three years, along with 35 assists for 87 points.

With the departure of Bobby Holik to the New Jersey Devils in the 2008 off-season, the Thrashers' captaincy remained vacant for the first half of the 2008–09 season. Kovalchuk served as one of five alternate captains to start the season until the alternates collectively requested to general manager Don Waddell and coach John Anderson for Kovalchuk to take over the captaincy. Soon thereafter, on January 11, 2009, Kovalchuk was named Holik's successor and the sixth team captain in Thrashers' history during the team's Casino Night charity event. The announcement came amidst speculation that the Thrashers were looking to trade Kovalchuk with his contract set to expire at the end of the following season. Kovalchuk completed his first season as team captain with 43 goals for his fifth consecutive 40-goal season and 91 points.

Near the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Kovalchuk scored the 300th and 301st goal of his NHL career in a 4-2 win during the St. Louis Blues' home opener on October 8, 2009. He was leading the league in goals several weeks into the season when he suffered a broken foot after blocking shot in a game against the San Jose Sharks on October 24.

New Jersey Devils
In the final year of his contract, Kovalchuk and the Thrashers could not come to an agreement on an extension. Thrashers general manager Don Waddell reportedly offered 12-year, $101 million and seven-year, $70 million contracts, both of which Kovalchuk turned down. Rather than potentially losing him to unrestricted free agency in the off-season, Kovalchuk was traded on February 4, 2010, to the New Jersey Devils. Atlanta received defenceman Johnny Oduya, rookie forward Niclas Bergfors and junior prospect Patrice Cormier, and a first round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Kovalchuk and defenceman Anssi Salmela; the teams also traded second round selections in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Kovalchuk recorded two assists the following day in his Devils' debut, a 4–3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 5. Kovalchuk eventually ended the season with 41 goals along with 44 assists, for 85 points split between Atlanta and New Jersey.

Contract controversy

On July 1, 2010, Kovalchuk became an unrestricted free agent. Kovalchuk's free agency was a tumultuous one as it lasted almost three weeks and featured many twists and turns. News outlets even jumped the gun a few times during the three weeks and had Kovalchuk close to agreeing to contracts with different teams. The Los Angeles Kings seemed to have the inside track as they met with Kovalchuk and his agent several times, but finally on July 19, Kovalchuk agreed to a 17-year, $102 million deal to remain with the Devils. The length of the deal broke the record for the longest contract in NHL history. However, the contract was rejected by the NHL the next day, on the grounds that it circumvented the league's salary cap. Arbitrator Richard Bloch heard the union's appeal, and nullified the deal.

Another contract was submitted to the NHL. During the early morning hours of September 4, 2010, the league approved the contract along with a new agreement with the NHLPA. The contract is a 15-year, $100 million deal.

Consequently, the NHL penalized the Devils for trying to circumvent the NHL Salary Cap with Kovalchuk's original contract. As a result, the Devils will surrender $3 million, next year's third round draft choice and one future first round draft choice within the next four seasons. The Devils decided to use their first-round draft pick in the 2011 and 2012 NHL Drafts, and were to surrender their first-round pick in 2014. On March 6, 2014, however, the NHL announced they would forgive part of the $3 million fine and grant the Devils the 30th pick in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

2010–12
Kovalchuk recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick – a goal, an assist, and a fight – on February 4, 2012, the two-year anniversary of his trade to the Devils, against the Philadelphia Flyers. This was the first such hat trick ever recorded by Kovalchuk and second in the Devils' franchise, following Adam Henrique the month before. Kovalchuk assisted on two goals by teammate Kurtis Foster, scored a short-handed goal, then fought Brayden Schenn after a scrum formed when Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo performed a slew-foot on Devils captain Zach Parise.

Kovalchuk recorded his first scoring hat trick as a member of the Devils on February 14, 2012, during a 4–1 victory in Buffalo against the Sabres.

On March 8, Kovalchuk's 13th career hat trick and 2nd hat trick as a New Jersey Devil was recorded. The Devils won 5–1 against the New York Islanders, with Ilya being the first star of the night.

On March 20, Kovalchuk became the 87th player in NHL history to score 400 goals. It was the lone goal of a 1–0 victory over the Ottawa Senators. He was given third star of the night.

Kovalchuk ended the 2011–12 season with seven game-deciding shootout goals and 11 shootout goals in total, setting a new record in both categories. The league first introduced shootouts in 2005. Kovalchuk and the Devils won the 2011–12 Eastern Conference finals against the New York Rangers in 6 games, setting a Stanley Cup meeting with the Los Angeles Kings. Despite leading the playoffs in scoring through the first three rounds, Kovalchuk was playing with a herniated disc and was largely ineffective against the Los Angeles Kings, scoring just one point in the series, an empty-net goal in Game 4, as the Devils fell to the Kings in six games.

KHL Signing
As a result of the 2012-13 NHL lockout, Kovalchuk elected to sign a temporary contract with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on September 18, 2012. Kovalchuk played in Russia until a labor agreement was reached between the NHLPA and the NHL in January. Kovalchuk was named captain of SKA Saint Petersburg at his contract signing. In addition, Kovalchuk was the subject of criticism for not returning to the United States immediately after the lockout ended, instead electing to be one of two participating NHL players in the KHL All Star Game (the other being Pavel Datsyuk). Kovalchuk served as the captain of the Western Conference and returned to the United States to the Devils' training camp immediately after.

Retirement from the NHL
On July 11, 2013, Kovalchuk chose to quit the NHL at the age of 30. Although Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello knew that Kovalchuk had been considering retirement since before the 2012-13 shortened season, Kovalchuk's departure came as a surprise to the public. Upon his leaving, Kovalchuk had $77 million and 12 years remaining on his contract. Kovalchuk claimed that he desired to return home to Russia along with his family, though it is speculated that money had quite an influence as well, due to the higher total salary Kovalchuk will receive in Russia via the far lower Russian tax rate compared to the U.S. With the crash of the Russian ruble in December 2014, however, that no longer remains the case, and Kovalchuk's tax-effected NHL salary would be greater than his KHL proceeds. Kovalchuk tallied 417 goals and 816 points in 816 games in total in the NHL.

SKA Saint Petersburg
On July 15, 2013, Kovalchuk signed a four-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. The contract, signed less than a week after Kovalchuk's retirement from the NHL, is alleged to be comparable to his former contract with the Devils.

He helped the team win the 2014–15 Gagarin Cup for the first time. He was chosen as the MVP of 2015 Gagarin Cup playoffs, but passed the award to Evgenii Dadonov. He won the Cup again in the 2016-17 season.

International play
Kovalchuk won his first medals with Russia in a major international event at the IIHF World U18 Championships, earning silver and gold medals in 2000 and 2001, respectively. He also competed for Russia at the World Junior Championships in 2001, but finished seventh.

The following year, Kovalchuk made his senior international debut with Russia at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, during his rookie NHL season with the Atlanta Thrashers. He recorded three points in six games to help Russia to a bronze medal finish. He then made his World Championships debut in 2003, but failed to medal.

Kovalchuk made his second straight Winter Olympics appearance in 2006 in Turin. He had a four-goal game on February 19 in a 9–2 win over Latvia, but returned to Atlanta without a medal, losing in the bronze medal game.

In 2008 Kovalchuk played in the IIHF World Championship, held in Quebec City, Canada. He scored his only two goals of the tournament in the gold medal game against Team Canada – once to force the game into overtime, then the game-winner to give Russia the championship. The following year, he led Russia to a second straight gold medal over Canada in the 2009 IIHF World Championship and was named the tournament MVP.

In May 2010, Kovalchuk played for Russia in the 74th IIHF WC in Germany, finishing second.

Played for Russia in: Played for Olympic Atheletes of Russia in:
 * 2002 Winter Olympics (bronze)
 * 2003 World Championships
 * 2004 World Cup of Hockey
 * 2005 World Championships (bronze)
 * 2006 Winter Olympics
 * 2007 World Championships (bronze)
 * 2008 World Championships (gold)
 * 2009 World Championships (gold)
 * 2010 Winter Olympics
 * 2010 World Championships (silver)
 * 2011 World Championships
 * 2013 World Championships
 * 2014 Winter Olympics
 * 2015 World Championships (silver)
 * 2019 World Championships
 * 2018 Winter Olympics

Awards and achievements

 * 2002 NHL YoungStars Game – (MVP)


 * NHL All-Rookie Team – 2002
 * NHL First All-Star Team – 2012
 * NHL Second All-Star Team – 2004
 * NHL All-Star Game – 2004, 2008, 2009
 * KHL All-Star Game – 2013, 2014, 2015
 * 2003-04 NHL Season – Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy  – (41*) (tied with 2 others)
 * 2003-04 NHL Season – Kharlamov Trophy (Top Russian Player in the NHL)
 * 2011-12 NHL Season – NHL Leader in Shootout Goals (11)
 * 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Goal Scoring Leader (8) (tied)
 * 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs– Prince of Wales Trophy winner with the New Jersey Devils
 * 2002 Winter Olympics – Bronze Medal
 * 2008 IIHF World Championship – Gold Medal
 * 2009 IIHF World Championship – Gold Medal
 * 2009 IIHF World Championship – (MVP)
 * 2009 IIHF World Championship – (Best Forward)
 * 2010 IIHF World Championship – Leading Scorer (Points) (12)
 * 2013 IIHF World Championship – Goal Scoring Leader (8) (tied)
 * 2014 Winter Olympics ambassador for Russia
 * 2015 Gagarin Cup winner
 * 2015 Gagarin Cup Playoffs MVP (refused to accept and passed it to Evgenii Dadonov)
 * 2017 Gagarin Cup winner

Records

 * NHL record for most shootout goals in a single-season (11) (2011-12)
 * NHL record for most game-deciding shootout goals in a single-season (7) (2011-12)


 * Atlanta Thrashers franchise single season goal total, 52 (2005–06, 2007-08)