At the very least, it appears Ilya Kovalchuk would like to stay with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL until the end of the season.
Slava Malamud of Sport-Express reports via Twitter:
"I want to stay in St. Petersburg but I have contractual obligations in the NHL, which will be hard to break" - Kovalchuk to Sport-Express
— Slava Malamud 🇺🇦 (@SlavaMalamud) January 10, 2013
Kovalchuk added that he will talk with SKA leadership and "hopefully, everything will be decided then" (via @ru_sportexpress) #NJDevils
— Slava Malamud 🇺🇦 (@SlavaMalamud) January 10, 2013
"Right now, I can't imagine how (my staying in the KHL) can be arranged... But I don't know anything yet" - Kovalchuk (via Sport-Express)
— Slava Malamud 🇺🇦 (@SlavaMalamud) January 10, 2013
Clarification: Kovalchuk spoke of this year only. The phrasing leads to believe he'd like to finish season w/ SKA, return to NJD in the fall
— Slava Malamud 🇺🇦 (@SlavaMalamud) January 10, 2013
The KHL season, including playoffs, will end in April. It's conceivable Kovalchuk can return to NJD for playoff run. If they would have him
— Slava Malamud 🇺🇦 (@SlavaMalamud) January 10, 2013
Kovalchuk had said earlier he was waiting to read the NHL’s new CBA before making a decision about returning to the Devils.
The 29-year-old plans to play in Sunday’s KHL All-Star Game.
The Record’s Tom Gulitti reached out to Kovalchuk’s agent, Jay Grossman, today, but has yet to hear back.
If Kovalchuk somehow ends up staying in the KHL through the end of the season, not only will the Devils find themselves without their $100 million sniper, they also lost Zach Parise to free agency this summer and are likely to start the shortened schedule without injured forward Adam Henrique.