Ilya Kovalchuk: Uncertainty Much Ado About Nothing?
January 8th, 2013 by Carl Stoffers Leave a reply »The nightmarish NHL lockout, in which hockey Armageddon was narrowly avoided, will fade into the past once the deal is ratified by the NHLPA and teams are preparing to open an abbreviated training camp. In anticipation of a possible start to the season within the next 10 days, NHL players who were lucky enough to find work in Europe are returning to North America. The euphoria around the league is palpable, but in New Jersey, the optimistic feelings of relief at salvaging the season may be short lived.
On Tuesday, as players such as Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Zetterberg returned from Russia and Switzerland and NHL rinks were being hastily prepared, a story has begun to develop that could be devastating to a Devils team that already has a huge hole to fill with the loss of captain Zach Parise to free agency. According to multiple sources, New Jersey sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, playing in Russia’s KHL for SKA St. Petersburg, has not ruled out staying in his native Russia.
NHL.com and sport-express.ru correspondent Slava Malamud reported that Kovalchuk stated before SKA's 3-1 loss on Tuesday:
"'I will need to read the new agreement,' bef ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Carl Stoffers
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