Ilya Kovalchuk's mother debunks report of NHL return
Mother knows best.
As Ilya Kovalchuk prepares for a conference final series with KHL club SKA Saint Petersburg, his mother refuted a recent report suggesting her son was aiming to return to the NHL for the 2016-17 season.
Pavel Lysenkov of Sovsport interviewed Lyubov Kovalchuk, and she offered a simple message regarding the report that surfaced out of Finland.
Per @plysenkov: Kovalchuk's mother called report that he's planning to return to NHL "nonsense."
— Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice) March 25, 2015
After announcing his premature retirement from the NHL in 2013 - with 12 years and $77 million remaining on his deal with the New Jersey Devils - Kovalchuk signed a four-year contract with SKA. In order for Kovalchuk to resume his NHL career, all 30 teams would have to approve his return.
It doesn't seem as though that process will be kick-started any time soon, as Kovalchuk appears set to stay in the motherland, at least for now.