Per NHL.com:
The Devils snatched quite a soul Monday in the person of left wing Ilya Kovalchuk.
After a twist-filled script that lasted the better part of three weeks, Kovalchuk wrapped up hockey’s version of a long-running summer blockbuster by surprising the hockey world and re-signing with New Jersey on Monday, a move that startled the hockey world who had expected Kovy to sign with Los Angeles.
But Kovalchuk spurned the advances of Hollywood, in the form of the Kings, who had made several aggressive offers and even hosted the Russian winger in a college recruiting-style visit last week. In fact, several sources had reported that the Kings were very close to signing Kovalchuk, agreeing on term and length of contract but still needing to hammer out the nuances of a no-movement clause and the like.
Throughout, New Jersey President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello never backed out of the courtship process and his patience paid off with Monday’s surprising announcement which came just minutes after Kovalchuk’s agent, Jay Grossman, used his Twitter feed to say his client would announce his destination later Monday.
“Ilya is excited to be continuing his career with New Jersey and knows first-hand the team’s dedication and commitment to winning,” Grossman said after the Devils announced the deal just before noon.
Kovalchuk was the biggest unrestricted free agent on the market this summer, and was heavily courted by several teams before the Kings and the Devils took center stage. Kovalchuk finished the 2009-10 season with the Devils after arriving in a blockbuster deal in early February.
Kovalchuk, who has scored 40 or more goals in each of the past six seasons, was obtained in a bold move by Lamoriello, who believed his team had a solid shot at the Stanley Cup after a season that ended with the club winning another Atlantic Division title and finishing No. 2 in the Eastern Conference.
Kovalchuk had 27 points in 27 games with the Devils after his arrival to give him 41 goals and 85 points for the season. New Jersey sent rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrice Cormier and a 2010 first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Kovalchuk.
But the Devils struggled to get started in the postseason and were bounced in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers, who marched all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Chicago. Kovalchuk had 6 points in that five-game ouster.
Kovalchuk was the first selection of the 2001 Entry Draft by Atlanta and had played his entire career with the Thrashers before the trade.
In 594 games with the Thrashers from 2002-10, Kovalchuk scored 328 goals and had 287 assists (615 points). More than a third of his goals came on the power play (115). But in Atlanta he played in only four playoff games and lost all of them to the New York Rangers in 2007, managing only 1 goal and 1 assist.
Kovalchuk shared the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2004 (41 goals) with Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla. He set a Thrashers franchise record with 52 goals in 2005-06 and matched it in 2007-08.
