The Best of Ilya Kovalchuk [HD] 

Not a top 10 right now but no doubt he is an elite player and it does sicken me to see such a stud leave the NHL. I mean it is pretty much like a Sidney Crosby or an Alex Ovechkin in his prime leaving the NHL.

d4v1dfor3v3r so are you saying that crosby or ov were/are not top 10 players? your comment makes no sense.

wildcavemann I am saying this is a great player who is in him prime who decided to just leave the NHL.

MilesP777 I'm glad he decided back to Europe. KHL now much more interesting. GO CKA

Why would he come to the NHL when he can play at home

Hot headed diva he is and should learn some sportmanship. Good scorer though.

I also lived in Atlanta when he played for the Thrashers and he just so happened to be my favorite player.

Giampaolo Fini hes not better than ovi though...

Hell yea

Well said brother, very well said. It is indeed such a shame that Kovy had to spend the majority of his career in Atlanta. He did have some quality company in Marc Savard and Marian Hossa (both pretty much in their prime at the time) for a few seasons. But yeah other than that, it must’ve been pretty frustrating for Kovy to be one of the most dynamic scorers of his generation, yet playing for a shitty Atlanta team year in year out. I don’t think he’s necessarily stronger/bigger than Ovi, both of them are just absolute beasts in that regard - pretty much the same height & weight too. But yes, definitely a better passer - Kovy’s passing game has always been underrated - and a much more elegant player overall. As someone else in this thread already pointed out, Kovy has this unique aura about him. With Ovi it’s speed, strength, skill. With Kovy it’s speed, strength, skill AND gracefulness that not many other players possess. Not to say Ovi is the lesser player, we all know he isn’t. But as a hardcore fan of the sport, a sucker for fine details like skating technique and playing swagger, I’d still rather watch Kovy play than Ovi. I’m actually checking up on Kings games regularly, just because my hero is playing for them these days lol. Sorry for this long ass read hahaha.. I just couldn’t help myself. I guess it’s the excitement from seeing people like yourself and others here, admiring Kovalchuk the way I do 🙂

He played with world class players like Savard, Heatley, Hossa and Kozlov in Atlanta. He didn't play on lines with the scrubs.

@@56axe2 Ovi can literally score from one spot on the powerplay, that’s it. Kovy is a way more versatile player as he can do it all and score from anywhere.

⁠@@thefives7arovi is the greatest scorer ever and unstoppable coming down that wing. He has the best one timer ever. Scored some of the most acrobatic goals ever, including the best goal in nhl history with „the goal“. Stop it ovi is in a different league

Left some cash on the table? He's making way more money in Russia than in the NHL.

packers256 Exactly. His salary is even higher than his already astronomical salary in NJ.

packers256 reffee Wow i didn't know that, i guess the KHL has really grown in its power and clout globally. I'd be wary of drafting Russian players who may get homesick or want a bigger payday. I can see other players (hopefully not Datsyuk or Ovi) following suit in the future if the gap between the US and Russia continues to close.

If I was a worshiped national hero in my country, I'd probably too choose to stay here over NHL. I mean it's gotta be great for your ego!

Amusement73 Lower taxes make it the same money for Ilya but technically the club is paying less, i think. The KHL has come a long way in the past decade... it will never reach NHL but it's as close as you can find in the world.

And since Brodeur's 2011-2012 season

Every team has their ups and downs and one day the Devils will rise up again

I mean, that contract would have been hell now

Bryzgolav?

Me too

JOSALDINHO34732 U better find somebody else

+HockeyCZE hahahahaha lol

same here Devils got destroyed after the year 2012

Kovy improved drastically on defense compared to his Atlanta days

And one the best 2 way wingers

Ehh Kovy and Jagr have completely different backgrounds but yes, he might come back.

packers256 Kovy will need the approval of all 30 GM's in order to return to the NHL. I highly doubt Lou (or whomever is in charge of the Devils by then) will say yes.

If he comes back he'll have to go back to the Devils and finish his contract unless the Devils wanna trade him..

***** He can come back without the GM approvals once he's 35+. Which may be 2018 I'm not sure off the top of my head but that sounds about right.

Danny Vazquez 2017 and wanted to come back

Ça serait malade mais pense yer bien en russie

He is an idiot. Accept it.

Pyry Puustinen I did try to think he maybe was a "good" guy with a bit of a bad temper but i totally lost my respect towards him in the Finland Russia game where he slashed players on the bench and so on.

Pyry Puustinen Miten suomalainen voi edes puolustella sitä eläintä enää?

Pyry Puustinen Miten suomalainen voi edes puolustella sitä eläintä enää?

Pyry Puustinen Just to play devil's advocate (no pun intended), there was no reason to sign a 15-year contract, then.

I think his wife made him because she couldn't adapt to English or something.

He recently reported that he deeply regrets leaving the NHL and wants to try to come back for the 2018-19 season in pursuit of achieving The Triple Gold. It'd be perfect timing because this is the last season that the New Jersey Devils have his rights.

OMGitsSTORKY Im hearing the Rangers are prepared to sign him for 3 years on July 1st

not sure about that but he is definatelly returning to nhl next year

MultiNoNamex NYR is a destination that totally makes sense. Ilya might be that missing piece they've needed all these years to finally get King Henrik a Cup 😂

Да, НХЛовский бан закончился, говорят в Нью-Йорк поедет. В России больше ловить нечего, Олимпиаду выиграл, КГ выиграл, ЧМ выиграл, остаётся КС, но тут главное в нормальную команду попасть.

You got two defensive-offensive players in Weber and Petry.

+Kalle S. Adrenaline - Shinedown

yes, foppa were combination of lindros and crosby (without crying) , universal player..like fedorov..

Absolutely. If there ever was a complete player, it was Forsberg. From the current players, I love Kopitar. He reminds me of Foppa since he too is great in every possible area.

Federov in my opinion is the most well rounded player of all time. He won the Hart and Selke trophies in the same season. No other player has done that and will do that. And his coach even said he would've won a Norris had he played as a defenseman for a season. At his peak, there was no player like him. Forsberg was the closest thing to him. Great all around player. One of my all time favorites. Both legendary talents.

MilesP777 Yeah, Fedorov is also one of my all time favorites and was just awesome, there's no denying that! I personally like Foppa more for his raw passion and for having more of a physical edge, but they were both amazing players and you can't argue with somebody picking Sergei as the player they consider to be the most well rounded in the history of the NHL.

He is not the best but he is the most well rounded for sure. Nobody could combine the skating, physicality, shot, intelligence, defense, and passing talents that Forsberg could.