Despite the best efforts of Devils general manager Ray Shero, Ilya Kovalchuk is heading back to Russia.
Shero attempted to trade Kovalchuk, and that effort intensified over the past four days. It seemed Columbus might have been a good landing spot, and same with San Jose, where the Sharks employ his former Devils coach, Peter DeBoer.
The Rangers also had interest, but Shero understandably was hesitant to trade him right across the river. It all led to Shero being unable to find a deal worth doing, so the 34-year-old winger was set to re-sign with his current team, SKA St. Petersburg.
That means the Devils would lose him for nothing if Kovalchuk chooses to return to the NHL next season. He becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2018.
That is bad news for the Devils, who made Kovalchuk the $100 million man when they inked him to a 15-year deal back in 2010. That deal later resulted in the loss of draft picks for circumventing the convoluted salary-cap rules, and also a cap-recapture penalty once he abruptly retired to head back to his native Russia after the 2012-13 season.
The Rangers now might have a chance to sign Kovalchuk next summer without giving up one of their blue-chip prospects.