What to expect from Ilya Kovalchuk after 5-year NHL absence

It was no secret that Ilya Kovalchuk would be making his way back to the NHL, and on Saturday we finally found out where the 35-year-old sniper will land.

The former No. 1 overall pick inked a three-year, $18.75-million deal with the Los Angeles Kings, which brings him back to North America after a five-season stint in the KHL. Kovalchuk left the New Jersey Devils for SKA St. Petersburg after the 2012-13 season and hovered right around his point-per-game NHL pace — posting 120 goals and 285 points in 262 contests over that span.

Before jetting for the Motherland, Kovalchuk spent eight campaigns with the Atlanta Thrashers and four with the New Jersey Devils, where he posted 816 points, including 417 goals, in 816 games between the two clubs. He’s also a two-time NHL All-Star and won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal-scorer in 2004. Most recently, Kovalchuk was named MVP of the 2018 Winter Olympic tournament in South Korea after leading Russia to a gold medal and is coming off back-to-back 30-plus goal seasons and his two most productive KHL campaigns point-wise.

The Kings obviously feel comfortable enough with his track record and recent successes in Russia to shell out over $6 million each of the next three seasons to the aging star, but what can we realistically expect to see from Kovalchuk and his new squad?

Lots of time with Kopitar

The addition of Kovalchuk to the Kings’ top line alongside Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown should immediately give L.A. one of the best No. 1 units in the Western Conference next season. Kovalchuk, who averaged over 70 points per season during his first NHL stint, should slot in on his off-wing to the left side of Kopitar, a position that was largely filled last season by Alex Iafallo, who posted just 25 points in 75 games.

And it surely won’t hurt an offence-first player like Kovalchuk to be paired on a nightly basis with one of the best defensive forwards in the world, who just happens to be a top-10 scorer, too.

An improved Kings power play

There’s no doubt that plopping a sniper like Kovalchuk onto the Kings’ top power play unit will add a whole new dimension to the team’s PP1, as the historically potent special-teamer, along with Drew Doughty and Kopitar, gives the Kings three of the top power-play weapons in the entire league.

Kovalchuk, who has scored 138 of his NHL 417 goals — a whopping 33 percent — on the PP, can completely dominate the left side of the ice with the man advantage. As you’ll see in the video below, he possesses a constant scoring threat from the point, the top of the circle, and down low in the left slot. He’s also an underrated playmaker, especially on the power play, and has the ability to find open teammates after catching defenders cheating in anticipation of a shot.

Youthfulness and durability beyond his years

Kovalchuk may be entering the twilight of his career, but all signs point to the 35-year-old being one of the exceptions to the rule which usually sees players begin to decline pretty steadily around the age of 32. Guys Like Jaromir Jagr, Patrick Marleau and Zdeno Chara, among others, have delayed their inevitable downslides while playing at a very high level well into their late 30s and 40s.

By all accounts, Kovalchuk is heavily invested in his physical conditioning and maintenance protocols, and that commitment has paid off greatly in terms of durability, as he suited up for at least 76 of 82 games in the nine-consecutive seasons following his rookie campaign. As mentioned earlier, he’s coming off the two most productive offensive seasons of his KHL career, so the up-trending, injury-free sniper should reasonably have at least a couple very good campaigns left in the tank.

An adjustment period ahead

Without a doubt the most intriguing storyline behind this comeback is how Kovalchuk will adjust to the NHL game after a five-year absence. Factors like once again getting suited to the North American-sized ice as well as having to adjust to the spacing and timing differences and challenges the smaller surfaces present.

Kovalchuk’s powerful stride, shiftiness and quickness are all still there, so acclimating to the speed difference in the 2018 game compared to that of when he left the NHL in 2013 shouldn’t be too much of an issue — but it will be interesting to see just how (if at all) different Kovalchuk’s skills translate to the NHL style of play now compared to five years ago.

Will the Kings regret this contract for the last year or so? Maybe. But all the ingredients are there to suggest Kovalchuk should be a valuable asset on and off the ice for the Kings in the short-term, at least.