The Montreal Canadiens announced the signing of Ilya Kovalchuk this morning to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal pays Kovalchuk $700,000 at the NHL level and $70,000 in the AHL.
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Kovalchuk returned to the NHL last season after playing in the KHL for the previous five years. Last summer, he signed a monster three-year, $18.75 million deal. Unfortunately for both player and team, this deal was a complete disaster. In his first year of the deal, Kovalchuk put up just 34 points in 64 games along with a -26 rating. This season started out no better as he had just 9 points in 17 games along with a -10 rating.
With the Kings deciding they were needing to rebuild and give their young players more ice-time, they decided to mutually terminate Kovalchuk's contract on December 16th. Prior to that, he had been a healthy scratch for over a month straight. By agreeing to this, Kovalchuk left $4.25 million on the table for next season. However, this also gives him a chance to prove he still has gas left in the tank.
The Canadiens play tomorrow night against Pittsburgh, but it hasn't yet been announced whether or not the former Rocket Richard trophy winner will be in the lineup.
