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Why the Boston Bruins shouldn’t sign Ilya Kovalchuk

By Sam Minton

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 25: Ilya Kovalchuk #71 of Olympic Athlete from Russia attempts a shot in overtime against Danny Aus Den Birken #33 of Germany during the Men's Gold Medal Game on day sixteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Hockey Centre on February 25, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 25: Ilya Kovalchuk #71 of Olympic Athlete from Russia attempts a shot in overtime against Danny Aus Den Birken #33 of Germany during the Men's Gold Medal Game on day sixteen of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Hockey Centre on February 25, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Ilya Kovalchuk is looking to return to the NHL and reports have the Boston Bruins as being contenders to bring in the 35-year-old winger.

Ilya Kovalchuk will always be remembered for his greatness in the NHL. He was an offensive superstar who seemed to be putting pucks in the net while sleeping. Kovalchuk is looking to return to the NHL after a few years and according to Darren Dreger, the Boston Bruins are one of the teams he is linked too. The B’s should be smart and not sign a veteran winger who hasn’t played in the NHL for 5 years.

Kovalchuk has a long and successful career. He played 12 years in the NHL and scored 417 goals and 399 assists. Kovalchuk has an amazing shot and is an absolute sniper.

Kovalchuk left the NHL after the 2013 season and has been playing back in Russia in the KHL ever since. He has been lighting it up scoring 138 goals and 327 points in less than 300 games. Pretty amazing. The KHL may be a step down from the NHL, but there are some decent players over in Russia. The league isn’t all that bad (well besides the possibility that it was rigged by Vladimir Putin).

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Keep away from Kovalchuk

Kovalchuk may be producing, but the Bruins should stay away from him.

The Bruins have turned over their roster and are now younger and faster. Kovalchuk would ruin the flow. He may be a great skater, but at 35 it will be hard for him to keep up with these young guys.

The Rick Nash experiment was relatively unsuccessful last season and I would hope that the Bruins don’t re-sign Nash unless they can get him for a nice discount.

It is great to have a veteran presence, but the Bruins already have Patrice Bergeron, and Zdeno Chara to lead the team.

Next: The Bruins should go after Noah Hanifin

Kovalchuk was once one of the best scores in the league, but now he is on the wrong side of 30 and will probably show it when he makes a return to the NHL.

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