Boston Bruins: Bruce Cassidy intrigued by Ilya Kovalchuk
By Sam Minton
You can add another name to the list of Boston Bruins management that would be interested in bringing in veteran winger Ilya Kovalchuk.
The talk of the hockey world has been where will Ilya Kovalchuk land? The 35-year-old is coming back to the NHL and the Boston Bruins are one of the front-runners to land him.
Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney confirmed that the team was looking to bring Kovalchuk in, and now it looks like Kovalchuk has found another fan in Boston. Head coach Bruce Cassidy seems rather intrigued at the possibility of adding one of the greatest scorers in league history to his roster.
"“Yeah, that would be interesting … you never want to speculate,” Cassidy told The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont on Tuesday. “You can’t get too far ahead … he’s a top-six guy, he can play left and right wing, he’s a big body. He’d be a nice addition."
There’s a spot for Kovalchuk on the Bruins roster
With the news about David Backes, it appears that now more than ever there is a spot for Kovalchuk on the roster. The Bruins shouldn’t re-sign Rick Nash especially since Kovalchuk can fill his spot on the 2nd line. In his NHL career, Kovalchuk scored 417 goals and 399 assists. He has an amazing shot, but the question is can he still play?
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It also appears that Kovalchuk has fans in the Bruins locker room. Patrice Bergeron would love to have Kovalchuk as a teammate.
"“When he moved over to Russia, I never really thought about him ever wanting to come back,” said Bergeron. “He’s always been an amazing player with amazing skill — his shot is crazy. So, yeah, it would be great to be able to add a guy like him with his talent and his skill set . . . we’ll see what happens out of it, but he definitely would be a great addition.’"
All lines seem to be pointing at Kovalchuk joining the team. As we grow deeper into the NHL offseason it becomes a more promising idea.
Kovalchuk may be old, but his shot doesn’t age. It is amazing and having him on the 2nd line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk would be a treat.
Next: The Bruins should trade David Backes
The Kovalchuk sweepstakes are far from over, but it is abundantly clear that the Boston Bruins would love to have him on their roster.