Boston Bruins: Don’t freak out over Ilya Kovalchuk
By Sam Minton
The Boston Bruins didn’t end up signing Ilya Kovalchuk and that is okay. I don’t know why some people are freaking out about not landing him.
When I heard the news that Ilya Kovalchuk was headed up to the great white north I said okay and moved on. Well some Boston Bruins fans don’t have the same view on the situation.
Kovalchuk signed with the Canadians on Thursday for a cheap deal. The Boston Bruins definitely could have broken out the checkbook if they really wanted Kovalchuk.
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This seemed to anger media members such as Ty Anderson and Joe Haggerty (If you don’t follow Ty on Twitter you are missing out, one of the best hockey writers out there). The main argument being that the Bruins are in need of some depth.
Now that is definitely true. Once you get past the top 6 (or even just the 1st line) there is a severe drop in production.
But Kovalchuk is not the answer to your problems. Since coming back to the United States, he hasn’t been the same player.
Last season Kovalchuk only played in 64 games and was only able to register 16 goals and 18 assists. This season he has been a no show playing in only 17 games and scoring a mediocre 3 goals and 6 assists.
That won’t do the Bruins a whole lot. I would rather save the money and give the players we currently have more experience.
Kovalchuk is almost 40 years old. I think his time has passed. He was once a great goal scorer but now he would probably be better of heading back to Russia to play in the KHL.
So let’s not freak out over the Boston Bruins not getting Ilya Kovalchuk. They will do just fine this season and are still one of the best teams in the NHL.