Bruins should just say no to new UFA Ilya Kovalchuk

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Ilya Kovalchuk officially became an unrestricted free agent Tuesday when he cleared waivers and his contract was terminated by the Los Angeles Kings.

The last step in the process was receiving the official termination letter from the Kings, which the Kovalchuk camp now have in hand. As for talks with other NHL teams, none yet but plan is for agent J.P. Barry to start that process this afternoon.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 17, 2019

What’s next for the 36-year-old Russian? Well it sounds like the right-shooting left wing wants to remain in North America and play for a team with a chance to challenge for the Stanley Cup.

The Bruins have the salary-cap space, especially if Kovalchuk is willing to play for a league-minimum salary, and an opening among their middle-six forwards. A report out of Russia has already tied the Bruins to Kovalchuk, who had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 17 games (15:25 of ice time per night) this season before the Kings shut him down after their Nov. 9 game.

Per source Ilya Kovalchuk wants to sign with a contender and would be OK with a minimum salary. Bruins are interested

— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) December 17, 2019

Boston was among the bidders for Kovalchuk’s services when he decided to return to the NHL from the KHL as a free agent in June 2018. But general manager Don Sweeney, who’s typically tight-lipped on such matters, was transparent about the Bruins shying away from giving Kovalchuk the third year he got from the Kings.

The Bruins should shy away from adding Kovalchuk.

Despite the Twitter clamoring to bring him to Boston, “he’s better than Brett Ritchie or David Backes” is not an argument that makes his addition worth it. First of all, we don’t know what his salary demands will be or if he’s even willing to play for the NHL minimum.

Second, his play didn’t deteriorate this season. He had 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in 64 games last season, but he was, and still is, one-dimensional. Prevailing opinion around the NHL is that he can’t defend, and if you haven’t noticed the Bruins like to have their players perform well at both ends of the rink, regardless of who’s coaching them.

Here’s what Dave King, a long-time coach in the North America and Russia, told The Athletic in May.

“I don’t think this guy is ever going to compete defensively enough to keep some coaches happy.”

Third, to get his game going Kovalchuk would require significant power-play time. The right-handed shot would replace the left-shooting Jake DeBrusk or Danton Heinen in the net-front position, but that would require making several changes to Boston’s plays and concepts. If he moved out to the half wall, that might put Brad Marchand in less of a role to succeed.

Fourth and finally, even a minimum wage would count against the salary cap and eat away at what precious space the Bruins have built up since they’ve been using the Long Term Injured Reserve on Kevan Miller and others. Kovalchuk, at best, would be an average player in the middle six. In order to close the hole in their lineup and prevent another season that ends shy of the Stanley Cup, the Bruins should be looking for a younger, more versatile and dynamic wing, like Kyle Palmieri of New Jersey or Chris Kreider of the New York Rangers, even though trading assets rather than just signing a guy off the scrap heap.

Just say no to Kovy.

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