President of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Alexei Morozov said in an interview with that there is no data yet on the registration of the contract of forward Ilya Kovalchuk with a club from the KHL, but there was still time before the December 27 deadline.
On Sunday, the chairman of the board of directors of Spartak, Alexander Yakushev, told that Kovalchuk, 40, would play for the “red and whites” on December 24 against Kunlun. The forward last played in the KHL at the end of April 2021, when he won the Gagarin Cup with the Avangard. Since then, he has not played for two and a half seasons as an active hockey player, but as a coach he traveled with the Russian national team to the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, where the The money was won.
— Ilya Kovalchuk, the godfather of your children, returns to big hockey. Did he ask you if he should return to Spartak at the age of 40?
– There can be no advice from me! Ilya is an adult. You understand how old he is, what experience he has. The legend of our hockey. Of course, only he will decide what to do. He doesn’t need anyone’s advice. He will understand what he feels at this age, what injuries and sores he has, what worries him. Will he be able to pay a lot of attention to hockey when there are family matters? You know, a lot of people end their careers because they want to be with their family more.
So we will wait for Ilya’s decision. There is nothing official yet. The league has not received any Kovalchuk contracts with any KHL clubs. And until December 27, the KHL deadline, each team has the opportunity to recruit newcomers (smiles – editor’s note ) if they fall within the salary cap.
— You yourself played in Pittsburgh when, on December 27, 2000, after a break of three and a half seasons, Mario Lemieux returned to big hockey. Could the KHL put on the same show around Kovalchuk’s return after a two-and-a-half season hiatus?
“I know for sure that at that time the show was not organized by the NHL, but by Pittsburgh itself.” There was a big Christmas game against Toronto. At the arena, the Penguins lowered Lemieux’s jersey, which had already been hoisted into the vaults during his first outing. On a mat spread out on the ice stood a family – wife, children. The moment was very moving, and everyone was waiting for this event.
Let’s wait and see if the contract with Kovalchuk is officially signed. Then, of course, the Spartak team will have to think about how to draw even more attention to this topic. If Ilya does indeed return to the KHL, then you can be sure that I will definitely go to his first game! – Morozov told .
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Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
