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Montreal Canadiens: Who is Jan Kovar and is there a chance to sign him?

By Omar L

Czech Republic's Jan Kovar (L) controls the puck ahead of Russia's Vladislav Gavrikov in the men's semi-final ice hockey match between the Czech Republic and the Olympic Athletes from Russia during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung on February 23, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / JUNG Yeon-Je (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)
Czech Republic's Jan Kovar (L) controls the puck ahead of Russia's Vladislav Gavrikov in the men's semi-final ice hockey match between the Czech Republic and the Olympic Athletes from Russia during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung on February 23, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / JUNG Yeon-Je (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images) /

The Montreal Canadiens have found talent overseas in the past, and if Jan Kovar chooses to play in Montreal, he could be another one.

European free agents aren’t ungoverned territory for the Montreal Canadiens. They recently signed defencemen Michal Moravcik and David Sklenicka to two-year entry-level contracts. Both played and had success on the Pilsen Indians in the Czech League but have European Assignment Clauses attached to their deals that could see them return to Europe during the season.

The Habs also signed Jakub Jerabek last season out of the KHL. He started the year off with the Laval Rocket to get accustomed to the North American style of hockey and progressed quickly. Montreal called him up from the minors ahead of the deadline on his European Assignment Clause seeing him play 25 games and score a goal and 4 assists.

Alexander Radulov was the big-ticket out of the KHL and chose to join the Montreal Canadiens for the 2016-17 season. The Russian winger scored 18 goals and 36 assists that year adding 7 points in 6 playoff games.

The top name out of the KHL now looks to be Jan Kovar. The 28-year-old has spent the last five seasons playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Kovar has been described as a dynamic centre. He may not be the tallest player standing at five-foot-eleven, but he’s stocky and isn’t moved off the puck easily. Additionally, he’s decent in the faceoff circle finishing with above 50% in each of his five regular seasons.

What has some concerned is Kovar’s production. Here are his scoring totals in his years with Metallurg

  • 2013-14 season: 23 goals, 45 assists, 68 points in 53 games (1.28 PPG)
  • 2014-15 season: 24 goals, 44 assists, 68 points in 60 games (1.13 PPG)
  • 2015-16 seasons: 20 goals, 32 assists, 52 points in 58 games (0.89 PPG)
  • 2016-17 seasons: 23 goals, 40 assists, 63 points in 59 games (1.06 PPG)
  • 2017-18 seasons: 7 goals, 28 assists, 35 points in 54 games (0.64 PPG)

Kovar was also a key contributor on Czech Republic’s Olympic team with 3 goals 2 assists in 6 games (tied for first).

He saw a significant decline in both goals and assists this past season. But his overall totals in the league soften that blow with 286 points in 285 regular season games and 91 points in 83 playoff games. That said, Kovar has soft hands and a wicked shot that will be effective in the NHL.

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