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

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.

Transitioning to the NHL

The thing about Kovar’s production is that it’s coming from the KHL. But we can get an idea of what they would look like in the NHL using an NHLe converter. The conversion uses a translation factor taking into account the player’s point-per-game rate in that league.

Using Jason Arbuthnot’s NHLe Calculator, here are Kovar’s estimated point totals:

• 2013-14: 76 points
• 2014-15: 68 points
• 2015-16: 54 points
• 2016-17: 64 points
• 2017-18: 39 points

However, this doesn’t necessarily account for the increased quality of competition. But many believe that Kovar is an NHL player and can fit in a team’s top nine. The question is whether there is a fit with the Montreal Canadiens and also, if they’re even an option for the Czech native.

Place in the Lineup

Ideally, any team would be singing Kovar to play centre. Insulting him would be the best way to go as it’ll be a learning curve for him. There is a chance that he starts on an AHL team, but it seems like Kovar is set to play in the NHL next season.

More from Editorials

• Montreal Canadiens: Senators Rebuild At Crisis Point As Kent Hughes Moves Forward
• Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin Continues Charity Work In Montreal After Leaving Habs
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Lineup Going To Be Must Watch
• Montreal Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Contract Extension Analysis
• Montreal Canadiens: Top 31 Prospects – #31 Quentin Miller

The Habs don’t have space down the middle (ironically). Jonathan Drouin, Phillip Danault (one he’s signed), and Tomas Plekanec are the team’s top three centres. Jacob de La Rose will most likely be pushed down to the fourth line with the return of the 35-year-old.

Kovar could start on the third line instead which would have de La Rose on the wing, but there’s still a good deal of congestion. Additionally, I doubt he would change leagues and countries to play 10 minutes a night when he averaged 20:44 over his KHL career. But he should and will be given every opportunity to play higher in the lineup with the Montreal Canadiens if he proves that he can handle it.

Drouin playing on the wing settles some of the logjam issues. Kovar has lined up with skilled players over his career, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him collaborate well with the team’s offensive forwards.