Montreal Canadiens: Time To Stop Hoping For Ilya Kovalchuk Reunion

Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin found money with Ilya Kovalchuk last season but a reunion wouldn’t be necessary.

The Montreal Canadiens were floundering in early January but still had hopes for a playoff berth. They looked good at times in the first half of the 2019-20 season, but injuries took their toll and the team was fading fast.

They needed a boost, but also were too far from Stanley Cup contending status to do anything drastic.

So, general manager Marc Bergevin signed unrestricted free agent Ilya Kovalchuk, hoping for a flash of brilliance from a former superstar.

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When Kovalchuk first arrived in Montreal, he got off to a great start. He would score six goals and 12 points in his first 15 games with the Habs. He looked great on a line with Nick Suzuki and was putting some life into a previously flat power play. But it didn’t last and he would go pointless in his next six games and finish with just one goal and three points in his last ten games in Montreal.

Still, there was plenty of talk at the time that the 37 year old Russian would be interested in returning to Montreal as a free agent in the offseason.

The first overall pick in the 2001 NHL Draft has now been a free agent for almost three weeks and there have been no takers. Still, there are some connecting him back to the Canadiens, but the fit just isn’t there anymore.

First of all, the Canadiens have already added two wingers in Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli. With Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia also on the right side and Jonathan Drouin, Tomas Tatar, Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen on left wing, Kovalchuk just doesn’t have a regular spot in this lineup.

The big Russian winger scored ten goals and 26 points in 46 games with the Los Angeles Kings, Habs and Washington Capitals last season. That’s fine production offensively, but the Habs have a plethora of wingers who can average half a point per game and they all bring far more defensively than Kovalchuk.

Kovalchuk did bring some hope to a troubled Canadiens lineup last season. He stepped in and breathed life into a struggling team. But with the additions the Habs have made and the depth that exists in the lineup right now, there just isn’t a fit for Ilya Kovalchuk anymore.