Kings are the lucky winners of the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes

One of the biggest targets for NHL teams this offseason was Ilya Kovalchuk, who led the KHL in scoring but hasn’t played in the NHL since 2012-13. Many teams tried, but the Los Angeles Kings were the ones victorious in signing him.

Ilya Kovalchuk can’t officially sign with a team until the NHL’s free agency signing period opens on July 1, but for all intents and purposes, he’s off the market.

Kovalchuk, who last appeared in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils in 2012-13, led the KHL in points, (ranking second in goals and fifth in assists). When he made it known that he wanted to make an NHL comeback, many teams lined up — including the Kings, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights.

However, we learned Saturday morning in the midst of the 2018 NHL Draft that the sweepstakes is over; the Kings are the lucky winners.

The deal is over three years with an average salary of $6.25 million, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

If Kovalchuk has been out of the league so long, aren’t teams concerned that he’ll look like a different player? Well, the lasting image the Kings have of Kovalchuk is a player who led the league in goals from 2001 to 2013, with 471. He topped the 50-goal mark twice. Those things are hard to forget.

According to Pierre LeBrun, Los Angeles was Kovalchuk’s top destination and he had made it known that he wanted the Patrick Marleau deal — three years, $6.25 million. Other teams couldn’t match those teams, like the Bruins, who wouldn’t have gone in for three years.

Next: 25 Most Dominant Offensive Players In NHL History

Now that Kovalchuk is off the market, we could see more action in Day 2 of the NHL Draft. There was a surprising lack of trade action Friday night, which insiders attribute to the fact that at the time, the futures of Kovalchuk and John Tavares still remained up in the air.