Ilya Kovalchuk may have already played his last game with the Capitals

The Washington Capitals acquired Ilya Kovalchuk before the trade deadline, but it seems the team will have less time with him than expected.

Ilya Kovalchuk was never going to be with the Washington Capitals at the start of the 2020-21 season. The 37-year-old forward was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Capitals for a third-round pick before the deadline at the end of February in a savvy move for both sides, but Kovalchuk was a clear rental for Washington with the forward’s one-year, $700,000 contract expiring in July.

Given the coronavirus pandemic and the current pause of the 2019-20 NHL season, it’s fair to say that we very well could have seen Kovalchuk’s last game with the Capitals after just a few short weeks. There is no guarantee for the NHL to return later this summer, though the league is clearly aiming and planning for it if it becomes safe enough to do so.

If that is the case, and the rest of the 2019-20 NHL season does not come to pass, Kovalchuk will have only played seven games with the Capitals before his contract expires. With the news from Sportsnet’s Eric Engels that “it’s all but assured Kovalchuk will be back in Montreal come 2020-21,” it’ll be a shame to see a mutually beneficial partnership end so suddenly.

Though Kovalchuk only had four points (one goal and three assists) during his time in Washington, the Russian forward was synergizing well with this Capitals team. Plus, his bromance with fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin was a highlight of this signing for the Capitals, as the pair had been wanting to play on the same NHL team together for a very long time.

Kovalchuk’s overall 2019-20 season has been productive. In 46 total games with three teams, the forward had 10 goals and 26 points overall. Not impressive, for sure, but still serviceable at the bottom of a lineup, given his age.

It makes sense that Kovalchuk would be set to return to the Canadiens for the 2020-21 season. While Montreal won’t have many contracts coming off the books next season, the team would still be able to offer Kovalchuk a sizable raise from the league-minimum contract he signed in January. Plus, Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin and Kovalchuk reportedly have a great relationship, with the Canadiens’ GM sending the forward to the Capitals at his request, even though he had better offers for the Russian forward on the table.

“When I’ll be free agent, it’s one of the destinations that will be in my mind for sure,” Kovalchuk said at the time. “Like I said, the fans here, the players, I think the younger players, the direction where this team is going, I really like it a lot.”

It is a shame, however, that we had the bromance between Ovechkin and Kovalchuk cut short, if the NHL does not resume play for the 2019-20 season. The Stanley Cup playoffs are still a possibility, however, meaning Kovalchuk may not have had his swan song with Washington just yet if the Capitals can continue their championship quest later this summer.

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