The Montreal Canadiens traded forward Ilya Kovalchuk to the Washington Capitals. However, the Russian winger was given the choice to be traded to Boston.
J.P. Barry told @sportexpress Ilya Kovalchuk had a choice of 2 teams. And he chose the #ALLCAPS over the #NHLBruins
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) February 24, 2020
Evidently, he made his choice.
As far as why the 36-year-old chose the Capitals remains to be seen, though some can make a strong argument for why.
First off, the Washington Capitals have won 16 of the previous 18 matchups with Boston, despite getting blown out at TD Garden earlier this season. With these two seeming destined to square off in the playoffs, it’s not a mystery which team Kovalchuk would want to play for.
Kovalchuk has had a forgettable year to this point as he’ll be playing for his third team this season. In 39 games he has just nine goals and 13 assists. He’s been less than advertised for the most part since returning to the NHL for the most part, though perhaps in a legitimate cup-winning environment he can turn back the clock.
Remember, this man was once a perennial 30-goal scorer, albeit eight years ago. The Capitals certainly got better.
