Ilya Kovalchuk retires from NHL

However, the 30-year-old forward is expected to make up those loses fairly quickly, as reports indicated that Kovalchuk could earn as much as $15-$20 million per season with SKA. In addition, his contract could be significantly front-loaded, which would amount to a substantial sum of money being given to the player shortly after signing the agreement. The financial terms of the deal have not been released at the time of this writing.

Kovalchuk openly expressed his desire to remain with SKA after the lifting of the 2012 NHL lockout. Like many players, Kovalchuk went overseas after the board of governors and NHL Players’ Association failed to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement prior to the Sept. 15 expiration of the previous deal. Kovalchuk enjoyed playing in his home country and publicly stated that he wanted to finish the remainder of the 2012-13 season in the league.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

(Hey, what can I say? The league is into selective enforcement of almost all the rules, except that idiotic “puck over glass” bit.)

Multiple accounts have indicated that Kovalchuk plans to sign with SKA St. Petersburg, the club he captained during the 2012 NHL lockout. According to Lysenkov, Kovalchuk could be paid anywhere from $15-$20 million per season with his new club. Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy writes that it’s unclear whether the entirety of the payment will come under the KHL’s salary cap or if some of it will be paid off the books. Puck Daddy contributor Dmitry Chesnokov adds that SKA could significantly front-load the deal in order to provide Kovalchuk with a sizable sum of money up front.

Over the next six years, Kovalchuk was scheduled to be paid the following amounts, via CapGeek:

The former NHL superstar took to Twitter, as folks are often wont to do, to voice his opinion shortly after Kovalchuk made his announcement.

(Unless Roenick is speaking in reference to a different “Aaron Hernandez,” here’s a reminder of what the assumed subject has been charged with.)

Ilya Kovalchuk has retired from the NHL. This is not a drill. This is not a joke. He’s really retired. There are a lot of questions to answer, but one looms largest:

WHAT WHY IS HE DOING THIS HE’S 30 YEARS OLD HE’S IN HIS PRIME WHAT WHY HUH

Kovalchuk stated via press release that he had been contemplating leaving for Russia for the entirety of this season:

Devils manager Lou Lamoriello stated in the same release that he had multiple conversations with Kovalchuk about retiring from the NHL over the course of this past year:

The head coach of Kovalchuk’s KHL club, SKA St. Petersburg, stated on Friday that the talented forward had likely played his final game with the club on Thursday. In addition, Slava Malamud of Sports-Express tweeted that Kovalchuk’s family is currently in the United States, which he believes is a strong indication that he will be returning to the US.

St. Petersburg’s general manager stated that an official announcement regarding Kovalchuk’s future will be made on Saturday.

After explaining that he was in no rush to return to the NHL, Kovalchuk stated on Thursday that he would prefer to finish out the 2012-13 season with SKA Saint Petersburg of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League instead of returning to the NHL.

Kovalchuk has been vocal in his indecision to return to North America.