At the age of 40, Ilya Kovalchuk made his return to a professional ice surface for the first time since April 28, 2021. To achieve this feat, Kovy is now donning a Spartak Moskva (KHL) jersey, and it hasn’t taken him long to make his mark.
The man who spent over a decade as a superstar in the National League threaded the needle into a gaping net in his return match.
As the saying goes, a goal’s a goal! No matter how, the puck crossed the little red line. All in all, Kovalchuk made an effort to send the disc into the net.
Hey, a goal is a goal.
Welcome back, Ilya Kovalchuk! pic.twitter.com/qH5XYndnE4
– KHL (@khl_eng) December 24, 2023
The smile on his face after this backhand shot shows how funny he found it to score in an empty net in his return to the second-best league in the world. He was even cramped!
It was in an empty net, in a 5-2 win over Kunlun Red Star, that Kovy scored his first success. The former Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils and Atlanta Thrashers player had never officially announced his retirement.
Here are the complete statistics for this first “return” meeting:
40-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk is back in business after missing 2.5 hockey seasons.
– 1 G
– 3 SOG
– 14:33 TOI
– Tied KHL all-time record for most empty net goals (14).
– Still has his Kovy smile. pic.twitter.com/uCDtmt9sqL
– KHL (@khl_eng) December 24, 2023
With this unexpected signing, I dare to believe that Kovalchuk, despite his 40 years, was well prepared physically and mentally to be of caliber. Playing on the second combination, with former Devils teammate Andrei Lotkinov and winger Max Tsyplakov, his level had to be more than acceptable.
Just for fun, Kovy took part in 926 NHL games, in which he collected a total of 876 points, including 443 goals, without lifting the Stanley Cup. Nevertheless, during his KHL campaigns, he lifted the Gagarin Cup on three occasions, including one with Bob Hartley.
In a Squall
– A beautiful decoration!
Mika Zibanejad’s wife shared this incredible ornament they have in their tree pic.twitter.com/GGa4NFWF6P
– BarDown (@BarDown) December 24, 2023
– Kaprizov, Zibanejad and Kane stood out last week!
NHL stars Kaprizov, Zibanejad and Kane https://t.co/2CqTAeQlMZ
– La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) December 24, 2023
– I knew Jacob Trouba was a good person inside!
Last year, Jacob Trouba and @gardenofdreams helped a young man pay for college – and it made him realize he needed to do more.
On how Jacob has parlayed his passion for art into a $100K donation to support + enrich the young people in our community. 
– New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 24, 2023
– To you. From me!
It’s time to drop this off: MERRY CHRISTMAS to all the baseball fanatic. Enjoy the moment with your loved ones, away from cell phones, it recharges the batteries a bit. Especially since you’ll need batteries in 2024, because of my official return to the… pic.twitter.com/NXsPYRzYRa
– Jeff Drouin (@JeffDrouinShow) December 24, 2023
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