Bruins’ Coach Bruce Cassidy on Ilya Kovalchuk: He Would “Make us Better”

Ilya Kovalchuk with Russia's national team. Photo by Timo Jaakonaho/REX/Shutterstock

There are many NHL teams who would love to bring back Ilya Kovalchuk to the United States, although the Russian ice hockey superstar decided to retire from the league back in 2013. That might not be such a hard task since Kovalchuk’s contract with KHL’s SKA Saint Petersburg will expire on July 1st, after which he is free to choose his next destination.

One of the teams that will be definitely in line for the services of the 35-year-old winger is Boston Bruins, who will be looking to add talent to the team that made it to Eastern Conference Second Round in the last season. Bruins’ head coach Bruce Cassidy spoke about the possibility of adding Ilya Kovalchuk to his team on Tuesday, saying that he would be “a nice fit” and “make us better.”

“That would be interesting. You never want to speculate, but he would be a nice fit,” said Cassidy. “A top-six guy. He can score. He’s a big body. It would be a nice addition. He’s going to make your team better. And he would sure make us better.”

Despite seeing him as a great fit for his team, Cassidy explained that he doesn’t know did Bruins general manager Don Sweeney took steps to bring Kovalchuk to Boston.

After being selected first overall in 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Ilya Kovalchuk went on to play 816 NHL games for Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils, scoring 417 goals and providing 399 assists in the process.