The Washington Capitals now have Ilya Kovalchuk and Alex Ovechkin on the same team. The Capitals raised some eyebrows by trading for Kovalchuk from the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night.
Capitals receive: Ilya Kovalchuk
Canadiens’ side: They receive a 2020 third-round draft pick
MORE: PHT’s Trade deadline live blog
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that the Canadiens are retaining 50 percent of Kovalchuk’s salary. This is Kovalchuk’s latest salary we’re talking about, so it’s a small chunk of a small chunk.
That means Washington is picking up Ilya Kovalchuk for roughly $75,000 in salary for the rest of the season.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 24, 2020
What Kovalchuk trade means for Canadiens and Capitals
Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin made a tough PR choice. Kovalchuk served as a feel-good story during a feel-bad season, coming alive with some overtime magic and a lot of fun energy. It seemed like he had a new lease on life after things ended badly with the Kings.
Frankly, I believe that this was the right choice for Montreal. Getting something for a player with an uncertain future who will turn 37 on April 15 makes more sense than hoping for lightning to strike twice.
The Habs are also doing a nice job “rebuilding on the fly.”
Nabbing another third-rounder means that Montreal will enjoy quite the war chest of picks. Bergevin hit some great notes already by sending the Sabres a fourth-rounder for Marco Scandella, only to flip Scandella for a much better package of assets.
Now, these nice in-the-margins moves don’t solve all of Montreal’s problems. They also don’t guarantee that Bergevin will keep his job, making this a case where Bergevin might just be making life easier for the next Canadiens GM. But it’s still pretty strong, sober work.
There’s also the possibility that maybe the Canadiens try to bring back Kovalchuk in the future, anyway?
#Habs Bergevin trading Kovalchuk for a Cup run with his pal Ovechkin feels like a solid for 17. Habs gain a 3rd and set the table for a potential July 1 return. Kovalchuk really enjoyed Mtl and vice versa.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) February 24, 2020
The Capitals, meanwhile, add an interesting weapon to their arsenal. Kovalchuk naturally doesn’t help Washington in the area where they’ve been most troubled lately -- defense -- but they did try to address that with the Brenden Dillon trade.
Greedily speaking, I’m just really excited to see Kovalchuk and Ovechkin on the same NHL team. Sure, it would have been more fun to see that happen before Ovechkin’s hair turned gray, but better late than never.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.