Before Jacques Lemaire ‘retired’ from coaching, I was a bit skeptical on the prospects of Ilya Kovalchuk returning to the New Jersey Devils next season. The system is place was stifling the offense of the team and Kovalchuk, while brought in to provide an offensive spark in the playoffs, was far from productive when the team needed him most.
Now that a new coach will be in place next season, I’m not so sure. The Devils certainly have a great nucleus of players to continue to build around, especially on offense. Per Tom Gulutti of NorthJersey.com, Kovalchuk is noncommittal at this point.
“Right now I can’t tell you anything because I just want to stay away from the game a little bit and spend some time with my family and regroup,” he said. “I’ve still got time to think.”