Did Ilya Kovalchuk pick the Capitals over the Bruins?
By Alex Barth, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Bruins already bolstered their forward depth by trading for Ondrej Kase last week, but did they come close to adding another name as well?
Following the Washington Capitals acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk for a third-round pick on Sunday, conflicting reports have indicated the Bruins may have been the runner up. In the fallout of the trade, the stories from Kovalchuk and his agent J.P. Barry haven’t lined up.
Barry told reporters Monday morning that it came down to two teams for Kovalchuk’s services, the Capitals and the Bruins.
J.P. Barry told @sportexpress Ilya Kovalchuk had a choice of 2 teams. And he chose the #ALLCAPS over the #NHLBruins
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) February 24, 2020
When asked about it later in the day, Kovalchuk gave contradictory information.
Kovalchuk was asked about choosing between the Capitals and Bruins and he said "I don't think you have the right teams there"
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 24, 2020
Kovalchuk did add that whoever the alternatives were, the Canadiens gave him final say on where he would end up. If that’s the case, it’s not unrealistic to say he ‘passed’ on the Bruins if they made an offer the Canadiens would have accepted.
Ilya Kovalchuk says Marc Bergevin gave him options as to where he could go and that Bergevin had better offers for him from other teams. Appreciated Bergevin handling it that way.
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 24, 2020
If the Bruins really were in pursuit of Kovalchuk, that could be an indication that they’re not done adding to the roster. The team has until 3 p.m. Monday to make any more trades. You can follow along with our NHL Trade Deadline Live Blog.
