Kovalchuk, Devils Seal 17-Year, $102 M Contract

Ilya Kovalchuk, the NHL’s biggest free agent catch this season, has decided to become a Devil for the long haul, agreeing to a $102-million contract to stay in New Jersey for an unprecedented 17 years.

The deal will make Kovalchuk a member of the New Jersey Devils through the 2026-2027 season, when the high-scoring Russian winger will have been 44 years old. The agreement concludes an often times tumultuous negotiation period between Kovalchuk, the NHL’s top goal scorer since 2001, and several teams that included the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, and Russia Kontinental Hockey League team SKA St. Petersburg.

Kovalchuk, 27, was traded to the Devils by the Atlanta Thrashers in February after he turned down a 12-year contract extension worth $101 million from the team. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 when his existing contract expired. Although Kovalchuk did not say why he chose to stay in New Jersey, his agent believes that the Devils’ reputation as a perennial Stanley Cup contender weighed heavily in his ward’s decision. “Obviously his goal is to win the Stanley Cup. If he didn’t think there was an opportunity to do that, then he would not have gone there,” agent Jay Grossman said.

Kovalchuk played a total of eight seasons for the Thrashers but reached the playoffs only in the 2006-2007, when Atlanta was swept by the New York Rangers in the conference quarterfinals.