Alexei Kovalev

Alexei Vyacheslavovich Kovalev (; born 24 February 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey coach, executive and former professional player.

During his career, he played in over 1,300 National Hockey League (NHL) games over 18 seasons for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers between 1992 and 2013. He was originally drafted by the Rangers and won a Stanley Cup with them in 1994.

Kovalev also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Atlant Moscow Oblast, and was last active with EHC Visp of Switzerland's National League B.

Playing career Kovalev was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round, 15th overall, of the 1991 NHL entry draft. He became the first Russian-born player to be drafted in the first round in the history of the NHL as well as the first Soviet player to be drafted in the first round. Best known for his stickhandling skills, deking ability and wrist shot, he became an important part of the Rangers' 1994 Stanley Cup run, finishing with the third-most points for New York in the 1994 playoffs. Kovalev, Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov and Sergei Zubov were the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. The Rangers' Stanley Cup win is well remembered in Europe because of the first Russian names on the Stanley Cup, as MSG Network broadcaster Al Trautwig said in his essay, Garden of Dreams. During that 2006–07 season, he amassed only 18 goals and 29 assists for a total of 47 points.

During the 2007–08 season, Kovalev found a resurgence playing alongside linemates Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomáš Plekanec, recording a total of 35 goals, 49 assists for a total of 84 points in 82 games. As of the season's completion, he stood at the 94th spot of the top 100 all-time NHL scorers. Due to his inspired play, Kovalev was awarded the Canadiens' captaincy on two occasions during the season, replacing the injured Saku Koivu in his absence.

The following season, in 2008–09, Kovalev was named captain of the Eastern Conference at the 2009 NHL All-Star game in Montreal, and won Most Valuable Player honors as a result of his two goals, assist and game-winning shootout goal. Late in the season with the Canadiens, Kovalev scored his 100th goal with the club on 31 March 2009, against former teammate and Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet of the Chicago Blackhawks. At the end of the week, he was named the NHL's First Star for the Week ending 5 April after scoring two goals and seven assists, helping lead the Canadiens to three wins during that time.

On 6 July 2009, Kovalev signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Ottawa Senators as an unrestricted free agent. On 25 December 2009, Kovalev was excluded from the main roster for the Russian team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, to the surprise of fellow countryman Evgeni Malkin (though he was selected as a reserve by Team Russia in case an injury occurred during the tournament). On 3 January 2010, Kovalev scored a career-high four goals in a 7–4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

On 22 November 2010, Kovalev netted his sixth goal of the season, scoring his 1,000th point in his career, notching the goal at exactly 10:00 of the first period against the Los Angeles Kings.

Kovalev during his second tenure with the Penguins in March 2011. On 24 February 2011, his 38th birthday, Kovalev waived his no-trade clause to be traded back to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick. The pick would have been upgraded to the sixth round if the Penguins had reached the second round of the playoffs, which they did not. At the time of the trade, the Penguins were without 12 of their regular players, including Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Upon his return to Pittsburgh, Kovalev took up jersey number 72, as his original jersey number 27 was already in use by Craig Adams.

Kovalev's return to Pittsburgh was brief, as General Manager Ray Shero announced on 28 May 2011, that he had no intention of re-signing the underachieving forward.

After failing to sign with an NHL team for the 2011–12 season, Kovalev returned to Russia to play with the Atlant Moscow Oblast in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In June 2012, he was released from the two-year deal he signed with Atlant Moscow Oblast, at which point he declared his desire to return to the NHL. "Hopefully, I'll find an NHL team," Kovalev told the Montreal Gazette.

After the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Kovalev was given a tryout by the Florida Panthers, eventually signing a one-year contract with the team. "You could see how talented they are and they want to be in this League. All I want to do is help them. …I know I can match anyone in this locker room. I can still play this game," Kovalev said about the Panthers. In his first game as a Panther, Kovalev scored a goal and recorded two assists, one of the latter of which was an assist on teammate Jonathan Huberdeau's first career NHL goal.

On 21 March 2013, Kovalev officially announced his retirement from professional hockey. At that point, he had not played for the Panthers since a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on 22 February.

However, Kovalev's retirement lasted less than three months. Swiss National League B (NLB) team EHC Visp announced on 10 June 2013, that they had signed him to a one-year contract with an option for a second year.

On 30 January 2016, Kovalev revealed that he was yet again considering a return to professional ice hockey in the NHL. He referenced Jaromír Jágr, who is of similar age to him, as his reason to believe a comeback was possible. A team specifically mentioned was the Canadiens, however no team reached out to him.

Kovalev made a return to professional ice hockey on 18 October 2016, playing again for EHC Visp, the team he has become general manager of, after forward William Rapuzzi became injured before the day of the game. Kovalev gathered an assist on a goal by Jon Rheault, and finished the game with 14 penalty minutes, after receiving a game misconduct and being ejected from the game in the third period, for a hit from behind. Kovalev had been taking part in team practices since the beginning of the season.

Coaching career In March 2016, it was announced that Kovalev has signed with EHC Visp of the Swiss National League B to become general manager of the club.

Kovalev was hired as an assistant coach for HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2018. He was named head coach in 2020.

Accomplishments First Soviet player to be drafted in the first round; 15th Overall, First Round, 1991 One of the first four Russian players (along with Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Sergei Zubov) to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup; First Russian player to be a captain of an All-Star Team; Captain of the 2009 NHL Eastern Conference All-Star Team; Most Valuable Player of the 2009 NHL All-Star Game; 23 November 2010, recorded 1,000th (and 1,001st) career point(s) against the Los Angeles Kings, scoring a goal and an assist; Most NHL games played by a player born and trained in the Soviet Union (1,316).

Personal life At the age of eight, Kovalev himself was diagnosed with a heart disorder that prevented him from playing hockey for two years while he underwent treatment.

Kovalev is a licensed aircraft pilot. He has a step-sister, Adel Bukary, and a brother, Maxim Kovalev.

Charity work In October 2006, he unveiled the Kovy's Kids Suite at the Bell Centre to give children with heart conditions the opportunity to attend hockey games at the Bell Centre. In March 2008, Kovalev released a two-disc DVD titled My Hockey Tips and Training Methods. He donated 100 percent of the DVD sale profits to charities that promote cardiac care for children.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1989–90 Dynamo Moscow USSR 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1990–91 Dynamo Moscow USSR 18 1 2 3 4 — — — — — 1990–91 Dynamo–2 Moscow USSR-3 21 16 9 25 20 — — — — — 1991–92 Dynamo Moscow CIS 26 16 8 24 16 7 1 1 2 4 1991–92 Dynamo–2 Moscow CIS-3 4 5 0 5 12 — — — — — 1992–93 New York Rangers NHL 65 20 18 38 79 — — — — — 1992–93 Binghamton Rangers AHL 13 13 11 24 35 9 3 5 8 14 1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 76 23 33 56 154 23 9 12 21 18 1994–95 Lada Togliatti IHL 12 8 8 16 49 — — — — —1994–95 New York Rangers NHL 48 13 15 28 30 10 4 7 11 10 1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 81 24 34 58 98 11 3 4 7 14 1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 45 13 22 35 42 — — — — — 1997–98 New York Rangers NHL 73 23 30 53 44 — — — — — 1998–99 New York Rangers NHL 14 3 4 7 12 — — — — — 1998–99 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 63 20 26 46 37 10 5 7 12 14 1999–00 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 82 26 40 66 94 11 1 5 6 10 2000–01 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 79 44 51 95 96 18 5 5 10 16 2001–02 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 67 32 44 76 80 — — — — — 2002–03 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 54 27 37 64 50 — — — — — 2002–03 New York Rangers NHL 24 10 3 13 20 — — — — — 2003–04 New York Rangers NHL 66 13 29 42 54 — — — — — 2003–04 Montreal Canadiens NHL 12 1 2 3 12 11 6 4 10 8 2004–05 Ak Bars Kazan RSL 35 10 12 22 80 4 0 0 0 8 2005–06 Montreal Canadiens NHL 69 23 42 65 76 6 4 3 7 4 2006–07 Montreal Canadiens NHL 73 18 29 47 78 — — — — — 2007–08 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 35 49 84 70 12 5 6 11 8 2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 26 39 65 74 4 2 1 3 2 2009–10 Ottawa Senators NHL 77 18 31 49 54 — — — — — 2010–11 Ottawa Senators NHL 54 14 13 27 28 — — — — — 2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 20 2 5 7 16 7 1 1 2 10 2011–12 Atlant Moscow Oblast KHL 22 1 5 6 16 — — — — — 2012–13 Florida Panthers NHL 14 2 3 5 6 — — — — — 2013–14 EHC Visp NLB 44 22 30 52 82 11 7 8 15 37 2016–17 EHC Visp NLB 11 3 7 10 24 — — — — — NHL totals 1,316 430 599 1,029 1,304 123 45 55 100 114

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1990 Soviet Union EJC 6 4 3 7 6 1991 Soviet Union EJC 6 8 3 11 22 1992 CIS WJC 7 5 5 10 2 1992 Unified Team OLY 8 1 2 3 14 1992 Russia WC 6 0 1 1 0 1996 Russia WCH 5 2 1 3 8 1998 Russia WC 6 5 2 7 14 2002 Russia OLY 6 3 1 4 4 2004 Russia WCH 4 2 1 3 4 2005 Russia WC 9 3 4 7 16 2006 Russia OLY 8 4 2 6 4 Junior totals 19 17 11 28 30 Senior totals 52 20 14 34 64

Awards and achievements

NHL NHL All-Star Game – 2001, 2003, 2009 NHL Second All-Star Team – 2008 NHL All-Star Game MVP Award – 2009 The Hockey News – Saku Koivu Award (Comeback Player of the Year): 2008 Stanley Cup champion – 1994 (New York Rangers) NHL's First Star of the Month – (February 2001) NHL's First Star of the Week – (30 March – 5 April 2009) NHL's Offensive Player of the Week – (6–12 November 2000); (5–11 November 2001). Molson Cup Award (monthly) winner – November 2005, November 2007 to February 2008. Molson Cup Award (season) winner – 2008

International 1992 Winter Olympics – Gold Medal (Ice Hockey) 2002 Winter Olympics – Bronze Medal (Ice Hockey) 2005 IIHF World Championship – Best Forward

Transactions 23 June 1991 — New York Rangers first-round draft choice (15th overall) in the NHL Entry Draft. 25 November 1998 — Traded by the New York Rangers, along with Harry York, to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Petr Nedvěd, Sean Pronger and Chris Tamer. 10 February 2003 — Traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Mike Wilson, Janne Laukkanen and Dan LaCouture, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner, Rico Fata, Mikael Samuelsson and a fourth-round draft pick. 2 March 2004 — Traded by the New York Rangers to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jozef Balej and Montreal's 2004 second-round draft choice. 6 July 2009 — Signed a two-year $9.95 million deal with the Ottawa Senators. 24 February 2011 — Traded by the Ottawa Senators to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Pittsburgh's conditional 7th round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. 18 January 2013 — Signed a one-year, $1 million (+300K signing bonus) contract with the Florida Panthers.