| Alexei Kovalev | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Kovalev with thePittsburgh Penguins in 2011 | |||
| Born | (1973-02-24)February 24, 1973 (age 52) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 222 lb (101 kg; 15 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Dynamo Moscow New York Rangers Lada Togliatti Pittsburgh Penguins Montreal Canadiens Ak Bars Kazan Ottawa Senators Atlant Moscow Oblast Florida Panthers | ||
| National team |  Unified Team and Russia | ||
| NHL draft | 15th overall,1991 New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 1989–2017 | ||
Alexei Vyacheslavovich Kovalev (Russian:Алексей Вячеславович Ковалёв,IPA:[ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejvʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪtɕkəvɐˈlʲɵf]; born February 24, 1973) is a Russian professionalice hockey coach, executive and former professional player.
During his career, he played in over 1,300National Hockey League (NHL) games over 18 seasons for theNew York Rangers,Pittsburgh Penguins,Montreal Canadiens,Ottawa Senators, andFlorida Panthers between 1992 and 2013. He was originally drafted by the Rangers and won aStanley Cup with them in1994.
Kovalev also played in theKontinental Hockey League (KHL) withAtlant Moscow Oblast, and was last active withEHC Visp ofSwitzerland'sNational League B.[1]
Kovalev was drafted by theNew York Rangers in the first round, 15th overall, of the1991 NHL Entry Draft. He became the firstRussian-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 andwrist shot, he became an important part of the Rangers'1994 Stanley Cup run, finishing with the third-most points for New York in the1994 playoffs. Kovalev,Alexander Karpovtsev,Sergei Nemchinov andSergei Zubov were the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.[2] The Rangers' Stanley Cup win is well remembered in Europe because of the first Russian names on the Stanley Cup, asMSG Network broadcasterAl Trautwig said in his essay,Garden of Dreams.[2]
During the1994–95 NHL lockout, Kovalev returned to Russia to play for his hometown teamLada Togliatti, the defendingInternational Hockey League champion from 1994. Kovalev scored eight goals and eight assists in 12 games.[citation needed] He also participated in Lada Togliatti's 30th anniversary game, and scored ahat-trick for the Lada veterans team.[citation needed]
Just 14 games into the1998–99 season, on November 25, 1998, Kovalev was traded, along withHarry York, to thePittsburgh Penguins in exchange forPetr Nedvěd,Sean Pronger andChris Tamer. While only putting up 46 points in 63 games with the Penguins, he managed a strong effort with 12 points in 10 post-season games. In the next two seasons, he recorded two of his best seasons in the NHL with 76 and 95 points, respectively.
In a trade to mainly reduce their salary, Pittsburgh sent Kovalev back to the Rangers on February 10, 2003. He was sent, along withDan LaCouture,Janne Laukkanen andMike Wilson, forMikael Samuelsson,Rico Fata,Joel Bouchard,Richard Lintner and cash.
On March 13, 2004, Kovalev was traded to theMontreal Canadiens forJozef Balej and a second-round draft pick in the2004 NHL Entry Draft. While only managing three points in 12 games in the regular season, Kovalev broke out in the2004 playoffs, registering six goals and ten points in 11 games.
Kovalev spent the2004–05 NHL lockout playing forAk Bars Kazan, in the Russian Superleague (RSL), where he registered 23 points in 35 games. He then played forRussia at the2005 World Championships inAustria, and was named the tournament's best forward.
As anunrestricted free agent, Kovalev opted to re-sign with Montreal on a four-year contract paying $4.5 million annually just prior to the start of the2005–06 season, on August 3. He scored his 300th career goal and recorded his 700th point on December 20, 2005, againstDominik Hašek in a 4–3 win against theOttawa Senators.[citation needed]
In 2006,Warrior signed Kovalev to endorse their hockey sticks. Warrior designed a custom shaft known as the AK27.
In 2007, Kovalev sparked controversy when he allegedly criticized his team, coaching staff and the Montreal media in an interview with a Russian reporter in hisnative language.[3] During that2006–07 season, he amassed only 18 goals and 29 assists for a total of 47 points.
During the2007–08 season, Kovalev found a resurgence playing alongside linematesAndrei Kostitsyn andTomáš 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.[4] Due to his inspired play, Kovalev was awarded the Canadiens' captaincy on two occasions during the season, replacing the injuredSaku Koivu in his absence.
The following season, in2008–09, Kovalev was named captain of theEastern Conference at the2009 NHL All-Star game inMontreal, and won Most Valuable Player honors as a result of his two goals, assist and game-winning shootout goal.[5] Late in the season with the Canadiens, Kovalev scored his 100th goal with the club on March 31, 2009, against former teammate and Canadiens goaltenderCristobal Huet of theChicago Blackhawks.[6] At the end of the week, he was named the NHL's First Star for the Week ending April 5 after scoring two goals and seven assists, helping lead the Canadiens to three wins during that time.[7]
On July 6, 2009, Kovalev signed a two-year, $10 million contract with theOttawa Senators as an unrestricted free agent.[8] On December 25, 2009, Kovalev was excluded from the main roster for the Russian team for the2010 Winter Olympics, to the surprise of fellow countrymanEvgeni Malkin (though he was selected as a reserve by Team Russia in case an injury occurred during the tournament).[9][10] On January 3, 2010, Kovalev scored a career-high four goals in a 7–4 win against thePhiladelphia Flyers.[11]
On November 22, 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 theLos Angeles Kings.
On February 24, 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.[12] 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, includingSidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Kovalev's return to Pittsburgh was brief, as General ManagerRay Shero announced on May 28, 2011, that he had no intention of re-signing the underachieving forward.[13]
After failing to sign with an NHL team for the2011–12 season, Kovalev returned to Russia to play with theAtlant Moscow Oblast in theKontinental Hockey League (KHL).[14] 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.[15] "Hopefully, I'll find an NHL team," Kovalev told theMontreal Gazette.
After the2012–13 NHL lockout, Kovalev was given a tryout by theFlorida Panthers,[16] eventually signing a one-year contract with the team.[17] "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.[18] 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 teammateJonathan Huberdeau's first career NHL goal.
On March 21, 2013, Kovalev officially announced his retirement from professional hockey.[19] At that point, he had not played for the Panthers since a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 22.[20]
However, Kovalev's retirement lasted less than three months. SwissNational League B (NLB) teamEHC Visp announced on June 10, 2013, that they had signed him to a one-year contract with an option for a second year.[1] He appeared in 44 regular season games, notching 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points and winning Swiss NLB championship.
On July 3, 2014, Kovalev again announced his retirement from professional hockey at the age of 41.[21]
On January 30, 2016, Kovalev revealed that he was yet again considering a return to professional ice hockey in the NHL. He referencedJaromír 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.[22]
Kovalev made a return to professional ice hockey on October 18, 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 byJon 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.[23] Kovalev had been taking part in team practices since the beginning of the season.[24]
In March 2016, it was announced that Kovalev has signed withEHC Visp of the SwissNational League B to become general manager of the club.[25]
Kovalev was hired as an assistant coach forHC Kunlun Red Star of theKontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2018. He was named head coach in 2020.[26]
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.[27]
Kovalev is a licensed aircraft pilot.[28] He has a step sister Adel Bukary and a brother Maximilian Kovalev. His parents hailed fromBrighton Beach,Brooklyn.[citation needed]
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.[29] In March 2008, Kovalev released a two-disc DVD titledMy Hockey Tips and Training Methods. He donated 100 percent of the DVD sale profits to charities that promote cardiac care for children.[30]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Russia | ||
| Winter Olympics | ||
 | 2002Salt Lake City | |
| World Championships | ||
| 2005 Austria | |
| RepresentingUnified Team | ||
| Winter Olympics | ||
 | 1992Albertville | |
| World Junior Championship | ||
Representing CIS | ||
| 1992 Germany | |
| European Junior Championship | ||
 | 1991 Czechoslovakia | |
| 1990 Sweden | |
| 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 | |||
Alex Kovalev is an accomplished and licensed aircraft pilot
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York Rangers first round draft pick 1991 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
