The first day of the rest of Ilya Kovalchuk’s hockey playing life was marked by smiles and vows to complete “unfinished business.”
The high-scoring left wing will have plenty of time win a Stanley Cup now that the ink is dry on his 17-year, $102 million marriage to the Devils.
“I’ll be a Devil for life,” Kovalchuk said yesterday. “[The Devils] know how to win. That’s where I want to be.”
The Russian sniper scored 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 27 games with the Devils last season. The team acquired him in February after Kovalchuk turned down a 12-year, $101 million deal to stay with Atlanta.
“When you’re a free agent you have a lot of different options, but I chose the right one,”?he said.
