Some major stumbling blocks in the on-going talks between the Los Angeles Kings and free agent Ilya Kovalchuk have been rectified and it would appear a deal is close, according to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.
Kypreos said sources are telling him that though a deal is not done, it looks likely that Kovalchuck will sign with the team. Kovalchuk is the biggest name remaining on the NHL’s free agent market. He reportedly has been offered a seven-year, $60-million deal with the New Jersey Devils, the team he finished this past season with. He previously turned down a 12-year deal worth more than $100 million from the Atlanta Thrashers, where he started the season before being traded in February.
