Montreal Canadiens fans will have to wait a little longer to see newly signed Ilya Kovalchuk in a red, white and blue uniform.
Canadiens head coach Claude Julien confirmed that Kovalchuk won’t make his debut in the team’s home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
The Russian forward signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens on Friday, which will pay him a prorated $700,000 salary in the NHL and $70,000 in the AHL.
Julien said during Montreal’s morning skate on Saturday that the Canadiens’ coaching staff met with Kovalchuk briefly, but didn’t go into any gameplan details. The 36-year-old hasn’t played a game since Nov. 9.
“He seems to feel like he’s still in pretty good shape,” said Julien. “He’s always been one of those guys that’s kept himself in good shape. So, we’ll probably see him on the ice tomorrow, if everything goes well and we’ll go from there.”
Julien doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to slate Kovalchuk in a specific spot of the Montreal lineup.
“I haven’t even seen him on the ice yet, so it’s hard for me to all of a sudden peg him somewhere,” he told reporters. “We’ll give ourselves some time here and have a look at that.”
Kovalchuk returned to the NHL in June 2018, signing with the Los Angeles Kings after five seasons in the KHL. He posted three goals and nine points over 17 games this season before being sidelined and eventually released.
The Canadiens face the Winnipeg Jets on Monday after Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh.
After losing four games in a row and struggling with an injury bug that has sidelined important goal scorers like Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin, Montreal currently sits outside of a playoff spot and sixth in the Atlantic Division.
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