Kovalchuk on Lamoriello: ‘He’s a great man’

Does Lou Lamoriello taking the helm of the New York Islanders pave the way for the team to land KHL free agent Ilya Kovalchuk?

That’s been the speculation, the connecting of dots (including at this site) since Lamoriello’s appointment was announced. But as always is the case, there is more required than simply rekindling past relationships.

In a phone interview “with the Dreger Report,” Kovalchuk said he has kept in touch with Lamoriello since his 2013 faux “retirement” from the Devils and the NHL, and he appreciated how Lamoriello handled the loopholes necessary to get all parties out of Kovalchuk’s mammoth contract in New Jersey. That enabled his return to Russia to play in the KHL before…