After SKA was knocked out of the Gagarin Cup playoffs, Ilya Kovalchuk confirmed that he will be looking to come back to the NHL over the summer.
Ilya Kovalchuk said he's going to play in the NHL next season. And stay there for 2-3 years at least
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) April 8, 2018
In an article for Russian news site RSport, Kovalchuk said that he said his thanks to the organization and the fans of SKA, and informed them that he wants to try and return to the National Hockey League.