Ilya Kovalchuk and the New York Rangers have been linked for quite sometime. The reason we are talking about him today is because of a blurb in Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts:
27. One of the Olympic hockey subplots will be Ilya Kovalchuk. Unlike last summer, when New Jersey held his rights, he is unrestricted this time. And, if he comes back to the NHL, it is believed his eyes are on New York.
To be fair, Friedman says New York here and not specifically the Rangers. But based on the history of the situation Kovalchuk has been primarily linked to the Rangers.