Devils GM: Kovalchuk 'drives the bus' on potential NHL return
Facilitating Ilya Kovalchuk's NHL return isn't at the top of New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero's to-do list quite yet.
The Russian forward is interested in returning to North America following a four-year KHL hiatus, but - pending the approval of all 31 owners - can only do so via the Devils, either as a member of the team or by way of a sign-and-trade.
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Shero, for his part, remains in wait-and-see mode.
"Kovalchuk kind of drives the bus on this in terms of talking to teams or where he could want to play," he said Thursday, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com.
"I can't go out calling teams because that's a waste of my time. He's going to tell (us) where he wants to play and in the end, if that does work out and it's not the Devils, then I've got to see if that makes sense for us to do that."
Despite Kovalchuk's contract being terminated in 2013 upon taking on voluntary retirement, New Jersey retains his NHL rights until he turns 35 on April 15, 2018.
Kovalchuk is fresh off his second Gagarin Cup win as a member of SKA Saint Petersburg, for whom he's been playing the past four seasons.