Ilya Kovalchuk is not heading to Russia to play for the KHL, at least not yet.
According to sources, the KHL will be an option for Kovalchuk, but there is nothing imminent.
Sovsports, a Russian sports website, is reporting that SKA St Petersburg made an offer to Kovalchuk that would see the sniper make $30 million over a three-year span.
His desire is to reportedly play in the NHL and he won't fully consider the KHL, if at all, until all of his options are on the table as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Until then, New Jersey owns his rights and may utilize it to re-sign him.
Sovsports is also reporting that SKA St Petersburg also made an offer to Los Angeles Kings' forward Alexander Frolov.
While Kings general manager Dean Lombardi didn't comment on the report when he appeared on an Edmonton radio station on Wednesday, he didn't sound optimistic he can re-sign Frolov at the terms the Russian forward is expecting.
"Would we like to keep him? Yes," Lombardi told TEAM1260 radio. "But if the price is prohibitive, and maybe would prevent us from filling other holes and making sure we keep (Drew) Doughty and (Jack) Johnson and all these kids coming through, then you have to walk away."
Lombardi also knows the KHL represents a very real option for Frolov and other European players.
"The other thing we're confronting here, don't forget, is the KHL, and they're offering an awful lot of money, tax-free," Lombardi told the radio station. "It's almost like the WHA days, where the difference in dollars is huge."
"I talked to him at the end of the year, and I said to myself, 'This is no different than when Bobby Hull left.' I'm sure he wanted to stay in the NHL, but when the money is that much different, you can't blame him."
