The Washington Capitals have added depth at forward by acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. The Capitals are sending Montreal a 2020 third-round pick in exchange.
By Montreal retaining 50% of Kovalchuk’s remaining salary, Washington will only $77,151 in cap space for the rest of the regular season, according to Cap Friendly.
The Capitals will be Kovalchuk’s third team this season. He played 17 games with the Los Angeles Kings before he was a healthy scratch for 18 consecutive games. The Kings ultimately terminated his contract in December.
Kovalchuk, 36, then signed two-way league minimum contract with the Canadiens in January. He played 22 games with Montreal, tallying 13 points.
The Capitals are looking for forward depth as they push for their fifth straight Metropolitan division title and a return to the Stanley Cup Final.
Montreal will hope to bring back Kovalchuk when free agency starts July 1, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
