Russian SKA St. Petersburg winger, Ilya Kovalchuk leaves the ice a after pre-game warm up on April 2, 2018 in Moscow. The former New Jersey Devils forward declared his intentions to return to the National Hockey League (NHL) after five seasons in Russia, as SKA St. Petersburg was eliminated from the Kontinental Hockey Leagues (KHL) playoffs. Ilya Kovalchuk reached his 35th birthday on April 15, which changed his status in the NHL and allowed him to negotiate and agree to terms with any NHL team as a free agent, local media reported. / AFP PHOTO / Alexander NEMENOV (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)
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AFP ALEXANDER NEMENOV