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Kings and Ilya Kovalchuk are ‘re-engaged’

By Helene Elliott
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In a bizarre turn, the Kings are back in the Ilya Kovalchuk chase, General Manager Dean Lombardi said Wednesday morning, confirming that the sides are ‘re-engaged’ in negotiations.

The Kings had ended their pursuit of the high-scoring left wing on Sunday after he turned down more than one offer without making a counterproposal. He was stuck at 10 years and $100 million and wouldn’t budge.

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He has since budged. Whether that’s because he couldn’t get those bucks from the New Jersey Devils and the KHL was looking like his only option, or because he has had a change of heart for some reason, isn’t clear.

His side is supposed to deliver a counterproposal to the Kings on Wednesday. It still might not work for the Kings because they are concerned about the average annual value and a ripple effect -- mostly with what kind of jumping-off point a big deal for Kovalchuk will create for Drew Doughty, who has one season left on his entry-level deal.

Stay tuned. This gets stranger by the minute.

-- Helene Elliott

Sports Now
Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

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