Kovalchuk won’t announce decision today

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Ilya Kovalchuk still hasn’t decided where he will play next season.

Although his agent, Jay Grossman, had said early Monday that Kovalchuk was looking to make a choice today, Grossman returned to Twitter on Monday evening to say everyone can stand down for a while.

‘Ilya Kovalchuk choices have been narrowed down, details to be finalized but no announcement tonight. . . .’ Grossman said.

A couple of points:

--While Kings fans might wonder whether the delay means that Kovalchuk, who spurned the Kings on Sunday, is going back to them, team sources said no. They’re out. Kovalchuk wouldn’t be flexible with them and stayed at $10 million a year over $10 years. They considered that too pricey.

--Grossman used the word ‘choices.’ The New Jersey Devils have been in this all along, but who else is? Rumors had the New York Islanders very interested but veteran New York Post scribe Larry Brooks said via Twitter that the Islanders never actually made an offer. Have the Islanders since made an offer? Or is Kovalchuk’s other choice Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League?

To be continued. . . .

--Helene Elliott