Ilya Kovalchuk can help put the puck in the net. He is a right-shot forward. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Kovalchuk can still skate, shoot and hit. In 17 games this season, Kovalchuk notched three goals and six assists for Los Angeles.



The Bruins, of course, need right-shot goal-scoring assistance, and they’ve expressed interest in Kovalchuk before. When Kovalchuk returned from a five-year sojourn playing in Russia’s KHL, Boston took a run at the former No. 1 overall pick before he signed a three-year, $18.75 million deal with Los Angeles. Even though they have two one-time power-play threats in David Pastrnak and David Krejci, it would not be harmful to add a third weaponized stick to the mix.



This time around, the Bruins would not have to offer similar term to the 36-year-old, who was placed on unconditional waivers on Monday. They would have to cede nothing but dough to land the unrestricted free agent for the rest of the season. So what’s the...