It was almost exactly one year ago when I asked Pete DeBoer about Ilya Kovalchuk, as last June the Sharks were being linked to the scoring winger who played under DeBoer with the New Jersey Devils for two seasons.



Speaking at the NHL Draft in Chicago on June 23, 2017, DeBoer made it clear that he had a good working relationship with the winger, who, throughout his career, was simply one of the NHL’s best snipers.



“I loved Kovy in New Jersey,” DeBoer said. “We went to a Stanley Cup Final together (in 2012). He was a huge piece for us there. I really enjoyed coaching him. … I had a really good relationship with him. I had a lot of respect for him as a player and a person.”



Kovalchuk, who turned 35 in April, didn’t end up with the Sharks for the 2017-18 season, of course. Instead, he stayed in Russia, posting an impressive 31 goals and 63 points in 53 games with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL and competing in the...