Alexei "Alex" Vyacheslavovich Kovalev (Russian: Алексей Вячеславович Ковалёв, Aleksey Vyacheslavovich Kovalyov; born February 24, 1973, in Togliatti, U.S.S.R.) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL. He has also been a licensed aircraft pilot for several years. Also known as "Kovy" and "AK-27".
Alexei Kovalev was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, first round, 15th overall, becoming the first Russian player to be drafted in the first round. Best known for his sleek stickhandling skills, he became an important part of the Rangers' 1994 Stanley Cup run, finishing with the third-most points for New York in the playoffs. Kovalev, Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Sergei Zubov were the first Russians to have their name on the Stanley Cup.
During the 1994--95 NHL lockout, Alexei was playing for the team of his home town, Lada Togliatti, the Russian Champion of 1993--94 season. Kovalev scored 8 goals (and registered 8 assists) in 12 games. Kovalev occasionally stops in Tolyatti to give clinics at his old hockey school. He also participated into Lada 30th anniversary game, and scored a hat trick for the Lada veterans team.
On November 25, 1998 he was traded, along with Harry York, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Petr Nedved, Sean Pronger and Chris Tamer, with only 14 games played in the season. While only putting up 46 points in 63 games with the Penguins, he managed a strong effort with 12 points in 10 postseason games. The next few seasons, he had two of his best years yet with 76 and 95 points.
In a trade to mainly reduce their salary, Pittsburgh sent Kovalev back to the Rangers on February 10, 2003. He was sent, along with Dan LaCouture, Janne Laukkanen and Mike Wilson for Mikael Samuelsson, Rico Fata, Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner and cash.
On March 13, 2004 he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Jozef Balej and a second round selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. While only managing 3 points in 12 games in the regular season, Kovalev broke out in the 2003--2004 playoffs, where he registered six goals and ten points in eleven games for Montreal.
He spent the 2004--05 NHL lockout playing for Ak Bars Kazan, in the Russian Super League, where he registered 23 points in 35 games. Kovalev played for Russia in the 2005 World Championships in Austria, and was named the tournament's best forward.
As an Unrestricted Free Agent, he signed a four-year contract (worth $4.5 million per year) with Montreal on August 3, 2005 prior to the start of the 2005--06 NHL season. He scored his 300th career goal and recorded his 700th point on December 20, 2005 against Ottawa's Dominik Hašek in a dramatic 4--3 win.
A popular moment for Kovalev among Canadiens fans occurred on March 25, 2006. With the Canadiens playing their hated rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kovalev drove his elbow into Darcy Tucker's face while carrying the puck after circling several players. Tucker had highsticked Kovalev in the face a few seconds before the incident. A brawl immediately ensued. It became a moment of almost cult-like status for Canadiens fans, as t-shirts were made with the image, desktop wallpapers, etc.
In 2006, Warrior Hockey signed Kovalev to endorse their hockey sticks. Warrior designed a custom shaft known as the AK27 which caught the eye of several other NHLers, including Mark Recchi and Zdeno Chara.
In 2007 Kovalev sparked controversy when he allegedly criticized his team, coaching staff and the French media in an interview done with a Russian reporter in his native language. Though the reporter who conducted the interview later rescinded Kovalev's quotes, and the tape she used never surfaced, a majority of the fans and members of the media believe the criticism to have actually happened.[citation needed] This story was especially controversial due to the poor performance by Kovalev in the 2006--2007 NHL season amassing only 18 goals, 29 assists for a total of 47 points. His comments were also believed to be true by many Habs fans because of the way fellow Russian hockey player Sergei Samsonov treated the Canadiens management and fans.
During the 2007--2008 season Alexei Kovalev seems to have found a new life for his playing career, alongside line mates Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec as he has amassed a total of 35 goals, 49 assists for a total of 84 points in 82 games. He currently stands at the 97th spot of the top 100 all-time NHL scorers. [1] Because of his inspired play, Kovalev, was awarded the Canadiens Captain C on 2 occasions, as a fill in for the injured Saku Koivu.
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