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Photo of Ilya Kovalchuk

Ilya Kovalchuk

#17 · Left wing · Washington Capitals

Born Apr 15, 1983 in Tver, RUS · 6'3", 222 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 1st overall in 2001 by ATL (round 1)

Trophy case

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2011-12. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jason Spezza OTT · 84 P in 80 GP Phil Kessel TOR · 82 P in 82 GP James Neal PIT · 81 P in 80 GP Henrik Sedin VAN · 81 P in 82 GP John Tavares NYI · 81 P in 82 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0204060802001-02: 51 points5101-022002-03: 67 points6702-032003-04: 87 points8703-042005-06: 98 points9805-062006-07: 76 points7606-072007-08: 87 points8707-082008-09: 91 points9108-092009-10: 85 points8509-102010-11: 60 points6010-112011-12: 83 points8311-122012-13: 31 points3112-132018-19: 34 points3418-192019-20: 26 points2619-20

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2001-02 ATL 65 29 22 51 -19 28 184 34 0.78
2002-03 ATL 81 38 29 67 -24 57 257 19 0.83
2003-04 ATL 81 41 46 87 -10 63 341 49 1.07
2005-06 ATL 78 52 46 98 -6 68 323 66 1.26 $6.389M
2006-07 ATL 82 42 34 76 -2 66 336 72 0.93 $6.389M
2007-08 ATL 79 52 35 87 -12 52 283 40 1.10 $6.389M
2008-09 ATL 79 43 48 91 -12 50 275 43 1.15 $6.389M
2009-10 ATL 49 31 27 58 1 45 179 13 1.18 $6.389M
2009-10 NJD 27 10 17 27 9 8 111 17 1.00
2010-11 NJD 81 31 29 60 -26 28 245 28 0.74 $6.667M
2011-12 NJD 77 37 46 83 -9 33 310 27 1.08 $6.667M
2012-13 NJD 37 11 20 31 -6 20 123 13 0.84 $6.667M
2018-19 LAK 64 16 18 34 -26 10 141 28 0.53 $6.25M
2019-20 LAK 17 3 6 9 -10 12 35 12 0.53 $700K
2019-20 MTL 22 6 7 13 6 2 62 28 0.59
2019-20 WSH 7 1 3 4 0 4 18 12 0.57
13 seasons Career 926 443 433 876 -146 546 3223 501 0.95

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2006-07 ATL 4 1 1 2 -1 19 12 6 0.50
2009-10 NJD 5 2 4 6 0 6 19 8 1.20
2011-12 NJD 23 8 11 19 -7 6 70 20 0.83
2019-20 WSH 5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 15 0.00
4 seasons Playoffs 37 11 16 27 -9 31 102 49 0.73

2011-12 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
77 37 46 83 -9 33 310 27 1.08 11.9 23:49

Contract

$6.667MCap hitends in 2025, then UFA
$80KCap dollars per point83 points in 77 games
$739KCap dollars per goal above replacement9.0 goals above replacement
$4.6MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.1MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 367 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2024-25, with 13 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2011-12 $6.667M
2012-13 $6.667M
2013-14 $6.667M
2014-15 $6.667M
2015-16 $6.667M
2016-17 $6.667M
2017-18 $6.667M
2018-19 $6.667M
2019-20 $6.667M
2020-21 $6.667M
2021-22 $6.667M
2022-23 $6.667M
2023-24 $6.667M
2024-25 $6.667M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2019-20 to 2019-20 $700K
2018-19 to 2018-19 $6.25M
2012-13 to 2012-13 $6.667M
2010-11 to 2024-25 $6.667M
2005-06 to 2009-10 $6.389M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2011-12 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2011-12 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+0.7Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.7Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence+0.7Even-strength defence-2.1Power play+0.4Penalty kill+0.1Penalties+0.1

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. A playoff run is too short to rank anyone on. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-202468102010-112011-122012-132018-192019-20Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

51.8Corsi for %325 attempts for, 303 against
-1.2CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
50.7Expected goals for %13.6 expected for, 13.2 against
-4.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.0Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
41.7Goals for %10 for, 14 against
97.2PDO6.0% shooting + 91.3% saves
87Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 136 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Ilya Kovalchuk · Zach Parise · Travis Zajac20163:1851.850.42-7
Alexei Ponikarovsky · Ilya Kovalchuk · Travis Zajac1160:5163.570.83-1
Alexei Ponikarovsky · Ilya Kovalchuk · Adam Henrique1028:0452.466.11-0
Patrik Elias · Ilya Kovalchuk · Adam Henrique426:2948.246.21-1

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

7Goalsnot counting empty-netters
7.5Expected goalsfrom 109 unblocked attempts
-0.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.86 expected goals per 60 minutes82nd
Shot quality 6.9% chance per attempt39th
Finishing -0.5 goals above expected41stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 83 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

0246Game 20Expected 7.5Goals 7

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took in these playoffs, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 7, 2012 vs OTT W 4-2 2 0 2 0 0 5 0 23:40
Apr 5, 2012 @ DET W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 20:43
Apr 3, 2012 vs NYI W 3-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 23:47
Mar 31, 2012 @ CAR W 5-0 1 2 3 2 2 5 0 20:20
Mar 29, 2012 vs TBL W 6-4 1 1 2 -1 0 1 0 20:33
Mar 27, 2012 vs CHI W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 1 0 24:34
Mar 25, 2012 @ PIT L 2-5 1 0 1 -1 0 8 0 22:53
Mar 23, 2012 vs TOR L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -3 0 7 0 28:20
Mar 20, 2012 @ OTT W 1-0 1 0 1 0 0 5 0 20:34
Mar 19, 2012 @ NYR L 2-4 0 1 1 -1 0 3 0 26:04
Mar 17, 2012 vs PIT L 2-5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 22:48
Mar 15, 2012 vs COL W 1-0 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 25:22
Mar 13, 2012 @ PHI L 0-3 0 0 0 -2 2 4 0 22:39
Mar 11, 2012 vs PHI W 4-1 1 2 3 2 0 3 0 22:47
Mar 10, 2012 @ NYI W 2-1 0 1 1 0 0 7 0 24:54
Mar 8, 2012 vs NYI W 5-1 3 0 3 1 0 4 0 20:13
Mar 6, 2012 vs NYR W 4-1 1 1 2 1 0 8 0 23:38
Mar 4, 2012 @ NYI L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 24:15
Mar 2, 2012 @ WSH W 5-0 0 1 1 2 0 3 0 22:50
Mar 1, 2012 @ BOS L 3-4 (OT) 0 1 1 -2 2 4 1 26:12
Feb 27, 2012 @ NYR L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 23:52
Feb 26, 2012 vs TBL L 3-4 0 1 1 0 2 4 0 27:20
Feb 24, 2012 vs VAN L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 26:34
Feb 21, 2012 @ TOR W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 7 0 27:27
Feb 19, 2012 @ MTL W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 19:27
Feb 17, 2012 vs ANA W 3-2 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 6 1 24:22
Feb 14, 2012 @ BUF W 4-1 3 1 4 2 0 7 0 25:04
Feb 11, 2012 vs FLA L 1-3 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 25:16
Feb 9, 2012 vs STL L 3-4 (SO) 0 2 2 -1 0 4 0 29:07
Feb 7, 2012 @ NYR W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 24:50
Feb 5, 2012 vs PIT W 5-2 1 2 3 3 0 3 0 19:47
Feb 4, 2012 @ PHI W 6-4 1 2 3 0 7 4 0 20:10
Feb 2, 2012 vs MTL W 5-3 0 3 3 0 0 5 1 27:38
Jan 31, 2012 vs NYR W 4-3 (SO) 1 0 1 2 0 5 1 27:05
Jan 24, 2012 vs BUF L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 29:15
Jan 21, 2012 vs PHI L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 2 4 0 26:36
Jan 19, 2012 vs BOS L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 23:06
Jan 17, 2012 vs WPG W 5-1 2 0 2 1 0 3 0 24:48
Jan 14, 2012 @ WPG W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 27:55
Jan 11, 2012 @ EDM W 2-1 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 6 0 24:12
Jan 10, 2012 @ CGY L 3-6 1 1 2 -1 0 8 0 23:42
Jan 7, 2012 @ PIT W 3-1 1 1 2 0 0 8 0 22:00
Jan 6, 2012 vs FLA W 5-2 2 0 2 1 0 7 0 28:04
Jan 4, 2012 vs BOS L 1-6 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 21:37
Jan 2, 2012 @ OTT L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 6 1 26:01
Dec 31, 2011 vs PIT W 3-1 1 2 3 2 0 5 0 22:04
Dec 28, 2011 vs BUF W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 20:49
Dec 26, 2011 @ CAR L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 3 1 24:07
Dec 23, 2011 vs WSH W 4-3 (SO) 1 1 2 1 0 6 0 23:01
Dec 20, 2011 vs NYR L 1-4 0 0 0 -3 0 6 0 27:04
Dec 17, 2011 @ MTL W 5-3 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 23:54
Dec 16, 2011 vs DAL W 6-3 1 1 2 1 0 4 0 20:27
Dec 13, 2011 @ FLA W 3-2 (SO) 0 2 2 1 2 5 6 28:14
Dec 12, 2011 @ TBL W 5-4 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 21:09
Dec 10, 2011 vs MTL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 2 4 2 24:41
Dec 8, 2011 vs OTT W 5-4 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 6 0 15:14
Dec 6, 2011 @ TOR W 3-2 (OT) 1 0 1 0 0 4 0 25:40
Dec 3, 2011 @ WPG L 2-4 0 1 1 -2 0 4 1 27:04
Dec 2, 2011 @ MIN L 2-4 1 0 1 -1 0 6 0 26:04
Nov 30, 2011 @ COL L 1-6 1 0 1 -4 2 3 1 22:03
Nov 26, 2011 vs NYI L 2-3 0 2 2 0 2 4 0 23:41
Nov 25, 2011 @ NYI W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 24:25
Nov 23, 2011 vs CBJ W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23:17
Nov 21, 2011 @ FLA L 3-4 1 0 1 0 2 7 0 22:37
Nov 19, 2011 @ TBL W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 25:34
Nov 16, 2011 @ BUF W 5-3 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 22:33
Nov 3, 2011 @ PHI W 4-3 (SO) 0 2 2 2 0 2 0 24:38
Nov 2, 2011 vs TOR L 3-5 0 1 1 -1 0 5 0 24:45
Oct 29, 2011 @ DAL L 1-3 0 0 0 -2 0 7 2 24:46
Oct 27, 2011 @ PHX L 3-5 0 0 0 -1 2 4 1 20:48
Oct 25, 2011 @ LAK W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 24:02
Oct 22, 2011 @ PIT L 1-4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 20:54
Oct 21, 2011 vs SJS L 3-4 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 1 0 16:13
Oct 15, 2011 @ NSH W 3-2 (SO) 1 0 1 -1 0 7 0 16:02
Oct 13, 2011 vs LAK W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 29:37
Oct 10, 2011 vs CAR W 4-2 1 2 3 2 0 4 0 22:55
Oct 8, 2011 vs PHI L 0-3 0 0 0 -3 0 3 0 23:30