Kings end bumpy ride, waive F Kovalchuk

Ilya Kovalchuk's rocky tenure with the Los Angeles Kings is over. "Ilya Kovalchuk has left the team and been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract with the club," the Kings wrote in a statement on Monday.

The 36-year-old forward, the No. 1 pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2001 NHL Draft, has been a healthy scratch since Nov. 9 -- sitting for 18 games. The Kings signed Kovalchuk to a three-year, $18.75 million contract in July 2018, returning him to the NHL after five seasons with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League in his native Russia. The Kings paid the $2.65 million bonus due to him on Sunday.

In 81 games with the Kings, he had 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists) and a minus-36 rating. He clashed with interim head coach Willie Desjardins last season and could not get going under new head coach Todd McLellan this season. "Kovy's situation has nothing to do with him as a person, or his work ethic, or anything like that," McLellan said earlier this month as the situation was playing itself out, according to the Los Angeles Times. "He's outstanding. He works as hard as anybody right now."

Once he clears waivers, Kovalchuk can sign with any NHL franchise. A two-time All-Star, Kovalchuk has played in 897 career games with Atlanta (2001-10), the New Jersey Devils (2010-13) and the Kings. He has scored 859 points (436 goals, 423 assists) with 61 game-winning goals.

Kovalchuk posted a picture of himself smiling on his Instagram account Monday, with a caption in Russian that translated to: "So, what's next?"