Ilya Kovalchuk’s Final Tie To New Jersey Almost Gone

Ilya Kovalchuk will always have ties to the New Jersey Devils, but his last tie to the state he once called home is now on the market.

Ilya Kovalchuk visited the Prudential Center for the first time since leaving the franchise high and dry five years ago when the Los Angeles Kings beat the New Jersey Devils back on February 5th. There is clearly still hate for the Russian winger, and it showed every time he touched the puck.

Throughout the process of bringing Kovalchuk back to the NHL, many Devils fans hoped he would return to the red and black, and there was one major reason they thought he could. Kovalchuk still had a house in Alpine. It’s a pretty ridiculous house, too.

It’s not everyday you see someone who owns a mansion with 22,000 square foot home with 12 1/2 bathrooms (who needs that?), a bar, a kitchen and a prep kitchen, a movie theater, a massage room and a sauna in the middle of New Jersey. Well, that’s the home he built when he came here in 2010.

Now, that home is for sale according to the New York Post. He wants a ridiculous $18 million for the mansion. Who knows who will be able to buy it, but it’s good to finally get that last tie of Kovalchuk away from the Devils and New Jersey for good.

Many people tied Kovalchuk to the New York Islanders and New York Rangers because of that house. Many of the rumors involving him were tied to the fact that he never sold the house despite playing in Russia for years. He had an $18 million house in New Jersey that he never even attempted to sell until now, and that was the only thing we had to make rumors about his return.

This is good news. It finally gives some closure that the man who broke all of our hearts will soon be gone for good. Good riddance.