FILE - In this April 19, 2012, file photo, New Jersey Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk, of Russia, celebrates after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during Game 4 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Newark, N.J. Kovalchuk is retiring from the NHL and returning to Russia. The Devils announced the stunning news Thursday afternoon, July 11, 2013, in a statement, saying that the 30-year-old Kovalchuk had alerted general manager and president Lou Lamoriello earlier this year that he wanted to return home with his family after 11 seasons in the NHL. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)