WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The Washington Capitals have acquired winger Ilya Kovalchuk in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens.
Washington sent a 2020 third-round pick to Montreal for Kovalchuk.
The Capitals made the move to get another top-nine forward hours after their second victory in eight games.
Montreal will retain 50% of Kovalchuk’s $700,000 salary and cap hit.
The 36-year-old has six goals and seven assists in 22 games since joining the Canadiens.
Kovalchuk becomes the fourth prominent Russian player on the Capitals, joining forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov and defenseman Dmitry Orlov.