With the Canadiens falling out of contention for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they decided to trade Kovalchuk. When general manager Brian MacLellan asked Ovechkin about the idea of bringing Kovalchuk to Washington, he was excited.
"I said, 'Yeah, let's do it if we can take him,'" Ovechkin said.
The trade united two of the most prolific Russian goal scorers in NHL history. Ovechkin, the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, ranks eighth in NHL history and first among Russia-born players with 700 goals in 1,145 games over 15 seasons. He will be honored in a pre-game ceremony Tuesday for reaching the 700-goal milestone when he scored against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Despite leaving to play five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League from 2013-2018, Kovalchuk, who was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers with the No. 1 pick in the 2001 NHL Draft, is fourth among Russia-born players -- and second among those still active -- with 442 goals in 919 NHL games over 13 seasons. Sergei Fedorov is second with 483 goals and Alexander Mogilny is third with 473.
"That's a pretty unique situation first of all that two guys so highly thought of that really were major pioneers in what's happened in youth hockey in Russia right now," said Capitals coach Todd Reirden, who was teammates with Kovalchuk in Atlanta when Kovalchuk was an 18-year-old rookie. "They're two of the biggest reasons why that success has happened there and so many guys come over now and they're such a big part of the NHL now.
"In an ideal situation, you would have them together 10 years ago. But they both take care of themselves, train properly and are all about winning the Stanley Cup and that's their goal here."
Kovalchuk is one of five Russians on the Capitals, joining Ovechkin, center Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov. He will debut for the Capitals skating on a line with wing Carl Hagelin and center Lars Eller.
Ovechkin will skate on the top line with Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson, but it's possible he and Kovalchuk will be on the ice together with the second power-play unit.
"We played for national teams all the time in the world championships," said Ovechkin, who is third in the NHL this season with 42 goals. "But for him I know him as, first of all, a great person, a tremendous teammate and great player. He's going to help to get what we want."
What the Capitals want is their second Stanley Cup championship in three seasons. Kovalchuk watched from afar when Ovechkin and the Capitals won the Cup for the first time in 2018.
"I was one of the first who called [Ovechkin]," Kovalchuk said. "I think all our country was happy for him and happy for the Russian guys and you know, obviously Capitals are popular team in Russia. A lot of excitement there."
Kovalchuk's desire to win the Cup fueled his decision to return to the NHL in 2018. He came close when he helped the Devils reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 before they lost to the Kings in six games, and felt he had unfinished business in North America.
"That's one of the reasons so I am going to keep trying to push," Kovalchuk said. "And I think we have all the tools here, so it is all in my hands to work hard to get together, as a team, as a group and play well in playoffs."
