“Unfortunately I have to retire because of my injuries,” he told Kanal9 at a camp in Leukerbad.
The Valais scored a coup as they signed Alexei Kovalev to a one-year contract (plus option for another season) in October 2013. With 29 goals and 37 assists in 59 games, the 41-year-old led the team to the win of the NLB Championship in 2014.
Kovalev looks back on a 19-year playing career. He has played in 1,302 NHL games with New York (1992-1999, 2002-2004), Pittsburgh (1998-2003, 2010-2011), Montreal (2005-2009) and Ottawa (2009-2011) scoring 473 goals with 651 assists and 1,124 points. In 1994 he was able to celebrate the Stanley Cup win with the New York Rangers.
The native of Togliatti, Russia, is a three-time NHL all-star (2001, 2003, 2009) and has represented his country internationally eight times during his career, winning gold medals at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 1992 World Junior Championship, and bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
