Kovalev became the first player born in Russia to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft when the New York Rangers took him with the No. 15 pick in 1991, and he was known for his stickhandling, passing and superb wrist shot during a 19-season career.

After helping the Unified Team (composed of players from nations that had been part of the Soviet Union) win the gold medal at the 1992 Albertville Olympics, Kovalev joined the Rangers in 1992-93, scoring 20 goals in his first NHL season. He took on a bigger role in 1993-94, finishing with 56 points (23 goals, 33 assists) during the regular season, then contributing 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Rangers win their first championship since 1940.

New York traded Kovalev to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 25, 1998. He scored at least 20 goals in each of his five seasons with the Penguins and had NHL career highs with 44 goals, 51 assists and 95 points in 2000-01.

Pittsburgh traded Kovalev back to the Rangers on Feb. 10, 2003, but he was on the move again 13 months later when New York traded him to the Montreal Canadiens on March 2, 2004. He struggled during 12 regular-season games with the Canadiens but scored 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 11 playoff games.

Kovalev was voted an NHL Second-Team All-Star in 2007-08 for Montreal, when he finished with 84 points (35 goals, 49 assists), then scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 12 playoff games.

He followed that with a 65-point season (26 goals, 39 assists) in 2008-09, when he was also named captain of the Eastern Conference for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game at Montreal and earned MVP honors after finishing with two goals and an assist, plus the deciding goal in the shootout.

However, Kovalev signed a two-year contract with the Ottawa Senators on July 6, 2009. He had the only four-goal game of his NHL career on Jan. 3, 2010, and scored a goal against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 22, 2010, for his 1,000th NHL point.

The Senators traded Kovalev back to the Penguins on Feb. 24, 2011. He had seven points (two goals, five asssists) in 20 games with Pittsburgh, which opted not to re-sign him. He signed with the Florida Panthers and played 14 games, the last on Feb. 22, 2013.

Kovalev finished his NHL career with 1,029 points (430 goals, 599 assists) in 1,316 games, as well as 100 points (45 goals, 55 assists) in 123 playoff games.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• WJC-A All-Star Team (1992)
• NHL Second All-Star Team (2008)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2001, 2003, 2009)
• Traded to Pittsburgh by NY Rangers with Harry York for Petr Nedved, Chris Tamer and Sean Pronger, November 25, 1998.
• Traded to NY Rangers by Pittsburgh with Mike Wilson, Janne Laukkanen and Dan LaCouture for Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner, Rico Fata and Mikael Samuelsson, February 10, 2003.
• Traded to Montreal by NY Rangers for Jozef Balej and Montreal's 2nd round pick (Bruce Graham) in 2004 NHL Draft, March 2, 2004.
• Signed as a free agent by Kazan (Russia), November 3, 2004.
• Signed as a free agent by Ottawa, July 6, 2009.
• Traded to Pittsburgh by Ottawa for Pittsburgh's 7th round pick (Ryan Dzingel) in 2011 NHL Draft, February 24, 2011.
• Signed as a free agent by Mytischi (KHL), July 29, 2011.
• Signed as a free agent by Florida, January 18, 2013.
• Signed as a free agent by Visp (Swiss), June 10, 2013.
• Officially announced his retirement, July 3, 2014.