NHL Rumor Tuesday: Did Malkin have to be talked out of staying in the KHL?

Talk of Ilya Kovalchuk being the New Jersey Devils next captain needs to be put on hold. Kovalchuk is creating quite a stir as he's still playing for SKA and hasn't fully committed to coming back to the NHL this season.

However, the Devils and Kovalchuk's agent Jay Grossman are confident that Kovalchuk will show up by the weekend but comments like this have many wondering.

"I will need to read the new agreement," Kovalchuk told Russian journalist Slava Malamud of Sport-Express about whether he plans to return to the Devils.

Kovalchuk has 13 years left on a 15 year, $100 million contract. With there being an agreement between the NHL and KHL that all contracts must be honored following the lockout, the Devils could have the opportunity to void Kovalchuk's deal, if he fails to come back to the NHL this season. That might not be a bad thing but not having Kovalchuk for this season would be a severe blow to the Devils depleted lineup that lost Zach Parise to free agency.

Expect Kovalchuk to return.