Just over a year ago, the Colorado Avalanche showed confidence in Nikolai Kovalenko by giving him playoff minutes, suggesting he was part of their future plans. Kovalenko had just come over from Russia after the 2023-24 KHL season and was immediately slotted into the Avs’ lineup during a critical postseason stretch.
However, the 2024-25 NHL season proved to be a challenging one for Kovalenko. He struggled to establish himself in Colorado, and the Avalanche traded him mid-season to the San Jose Sharks. Even with the Sharks — a team focused on rebuilding and theoretically offering more opportunity — Kovalenko failed to secure a significant role.
Nikolai Kovalenko (NHL)Kovalenko Returns To KHL After Struggling To Secure NHL Role In 2024-25
Following this underwhelming North American stint, Kovalenko has now signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL, returning to his home country. Despite recording modest stats — four goals and four assists with Colorado, followed by three goals and nine assists with San Jose — he wasn’t able to carve out a stable place in the NHL.
At 25, Kovalenko still has time to develop and potentially return to the NHL in the future. But for now, his move back to Russia signals a pause in his North American hockey journey. It may be some time before he resurfaces on the NHL radar.
