Nearly a week after his agent stated that Ilya Kovalchuk would remain in the KHL, the Russian sniper signed a one-year deal with St. Petersburg SKA, the league announced.

Heading into the offseason it looked as though the former New Jersey Devil and Atlanta Thrasher would be making a return to the NHL, but after the Devils - who hold the 34-year-old's rights - were unable to agree on a contract or potential trade, Kovalchuk decided to sign with the team that he has spent the past four seasons with.

Luckily for Kovalchuk, the Devils hold his rights for just one more season, meaning after playing out the 2017-18 campaign with St. Petersburg SKA, he will become an unrestricted free agent and will be able to sign wherever he likes.

Last season, Kovalchuk tallied a KHL career-high 32 goals and 78 points in 60 games.

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