Kovalchuk is in his first season with the Kings after inking a three-year, $18.75-million pact in the summer.
The Russian star sits third in team scoring - 14 points in 25 games - after a strong start to the season during which he picked up four goals and seven assists in 13 games.
However, Kovalchuk has seen his ice time reduced and has been benched multiple times since Willie Desjardins replaced John Stevens behind the bench.
Scherbak, 22, made the Canadiens out of training camp but did not appear in a game this season. He put up one point in five games during a conditioning stint in the AHL before suffering a lower-body injury.
The Kings sit in last place with 19 points and had first priority when Scherbak was placed on waivers Saturday.
The Canadiens selected Scherbak with the 26th overall pick in 2014.
Kyle Dubas uttered those five words in July when asked about the prospect of re-signing Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander in the wake of John Tavares' monster free-agent contract.
No qualifiers. No hedging. Just straight to the point. The Maple Leafs' general manager laid it out in plain English: We can and we will.
It was the type of comment that - if things go sideways - can haunt a young GM in both the court of public opinion and in future negotiations with agents. Yet, with the first of those three stars signing a long-term deal this weekend, Dubas has begun living up to his promise.
"I know people were ready to jam that one down my throat," he said Saturday following the announcement of Nylander's six-year, $45-million extension.
Mark Blinch / Getty Images
For a second, Dubas let that subtle acknowledgment of the famous soundbite linger while sharing a laugh with reporters.
"But we’ll stick with it and that’s our goal," he continued, essentially doubling down. "We want this group to be together as long as we can possibly keep it together, and we hope that all of these guys can be career Leafs, especially this young core group of players that we have."
After a historically long standoff with Nylander, Dubas is understandably joyous. The 19-8-0 Leafs - one of the NHL's best teams through a third of the 2018-19 schedule - just added a difference-making skater coming off back-to-back 61-point campaigns. And it's also a win for Nylander, who stood his ground and will be paid handsomely through his mid-20s. He's set to reunite with his teammates ASAP and could make his season debut as early as Thursday.
Beyond that, the deal should have wide-reaching consequences for the Maple Leafs and the league as a whole.
What now for the Leafs?
By signing Nylander before Saturday's 5 p.m. ET deadline, the Leafs narrowly avoided two suboptimal scenarios: having a valuable asset sit out an entire year, or trading that valuable asset amid a very successful season.
Toronto had plenty of salary-cap space available and took full advantage by front-loading the contract so Nylander can cash in a quarter of the money between now and next training camp:
Still, even with Nylander's $10.28 million on the books this season, Dubas can add almost $5.15 million before hitting the upper limit of the cap. After paying out performance bonuses, the remaining money will likely be spent in some way, shape, or form by the Feb. 25 trade deadline.
"We'll still be able to potentially add to the group," the GM said Saturday, "and if we can strengthen the group, we will."
Again, Dubas is laughing in the short term. While it's a reasonable contract for both sides, Toronto's brass effectively won the battle by locking Nylander in at an average annual value of less than $7 million - no small feat considering negotiations stretched into December.
The hard work, on the other hand, is just beginning.
This coming summer alone, 13 players on the current Leafs roster are scheduled to hit free agency, including restricted free agents Matthews, Marner, and Nylander fill-in Kasperi Kapanen, along with unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner, the polarizing top-four defenseman.
Some negotiations will be easy, while others should be contentious. Matthews and Marner, whose respective camps have put off contract talks until the offseason, will set the tone for the rest of the group. As the franchise's present and future, both will surely command eight figures per year.
Kevin Sousa / Getty Images
Right now, many within the hockey world project Matthews around $12 million and Marner in the neighborhood of $10 million. For argument's sake, let's assume the goal-scoring center and the playmaking winger sign long-term extensions for a combined $22 million. That's a big chunk of the pie.
In that scenario, the Big Four - Tavares, Matthews, Marner, and Nylander - would be earning roughly $40 million, or half of the current upper cap limit. And if the '19-20 upper limit falls somewhere between $81.4 million and $85.4 million (as the NHL projects), this hypothetical but entirely realistic situation would leave Dubas with between $3 million and $7 million to fill out next year's roster. In other words, pennies.
It could get worse, too.
The smart bet is on Matthews (averaging a goal per game this season) and Marner (on pace for 115 points) continuing their upward trajectories. Even after their production inevitably tapers off a bit, the pair of 21-year-olds should still make compelling cases for gigantic, potentially disruptive raises that would likely put a tremendous amount of pressure on Dubas.
The Nylander standoff may ultimately be the most difficult negotiation of the three, but deals for Matthews and/or Marner will require some serious finessing by Dubas and assistant GM Brandon Pridham, the club's in-house cap guru.
The signing also means that suddenly, two bits of business by former GM Lou Lamoriello - Patrick Marleau's buyout-proof $6.25-million-per-year deal and Nikita Zaitsev's $4.5-million-per-year contract - are major headaches. And Gardiner, who could probably attract offers between $6 million and $7 million per season on the open market, looks as good as gone.
Unless, of course, president Brendan Shanahan's team-first mantra gains steam down the stretch and winning is enough to change minds.
Does Gardiner take a hometown discount in an effort to finish what he started in Toronto? Would Matthews take fewer dollars, therefore giving Marner a lower benchmark?
Maybe. But maybe not. Barring something unforeseen - like a salary-dumping trade - money's going to be hella tight for the Leafs. The potential discounts will be trims; not full financial haircuts. There will be hoops to jump through, and the possibility of an offer sheet (or two?) from another team is lurking in the background.
For now, "we can and we will" has legs. Nylander's under contract through 2023-24 and the other key pieces are lodged in position. Come summertime, however, all bets are off. There might even be a sequel to this standoff story.
What now for star-studded 2019 RFAs?
In the same way it creates a benchmark for the future Matthews and Marner extensions, Nylander's signing should benefit rival stars who are finishing up their entry-level contracts this season.
For a while, Jack Eichel's second contract of $10 million per year over seven seasons has been the high-water mark for elite forwards not named Connor McDavid. The next rung is Leon Draisaitl and his $8.5 million per year over eight, then David Pastrnak's $6.67 million over six, and then Nikolaj Ehlers' $6 million over seven.
Nylander etched out a new rung after waiting out his team until deadline day. In turn, he raised the bar, and will make roughly $300,000 more per season than his good pal Pastrnak. It may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but comparables are crucial during future contract talks.
Gerry Thomas / Getty Images
Meanwhile, the 2019 RFA class - headlined by Patrik Laine, Mikko Rantanen, Brayden Point, Matthew Tkachuk, Sebastian Aho, Brock Boeser, Kyle Connor, Timo Meier, Charlie McAvoy, and Ivan Provorov - is stupidly talented and will reap the rewards of Nylander's standoff.
All of them have interesting cases, particularly Rantanen, given his offensive explosion this year, and Boeser, due to his injury history. How valuable is Tkachuk to Calgary's success? Will he agree to make north of $7 million but not quite Draisaitl money, establishing yet another rung?
One issue is that teams are mostly ill-prepared for this trend of young players earning this much, this soon. Previously, the typical high-end skater had to wait until their third contract to really see their bank account swell. Not anymore in a league dominated by rookies, sophomores, and players in their early 20s.
And, as the hockey world was reminded on a seemingly daily basis during the Leafs-Nylander saga, these RFAs don't usually qualify for salary arbitration. So, if the team and player aren't seeing eye to eye, the threat of sitting out - or in Nylander's case, actually sitting out - can become a real problem.
"I hope that, for the sake of everybody - the players, the teams, the game, in general - that teams and players are able to work together and have everybody there in time for training camp, and get everything sorted and done," Dubas said when asked if the Nylander situation might set a precedent across the league.
"I think it's great for the fans and it's great for the game, in general, to have every great, young player available and every exciting, young player available to be out here every night. We've deprived the fans of that for two months, so we're happy to get one back."
John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.
Minutes before Saturday's deadline, Nylander and the Maple Leafs agreed to a six-year, $45-million extension, ending a months-long stalemate and avoiding the possibility of the Swedish forward sitting out the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign.
But the deal is apparently too rich for Brian Burke, who served as Maple Leafs GM from 2008 to 2013.
"My objection to the Nylander deal is two-fold. One, he's the sixth-best player on the team," Burke said Saturday on Sportsnet's To The Point. "He's the sixth-best, arguably the seventh-best, on the Toronto Maple Leafs and they paid him all this money.
"I also think that if they were going to throw this much money at him, they should have done it in August and not had him miss training camp. If you're going to give away the farm like this, do it early and get him in camp."
Nylander is the first member of the Maple Leafs' Big Three to reach restricted free agency, with fellow forwards Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews due for new deals next summer. Those contracts, plus the signing of John Tavares last offseason, could force other players to move elsewhere.
"I do believe (Nylander won the negotiation)," Burke added. "The notion that you'll put more money on the table late, that's a lesson that the agents for these other players are going to learn that with Toronto all you have to do is hold out and they'll up the ante. That's dangerous ground."
The NHL would reportedly prefer the Arizona Coyotes change divisions if Seattle is awarded the league's 32nd franchise, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on Saturday's edition of "Headlines."
Friedman did acknowledge that other issues could still arise before the potential new Seattle team begins play in either 2020 or 2021.
"Just as part of the proposal to vote Seattle in is the official word that they would like to move Arizona to the Central Division, though Nick (Kypreos), there are things that could happen between now and then," Friedman said.
The NHL Board of Governors will meet Tuesday, where it's expected a vote will be conducted to either approve or deny Seattle of a franchise.
Sportsnet's John Shannon reported Friday that the league's realignment plan will be revealed Tuesday when the Seattle decision is announced.
The Coyotes currently play in the Pacific Division. They were moved from the Central to the Pacific before the start of the 1998-99 season.
It might've come down to the final minutes of Saturday's deadline, but Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander finally has a deal in place. Although the 22-year-old has yet to play this season due to a months-long contract stalemate with the team, he has no hard feelings on how the process played out.
"Everything worked out good for both sides, so there is nothing to be bitter about," Nylander said, according to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. "You want to be playing from the beginning of the season, but things happen for a reason and I am just so happy that it's over."
Although there was plenty of speculation as to how the stalemate would end, including a potential trade or bridge deal, Nylander agreed to a six-year deal worth roughly $6.96 million per season with the Leafs.
"That was something I wanted," he said. "I didn't want a bridge deal. I want to stay in Toronto with all the players that we have, and we have a great team.
"I didn't want to risk it by signing a bridge deal and not being able to stay, if that was going to happen."
Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Saturday that the team hopes to have the winger back sometime over the next week. Nylander, meanwhile, is eager to rejoin his teammates.
"I can't wait to be back," he said. "It has been a crazy ride. I wish it would have been done earlier, but I'm very happy to be back with the best fans in the league. I'm very excited."
The 24-year-old Swede came into Saturday's action leading the Predators with 14 goals and 22 points in 26 games.
Nashville is already without Viktor Arvidsson, who's been out since Nov. 10 with a broken thumb, P.K. Subban, who hasn't played since Nov. 13 due to an upper-body injury of his own, and Kyle Turris, who was placed on IR last Sunday with an undisclosed ailment.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans were abuzz on Twitter just over a week ago when Columbus Blue Jackets fan Ryan Lacey tweeted a photo of himself with Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas ahead of Toronto's game against the Blue Jackets on Nov. 23.
In the tweet, Lacey claimed Dubas told him he would have an update on the William Nylander contract situation at 5 p.m. that day.
BREAKING: Just spoke with @MapleLeafs GM Kyle Dubas and asked about where they stand on William Nylander. His response was “I’ll have an update by 5pm.” Something tells me a resolve in the Nylander situation is close. #Nylander#MapleLeafspic.twitter.com/Au0Zwyi7k8
Well, as everyone knows, 5 p.m. came and went with no update on Nylander, leaving Lacey looking like a Twitter troll. That is until Dubas reached out to him on Twitter on Saturday, lending some credence to the Columbus fan's claim just minutes after Nylander's six-year contract was made official.
