As hockey fans sift through poorly translated rumors and vague reports out of Russia surrounding free-agent forward Ilya Kovalchuk, a much-less renowned former NHL player has made his intentions for the 2017-18 hockey season fully known.

A once hyped NCAA free agent out of Merrimack College, Stephane Da Costa was originally signed by the Ottawa Senators at the end of the 2010-11 season. He went on to play parts of four NHL seasons and parts of three AHL campaigns with the Senators' organization. He played just 47 NHL games from the spring of 2011 through the end of the 2013-14 season, scoring seven goals and adding four assists on 75 shots in 11:36 of ice time per game.

Now 27 years old, Da Costa has spent his past three seasons with CSKA Moscow of the KHL, playing a total of 94 regular-season games and 39 playoff games. He put up totals of 96 and 28 points, respectively.

At just 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, Da Costa is best suited for an offense-first role within a team's top-six or top-nine forward grouping. It was an opportunity never really given to him by the Senators, even after he put up 90 points in 67 career games at the NCAA level.

With the growing favoritism toward analytic play in the NHL, Da Costa is likely to receive a better opportunity this time around, after re-demonstrating his offensive prowess. Through his 47 NHL games, he played at a Corsi For percentage of 55.8.

A minus-11 rating which largely led to his poor perception, was at the fault of a disastrous 93.1 PDO, when league average is viewed at approximately 100. Ottawa's goaltending at the time posted a save percentage of just 86.4 percent at 5-on-5 when Da Costa was on the ice.

Da Costa will need an opportunity from a patient team with room up front and no expectations for this upcoming season for his second crack at the NHL.

Hello Arizona.

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