LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 30: Ilya Kovalchuk #17 of the New Jersey Devils looks down against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on October 30, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

On Sunday, rumors that former NHL All-Star Ilya Kovalchuk would return to the league from the KHL heated up. On Monday, his potential landing spot became a bit clearer.

Russian reporter Slava Malamud tweeted Kovalchuk would prefer to stay in New York or would like to wind up in Florida via a sign-and-trade.

New Jersey is very close to New York, so Kovalchuk’s reported destinations don’t seem to leave out his former team.

Devils general manager Ray Shero openly discussed plans to talk to Kovalchuk about returning to New Jersey, but reports suggest his preference may be to go elsewhere.

Returning to anywhere but New Jersey would be tough to pull off for Kovalchuk, as every team in the league would need to sign off on a potential contract with a non-Devils team. However, if New Jersey signed-and-traded the 34-year-old, the deal wouldn’t need league-wide approval.

Florida would be an interesting destination for Kovalchuk. They’re an improving team who certainly would reject the idea of adding a legitimate top-six goal scorer to the lineup. For New York-based teams, you’d think both the Rangers and Islanders would look at Kovalchuk depending on contract terms.

In the end, New Jersey makes the most sense as a destination. Kovalchuk would be close to New York and wouldn’t have to jump through hoops to sign there. Plus, he’d be committing to a team that initially signed him before he jumped to the KHL. Throw in the #1 overall pick coming to the Devils and Kovalchuk would have reasons to come back. However, if he wants to play on a competitive team, he might want to look elsewhere.

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com