Ilya Kovalchuk: If I were greedy, I would choose KHL over NHL

New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk has revealed why he turned down the offer from SKA St. Petersburg in 2010 in an interview to Sports Daily.

«SKA were an option. There is nothing strange about it. I had a talk with Alexander Ivanovich [Medvedev, the chairman of SKA]. Still, I opted for the Devils.»

«Why?»

«I don’t know. I decided I have to stay there for some more time. I want to win the Stanley Cup.»

«Do you know people here called you greedy, saying you chose millions over your homeland?»

«In fact, if I was greedy I would choose my homeland.»

«How did you cope with the enormous attention the media have been paying to you during the talks with New Jersey?»

«To tell you the truth, I don’t read papers. But my mother does worry about it very much. Sometimes she even complains, saying: «What’s that, why do they hate you so much?» And I go like: «Mum, that’s what our papers are like.» Here, in Russia they both like to extol you and to smack up.»

«Do you think our media love you or not?»

«I believe it is all quite fair – if the team wins, the media love everybody. And if it does not win, you cannot ask the media for a positive reaction.»