Ilya Kovalchuk Retirement: NHL Superstar To Return To KHL

Ilya Kovalchuk shocked the world when he announced his retirement from the NHL.

The New Jersey Devil nullified the final 12 years of his 15-year contract; the remainder of his term was worth an estimated $77 million.

"This decision was something I have thought about for a long time going back to the lockout and spending the year in Russia," Kovalchuk said in a statement released by the New Jersey Devils organization. "Though I decided to return this past season, [general manager] Lou [Lamoriello] was aware of my desire to go back home and have my family there with me. The most difficult thing for me is to leave the New Jersey Devils, a great organization that I have a lot of respect for, and our fans that have been great to me."

According to Kovalchuk, his main motivation was having the opportunity to play in Russia closer to home. He played 36 games in the KHL during the lockout this past season; the nullification of his contract enables the 30-year old to return to the KHL for the remainder of his career.

"This goes back to the lockout and prior to coming back, his thought process of staying in Russia was there," General Manager Lou Lamoriello said Thursday. "He was here a little late [for training camp] and then there was no conversation whatsoever throughout the year about it. Then it recently resurfaced, and his desire was to retire from the National Hockey League, and the only way he could do that was to sign his voluntary retirement papers, which he did."

"Right now we just have to take a step back to go forward," Lamoriello added about his club's fate. 'We'll just have to re-evaluate what our options are and do the best we can, but we'll be ready to play when September comes."

Kovalchuk finished his NHL career with 417 goals and 399 assists for 816 points in 816 games.