Ex-NHL Star Ilya Kovalchuk in Contract to Sell New Jersey Home

The sale of Ilya Kovalchuk’s incomplete New Jersey mansion has bedeviled the former NHL star for years, but those days could soon be over.

The Russian-born hockey player and his wife, singer Nicole Andrazajtis Kovalchuk, are in contract to sell their home at 10 Frick Drive in Alpine, the New York Post reported. The deal has yet to close, but sources told the outlet it’s close to the last asking price of $10.9 million.

The couple listed the 22,000-square-foot property in 2019 for nearly $18 million, but buyers quickly vanquished their hopes of a quick and pricey sale to the penalty box. The ask was lowered to $16 million after a year, then $15 million last year before ultimately coming down to the latest ask.

The identity of the buyer was not reported.

The couple purchased the two-acre parcel in 2010 for $4.5 million, setting out to build a dream luxury property after Kovalchuk inked a 15-year, $100 million pact to remain a member of the New Jersey Devils for the balance of his career. Things fell apart on the ice, however, and Kovalchuk returned to Russia three years later, leaving a shell of a home behind.

The property, which will take the incoming owner an additional $6 million to complete, includes eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, along with several powder rooms and a “banquet-size” dining room.

The home also has a chef’s kitchen, prep kitchen, walk-in pantry and wine storage. Additional features include a lounge, theater, bar and guest suite.

Dennis McCormack of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

Kovalchuk, a three-time NHL All-Star, played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. He won an Olympic gold medal in 2018 while representing the unofficial Russian team, then served as general manager for the Russian Olympic Committee’s men’s ice hockey team that competed in Beijing four years later.

The Kovalchuk clan also put a Miami Beach luxury condo on the market for $14.5 million. That listing comes only a year after they purchased the pad on South Florida’s exclusive Fisher Island for $8.5 million, or $2,200 per square foot.

— Holden Walter-Warner