Islanders sign F Kovar from KHL, extend F Johnston

[July 10, 2018]    The New York Islanders agreed to terms on a one-year contract with forward Jan Kovar and extended forward Ross Johnston for four years, the team announced Monday.

The team did not reveal financial details, although multiple reports placed the value of Kovar's deal at $2 million. A Sportsnet report said Johnston's contract is worth $1 million annually.

Kovar, 28, has played the past five seasons in the Russian KHL Magnitogorsk Metallurg, where he averaged more than a point per game (286 points in 285 games). He was a four-time 20-goal scorer for Magnitogorsk Metallurg.

Kovar, whose older brother Jakub in a goaltender in the KHL after once being a fourth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers, also has played for five World Championship teams for the Czech Republic (2013-17), scoring six goals with 13 assists over 42 games. He scored three goals with two assists in six games at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where the Czechs finished fourth.

Johnston, 24, was a restricted free agent after making $666,667 last season, when he saw his first extensive NHL action with three goals and three assists in 24 games. He also had three goals and eight assists in 38 games with the Islanders' AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The extension gives the Islanders 11 players under contract through the 2020-21 season.

--Field Level Media

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