ST. PETERSBURG, November 8 (R-Sport) - The KHL teams of Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk are desperate to hold onto them even if the NHL lockout is resolved, the president of Ovechkin's Dynamo Moscow told R-Sport on Thursday.

The pair arrived in Russia in September to get ice time during the salary dispute in North America, with Atlanta Thrashers star Kovalchuk joining SKA St. Petersburg.

"Is there the desire to retain Alexander Ovechkin at Dynamo after the NHL lockout? Dynamo has such thoughts," Dynamo president Arkady Rotenberg said.

"I heard that there are those thoughts too at the Army Sports Club in St. Petersburg," he said. "So we are looking in that direction, we'll see whether it'll work out."

Kovalchuk has racked up 26 points in 16 games since arriving, hitting nine goals, while Ovechkin has 14 points in 14 games, with six goals.