Ilya Kovalchuk’s career may have led him to cosmopolitan Montreal, but the Russian-born Olympic gold-medalist has left his heart in Los Angeles. The proof is in the purchase of an ethereal modern-style home in Beverly Hills, which surely will soften the blows of those Canadiens winters during off-time.

The house is a fairly new one—it dates to 2018—and it sports a somewhat traditionally modern exterior; exceptions include a lengthy series of ornamental lines and planes, and a bookmatched marble flourish that indicates to passersby that this modern is perhaps not quite as utility-oriented in its philosophy as a midcentury example.

It is a rambler, though, a nearly flat-roofed, one-story structure with five bedrooms that extends to well over 6,000 square feet. So a look inside reveals a home that has plenty of room to play with narrative, and offer a few surprises around a few choice corners. Generally, they come in the form of material choices—the kitchen’s waterfall island is one example, the imposing fireplace accent wall in the shared space is another—and the way the home opens with largesse to incorporate the pool and patio area out back.

After a lengthy stint with the KHL in the first part of the last decade, Kovalchuk played with the Kings for two seasons. He joined the Canadiens this year.