I have not actually seen Chipchura this year, but by all accounts he needs a year of seasoning because of his weak skating. Even if he were to make the team, it would probably be at the expense of Bonk (and Ribeiro, obviously...who I can't see fitting into this team's plans unless Pleks is traded). He would not be a top-3 centre.

The team probably needs a top-flight centre with size. Ideally it would be someone who can score goals, because Kovalev probably complements a net-crashing finisher more than he does a playmaker, given that he wants, needs, and gets the puck all the time, and does a lot of different things with it. Kovalev can score, but he's probably even better as a guy who draws defenders and lays it off to a finisher in the slot.

Plekanec and Koivu are not that guy. They are quite similar to each other (at least on the surface...it remains to be seen how much heart and toughness Plekanec shows in the long term) in that they are playmakers who can pass, skate, stickhandle, create space, be defensively responsible, etc...They aren't quite the ideal guy for Kovalev because they aren't great finishers or guys who are born to stand in front of the net and take punishment. I like Pleks AND Koivu, but I don't think they are ideal as a top 2 pairing.

Koivu at #2, Pleks and Bonk as #3 and #4. Plus a big guy to play with Kovy. That's actually a pretty good situation at centre. We are close.

All that said, I've seen teams with 3 finesse centres and one grinder do just fine (cf. Detroit). But I don't see Koivu and Pleks as exactly Fedorov and Yzerman. And Ribeiro and Bonk are no Larionov and Draper either.