Rumor: Ilya Kovalchuk will be signing a 2-3 year deal with NYR

[ReggieDunlop68]

there is no downside hahah

everyone needs to calm down, signing kovy means nothing....we arent trading assets to acquire him and he isnt going to be blocking anyone on the depth chart, if people thought we were going to ice a roster with everyone being under 24 you were sorely mistaken

WE ARE STILL REBUILDING! but it will be fun to watch kovy light up the scoresheet at times

Hopefully he can keep us the hell out of the top 5 picks for the duration of his contract until the rebuild is over.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Of course Vegas winning the cup with no real superstars will probably encourage more teams to compete right away and tank less. Could be good for the league Lol.

As if no velvet hand is part of that.

 

[Cassano]

It took too long because Burke was an idiot and tried to accelerate the rebuild by trading for Kessel. Look at what Lou and Shanny did from the time they got there. The ate some bad contracts in exchange for assets, they drafted well, and yes, they got lucky getting Matthews, but it didn't take them that long once they set about doing it the right way. With smart decisions and a little luck, the Rangers can follow the same path.

Yup. As long as management aren't total morons a la Chiarelli/Burke/Murray, a rebuild will work...

 

[AIexisLafreniereNYR]

He's a little more than halfway out of his 30's too.

He's actually almost exactly half way out of his 30's. Not a little more half way because he's not even 35 just yet.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

He's actually almost exactly half way out of his 30's. Not a little more half way because he's not even 35 just yet.

Ok. Call Gorton. Tell him to make the signing RIGHT NOW!

His birthday is April 15th, so he would be a little more than halfway out of 30s once he wears the Broadway Blue. Not to mention he hasn't played in the NHL for a long time, and the recent Olympics had no current NHL stars in it.

Also, I need to look in my folder, but I could have sworn Gorton sent me a mass email about trading everyone time to rebuild this out house.

 

[NYR Viper]

I'd still take the shorter deal at higher money.

And that's all good, I may tend to agree with you, but it's just a hypothetical. Perhaps it's a 3 year deal with only NTC in years 2 + 3 with the lower amount of money?

 

[Rangers in 7]

Hopefully he can keep us the hell out of the top 5 picks for the duration of his contract until the rebuild is over.

dude take a sedative, my lord

 

[AIexisLafreniereNYR]

Ok. Call Gorton. Tell him to make the signing RIGHT NOW!

Hold your horses pal he's still property of the Devils. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER

 

[RGY]

The Rangers have already restocked the cupboard starting last offseason. They turned Stepan into two players. They turned Mac into 3-4 depending on how the draft goes and how you think that trade went down in terms of value. They turned Nash into 2-3 players, not counting Spooner and the other two cones. Grabner into 1-2 players. So in essence, if they keep all of their picks, they have received 11 prospects for 4 players. That number could go up if they flip Zucc or Spooner at the draft. Gorton is not providing some half ass rebuild. He has restocked the system well. They dont need to continue to sell of assets and tank. They can build off what they have as they have better people in management than other franchises do imo. No harm in adding Kovalchuk for just money.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Hold your horses pal he's still property of the Devils. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER

I have been buuurrnnnnneedddd!

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

I originally preferred Nash but looks like his primary scoring days are over, I get the logic and wouldn’t mind Kovy sitting in the high slot a la Hull and potting 30+

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

dude take a sedative, my lord

Ok.

We need that top 3 draft pick talent to win that big tall silver thing.

A decision to sign Kovy sounds as if RangersTown™ isn't top concerned with that, so I'm thinking about the next 20-50 years.

Think of it as if you were. Rangers fan in 1948 or whatever.

 

[AIexisLafreniereNYR]

I have been buuurrnnnnneedddd!

 

[TheTakedown]

Fam, Kovy STILL got it. I can f***s w/ Jeff's vision here. Look at that shot, that WILL translate back here with no problem.

Holy shit what a bomb

 

[Thirty One]

Rangers sell off established veterans for high draft picks and young prospects, pick up an established veteran to replace some of that lost at no cost in draft picks or prospects.

"Typical Rangers! Never change!"

 

[bobbop]

Just woke up to this news. Very interesting and great to hear. Ilya evolved into a real leader in the latter part of his NHL career. His KHL stats would indicate he can still play and from what I saw he was very effective at the Olympics. He will help the power play. And his value to the emerging Russian group on the Rangers could prove to be his biggest value to the team. He also free up additional assets to be moved. I am also thinking whatever kind of contract he signs (i.e. limited NMC, NTC) it will not interfere with a potential expansion protection list in 2020. It’s only $.

So...what’s not to like here?

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

I originally preferred Nash but looks like his primary scoring days are over, I get the logic and wouldn’t mind Kovy sitting in the high slot a la Hull and potting 30+

Is McLaren Senior even skating in practice in BeanTown yet?

 

[GAGLine]

The Rangers have already restocked the cupboard starting last offseason. They turned Stepan into two players. They turned Mac into 3-4 depending on how the draft goes and how you think that trade went down in terms of value. They turned Nash into 2-3 players, not counting Spooner and the other two cones. Grabner into 1-2 players. So in essence, if they keep all of their picks, they have received 11 prospects for 4 players. That number could go up if they flip Zucc or Spooner at the draft. Gorton is not providing some half ass rebuild. He has restocked the system well. They dont need to continue to sell of assets and tank. They can build off what they have as they have better people in management than other franchises do imo. No harm in adding Kovalchuk for just money.

Of those 11 players, how many are currently NHLers? How many will be? When will they be?

Gorton himself has said that there is still a lot of work to do. We know that there were discussions for Zucc at the TDL and they didn't get done because the McD trade held them up. Brooks reported that Hayes could be traded if the Rangers can't get him at a number they are comfortable with. The odds of both Namestnikov and Spooner being on this team next year seems pretty low. Gorton will likely package players and picks to move up or to get young NHL players/NHL ready prospects that he covets.

We are going to see a lot more moves between now and October.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

If true, what’s the point of this?

Gorton has been so questionable as a GM, and that’s a nice spin on it. So many atrocious decisions.

 

[Phoicon]

Just woke up to this news. Very interesting and great to hear. Ilya evolved into a real leader in the latter part of his NHL career. His KHL stats would indicate he can still play and from what I saw he was very effective at the Olympics. He will help the power play. And his value to the emerging Russian group on the Rangers could prove to be his biggest value to the team. He also free up additional assets to be moved. I am also thinking whatever kind of contract he signs (i.e. limited NMC, NTC) it will not interfere with a potential expansion protection list in 2020. It’s only $.

So...what’s not to like here?

One more thing: both Chytil and Andersson need help with their shooting and stickhandling (and Andersson with his skating as well). So I can see Kovalchuk both creating space for them on the ice as well as Gravy and other player development guys directing Kovalchuk to help them out during training sessions.

I don´t think Kovalchuk will necessarily help Buch all that much. Both are kind of introverted, they play different styles and they only played together nominally (as Buch got the 4th line treatment back in SKA as well). I guess theoretically he could help with Igor and Yegor coming over, but I don´t know about that.

 

[Matt Rentfree]

If this rumor is true and they're going to give him roughly 6M and sign all or most of their RFA's, I would imagine Zucc is a goner unless they can magically find a trade partner for Staal.

 

[FireGerardGallant]

Why?

This isn't the fall of the iron curtain late 80s. Russian players are not afraid to be millionaires in other cities unless you bring in an old comrade from the Warsaw Pact first.

I think this is a solid point. People have to realize we aren't going to piss years away. No chance. Sure, there's a great likelihood we will not be a good team in 2018/2019 but to throw it away because of that? No that won't happen. Kovy is a goal scorer (which we lack depth on, let's be fair) and he's a veteran presence for the kids especially the Euro's (Chytil Andersson, Rykov when he comes over) to learn from. I see very little downside here to a 2-3Y deal. It's better than giving 5Y for some NHLer now who is looking for a big time deal in free agency.

I said this when I first saw the move the more I’ve thought about it the more I like it

 

[MikeSteaks]

Don't get mad at Gorton just because your definition of a "rebuild" is completely inaccurate and unrealistic.

 

[Hire Sather]

If true, what’s the point of this?

Gorton has been so questionable as a GM, and that’s a nice spin on it. So many atrocious decisions.

The point is were actually going to try and win hockey games next year.

This isn't a Sabres rebuild here. Organization actually has some pride.

Kovalchuk is a good player. We have young Russians coming. We need to improve the team since we just traded a bunch of guys. We give up no assets.

Sounds like a no brainer to me

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Can someone explain to me the downside I seem to be missing?

Bro, youre either balls deep in a rebuild on a defined path to draft Crosby and Malkin and have the 1 OA for the next 3years or the odds on Stanley Cup Favorite. There is no in between.