OT: Kovalchuk retires from the NHL

[Ziggy Stardust]

And Lombardi

Oh that goes without saying, haha. Goes to show you how sensible the Kings are even when trying to sign a highly sought after free agent. I'm thankful to know that he won't spend like an idiot and put his team in a compromising position.

 

[Rorschach]

Not sure if we will be able to afford too much after Bobby Ryan's contract.

It'll be after we deal Kopitar for Seth Jones so we'll be fine.

 

[glenwo2]

Of course Lombardi. He is, after all, a Lou Disciple.

BTW, nice gesture to give Lou that 7th rounder so they can draft Marty's son. Real cool of him.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

It'll be after we deal Kopitar for Seth Jones so we'll be fine.

Don't like Seth Jones. Hated the way he acted at the draft.

 

[MsMeow]

Slava Malamud ‏@SlavaMalamud

Sport-Express reported that Kovalchuk and SKA had the terms of his future deal agreed upon back in January. This was a prearranged move.

Unreal...

 

[MOGlLNY]

I think the fact that we missed out on Kovy and he went and did this just proves that our organization is officially more lucky than unlucky now. Thank ****ing god.

 

[Scottkmlps]

Who is the best GM of the past 20 years then?

It's either Lou or Ken Holland.

NJ has been contenders for 20 seasons, give the guy some credit. They will suck for a few years, but they are in good hands.

It was a joke.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Unreal...

He didn't really want to come back to the NHL after the lockout. He eventually did. I'm guessing he and the Devils could've terminated his contract back then, but maybe the Devils talked him into coming back for a year, and see what happens after that. Kovalchuk's heart stayed in Russia, and if really doesn't want to be in NJ anymore, why would the Devils want him around?

Kovalchuk gets to go home and make more money in a shorter amount of time, and the Devils relieve themselves of a massive financial burden. Fans will get over it. Players have always come and gone, and it's not like Kovalchuk is going to NY or Philly.

 

[The Tikkanen]

I have a feeling in the next CBA there will be a clause where if you "retire" and go sign a deal in the KHL the next day the teams will face a steep penalty. Not too many professional athletes have the option of quitting the biggest league in the world to go play in another league and probably make more, tax free money. He didn't retire, he quit, tucked tail and went home.

 

[Sydor25]

I have a feeling in the next CBA there will be a clause where if you "retire" and go sign a deal in the KHL the next day the teams will face a steep penalty. Not too many professional athletes have the option of quitting the biggest league in the world to go play in another league and probably make more, tax free money. He didn't retire, he quit, tucked tail and went home.

The Devils let him go. They could have "tolled" his contact and prevented him from signing with another league that has an agreement with the NHL. The KHL/NHL only have a handshake agreement to honor contracts. NJ wanted out of this contract just as bad as Kovalchuk. The high salary years were just starting with his contract and the Devils still have a lot of arena debt on the books.

NJ ownership is very happy to be rid of the financial burden of Kovalchuk's contract.

 

[Spockey]

LL tried to change Kovalchoke's mind/heart.

Steve Politi, Star-Ledger (7/11/13)

Lou Lamoriello spent weeks trying to talk his superstar out of breaking his commitment to the Devils – and that, in itself, had to eat away at his soul.

This is a man who built an entire franchise around character and loyalty, one who loves to tell people that the team logo is on the front of the jersey and the name is on the back for a reason. Anyone who has spent time around him understand that this is not an act. He lives and breathes this stuff.

Now, here he was, trying to convince a player who signed a 15-year contract worth $100 million not to run back to Russia?

And not to do it just three years into that deal?

“I’ll let you answer that,” Lamoriello said when asked if he could take any positives away from his experience with Ilya Kovalchuk, and we’ll take that as a big, fat, resounding no.

Ilya Kovalchuk 'retirement' is a disaster for Devils GM Lou Lamoriello

 

[KINGS17]

Remember when word got out that Dean asked Kovalchuk some questions that he didn't like or appreciate, and how NJ fans told us that Lombardi was too arrogant to land a big star like Kovy?

Well...

 

[MsMeow]

I feel bad for Lou. This deal wasn't typical of one he normally goes for and to have the team and fans crapped on must be really hard on him. It will be interesting to see what the league does going forward. I don't see a lot of non-Russians doing this but you have to wonder if Ovie, Malkin and others will think of this now that the move has been made by a fellow Russian.

 

[DaAnimal]

The Devils are gonna suck so hard and won't have a first round pick.

I highly doubt that.

Devils for some ODD reason will always be a good team even without the likes of Parise, Kovy, Clarkson, etc.

He apparently made $15M during the LOCKOUT. Unreal. ****...I get why he's doing it business wise. That's stupid money.

Yeah, lets not forget the taxes are different in Russia. Plus, he'll get a lot of endorsement deals. $_$

 

[KingsFan7824]

Devils for some ODD reason will always be a good team even without the likes of Parise, Kovy, Clarkson, etc.

You look at their roster, and they still have the most amount of playoff game experience out of any team in the league. Then again, they had that last year too.

A lot of that is Brodeur, who obviously isn't what he was, and now will play even less.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Can't really bang on Lou because he was an absolute monster GM, one of the greats, up until about 2003...and because this contract seemed out-of-character...but the man seems to suck at capology. Right now, he's Michael Jordan on the Washington Wizards.

 

[tigermask48]

The Devils let him go. They could have "tolled" his contact and prevented him from signing with another league that has an agreement with the NHL. The KHL/NHL only have a handshake agreement to honor contracts. NJ wanted out of this contract just as bad as Kovalchuk. The high salary years were just starting with his contract and the Devils still have a lot of arena debt on the books.

NJ ownership is very happy to be rid of the financial burden of Kovalchuk's contract.

To me the most shocking part of this whole thing is how the NHL is just going to roll over and let him pull this crap. He "retires" one day and then signs in the KHL the next day. After all the mud-slinging back and forth over Voinov, Radulov, Prohkorkin, etc, and the NHL doesn't even try to have him sit out a year or something? No threat to hold NHL players out of the Olympics? No plea at all to the IIHF? Pathetic.

The grand irony in all this though is a major reason that Russians defected to the NHL (money) in the 90s seems to be the same reason some go back now. Just such a weird thing given the NHL's history with Russian players.

 

[Reclamation Project]

The men in my avatar >>> Kovalchuk

Steve Politi, Star-Ledger (7/11/13)

Ilya Kovalchuk 'retirement' is a disaster for Devils GM Lou Lamoriello

Un****ingreal.

 

[The Tikkanen]

The Devils are gonna have to roll 4 lines capable of 2 way hockey. They can still do that by adding guys like Jagr and Penner or it won't surprise me to see Vanek dealt there.

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

Remember when word got out that Dean asked Kovalchuk some questions that he didn't like or appreciate, and how NJ fans told us that Lombardi was too arrogant to land a big star like Kovy?

Well...

Good point.

 

[Spockey]

Interesting article found on Devils' board:

Michelle Kenneth, InsideHockey.com (7/12/13)

At the end of the season, with the Devils knocked out of playoff contention, I waited until all of the reporters were finished interviewing him. He saw me waiting patiently to talk to him as a Russian reporter approached, trying to interview him. He turned to the reporter and told him he had to wait. I went up to him and asked the most important question: “Are you planning on re-signing with the Devils?â€

It was right then and there that he told me he would. He also told me how he would play out Free Agency. He would go into free agency and listen to other team offers, but he would ultimately sign with the Devils (that is, if the Devils wanted him).

The important thing here is that he remembered he told me after that last game of the season. He waited for me to print it. I never printed it. His agent contacted me that June and said that Kovalchuk had told me what he was doing in free agency. Why hadn’t I printed it yet?

I needed guarantees that Kovalchuk would not do what other players are known to do… they say one thing and circumstances change so they decide to go with another team. I needed a guarantee that Kovalchuk was not lying to me. I would not print it unless I had the guarantee and promise that he would not lie to me. It was my reputation at stake, not Kovalchuk’s.

Jay Grossman’s response to me was, “If he told you he was signing with the Devils, that is what he’s going to do.â€

For me, there’s that part betrayal where I received guarantees he would not lie to me. Fact is, he never did. He was always truthful about everything. He prepared me over these years that this could happen. The only groups he lied to were the Devils and their fans. He broke his word that he was a Devil for life. He broke his bond with them. He lied when he said he would end his hockey career with the Devils…that was why he signed a long-term contract.

In essence, to the Devils, he was not true to his word, and that makes him less of the good man I believed he was. He broke one of the most important things about him that I needed a guarantee on. He only gave the guarantee to me that he would not lie to me. That guarantee did not extend to the Devils.

Kovalchuk Retires, Defects to Russia

 

[The Tikkanen]

And think about the guys that just signed in NJ. This guy screwed over the league and his teammates.

 

[Kingler]

Lost Kovalchuk in a 2 teams sweepstake, and then shunned by Brad Richards after practically rolling out the red carpets.

Well the Kings dodged 2 bullets...or is it the bullets that dodged them?

 

[KINGS17]

Lost Kovalchuk in a 2 teams sweepstake, and then shunned by Brad Richards after practically rolling out the red carpets.

Well the Kings dodged 2 bullets...or is it the bullets that dodged them?

I don't know if we'll be seeing this anymore now that Leiweke and his influence is gone. As much as Leiweke tried to do things the right way, I think he still can't resist the big headline that comes with signing a superstar UFA. Once the cap goes up again next off season, I won't be surprised to see Toronto in pursuit of every big name UFA.

 

[CNS]

Lost Kovalchuk in a 2 teams sweepstake, and then shunned by Brad Richards after practically rolling out the red carpets.

Well the Kings dodged 2 bullets...or is it the bullets that dodged them?

This is all 100% luck. Let's not act like Dean is some genius here. Kovalchuk would have been a GREAT addition to our team. Yes, it'd change the team that we have today but you can't deny how skilled he is and NO ONE could have predicted he lost this. Yes, we dodged a bullet but there are people in this thread that thing this makes Dean a genius, which it doesn't.

As for Brad, I'm sure some remember me being the head of the campaign to not sign him. Wanted zero part of him. We shouldn't have even been discussing him.