Non-Minnesota NHL News XII

[MuckOG]

Kovalchuk's sister reported he'll be back in the NHL after hes done.

Only after he receives a unanimous thumbs-up from all 30 GM's.

 

[AKL]

Kovalchuk's sister reported he'll be back in the NHL after hes done.

Called that one. That was easy.

 

[rafterman]

Only after he receives a unanimous thumbs-up from all 30 GM's.

That's only the case if he wants to come back within one year. After that point until he's 35 only the Devil's would have to OK it. Once he's 35 he's free to come back and would be UFA with no permission restrictions. There was a Puck Daddy piece on it over the weekend...

 

[Victorious Secret]

If Kovalchuk comes here then there might be a New Jersey/Minnesota civil war

 

[SPMaximus]

If Kovalchuk comes here then there might be a New Jersey/Minnesota civil war

first Vanek has to be traded to New Jersey and sign as a free agent with us next summer

after that we can get Kovy

 

[Victorious Secret]

first Vanek has to be traded to New Jersey and sign as a free agent with us next summer

after that we can get Kovy

That'd be great. Then there is a lottery held for New Jerseys top 5 pick next year, rather than just omitting the pick, we win it.

 

[Jarick]

No thanks to Kovy. That loser can go play in Siberia. We don't need quitters.

 

[Ladde]

I would take Kovy now not 5 years later.

 

[TZM]

No thanks to Kovy. That loser can go play in Siberia. We don't need quitters.

I don't get comments like these. The guy wants to play in his home country where he is more comfortable (big difference in culture) and has a better chance of winning something great in SKA rather than in NJ.

It's a rational decision. Bad thing for NJ, good for him. People talk like the players are some kind of toy soldiers.

 

[Minnewildsota]

I don't get comments like these. The guy wants to play in his home country where he is more comfortable (big difference in culture) and has a better chance of winning something great in SKA rather than in NJ.

It's a rational decision. Bad thing for NJ, good for him. People talk like the players are some kind of toy soldiers.

Because, supposedly, he wants to come back in a few years.

 

[TZM]

Because, supposedly, he wants to come back in a few years.

What difference does it make? He gets to spend a few years in Russia again. It's his life. Again, sucks for NJD but good for him if the guy is happier this way. With a good deal I'd be happy to see him sign with the Wild, if he'd still be a great player.

 

[Jarick]

I don't get comments like these. The guy wants to play in his home country where he is more comfortable (big difference in culture) and has a better chance of winning something great in SKA rather than in NJ.

It's a rational decision. Bad thing for NJ, good for him. People talk like the players are some kind of toy soldiers.

That's all well and good, but he signed a 15-year contract for 100 million dollars. This wasn't a free agency decision, it was him backing out on the team and costing them millions of dollars and hurting the team and the fans.

 

[Jarick]

What difference does it make? He gets to spend a few years in Russia again. It's his life. Again, sucks for NJD but good for him if the guy is happier this way. With a good deal I'd be happy to see him sign with the Wild, if he'd still be a great player.

Signs with the Wild, then gets homesick or life gets too tough, then he quits again? No thanks.

 

[MuckOG]

What difference does it make? He gets to spend a few years in Russia again. It's his life. Again, sucks for NJD but good for him if the guy is happier this way. With a good deal I'd be happy to see him sign with the Wild, if he'd still be a great player.

That's all fine and dandy. And I get a little perverse fun out of all the weeping and gnashing of teeth by the Devils fans after all the abuse we took last summer re: Parise.

But let's be honest, if Kovalchuk did what he did as a member of the Wild, we would be just as angry and bitter as the Devils fans are.

If I were Fletcher, I would be extremely wary of signing Russian players. Could a Swede or a Finn also do the same thing? Probably, but the FEL and SEL doesn't have nearly the amount of $$ that the KHL does, so the tempation for them wouldn't be as strong as it would for a Russian to head home.

 

[Dudicles]

If Kovy had any doubts about not wanting to stay in the NHL, he should not have signed a 15 year deal with a team. Extremely selfish and shortsighted move. The team signs him for 15 years, and all their player deals (and inability to go after certain players) are based around the cap space left after signing Kovy. To then "retire" to eek out of his contract...so he can go to a different country and sign a contract there...wow, that's just low.

This is a move that will make him deserving of any disrespect he is given. How do you trust a guy if he's going to do that? Any sports league is better off not having players who would do this sort of thing.

Honesty and integrity should still count for something in the world.

 

[Phant03]

NJ fans might be mad but I'd almost guarantee management isn't. Go look at the capgeek numbers for the recapture penalty they would have incurred if he had retired later. Plus, that franchise is having $$ troubles to boot.

 

[OpRedDawn*]

Would've been a lot more reasonable if he did it before this years draft...

 

[forthewild]

Would've been a lot more reasonable if he did it before this years draft...

This is an excellent point to mention, he kind of did it at the worst time. I guess Lou knew about it, but still its the wrong time to pull this kind of a move. Either do it after the season so your team can go on with out you or don't do it.

Oh well.

 

[MuckOG]

This is an excellent point to mention, he kind of did it at the worst time. I guess Lou knew about it, but still its the wrong time to pull this kind of a move. Either do it after the season so your team can go on with out you or don't do it.

Oh well.

What I'm hearing is that Lou knew by the draft this could likely happen. The Devils were not caught off guard.

 

[forthewild]

What I'm hearing is that Lou knew by the draft this could likely happen. The Devils were not caught off guard.

Yeah Lou was trying to talk him out of it, still its a wrong time to make the move tho. If he did it before FA hit, Lou would have more money to spend in FA.

Still Kovy's biggest dick move is potentially going to be at the end of the year, if NJD has the worst record, man that would sting soooo bad.

 

[Jarick]

NJ fans might be mad but I'd almost guarantee management isn't. Go look at the capgeek numbers for the recapture penalty they would have incurred if he had retired later. Plus, that franchise is having $$ troubles to boot.

Maybe, maybe not. Obviously they were okay with giving him the money. They'd get hit with maybe $4-5m for a few seasons if he did retire a few years early, but now they're getting hit with $250k for what, 12 years? That's not chump change either.

Would've been a lot more reasonable if he did it before this years draft...

That's what bugs me. Do it before free agency and the draft.

But you have to think, between Kovy and Lou, they're really screwing the fans here. Lose a draft pick and lost Parise. That team went from contender to a joke really fast.

Yeah, NJ fans are pretty annoying, but that still just sucks.

 

[Randy BoBandy]

It is crazy for the guy to leave the NHL so early, but I really don't get all this greedy, selfish, ect. stuff. He is an employee that didn't like his situation so he quit and pursued an option that was in his best interest. He did kind of **** the Devils over, given how much they had invested in him, but that is the devils fault. They are the ones who signed him to a ridiculous deal. Kovy is just doing him and I can respect that.

 

[forthewild]

It is crazy for the guy to leave the NHL so early, but I really don't get all this greedy, selfish, ect. stuff. He is an employee that didn't like his situation so he quit and pursued an option that was in his best interest. He did kind of **** the Devils over, given how much they had invested in him, but that is the devils fault. They are the ones who signed him to a ridiculous deal. Kovy is just doing him and I can respect that.

Its not that he left, its how he left that has people upset.

He was a guy who demanded to be paid big, in his FA year he said he was worth 10 mil/year, so NJD bend over to sign him to a huge deal, first attempt was 17 year deal that cost NJD a 1st rounder. See if he signed a long deal and wanted out fine, but after you put a team through that drama people will be pissed.

Like you said, he was an employee, everyone has had those at their job, there is people who quit and leave and you miss them because they were good to work with, then there is those who leave but do it in such a manner that leaves a sour taste in the mouth. In my opinion this is one of those cases.

 

[MuckOG]

It is crazy for the guy to leave the NHL so early, but I really don't get all this greedy, selfish, ect. stuff. He is an employee that didn't like his situation so he quit and pursued an option that was in his best interest. He did kind of **** the Devils over, given how much they had invested in him, but that is the devils fault. They are the ones who signed him to a ridiculous deal. Kovy is just doing him and I can respect that.

Be honest, if Kovy did this to the Wild, you'd want him hung up by his toe-nails.

 

[Avder]

Kovalchuk signed a 4 year contract in the KHL for St. Petersburg. Salary figures likely won't be disclosed, but rumor is he is making between 10-20 million a year. Radulov makes 9 million a year, for reference.

Oh, and Ron Hextall is going back to Philadelphia to be the Assistant General Manager. BRINGING HEXY BACK :

I just keep laughing as this crap keeps rolling in. I could not be happier.

Kovalchuk's sister reported he'll be back in the NHL after hes done.

Yeah, right. He just thumbed his nose at the entire NHL. The league should have some kind of dispute with the KHL over this: retired means retired, not dropping one pro hockey contract for a more favorable one. I really doubt that he'll be allowed to come back after 4 years, and if he is, I doubt he'll get any kind of favorable treatment from anyone in this league. If anything, this incident is just going to further strain the relationship NHL GMs have with Russian players.

If Kovalchuk comes here then there might be a New Jersey/Minnesota civil war

We could curb stomp those New York wanna-be's. All they've got is a couple cess pools. We've got a crapton of Scandinavians here with lutefisk-breath. Owned.