Searching for opinions about Kovy for feature in hockey column

[ThePSEGPowerPoster]

Kovy is a fantastic player he just never quite fit in here. Making it so he fit in here would have required an organizational shift in how we play hockey. That cup run was the product of a team getting hot at the right time. I don't believe Kovy had as much to do with that as the fourth line, Marty, and Parise.

Had we surrounded Kovy with playmakers and speedsters we likely view him differently, but we never really tried to build around him. We just plugged him in and figured what the heck - give us 70 points please.

The Kovy era for me is forgettable. He was an exciting player to watch but he isn't a Devils hockey player. Until we change our philosophy guys like Kovy will never be as impactful as others would believe him to be.

 

[Just Win]

33 game coach that put us in a major hole. Not to mention no Parise. moose lost 10 games...and marty was awful as well. Goaltending as a whole was why we didn't make the playoffs, look at our shot differential. There were countless games that we should have won. schneider will be the biggest reason we will be successful this season and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're gonna "I told you so" the **** out of people when we do play well (even though it will be proving my point about how goaltending was why we were bad last season). oh well, nothing will change your mind we should lock this abomination.

A certain forward playing over 22 minutes/game who didn't put up the numbers you should expect from him also played a big role in missing the playoffs twice. Too many minutes for his production, below average defense and constantly turning over the puck is not something you want from your franchise player.

 

[Bleedred]

I don't agree with Jim on hardly anything about Kovalchuk, but him not producing IMO had something to do with us being in a hole this year.

We started falling way behind before he was even injured, and he was not a gamebreaker, nor did he do anything clutch during that initial horrible run when Marty was injured and Moose had to be the starter.

He probably hit twice as many posts as he scored goals, was usually stuck in second or third gear, never looked dangerous at even strength, and was not anywhere near as good as he was during that second half run in 10-11 when he was a factor in every single game. He was a factor in hardly any game, and you can see he had Mother Russia on his mind.

 

[Just Win]

Kovy is a fantastic player he just never quite fit in here. Making it so he fit in here would have required an organizational shift in how we play hockey. That cup run was the product of a team getting hot at the right time. I don't believe Kovy had as much to do with that as the fourth line, Marty, and Parise.

Had we surrounded Kovy with playmakers and speedsters we likely view him differently, but we never really tried to build around him. We just plugged him in and figured what the heck - give us 70 points please.

The Kovy era for me is forgettable. He was an exciting player to watch but he isn't a Devils hockey player. Until we change our philosophy guys like Kovy will never be as impactful as others would believe him to be.

Mogilny did work in this system....

 

[Bleedred]

33 game coach that put us in a major hole. Not to mention no Parise. moose lost 10 games...and marty was awful as well. Goaltending as a whole was why we didn't make the playoffs, look at our shot differential. There were countless games that we should have won. schneider will be the biggest reason we will be successful this season and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're gonna "I told you so" the **** out of people when we do play well (even though it will be proving my point about how goaltending was why we were bad last season). oh well, nothing will change your mind we should lock this abomination.

When you're 28th in the league in goals for, and 16th in the league in goals against, goaltending is not the main culprit for missing the playoffs.

I don't care if Marty/Moose had a 490 save percentage, not being able to score is a bigger reason why we sucked. Kovalchuk might have been one of the biggest passengers during the 13 game run with Moose when we weren't averaging too much more in goals scored than we were after he was injured.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

this year Kovy wasn't great, I was very adamant about that, particularly his lack of speed. That being said, one player(non goalie) doesn't make or break a season.

 

[MartyOwns]

the thing that always bothered me about kovy was how much time he put himself on the ice for. i remember so many games, coaches would be screaming at him to get off, and he would blatantly ignore them and stay on. that part was all kovy's fault, no question

sweet jesus

 

[Bleedred]

this year Kovy wasn't great, I was very adamant about that, particularly his lack of speed. That being said, one player(non goalie) doesn't make or break a season.

He's paid to be the best player on the team, and he was producing hardly anything during the time we needed him to the most.

He was taking it easy. You don't think he knew he was getting the hell out once the season was over? Some of his shootout attempts were absolutely pathetic, and he hit so much iron and glass this year.

 

[B A T M A N]

Kovalchuk was terrible his entire time in New Jersey and set the organization back 5 years that is all you need to know... there is no debate, he is the epitome of all that is "loser". He was a loser his entire career.

10/10. Would bang repeatedly until hospitalized, then throw myself out the airlock to be reincarnated so I can bang again.

 

[JimEIV]

And he had 4 goals before MacLean was fired....4 goals through October, November and most of December... You can talk about Johnny Mac all you want, but that is ridiculous...4 goals in 3 months for a guy that just signed a 100 million dollar contract.... the hole was dug by that right there.

 

[Devilsfan92]

Kovalchuk was terrible his entire time in New Jersey and set the organization back 5 years that is all you need to know... there is no debate, he is the epitome of all that is "loser". He was a loser his entire career.

That loser, whether you like him or hate him, helped us(big time) come within two games of a Stanley Cup. That hasn't been possible since Stevens left. Just try to be a little less bias and put the hate aside for a second.

As for Kovy, I loved him while he was a Thrasher and even more as a Devil. As a fan of the Devils it ****ing sucks, Ilya really screwed us short term, but I now see the long/medium term benefits of freeing the Devils of that contract.
As just a person, I totally understand that's why I don't hold any hate towards him. I hope he comes back so we can trade him, I miss the asset of Kovalchuk mostly.

I still believe we're a playoff team.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

When you're 28th in the league in goals for, and 16th in the league in goals against, goaltending is not the main culprit for missing the playoffs.

I don't care if Marty/Moose had a 490 save percentage, not being able to score is a bigger reason why we sucked. Kovalchuk might have been one of the biggest passengers during the 13 game run with Moose when we weren't averaging too much more in goals scored than we were after he was injured.

Guess where the kings ranked in goals the year they won the cup. Last. Goaltending is way more important than where you rank in goals.

 

[JerryGigantic]

In theory I would tend to agree... but it is very important to point out to the zealots how so wrong they were....it is important so when they are arguing for the "next great thing" they can be reminded about how wrong they were about the "last great thing"

This needs to be kept on the front page so we can remember how blinded some were over a little bling and no matter how much failure was in their face the excuses never stopped....maybe some can grow and learn not to be so stupid next time

The Russian was a bad fit. And your viewpoint looks better in hindsight. But the SC Finals run two years ago was the apex of the last 12 years of Devils hockey and one of the most enjoyable rides in team history.

To ignore the highs and only focus on the lows tells half the story, the part that helps your point.

And how his signing set the team back 5 years is both hyperbole and utterly unprovable, just silly talk.

I very much like what Lou put together in a matter of weeks since the defection, and with a goalie for the future lined up and the coffers thick with D prospects, the future looks bright.

 

[JerryGigantic]

...No mention of the fines and assets lost for Kovy though? Curious, since we haven't finished paying those yet or the cap recapture penalty we'll be paying til the aliens land on Earth.

Not to freak you out or anything, but they are already here.

 

[JimEIV]

The Russian was a bad fit. And your viewpoint looks better in hindsight. But the SC Finals run two years ago was the apex of the last 12 years of Devils hockey and one of the most enjoyable rides in team history.

To ignore the highs and only focus on the lows tells half the story, the part that helps your point.

And how his signing set the team back 5 years is both hyperbole and utterly unprovable, just silly talk.

I very much like what Lou put together in a matter of weeks since the defection, and with a goalie for the future lined up and the coffers thick with D prospects, the future looks bright.

To ignore the fact the highs were only achieved when Parise was in the lineup and playing on his line is only telling half the story...

The man had two distinct opportunities to save or lead the team and in both instances he was an abysmal failure. 4 goals in 3 months for MacLean, 4 ES goals this season. He did nothing to help during those periods and did more to hurt.

New Jersey never had these lows before...Did we really need to have two star forwards just to make the playoffs? We didn't seem to have that problem when it was just Parise.

So even if you want to ignore all that how can you ignore the price we've paid for all of this? The picks, the depleted lineup to start the 2010-11 season, the lack of depth that we had for 3 years because of money... you really have to compartmentalize a lot of crap to see his tenure here as even halfway decent.

 

[JimEIV]

At the end of the Maclean tenure he had 4 goals and was something like a -32....and we are seriously going to sit here and blame the coach? That is some revisionist **** right there.

 

[JerryGigantic]

If it makes you happy to reach the finals 1 out of three years while missing the playoffs the other two that is your prerogative. But I am judging his three full seasons as whole...During his time here the Devils winning percentage was lower than all but two seasons in the last 22 years...

Again how much blame you want to lay on that player is up to you. But the last 3 years were some of the worst in franchise history and you would have to go back to the mid 1980's to find a worse season in terms of winning% than the 2010-11 season....Those are just facts.

I would sign off on a SC Finals every three years Faustian bargain right now, as would any team in the league.

 

[Bleedred]

Guess where the kings ranked in goals the year they won the cup. Last. Goaltending is way more important than where you rank in goals.

Scoring goals is the most important. Jonathan Quick was out of this world to get them in the playoffs by the way. Not just good, or a little above average.

Ottawa might have been the only extremely low scoring team to get in and they had out of this world goaltending this year too.

The goaltending would have had to be really good last year to get us in. Not just average or a little above average.

 

[ScottyK]

At the end of the Maclean tenure he had 4 goals and was something like a -32....and we are seriously going to sit here and blame the coach? That is some revisionist **** right there.

We're going to blame the coach because the entire team looked lost. Yes we all expected more out of Kovy and his #'s were terrible but everyone was a complete trainwreck that season.

Proof was in the pudding when JL came back and flat out said the team was out of shape and the conditioning levels were no where close to where they needed to be.

In the end Kovy never panned out the way we all wanted him too and that's a shame, aside from most of the 11-12 season where he finished 5th in points and was a key contributor during the cup run.

 

[JerryGigantic]

I'm not mad at Kovalchuk. If his heart is not here, it's not here. What do you want him to do? Sacrifice the happiness of the next ten plus years of his life and play uninspired hockey for the Devils?

Devils got out from under a potentially onerous contract, and Kovy gets to go home and be happy.

My feelings exacty. Everything happens for a reason. We are in good hands and will continue to ice a competitive team.

 

[JerryGigantic]

Doesn't his tenure equate to 3 first round exits? Its 3 series wins in 3 years...no trophy for that, is there?

Pretty sure the Prince of Wales Trophy is a trophy.

 

[JerryGigantic]

Well we did win the Prince of Wales, so I guess there is a trophy for that.

Or what the Captain said.

 

[JimEIV]

I would sign off on a SC Finals every three years Faustian bargain right now, as would any team in the league.

I wouldn't... what is the point if you're not good enough to win anything...

You know, I was in grade school the last time the devils played as many meaningless games without playoff hopes....I don't like it. I like watching my team win 40+ games every year. I like watching a game in March that could be a potential 1st round matchup.... as opposed hoping to lose for draft position.

To me the lows of the 10-11 and 12-13 seasons didn't make up for the highs of getting rolled in the finals. Although the Ranger series was pretty damn great.

 

[JerryGigantic]

I wouldn't... what is the point if you're not good enough to win anything...

You know, I was in grade school the last time the devils played as many meaningless games without playoff hopes....I don't like it. I like watching my team win 40+ games every year. I like watching a game in March that could be a potential 1st round matchup.... as opposed hoping to lose for draft position.

To me the lows of the 10-11 and 12-13 seasons didn't make up for the highs of getting rolled in the finals. Although the Ranger series was pretty damn great.

The Rangers series was worth it all.

And you got your mulligan on Kovalchuk anyway.

Win/Win

 

[JimEIV]

The Rangers series was worth it all.

Maybe the best argument I've seen for him.