Kovalchuk drama taking place outside of Thrasherville…thankfully
Monday July 19. U-Day +18 of this summer’s UFA signing season. Many big name free agents have inked contracts with new teams, some have made their way to Russia and a few more are still waiting for the right team to offer up the right terms.
The biggest name on that “still yet to be signed list” is of course one Mr. Ilya Kovalchuk.
Once the face of the Thrashers franchise, Ilya Kovalchuk now faces the prospect of listening to offers that would pay less than what he could have made in Atlanta (AP photo)
Over the course of the past two and a half weeks, many rumors and rumor of rumors have had Kovy going such places as Long Island, back to New Jersey or even returning home to mother Russia. But Los Angeles still seems to be the chic pick by most as to where he’ll eventually land. As such, ever since July 1 we’ve been treated to tweet after tweet from [insert name of ‘tweeter’ here] telling us that they are 92.8% sure Kovalchuk is almost definitely going to sign with LA…maybe even as soon as tomorrow morning.
But tomorrow morning comes and all we are greeted with is more tweeters tweeting they are sure that this is the day.
So how must it feel to be a Kings fan the days… sitting on the edge of their seat, ear to the radio, face to the computer screen, nose to the twitter account…as they await the almost certain coming news that Kovy is heading to SoCal? Well, here’s something that may helpto depict how this drama is playing out in the L.A. twitterverse, (thanks to my good friend “Russian”).
And now that we’re deep into week number three of this saga, some pundits are beginning to opine as to how the Russian winger has misread the market as well as suggested how he could have/should have handled the situation from the get-go. (Note here how Steven Ovadia has used another former Thrasher, Marian Hossa, to illustrate his point).
I would also like to remind you that stringing out contract talks isn’t exactly a new thing for Ilya Kovalchuk and his agent. You’ll no doubt remember that we here in Thrasherville were treated to our own version of “As the Kovalchuk Turns” back in the summer of 2005. That year he waited so long to sign a deal that we were minus his services for the first three games of the season.
If he were so inclined, would you care to see Ilya Kovalchuk signed by the Thrashers?
- Yes! I'd sign him at any price! (6%, 13 Votes)
- Sure, but not at $9-$10 mil per season (47%, 96 Votes)
- No! Not at any price! (47%, 95 Votes)
Total Voters: 204
Loading ...So if there is to be a repeat of that holdout drama, then Kovy-Watch ’10 as only just begun.
About the only thing that seems to be certain regarding Ilya’s summer adventure this time is that he’s not going to get the same coin as the Thrashers offered up to him last winter. $10 million for 3 to 7 years or somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 mil for 12 years is now seems surely out of the question for Kovy.
So just where will Kovalchuk eventual wind up…and when will he wind up there? shrugs…I dunno. But all I can say is that I’m glad happy thrilledecstatic that Thrasherville is not the site of this particular saga.
In fact, I’m sorta looking forward this coming season in which the Thrashers aren’t having to deal with such distractions. You know, distractions such as whether or not superstars like Marian Hossa or Ilya Kovalchuk will re-sign…or if Kari Lehtonen’s back/groin/[insert issue here] will keep him out of the lineup for an extended period of time.
Quite frankly…Thrasherville can do without the drama.
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258 comments Add your comment
Adam
July 19th, 2010
12:14 pm
The Joker – Will Kovy be wearing his kilt when he signs?
ROFLMAO
Do you know why Scotsmen wear kilts?
Sheep can hear a zipper at 100 yards.
Sage should like the sheep reference…
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:17 pm
I believe Eklund was 15 mins late to the party…as always.
Puck Agency (Grossman) made the press release at 11:55 am I believe.
You’re right about the Hawks needing to keep Sharp. IMO, he’s as important as Hossa and the core group for that team. Like you said, if they could sell Campbell to somebody for cap relief, that is the best way for them to go. But still, who wants that albatross wrapped around their neck for 6 more years?
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:18 pm
I guess Rodeo Drive still can’t hold a candle to the shopping in NYC!
Rawhide
July 19th, 2010
12:18 pm
So…now we’re back to “Kovy to NJ” again, huh? Ohhhh-Kayyyyy….
Jack – If you look at it based solely on team record, the Thrashers were 24-23-8 when Kovalchuk was traded last February and then finished 11-11-5. Considering the six games he missed last fall with a broken foot, the Thrashers were 14-14-5 without Kovy in the line up and 21-20-8 without him.
That being said, I would have to agree with you that I thought the team played better after the trade…but that may just be perception.
Thrasher_Ed – I was at prospect camp for the first two days. Here is what I wrote about it.
There are many who frequent this site who were there over the weekend and Tuesday. I’m sure they’ll be happy to share as well.
GaVaHokie
July 19th, 2010
12:19 pm
I thought Kovalchuk wanted to win a Cup.
The Joker
July 19th, 2010
12:20 pm
Will someone please do a youtube video of Kovy’s signing with ABBA’s Dancing Queen as the background music.
World Be Free
July 19th, 2010
12:22 pm
Stroz, Lou’s calculator must be broke. He just spent what little cap he had on 2 defenseman, one of which (Tallinder) he overpaid.
Badger Bob
July 19th, 2010
12:22 pm
Duds, get on the phone with sweet Lou! He needs cap space and has clearly lost his mind.
Badger Bob
July 19th, 2010
12:28 pm
WBF, add in the Arnott deal, tying up $4.5M, and Lou’s moves are beyond comprehension. He has maneuvered into a position of weakness in order to makes some other moves. Nice!
Russian
July 19th, 2010
12:28 pm
Wow. Interesting move. What’ NJ have to do with Salary Cup???
Anyway I am not very happy deal with NJ, because we are going to see him 4 times. Damn!:-(
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:29 pm
Kovy’s Mom is saying that the deal is for 17 years. If that’s how he got his $100 mill, that is truly sad. The NHL owners will do another lockout on account of this deal if that is true. Great, thanks Kovy. Way to ruin not only hopes and dreams of fans in Atlanta, but while you’re at it, why not set the game back another couple years. Hell, another lockout could spell disaster for many franchises.
Alan R.
July 19th, 2010
12:29 pm
$60m/7yr is the rumored deal. ~$8.57m/yr.
I’m sorry. If the figures above are true, I smell a trade coming. NJD now has to find a way under the cap ceiling, and they need to shed about $5mil in salary.
rob
July 19th, 2010
12:31 pm
We now return you to your regulary scheduled summer signings….already in progress….we apologize for the inconvenience this caused to the league and the fans as a certain player decided he was bigger than life. It is fitting he is named a Devil…..and NOT a King.
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:31 pm
Russian — yes! The Devils will have just won the Salary Cup! The most prized trophy of all! The infamous Salary Cup! The Devils better win their Stanley Cup this year or the next before Marty heads off to the retired goalies guild.
Mikey
July 19th, 2010
12:35 pm
Wow, Kovy re-signs with NJ? Amazing what helping a team win one whole playoff game can do for a guy isn’t it?
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:37 pm
I for one would love it if Duds picked up the phone today and swindled Lucious Lou to get Jamie Langenbrunner. There’s your 2nd line C folks. Playing between Pevs and Kane would be pretty lethal in my opinion. Talk about your relentless, hard-checking, cycle-the-other-team-into-submission 2nd line! Not to mention some serious skill in potting the puck. Make it happen Duds!
World Be Free
July 19th, 2010
12:38 pm
Badger-didn’t Lou just see what happened to the Black Hawks?
Alan R.-Devs have no choice, they have to trade and do it quick. But who do they have that you would really want? This isn’t like the Hawks who had a number of young players that teams wanted.
All these teams looking to deal with cap-stressed teams is going to keep Max’s price affordable. Maybe that is what Dudley expected all along.
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:40 pm
I’m sorry, Langenbrunner is a RW. Well, Kane-Pevs-Lang sounds good to me! In fact, that’s even better as Jamie is so good in the corners. Pevs is better playing high and has the speed to be a very effective back-checker as he’s proven when not having to cover for the mistakes of Afinogenov, Kozlov and / or White.
Cornbread
July 19th, 2010
12:41 pm
Finally. Good Riddance!
Rawhide
July 19th, 2010
12:42 pm
The Smooth Spark – Moving the Pevs dispenser from the pivot to wing? shaking head…uh-uh.
Put JL between Kaner and Buff, slide Peverley to third line between Ladd and Slater then slide Cormier between Eager and Thorburn.
Or…put JLJL on first line, sliding Antropov to wing with Bergie on the other side. Slide Pevs between Kane and Buff and then Slater between Little and Ladd.
Either way…bringing in Jamie would slide White to the press box.
nodding head…uh-huh.
Alan R.
July 19th, 2010
12:47 pm
WBF – The Devils won’t be able to afford one Mr. Zach Parise next summer. Just throwing that out there.
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:48 pm
Bill – I corrected myself. But Pevs played well on the LW with Reasoner and Kane earlier in the year last season. Albeit briefly. But having Kane and Pevs on the same line gives you options as Kane is capable of winning the occasional F/O from time to time.
But you’re right, getting a quality player like JL for only $2.8 M would be right in the Thrashers wheel-house. Problem is they will try to move Rolston at all-costs. Just don’t know who will take his huge salary at his age. Good luck with that Lou Lam.
Rawhide
July 19th, 2010
12:52 pm
Smooooothie – Points taken, noted and logged. And I agree, that type of centerman at that price would be a great fit here…if Dudley could talk Lou into such a deal.
Question is…who/what would we be moving that way in return?
TableHockey
July 19th, 2010
12:56 pm
What the heck? Chesnokov is reporting it’s a 17 year deal at 100M plus. He’s usually right with the Russian news but surely Lou didn’t do that to his team.
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
12:58 pm
That’s just it, they’d have to take prospects and perhaps a depth player cuz they won’t be able to afford anything else. Give them Cormier back for Langenbrunner!
Nah, j/k. Albert & Carozzi for Langenbrunner. Done! Jersey is hurtin’ for goalie prospects and we’ve got a few of those.
Badger Bob
July 19th, 2010
12:59 pm
Langenbrunner has a no trade clause, so that may be a non-starter, and I wouldn’t give up anything too promising for potentially a 1 year rental. His contract may be a bit of a bargain, but you’ve got to compare his worth vs. a UFA, which you aren’t giving up anything for.
You’ve got several cap-strapped teams and several decent UFA forwards. Perhaps we should wait to see how desperate teams and/or players get.
GaVaHokie
July 19th, 2010
1:00 pm
I think they’ll trade Zajac and Zubrus.
Don’t think there is any chance they trade Parise with RFA status. But, would like to see Dudley float Peverley and a 1st Round pick out there, just to see.
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
1:00 pm
Actually, Kovy’s mom broke the news and Chesnokov is just repeating it.
Kovy’s mom is also getting a spot on The View replacing Barb Walters.
World Be Free
July 19th, 2010
1:02 pm
Alan R-makes you wonder why Lou didn’t get a deal done with Parise first before signing Kovalchuk. I am really just going on what Kovy did (or didn’t do) with the Devils after the trade. I went to the game in Atlanta where he had such a limited role compared to Kovy’s role with the Thrashers.
Like Peter Marshall used to say on the Hollywood Squares-
“maybe this will all work out”.
Russian
July 19th, 2010
1:02 pm
JL is UFA after this season. Will he stay in Atlanta for long term? He is 34 years old. Do not push very quckly. Dudley wants to build a team for long run, not only make PO in this year.
Alan R.
July 19th, 2010
1:05 pm
Well, WBF, I think he didn’t extend Parise this summer because (a.) He was hoping on getting Kovalchuk for “whatever it takes” to get him, and (b.) He hopes tohave him sign a “hometown discount” next summer.
Karma: The Devils don’t make the playoffs again.
TableHockey
July 19th, 2010
1:08 pm
John Kincade posted this on Twitter at 8:23am this morning:
“TUNE IN MONDAY….DURING THE 5 PM HOUR THERE WILL BE A HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!! 680 THE FAN / http://WWW.680THEFAN.COM”
Just before 1pm Ben (the Thrashers web guy) posts this on Twitter:
“Thrashers and Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon will be on 680 The Fan today at roughly 5 pm.”
What the heck is going on? Could this be the prospective investors/buyers that we’ve been hearing about?
Russian
July 19th, 2010
1:08 pm
**to Alan R.**
No They did Play-Offs and they will be in Play-Offs. Question is How far thay can go?
World Be Free
July 19th, 2010
1:09 pm
Take Max-why help Philly or NJ, by giving them cap relief?
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
1:09 pm
Russian – I hear ya, but it’s all about trading the right prospects. If Klingberg, Cormier, Burmie, Pasquale, Postma and Melchiori pan out, there’s your team of the future (2011 or 2012):
Bergfors – Antropov – Byfuglien
Kane – Burmistrov – Klingberg
Pettersson – Cormier – Ladd
Paquette – Slater – Machacek
Bogosian & Kulda
Hainsey & Enstrom
Valabik & Postma
Pavelec & Pasquale
Strict Father
July 19th, 2010
1:10 pm
If the Mr. Kovalchuk signing is a done deal. Please move forward with possible signings in the Thrasher camp and possible line combinations.
Dwayne
July 19th, 2010
1:13 pm
Kovy’s Mom probably speaks clearer than Bwabwa Waters.
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
1:14 pm
WBF – I agree. I’d rather take Max than help Lou or Philly at this point. BTW, your 8:53 am post earlier this morning on the Kovy situation was spot-on. Stellar work my friend!
For what it’s worth, prolly nothing, Eklund says LAK has interest in Patrick Sharp. If Lombardi were to pull that off, they’d be a force to be reckoned with in the West for sure.
GaVaHokie
July 19th, 2010
1:14 pm
Tablehockey… whatever it is, hopefully it falls in line with “Good News on Monday, Bad News on Friday”.
Rawhide
July 19th, 2010
1:18 pm
TableHockey – Looking at John Kincade’s twitter of about thre hours ago, it looks more like an announcement regarding programming.
The Smooth Spark
July 19th, 2010
1:20 pm
Helene Elliot of the LA Times has some fall-out from L.A.:
Initial reports said the terms of Kovalchuk’s deal were 17 years at $100 million, though that couldn’t be immediately confirmed. Tim Leiweke, the Kings’ governor and chief executive of their parent company, AEG, said via email that Kovalchuk, “had two very good choices. NJ offered more money. Simple as that.
“We threw everything at him we had while leaving the cap space necessary to sign our kids. He is a great player and I am disappointed he didn’t come to LA. It was not for lack of effort or cash.”
Already LA management is trying to spin this into Kovy being greedy and taking the money regardless of what the Kings are building…a winner.
TableHockey
July 19th, 2010
1:24 pm
Rawhide – I hadn’t seen that tweet – landscape changes definitely sounds like something regarding programming.
World Be Free
July 19th, 2010
1:28 pm
Looks like L/A’s management is looking to manage their cap and Lou is throwing caution to the wind. Lou Lam normally knows what he is doing. Maybe he has already gauged the market for certain players, who he can move and how much relief it will give him on the cap.
I don’t want to diss Lou too much here.
Brendan
July 19th, 2010
1:33 pm
Posts are really picking up now, with the Kovy signing. If we even wanted Zubrus or Rolston, the Devils would hand them to us. We shouldn’t do that. However, the 24-year old Center, Travis Zajack, would be TRAPPED HERE for 3-years at $3.5, $4.5, and $4.8 million. That’s a cap hit of $4.266 million. That’s where I’d look. We need Centers. Here’s a link to the Devils Cap situation. http://www.nhlnumbers.com/overview.php?team=NJD&season=0910
What kind of draft pick compensation do you want to give the Devils for Travis Zajack? Or some combination of Zajack and Zubrus? The Devils might ask us to take Zubrus, too. He’ll cost $3.4 million, and would likewise be TRAPPED HERE for the next 3-years at that price. Zubrus is 31, and the contract pays him until the age of 34.
Remember, Dudley’s M.O. is to trade NHL talent here, rather than to pluck it from free agency. Would you want Zajack and Zubrus for 3 years??? I’d bet we can get them to take Todd White in the return. That saves the Devils money. It does.
What do we call the Atlanta team if it’s got 4 Blackhawks (Sopel, Eager, Ladd, and Byfuglien) and 4-5 Devils (Cormier, Oduya, Bergfors, Zubrus??, Zajack??) I guess we’d call them the Devilhawks. Hmmn, the Atlanta Devil Hawks? Naw, that’ll offend the overly religious. They’d invent YET ANOTHER reason why the team doesn’t succeed. Maybe, the Atlanta Jersey Hawks?
Tom
July 19th, 2010
1:36 pm
Or Lou realized that he had to keep Ilya or face a brutal backlash from the fans after giving up so much for him. One thing Lou does is see into the future pretty well.
Now that Ilya is a teammate and not a prospect, look to see Lou come down hard on him about his playing style and attitude. The romance is over and results are going to be expected.
It also brings to mind that we should not expect to see the cap come down no matter the economic environment the league faces. Too many top teams are now at max cap and to lower it by 5 million would throw the whole league into chaos. While a lower cap would benefit the 2nd tier teams, the top tier would be hurt.
The league would rather apply triage to the bottom tier and watch owners lose millions than allow the top teams to have to be broken apart.
Brendan
July 19th, 2010
1:41 pm
Oh yes, and by the way, “HA-HAW! Kovy didn’t get L.A.!! God bless the Los Angeles Kings. I am telling you, RIGHT FREKKIN’ NOW … the Kings will be one of my two “adopted” Western Conference Teams this year. Just for this move, alone! Kovy didn’t get L.A.!! Woo-hoo!!! I don’t care what anyone says, he wanted L.A. He did. And he didn’t get what he wanted. The Devils aren’t a bad choice, however. They do have several recent Cups, and always seem to be in the hunt.
I’m actually glad that Kovy is in the Eastern Conference. I shall enjoy his visits to Philips Arena. Truthfully, I do … sincerely … wish him well. He didn’t want to be here. And I don’t blame him. But I’m just happy that, for ONCE, a UFA didn’t get the place he wanted when he hit UFA status. And we don’t even know if the Devils handed him the $10 million. I suspect they didn’t. And if they didn’t, they were smart. If true, Kovy didn’t get the money or his 1st choice. Interesting, no?
Rawhide
July 19th, 2010
1:43 pm
TableHockey – Still…it is interesting that Gearon will be on 680 The Fan at “roughly” the same time.
I guess we’ll just have to tune in.
Alan R.
July 19th, 2010
1:43 pm
Russian – I’m certain they will. That’s not what Karma is, though.
Brendan
July 19th, 2010
1:44 pm
Karma is rationed out by the Cosmos. No one can own it.
Travis Zajac
July 19th, 2010
1:44 pm
Please, with all due respect, spell my name correctly. I’m better than everyone on your lousy team including Antropov. And Kovy will shoot the puck when I damn well feel like passing it to him.