IF Kovalchuk signs a monster deal with LA...

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I don't think the Islanders would be contenders. Their defense needs serious improvement. A healthy Martinek for once would help but, Eaton & Jurcina will allow Hamonic & De Haan time to develop if they're not ready. I don't think De Haan is.

What Kovalchuk would do is put people in the seats & possibly help Wang get something done with the Town of Hempstead concerning the Lighthouse project.

 

[TOX1]

haha The Islanders..............Where is Isles4 when you need him??

I'd love to hear him rant about the Yashin debacle all over again! LOL

 

[islander4cups]

yeah for now.
not next summer or the one after that when its time to resign johnson and doughty

no need to worry. they will both be rfa's, not ufa's so the Kings don't have to worry. They can let them dangle for picks if some moron decides to go offer sheet on them or they can decide to do the 1 yr deal where they become a ufa after it.

The Kings aren't losing Johnson or Dougty unless they deal them. Not in the next two seasons anyway.

As for Kovy, I think it comes down to this. Will he take the big pile of cash from the Isles or will he take less to play in LA. The Kings will be a more complete team this season with Kovy, but the Isles will have no forseeable cap problems even if they sign Kovy and have a very good young core to join- Tavares, Bailey, Nino, Okposo, Moulson are all under 23 and all but one are on the parent club. Plus the Isles have prospects Hamonic, deHaan, Donovan, Petrov, Kubanov joining the club in the next 3 seasons. The Isles are building and doing it well. They could be a very strong team in 3 seasons, sooner if deHaan and Hamonic have quick learning curves and even quicker if we sign Kovy.

That said, I don't think he will sign with the Isles, but it would be good for both him and the organization if he did. The Isles are not as far away from contender status as people think.

 

[islander4cups]

Sorry, but Kovalchuk isn't going to spend the prime of his career on the Isles who have no goalies (unless you're actually going to argue that DP won't be on the IR lol) or defense. The dude has seen the playoffs twice in his career and has only experienced one win (swept by the Rags with ATL and out in 5 with the devs last year). Signing with the Isles just ensures a few more years of no playoffs.

Reportedly, the Isles attempted to overpay for Martin and Hamhuis, and both turned them down.

Think about it, Kovy turned down 100+ mill with Atlanta because he wanted to win, but he's going to accept the Isles offer when they're in a worse state than the Thrash? Not likely.

He overplayed his hand. He could be a Devil or King right now but he's holding out for more money. Sure, he can get more money, but then that whole "I want to win" thing comes into the equation. It's damn near impossible to get the long-term deal he wants with a team that can win next season. He's going to have to pick one.

Is this coming from a fan of a team that has no goalie to take over from marty in 3 seasons and a defense that has been weakening as marty has aged?

Nothing against the Devils, but as I listed above, the Isles have ALOT of young talent coming up the pipeline. They are in a position to be far better than both Atlanta and the Devils in 5 seasons with all the youth they are bringing along. The Isles with their last 3 drafts including this year have a chance to start a rebuild ala the Blackhawks, Caps and Penguins did. They still need to add more pieces for sure, even if all their picks develop as expected, but don't go blowing off the Isles just yet.

 

[islander4cups]

this would not make the islanders a contender. they might get into the playoffs. how are they going to go from 13th in the east to 1st? or even 8th. kovalchuk is good although nobody is that good.

you don't have to go from 13th to 1st to be a contender. You have to get to 8th or 7th...or did the Flyers fans forget that already?

 

[TOX1]

Cool....Isle's4 is here.

Sooo...the idea of signing another million dollar baby doesn't scare you man?

 

[islander4cups]

haha The Islanders..............Where is Isles4 when you need him??

I'd love to hear him rant about the Yashin debacle all over again! LOL

HEY HEY HEY.

While I'm not going to get into the Yashin issue, I don't see this as the same. Kovy is a scorer and comes to play. Yashin took nights off in Ottawa and never really was a goal scorer. I don't see Kovy in the same mold as Yashin, nor do I see this deal.

Think about this...the rumored offer is only 1.2 more than Crosby makes a season. Is he as good...no, but he's a top 3 goalscorer over the past 6 seasons. And the Isles need goals.

Give me these top two lines...

Kovy-Tavares- Okposo
Moulson-Bailey- Nino

and then all of a sudden guys like Franz Neilsen and Trent Hunter can move off the second line where they never belonged. Our top two lines are more than solid and better than the top 2 lines than the Rangers or Devils can throw at us.

Additonally, the Isles big hole would be defense, but with Streit and andy MacDonald as solid defenders as well as Jack Hillen and the oft injured Radek Martinek, when we add Donovan, deHaan and Hamonic in the next three seasons... game on.

As for DP, within the next two seasons he will either be fully healed and playing or he will retire due to injury and his number comes off our cap...so I don't see him as a liability. His issue will be resolved.

 

[islander4cups]

Cool....Isle's4 is here.

Sooo...the idea of signing another million dollar baby doesn't scare you man?

Not terribly. I don't think he's the problem child others seem to claim. I think Kovy will play hard, unlike Yashin, once he gets the money. Now, the number of years might be a problem. A 7 yr deal might be better, but the Isles have to overpay and over year to get a top guy. Not all the time, but they need to get that one top guy and then prove they made the right move and improve. Then others can follow without overpaying.

That was a mistake with Yashin. He wasn't the right guy, but even with him, Aucoin and Peca, they improved for two years but MM screwed it up by not bringing in the right UFAs and broke up the team. Kovy can't be seen as "the cure" like Yashin was.

Besides, what's another buyout really going to cost?

 

[scottflyers88]

you don't have to go from 13th to 1st to be a contender. You have to get to 8th or 7th...or did the Flyers fans forget that already?

the flyers went through 7 goalies throughout the year and played 5 of them. they were good when healthy which is why people picked them in the beginning of the year. nobody would be picking the islanders. they still have a ton of work to do.

 

[TOX1]

I hear you Isle's.....Kovy's work ethic is light years ahead of what Cashin's was at any point of his career.

Like you said though, it is going to cost a ton of above board dollars to get a player of his caliber signed up long term. He just wants to many years on that contract for my taste.

Good luck!

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

Kovalchuck is not worth 10million/year. Let him go to the KHL.

 

[flyersfan4706]

Let Kovy go to LA...


That is going to hurt me one day

 

[davnlaguna]

Article from an Iles blogger 10 reason why not to get Kovy (really 8)
Ilya Kovalchuk: 10 Reasons not to do 10 Years at $10 Million - Lighthouse Hockey

Also the link to the Kings blogger is a fun read as well it is in the above link but I put it here as well
What Did I Tell You? "$10MM for 10-12 years" (!) Not a chance. - Jewels From The Crown

 

[NJDevils_30]

Is this coming from a fan of a team that has no goalie to take over from marty in 3 seasons and a defense that has been weakening as marty has aged?

Nothing against the Devils, but as I listed above, the Isles have ALOT of young talent coming up the pipeline. They are in a position to be far better than both Atlanta and the Devils in 5 seasons with all the youth they are bringing along. The Isles with their last 3 drafts including this year have a chance to start a rebuild ala the Blackhawks, Caps and Penguins did. They still need to add more pieces for sure, even if all their picks develop as expected, but don't go blowing off the Isles just yet.

I think you forgot to mention that Kovy absolutely loves Brodeur. Really, claiming that the Isles will be better than the Devils in 5 seasons is ignorance at it's finest. Good for you, you can list a bunch of your prospects and act as though they'll all pan out.

So can I: Tedenby, Josefson, Urbom, Henrique, Palmieri, etc.

Shall I Bring up how De Haan and hamonic were bent over at the WJCs?

Face the facts, Kovalchuk doesn't want to be a part of another rebuilding project. The Isles have no goaltending and nothing on the blueline. Bailey is garbage. Tavares is a mediocre skater at best.

 

[islander4cups]

the flyers went through 7 goalies throughout the year and played 5 of them. they were good when healthy which is why people picked them in the beginning of the year. nobody would be picking the islanders. they still have a ton of work to do.

i think you missed my point. I was saying you just have to make the playoffs and you are a contender. That's why I brought up the Flyers. Same deal with Edmonton when they lost to Carolina.

 

[islander4cups]

I think you forgot to mention that Kovy absolutely loves Brodeur. Really, claiming that the Isles will be better than the Devils in 5 seasons is ignorance at it's finest. Good for you, you can list a bunch of your prospects and act as though they'll all pan out.

So can I: Tedenby, Josefson, Urbom, Henrique, Palmieri, etc.

Shall I Bring up how De Haan and hamonic were bent over at the WJCs?

Face the facts, Kovalchuk doesn't want to be a part of another rebuilding project. The Isles have no goaltending and nothing on the blueline. Bailey is garbage. Tavares is a mediocre skater at best.

And you used the word ignorace while displaying exactly that in your post. Hamonic and deHaan were the best dmen Canada had until Hamonic was injured on a dirty blindside hit. But keep up with the ignorance.

I have no doubt that the Devils will be a playoff team in 5 years because no matter wheere they draft they always find guys who can play their defense first system and contribute.

As far as Kovy loving Brodeur...so what. Brodeur won't be there in 5 seasons. He'll be retired. That was my point. Who's Kovy going to love then? Lou Lam? Great exec but cold as ice. Or the revolving door of head coaches?

 

[NJDevils_30]

And you used the word ignorace while displaying exactly that in your post. Hamonic and deHaan were the best dmen Canada had until Hamonic was injured on a dirty blindside hit. But keep up with the ignorance.

I have no doubt that the Devils will be a playoff team in 5 years because no matter wheere they draft they always find guys who can play their defense first system and contribute.

As far as Kovy loving Brodeur...so what. Brodeur won't be there in 5 seasons. He'll be retired. That was my point. Who's Kovy going to love then? Lou Lam? Great exec but cold as ice. Or the revolving door of head coaches?

What's hilarious is that you included dehaan and hamonic as if they're some great talents. Sorry, but they were bent over at the WJCs.

The point is that the Isles are roughly 6 years from contending. And even then, you're assuming that their prospects pan out. Nothing is guaranteed. Tavares needs skating lessons, Bailey is mediocre, Okposo is nothing special. Your "core" is littered with mediocrity.

It's easy to say "so what," but you can't deny that Kovalchuk loves Brodeur and wants to play around him. First ballot HOFer. Marty's the man.

The bottom line is that Kovalchuk wants to win and all the money in the world won't draw him to the Islanders. You have the worst arena in the league and won't be winning anytime soon. This is reality. Sorry.

 

[dash]

Stole this from Dave Lozo (Rangers writer):

My sources tell me Sarah Palin is hoping Ilya Kovalchuk signs in Russia so she can watch him play from her house.

 

[islander4cups]

Stole this from Dave Lozo (Rangers writer):

My sources tell me Sarah Palin is hoping Ilya Kovalchuk signs in Russia so she can watch him play from her house.

lol that is a good one.

NJDevs... Hamonic and deHaan were Canada's best defensemen in that tourney until a cheap shot caused the shoulder injury. I don't know wtf you were talking about.

The Devs always find guys who fit their system and play well for them. They always find those guys in the draft so I'm not saying they will fall into the bottom of the league in 5 years. But in 5 years, Marty is done. Who will replace him? Who will be the Devs coach in 2 seasons? Lou Lam, while a great gm, isn't exactly warm and fuzzy (not that it matters) but he's been through a ton of coaches lately and that might play on Kovy's mind.

If the Isles get Kovy, we'll have to overpay in both $ and years. If NJ does, they will to, but not as much as we will for sure.

Anyway, it should be decided today. Kovy's agent tweeted that Kovy should have an answer today.
Same with our arena. THe Town of Hempstead should announce this week their plans for the refurbishing of the arena. In the meantime, your palace known as the Rock is in Murder Central, Newark NJ. Nice.
And claiming that Okposo, Bailey and Tavares are "nothing special"...ok. You lost your credibility now.

How is Kovy going to feel once Marty retires and Kovy still has 5-6 years on his deal?

 

[davnlaguna]

Kings blogger comment on Kovy and Gagne today

As has been noted, Jay Grossman, Kovalchuk’s agent, has “tweeted” that Kovalchuk is looking to make his decision today. A quick text from Dean Lombardi just encouraged me to “take the day off.” Well, thanks. It’s a nice thought, anyway. Common sense dictates that if Kovalchuk really is making his decision today, it would seem pretty unlikely that he would return to the offer from the Kings, the same one he rejected within the past couple days.

Incidentally, something I neglected to mention in the previous post is that according to a team source, the Kings no longer consider themselves in the market for Philadelphia’s Simon Gagne. So everything is right…back…to…square one.

Kovy gone, Gagne gone, Kings playoff chances......?