kovalchuk to devils - confirmed

[postmaster]

Woohooo! Can we name a rule after Ken Holland!!??

Wasn't DiPietro the first really long term deal?

 

[Automattic]

Wasn't DiPietro the first really long term deal?

Well sure, but other teams didn't want to do it because of him, nor did the league investigate it quite so much, imo.

 

[Darkstone42]

I don't think DiPietro was signed long-term to save money on him so much as to ticket him as their franchise netminder.

 

[pixburgher66]

looking through my tweets there's rumors that Lombardi was offered a 15 year deal. these are getting ridiculous.

 

[beantownmaniac]

The Atlantic is kind of the best division in the league now...

Yep, we're all too happy to let you guys in that division kick the shit out of each other all season

 

[puckhead]

I told you guys some GM was gonna throw $10M per at Kovalchuk. They just also exploited a loophole which allows his cap hit to be a lot less. It wouldn't surprise me if the NHL does away with these types of contracts when the CBA expires after this season.

yes you did. I am surprised, and shock that it was Captain Lou.
cap hit is apparently lower, but if the first several years are at $10m it's close enough

so.... what's LA's plan C?

 

[beantownmaniac]

yes you did. I am surprised, and shock that it was Captain Lou.
cap hit is apparently lower, but if the first several years are at $10m it's close enough

so.... what's LA's plan C?

Maybe the Bruins will finally trade Savard

 

[CatScrap]

Any word on an actual confirmed contract number yet?

 

[davnlaguna]

looking through my tweets there's rumors that Lombardi was offered a 15 year deal. these are getting ridiculous.

Per Kings blogger....
but the Kings’ last offer was indeed for 15 years and $80 million. It was presented Thursday, and nobody knew until today which offer/team Kovalchuk would choose.

 

[CatScrap]

Per Kings blogger....
but the Kings’ last offer was indeed for 15 years and $80 million. It was presented Thursday, and nobody knew until today which offer/team Kovalchuk would choose.

Wow, 5.33/year? That's almost an insult to Kovy compared to what he was asking for.

 

[devs30rko]

2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11.5 million
2013-14: $11.5 million
2014-15: $11.5 million
2015-16: $11.5 million
2016-17: $11.5 million
2017-18: $10.5 million
2018-19: $8.5 million
2019-20: $6.5 million
2020-21: $3.5 Million
2021-22: $750,000
2022-23: $550,000
2023-24: $550,000
2024-25: $550,000
2025-26: $550,000
2026-27: $550,000


the nhl approved the deal around 7:30,
these are the official numbers.....

i'm sort of embarrassed due to its a signing that uses the loophole like a cheap whore....

but the devils made out like bandits.

 

[ELYEAH82]

Wow, he is going to get over 11 mill a year for a 6 year stretch. If he goes out in 2019 he makes about 10 a year, is he really worth that cap loophole aside. These dumbass owners and GMs cant stay out of their own ways. Doing their best to circumvent their own cap which we lost a season to get. This should piss off every hockey fan because it could likely lead to another stoppage.

 

[beantownmaniac]

Wow, he is going to get over 11 mill a year for a 6 year stretch. If he goes out in 2019 he makes about 10 a year, is he really worth that cap loophole aside. These dumbass owners and GMs cant stay out of their own ways. Doing their best to circumvent their own cap which we lost a season to get. This should piss off every hockey fan because it could likely lead to another stoppage.

It does piss me off, because it's the average fan that loses out. Shit, I can barely afford to go to the games now

 

[devs30rko]

like i said.... i'm thrilled the devils retained a TALENT like kovy

i'm slightly embarrassed my team is now one of those using the massivle loophole.

 

[ELYEAH82]

like i said.... i'm thrilled the devils retained a TALENT like kovy

i'm slightly embarrassed my team is now one of those using the massivle loophole.

I am not singling out this contract but the few that fall in to this category. The work stoppage is so recent that it stings to see this shit already. I cant stand baseball because of the disparity and I would hate to see the NHL follow suit.

 

[DevilishWon]

Plan B is Doughty for Semin

That's a bad plan

 

[DevilishWon]

2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11.5 million
2013-14: $11.5 million
2014-15: $11.5 million
2015-16: $11.5 million
2016-17: $11.5 million
2017-18: $10.5 million
2018-19: $8.5 million
2019-20: $6.5 million
2020-21: $3.5 Million
2021-22: $750,000
2022-23: $550,000
2023-24: $550,000
2024-25: $550,000
2025-26: $550,000
2026-27: $550,000


the nhl approved the deal around 7:30,
these are the official numbers.....

i'm sort of embarrassed due to its a signing that uses the loophole like a cheap whore....

but the devils made out like bandits.

That's what loopholes...and cheap whores are for my friend

 

[loki604]

I'm just not sure why everyone is sold on Kovalchuk already. He has obvious skill, but is the drive there? He's stated he wants to win, but who knows. Say what you want, but Russians ARE more prone to flaming out. Christ, even though Malkin has won a Conn Smythe, Art Ross, and Stanley Cup, I would still be hesitant about him signing a 10+ year deal; I'm just not sure he will always want to compete. Similarly I would rather have Parise than Kovalchuk...Parise hasn't won anything yet, but everyone knows he is one of the hardest working players in the league. Obviously, Lou will probably retain Parise as well, but still.

I see this being a legendary steal or a complete fuck up. Only time will tell of course, but I can't help but think that Kovy's attitude is still a relative unknown - he just hasn't faced that many high pressure situations in the NHL.

 

[MM213]

Loki,

Are you saying you'd rather have above average hard-working player than a real star? Kovalchuk is no Daigle, he proved it over the years. It's unfortunate he had to play on a bad team (no offense to Atlanta fans), but he did it pretty well.
BTW, Parise is only a year younger than Kovalchuk - he had scored more than 40 goals just once. Kovalchuk does it year after year. I'm sure, every NHL GM would rather have Kovalchuk than Parise on their team (and Lou managed to get both - more respect to him).

 

[loki604]

Loki,

Are you saying you'd rather have above average hard-working player than a real star? Kovalchuk is no Daigle, he proved it over the years. It's unfortunate he had to play on a bad team (no offense to Atlanta fans), but he did it pretty well.
BTW, Parise is only a year younger than Kovalchuk - he had scored more than 40 goals just once. Kovalchuk does it year after year. I'm sure, every NHL GM would rather have Kovalchuk than Parise on their team (and Lou managed to get both - more respect to him).

Yes, I would much rather have an above average player who works hard than a superstar who doesn't. Let's say you're rating players out of ten and Kovy is a nine, skill-wise. I'd rather have the seven who is a proven hard worker. I'm not saying Kovalchuk isn't hard-working, but he doesn't come with the hard worker label that players like Parise, Crosby, Toews have earned. It's an unknown. He may have compiled points in Atlanta, but that team never went anywhere. Sure, that wasn't his fault, but he never had to prove himself in high pressure situations. He had a decent playoff with Jersey, but once again the team went nowhere, so what exactly was the pressure there? Game five?

This would not stop me from signing him as a GM, but I would definitely hesitate to give him a career contract. There are only a handful of players in the league to whom I would extend that, and Kovalchuk hasn't earned it yet, in my opinion.

Edit: And how much of a superstar is Kovy? He's never hit 100 points and he shared the Rocket once I believe? No Art Ross's. How do you identify a superstar? Parise had three less points than Kovy last year and is two years younger. And Atlanta averaged 2.8 gpg, while NJ averaged 2.63