Kovy to Kings (Daren Millard)

[davnlaguna]

Kings deny report they will sign Kovalchuk Monday
important part

"Ilya Kovalchuk is coming to Los Angeles for face to face discussions, just like any free agent would. We are a long way from agreeing on a contract," general manager Dean Lombardi told TSN.

this is the first time I have heard that free agents go for face to face talks.

 

[scottflyers88]

i just think they have to still sign and go over some stuff. they would not want to let people know he is going to sign.

 

[pixburgher66]

face to face is a big deal in FA...i'm pretty sure this is at least the only team he's gotten this far with. if the numbers are true that's a nice cap hit for kovy, could be painful in a few years, but if everything goes well for the kings (which i foresee) then it could be all worth it.

 

[flyersfan4706]

Back in January there we are a few jerseys I could see Kovy in.

Red Wings
Devs
Pens
Kings


Nearly 2/4!

 

[dare2be]

Back in January there we are a few jerseys I could see Kovy in.

Red Wings
Devs
Pens
Kings


Nearly 2/4!

Pens? fer real?

 

[davnlaguna]

Pens? fer real?

Maybe it was a nightmare for him.


Tomorrow will be a tough day for me to get any work done, between checking for Kovy deal updates and sleeping at my desk

 

[flyersfan4706]

I dont know why but I can see him in a Pens jersey. Dont get me wrong it would be absolute hell if it came true but my mind just thought it looked correct. And about 2 weeks ago for the first time I thought of Kovy in a Caps jersey. Needless to say I had to get to the toilet. Fast.

 

[awaz]

i think it is a good deal for now. just not for later.

as far as gagne goes i have heard a number of teams. rangers, islanders, lightning, and king. the kings seem like they will not get him now. as far as the ranger and islanders, the flyers might trade him in the division if they are not afraid of the rangers and islanders being much better. i actually think there are a lot of teams.

no way gags waives to go to the isles or bolts.. maybe the rags, but i doubt that too

to be honest i dont know if the flyers are gunna be able to send gagne to a place he'll waive to go to, now that he's come out and said he hasn't actually waived, i'm starting to think he'll be a little more difficult to move than first thought

 

[scottflyers88]

he did not waive it. he probably just agreed to waive it if they have a deal. also, why should he admit to it? the team would not want the reporters to get any information.

also, i think he would waive it for the islanders or rangers. he has a family and that way he would be close to them.

 

[puckhead]

keep in mind daren millard is a rogers guy...it ain't TSN or even RDS.

Sportsnet is pretty decent, though they have occasionally stepped out of bounds in order to get the scoop over TSN. One year at the trade deadline, they did some stupid fucking thing with a mysterious retard elkund in a dark room spewing his 3% hit-rate rumours. I haven't been back to Sportsnet since for major coverage (free agent frenzy / trade deadline), but I do believe they are for the most part a quite strong source now.

here's an article saying Kovy was in LA Sunday for a face-to-face
Face-to-face talks next for Kings, Kovalchuk - sportsnet.ca WAP

 

[scottflyers88]

haha. are you serious? why does eklund not want to be seen? i read an article about how bad his predictions were and it had his picture.

 

[davnlaguna]

Ok Krazy Kovy Kids here is the latest for the blog
Just a couple things as we hopefully creep toward some type of resolution on this Ilya Kovalchuk situation…

Most importantly, there is no deal in place and there is no press conference scheduled. If you follow college sports, think of this as a version of a recruiting trip, a chance to talk face to face. Now, that said, it’s not exactly typical. I noticed that Dean Lombardi didn’t repeat his very first comment, which was that Kovalchuk was visiting “just like any free agent would.” Well, I’ve been covering Lombardi’s transactions for four years, and this is the first I’ve heard of it. I know, for a fact, that Rob Scuderi didn’t come to L.A. when he signed last summer. So Kovalchuk’s mere presence here would suggest that there’s reason for mutual optimism between the Kings and Kovalchuk, given that they presumably seek to get a deal done, but it’s no slam dunk.

Since last night, I’ve been trying to find some history these kind of trips. It seems as though, at some point, NHL teams were allowed to pay for a player to fly out and visit the team/city, but that teams are no longer allowed to foot the bill. If you follow the Lakers, you’ll note that Derek Fisher took a “recruiting trip” to Miami a few days ago and apparently got a contract offer from the Heat but has not yet signed with any team.

It’s likely that Kovalchuk will get the grand tour today. As I recall, Terry Murray went through something similar before the Kings hired him, including a trip downtown to the AEG offices. I don’t know how much information we’ll get about today’s “meetings.” I wouldn’t expect anything in-depth, but we’ll see. For now, I’ll leave the last week to The Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek, who has a real good piece today on the situation…

Kovalchuk, Kings taking smart approach to NHL marriage

 

[Dupster]

Pens? fer real?

Have to remember, Pens fans, Pittsburgh media, and most other media, have been looking for a big-time winger to play alongside Crosby. That went out the window when two prized UFA D-men were picked up, but, before UFA hit, perfectly plausible scenario.

 

[dare2be]

Big-time winger, yes, but too big of a fish to reel in, thus putting too many eggs in too few proverbial contractual baskets. Was never gonna happen, before or after the defensive pickups.

 

[Dupster]

Kovy was/is by far the most valuable and best player of the winger crop in this year's UFA class.

If only Pittsburgh was an attractive enough city to lure UFA's in at a discounted rate.... like Vancouver. :P

 

[pixburgher66]

dup...that just hurts real bad. *sniffle* hey, most liveable city in the US and my hometown (hampton) just won 2nd best town to raise a family in the country. really the burgh has understated beauty. obviously vancouver is one of the prettiest cities in the world...

 

[Dupster]

Just busting some chops. Hamhuis is a BC boy and wanted to come home. Pretty much any Canadian city has that advantage over any American city just due to the ratio of Canadians vs (any other country) in the NHL.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Well this basically means he has been using the Devils in an effort to get more out of LA or possibly another suitor. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise and the Devils will be better off in the long run.

 

[davnlaguna]

well there is no name on paper yet. Kovy being in LA looks good for the Kings. It shows he is doing more than emailing contracts. The fact that there few teams in the hunt helps the Kings as well. Also the fact that if he goes to the KHL, Grossman is not his agent, puts pressure on the agent. I don't count the Devils out yet. If Kovy doesn't sign by Friday noon anywhere I may have to bring my Sirius radio on the Kings cruise I am taking

 

[davnlaguna]

Kovy's wife's band
I am told she is the blonde.