LeBrun: Habs want at least a 2nd round pick for Kovalchuk

[Thierry]

He has been Montreals best player since coming over. Better than tatar. More inspired. More noticable. A month ago a second was out of question..now its reality. If they want to deal him they wint have an issue.

Yeah... no. Not anymore. Don't get me wrong, he's solid, but not as dominant as his 5-6 first games. Tatar is better right now. You could make a case that Suzuki as well.

So a third or very late second then.

A late second ? Really ? I was really betting on an early second because, you know, it makes so much sense...

 

[NYSPORTS]

I'd rather spend a 2nd for Kovy and a 1st+ for either Kreider or Pageau. Kovy has natural offensive talent than those guys can only dream of.

yeah, ok. He’s an old man. Read the same hype for St Louis and he was retired a year later

 

[Tanknation]

GMs will be to prideful to give up a 2nd for a guy they could have had for free a month ago.

Except NHL GM's are typically not the brightest and make puzzling/dumb moves all of the time. Not saying a 2nd would be that dumb to acquire Kovo though.

 

[Willy Stylez]

Yeah... no. Not anymore. Don't get me wrong, he's solid, but not as dominant as his 5-6 first games. Tatar is better right now. You could make a case that Suzuki as well.





A late second ? Really ? I was really betting on an early second because, you know, it makes so much sense...

Higher odds of a late 2nd than early 2nd, will see

 

[Alikhan Alizada]

Imagine we end up getting a first out of a conditional pick if the team reaches the final and Kovalchuk has more than 15 ish points by that point.

 

[ImNeverWrong]

I get what you are trying to say but how has Montreal been doing lately?

The Kovy you are getting is not what LA got either. Not all on LA.

Dude...kovy was being scratched and getting the 4th line mins on many nights for the kings...I checked your lineup over the past few weeks and theres been nights where fn kyle Clifford was on your 2nd line. That really shows the trainwreck that the kings are this year. Having glorified grinding meat heads in the top 6 while not putting a bonafide scorer in a position to succeed. That's on your coach. Well played LA.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

I hope the Penguins stay away from him, we will kill that locker room. And I think Malkin doesn't like him.

 

[kilowatt]

Dude...kovy was being scratched and getting the 4th line mins on many nights for the kings...I checked your lineup over the past few weeks and theres been nights where fn kyle Clifford was on your 2nd line. That really shows the trainwreck that the kings are this year. Having glorified grinding meat heads in the top 6 while not putting a bonafide scorer in a position to succeed. That's on your coach. Well played LA.

Clifford isn’t in LA’s top six no matter what you say.

Kovalchuk was given plenty of opportunities to succeed, but he didn’t mesh well with LA, he didn’t play defense, and he didn’t bury the chances that he got. We spent many futile power plays watching his shots sail high and wide or straight into the goalie’s chest.

 

[Melkor]

I hope he re-signs with the habs. Good chemistry, they use him right, the fans like him. It’s a good spot for him.

No, it's not

 

[bleedgreen]

I hope the Penguins stay away from him, we will kill that locker room. And I think Malkin doesn't like him.

Has he ever killed a locker room? Do tell.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

Has he ever killed a locker room? Do tell.

Everyone and their mothers know that he only cares about himself.

 

[Hostile Offer]

2nd rounders get tossed around like candy at the TDL and Kovy's been real good with us. No reason to think the Habs couldn't that for him. Any less and we might as well try to re-sign him.

 

[smack66]

Habs get a 2nd rounder at trade deadline and Molson becomes so impressed with Bergevin that he immediately signs him to a new 10 year extension.

 

[Ulysses31]

what team would he work on? chemistry wise? BJs?

 

[Adam Michaels]

I hope the Penguins stay away from him, we will kill that locker room. And I think Malkin doesn't like him.

I remember reading that at the Olympics, Ovechkin and Malkin had some issues and Kovalchuk helped them make peace.

In LA, despite it not going well, everyone talked about how great he was as a teammate and in the room. And in Montreal, he is being praised for that.

When he was younger, it was possible he was more selfish. But right now, he is anything but selfish.

 

[Fainting Couch]

BJs?

That would be a very progressive locker room!

 

[lamp9post]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that worse players that Kovalchuk will be traded for a 2nd at this year's deadline.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Wonder if this ends up like Vanek at the deadline 3 years ago...

Vanek was kind of in the same spot. Was once an elite forward who dropped off a bit after signing with a location he wanted to go to. He also apparently had some kind of baggage/reputation and eventually had his contract terminated early. He signed with Detroit for cheap (obviously not as cheap as Kovalchuk) and had somewhat of a rebound year. It was bandied about that the Wings would want at least a late 1st to move Vanek at the deadline. However at the last second, with 50% retention he ended up fetching a conditional 3rd (round didn't change, Florida had two 3rds, Detroit would get the earlier pick if Fla made the playoffs and the later if they didn't) and Dylan McIlrath who was buried with a one-way contract. McIlrath's inclusion pretty much made it where the Panthers were only adding a little under $200k in real money to the books for Vanek.

 

[CupsOverCash]

They can ask for a 2nd but I doubt that is what a team ultimately pays when the deadline comes.

 

[duul]

Edmonton DESPERATELY, more than anything, needs a scoring winger to play with McDavid.

Wouldn't Kovalchuk be one of the best fits there, with Kassian forechecking on RW? Imagine Kovy getting 5-6 prime scoring chances off McDavid feeds a game. Match made in heaven as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Wats]

They can ask for a 2nd but I doubt that is what a team ultimately pays when the deadline comes.

Agreed. Only way is maybe if he has like 20+ points in 20 games or whatever the total games will be by then.

 

[Sky04]

Everyone and their mothers know that he only cares about himself.

Your source? Here's a couple that contradict your statement:

"He's huge inside (the room)," Washington Capitals center Evgeni Kuznetsov said. "He's one of those types of guys you want to play with and you want to always be around him.

"He's a machine," Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov said. "He started playing from 18 years old in the NHL. He's still in really good shape, and still a really good player. He's a really professional player and young players can learn a lot from him."

“First of all, it’s — how do you want to call it? — it’s not a great situation,” Kopitar said, per The Athletic. “Kovy is a good guy. There’s nothing that’s wrong with the attitude or anything. He wants to win. He wants to do the best. He’s a really good guy off the ice. Everybody can probably say that about him. It’s just, for whatever reason, it’s not working on the ice.”

 

[Sky04]

2nd rounders get tossed around like candy at the TDL and Kovy's been real good with us. No reason to think the Habs couldn't that for him. Any less and we might as well try to re-sign him.

You know they could just re-sign him at Free Agency after trading him as a rental right.....? Montreal isn't making the playoffs so what sense does it make to hang onto a soon to be 37 year old Free Agent?

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Kovy has another 14 games to prove himself as a near PPG player before he can stake claim to a 2nd round pick. As of now, i can see a 3rd but if he keeps up the production then a 2nd for sure.

 

[OB34KNH]

Draft picks are so incredibly overrated here.

This is HFboards where "2 F1rsT rOUnD pIcKs" are worth more than McDavid. What'd ya expect?