Confirmed with Link: Kings announce signing kovalchuk to 3 year contract.

[KINGS17]

like how the games were over against Mexico, Sweden, South Korea in the group stages in 18 minutes?

It's a joke!!!

 

[StDevs]

What number will he wear?

 

[Kingspiracy]

 

[Little Psycho]

What number will he wear?

17

 

[KINGS17]

17

 

[kingsboy11]

 

[KopitarFAN]

It's kinda bizarre to think that Kovalchuk, even at 35, will be the best wing Kopitar has ever played with, and Kopitar the best center that Kovalchuk has ever played with in the NHL. Kovalchuk has played with Pavel Datsyuk the last 2 years, and to the surprise of no one he saw a significant up-tic in production scoring 75 goals in 146 games (playoffs included) after scoring 68 in 185 the prior 3 seasons.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

It's been a long time since we've seen a winger who is so intense and driven to score goals. Not since #33.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Something that might be underrated is that he's a big ass dude too. He may not have the blazing explosive speed anymore but he's still certainly got the smarts and shot and hands and his size will allow him to protect the puck against the big WC forwards

 

[Kingsfan1]

Bruhhhhh Kovy still got those hands wow . He knows where to put the puck and he can absolutely fire it . 35-40 goals easily . Kopitar with 100+ pts

 

[The Butcher]

I know I'm beating a dead horse here.

But to all those who argued with me that the Devils were somehow secretly pleased to have their star player walk away from his contract, this is one journalist from Forbes who seems to think not.

Chasing The Money: Ilya Kovalchuk's Cautionary Tale

"Kovalchuk asked the Devils to place him on the voluntary retirement list. The Devils, naturally, were not pleased with his decision but agreed to do so. His mother expressed the motivation behind Kovalchuk's decision, saying: After the lockout, there are a lot of restrictions at all teams. … They are also underpaid 20% [of their salary]. The league takes it as an escrow that may not be paid back if the NHL does not make profit. And then there's government tax of 50%. That means on paper you are being paid $10 million a year but in reality only 3. So the pendulum swung for Russia."

I'm happy to have his potential offensive prowess on the King it was always and always will be about the money for Ilya.

​

 

[Bandit]

Name someone who isn’t “all about the money”

 

[The Butcher]

Name someone who isn’t “all about the money”

Really?

Plenty of players haven't walked out on their contracts because the taxes were too high. Actually, I can't think of any others aside from Ilya. You can't make the argument for him that he wanted to be closer to his family or wanted to play in a winning environment.

Whatever. Character clearly means little to some of you.

That's fine. I really hope to be wrong about this guy and his career as a King defines him.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Ilya Kovalchuk should have his own theme song when he scores.

 

[deeshamrock]

Bruhhhhh Kovy still got those hands wow . He knows where to put the puck and he can absolutely fire it . 35-40 goals easily . Kopitar with 100+ pts

Easily? Really? You might want to check how many players in the NHL age 35 and over have scored 30 goals or more in the last 5 years.

Given his history, odd are he won't play a full 82. He's in great shape, he should be, given he's a professional athlete that is aging and has back issues. This is not the NHL he last played in, the league is younger and faster and longer than he's used to (100 games if a deep playoff run) . also, he's in a much tougher conference and if he is on Kopi' line, his usage will be different. Kopi is a premier shutdown center. And his line is the one that goes up against the best in the NHL on most shifts. That means a good bit of his 25 second or so shift, could be in his own end, defending. That cuts down offensive zone time. PP , he'll do great, his shot hasn't changed (but he tends to be careless at time on the PP and turns the puck over) so he should bury a few.
But to expect that many goals, that's not realistic, given the environment he'll be playing in.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Easily? Really? You might want to check how many players in the NHL age 35 and over have scored 30 goals or more in the last 5 years.

Given his history, odd are he won't play a full 82. He's in great shape, he should be, given he's a professional athlete that is aging and has back issues. This is not the NHL he last played in, the league is younger and faster and longer than he's used to (100 games if a deep playoff run) . also, he's in a much tougher conference and if he is on Kopi' line, his usage will be different. Kopi is a premier shutdown center. And his line is the one that goes up against the best in the NHL on most shifts. That means a good bit of his 25 second or so shift, could be in his own end, defending. That cuts down offensive zone time. PP , he'll do great, his shot hasn't changed (but he tends to be careless at time on the PP and turns the puck over) so he should bury a few.
But to expect that many goals, that's not realistic, given the environment he'll be playing in.

As an aside I'm looking forward to Kopitar and Doughty having a true transition threat like Kovalchuk...when was the last time we saw a puck retrieval in our end turn into a quick breakaway?

 

[BigKing]

He was obviously about the money when he chose NJ in the first place. It was a lot more money. It's about the money this time as well with the 3rd year.

That being said, he leaves it all on the ice when he plays.

 

[deeshamrock]

As an aside I'm looking forward to Kopitar and Doughty having a true transition threat like Kovalchuk...when was the last time we saw a puck retrieval in our end turn into a quick breakaway?

I like the breakaway part, but not sure on the quick. He's not a speed demon. Unless he's on the 2nd line and they use Carter as a decoy, that would work.
I think his biggest contribution will be on PP, and they need that.

 

[deeshamrock]

He was obviously about the money when he chose NJ in the first place. It was a lot more money. It's about the money this time as well with the 3rd year.

That being said, he leaves it all on the ice when he plays.

It's still about money, he waited and the Kings blinked first. Only team that offered what he wanted 3 yrs at 6.5.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I like the breakaway part, but not sure on the quick. He's not a speed demon. Unless he's on the 2nd line and they use Carter as a decoy, that would work.
I think his biggest contribution will be on PP, and they need that.

Yeah I don't mean in terms of burst speed or anything, I'm not counting on that part of his game being there anymore. I just mean in terms of instincts, being able to read when Kopitar is going to retrieve a puck, and being able to turn up ice quickly and be a threat. Totally agree that his shot will be a PP weapon.

 

[KINGS17]

Name someone who isn’t “all about the money”

Bobby Orr

 

[Legionnaire]

Name someone who isn’t “all about the money”

Teachers?

 

[Reaper45]

Teachers?

My wife can attest to that 100%

 

[Jisatsu]

It's been a long time since we've seen a winger who is so intense and driven to score goals. Not since #33.

I like how the first goal he scores in that video is a one timer off a voynov pass.

 

[Herby]

He was obviously about the money when he chose NJ in the first place. It was a lot more money. It's about the money this time as well with the 3rd year.

That being said, he leaves it all on the ice when he plays.

Yeah, most of them are all about money, and that is fine. Some people refuse to accept it (the hometown discount talk). But no one should be critical of guys like Kopitar and Doughty getting as much as their market commands. I mean some of the posts here about Kopitar accepting $8m a year when Toews got $10m were totally laughable.

The problem is when you lie, cheat, slack etc like we have seen from people like Ryan $myth. Crying and playing victim at a press conference over a 5% difference with the Oilers, slacking with the Kings when they weren't going to extend him, lying about demanding a trade and then using his children as an excuse to get more money. When guys do stuff like that, F them. Just be honest that it's all about money and don't let it effect anything that happens on the ice or the lockerroom (like Blake in 2001)