Dreger: Kovalchuk News

[Jannik Hansen]

I doubt he'd be interested in signing with the Canucks, but we could throw a lot of money at him and then flip him on his last year at the deadline. He'd be a good UFA target for the Canucks.

No thanks. Jim has a terrible track record when it comes to trading UFA’s at the deadline. As much as I enjoyed Vanek, signing him just to bump us up a few spots in the standings/hurt our lottery odds and being awarded for this pleasure with Tyler Motte, was a catastrophe.

 

[BB88]

Toronto...isn't exactly looking to overpay Jake Gardiner at the moment. I know defensemen are at a premium, especially for us, but we're not going to overpay to retain him, if they even keep him at all.

Just the cap raise alone will give him a boost and the big boost in cap hit will go to the big 3.

And if Gardiner goes Toronto has to spent on defense, they should already look into that.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

I think San Jose could certainly be a player. They have more than enough cap space to make a $6M/2Y offer, they need an F3, and Kovalchuk previously played for Peter DeBoer and they had a good connection. DeBoer was the coach that played him for like 22 minutes per game in New Jersey.

It’s also worth noting that last off-season, when Kovalchuk was rumored to be available, San Jose made a run at him.

 

[member 157595]

Just the cap raise alone will give him a boost and the big boost in cap hit will go to the big 3.

And if Gardiner goes Toronto has to spent on defense, they should already look into that.

I'm not actually disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that Toronto's not going to break the bank for Jake Gardiner. If they can't get him signed to a reasonable deal he's gone, and I sure hope they don't stupidly lose him for nothing if he does get moved.

I'm sure we are aggressively looking to improve the back end. If we're not we're idiots.

 

[Drew311]

Leafs could go high on a one year deal. Kovy putting up a PPG season on Matthews wing would up his value big time.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

It won't happen, but damn, a RNH-McDavid-Kovalchuk line would be fun to watch.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Tampa Bay should be all over this and sign Yakupov as well to a cheap contract. But in the meantime trade one of their cap-eating players.

If NYI signs Kovalchuk, Tavares could likely stay as well. But if I were Kovy I sign with the best team available if I want to be a member of the triple-gold club. I would think Florida would be best because the moment Kovy joins their top six, they'll likely be a much better team.

 

[Master P]

I hear Tampa has a few Russians. Wouldn't mind adding one more

 

[Fazkovsky]

I say dallas, preds, or vegas or tampa

maybe pens

 

[SEALBound]

$6mil a year? Lol, no.

2-3yrs $6mil total...aka 2-3mil/yr, sure. $6mil per year...lol, no.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Next summer is the trouble year for you, not the summer 2 years from now.

Nylander/Marner/Matthews, Gardiner if on team will all be on new contracts, and Marleau with another year left.
Unless you think they'd have Kovy for 1 year and trade him.

No I'm thinking that Marleau gets traded or put on LTIR just like the Hawks did with Hossa the moment his salary dropped from 4 million to 1 million and then magically he became allergic to his equipment even though he had not had that issue for nearly 20 years prior to this year.

 

[dracom]

I can't wait for a team to overpay for him, then for him to come and be a mediocre player. He's 35, I doubt he will be good enough for the contract he wants.

 

[CherryToke]

$6mil a year? Lol, no.

2-3yrs $6mil total...aka 2-3mil/yr, sure. $6mil per year...lol, no.

You underestimate the stupidity of NHL GM's.

 

[Flamesjustwin]

That screams Dallas to me. Spezza's money is off the books after next season which goes directly into Seguin's extension. Top 6 next year:
Benn-Seguin-Radulov
Kovalchuk-Spezza-Nichushkin

Sounds perfect, lets ignore the fact that besides Klingberg we have crap for D and continue to try and fix that by adding more scoring again. As a fan of another Western Conference team I approve of this strategy!

 

[LMFAO]

Washington or Pittsburgh

 

[captainpaxil]

I'd love him in Philly. Cap fits and term is perfect

 

[Hockey Dad]

Sounds perfect, lets ignore the fact that besides Klingberg we have crap for D and continue to try and fix that by adding more scoring again. As a fan of another Western Conference team I approve of this strategy!

I guess we can ignore the fact you don’t know what you are talking about. The Stars were good on defense last year. They did not have enough scoring. The defense may not be as good as last year but will be very serviceable.

 

[ElGuapo]

I guess we can ignore the fact you don’t know what you are talking about. The Stars were good on defense last year. They did not have enough scoring. The defense may not be as good as last year but will be very serviceable.

It was pretty good and they're adding Heiskanen to it.

 

[Hughes86Hischier13]

devils sign tavares and kovalchuk

 

[Paul4587]

I can't wait for a team to overpay for him, then for him to come and be a mediocre player. He's 35, I doubt he will be good enough for the contract he wants.

I don’t think many know how slow he has gotten. He’s not nearly the skater he was a few years ago.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

No thanks. Jim has a terrible track record when it comes to trading UFA’s at the deadline. As much as I enjoyed Vanek, signing him just to bump us up a few spots in the standings/hurt our lottery odds and being awarded for this pleasure with Tyler Motte, was a catastrophe.

Vancouver in a nutshell.

It’s always so much easier said than done with signings-turned-flip-fodder.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

It looks like he was a ~1 PPG in the KHL guy until Datsyuk showed up and his numbers took off a bit

Do people who watch him often think he will be effective at an NHL level? Can he still score 30 goals?

 

[Maylo]

It looks like he was a ~1 PPG in the KHL guy until Datsyuk showed up and his numbers took off a bit

Do people who watch him often think he will be effective at an NHL level? Can he still score 30 goals?

Nah, he will have more penalties per game than goals/points, the way the game is called right now. Rick Nash numbers.

 

[Scott Stevens]

I think San Jose could certainly be a player. They have more than enough cap space to make a $6M/2Y offer, they need an F3, and Kovalchuk previously played for Peter DeBoer and they had a good connection. DeBoer was the coach that played him for like 22 minutes per game in New Jersey.

It’s also worth noting that last off-season, when Kovalchuk was rumored to be available, San Jose made a run at him.

Pardon my ignorance, mr cock, but who would be “f1” and “f2” over Ill-Ja?

You definitively firing the rat and the American over kovy?

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Next summer is the trouble year for you, not the summer 2 years from now.

Nylander/Marner/Matthews, Gardiner if on team will all be on new contracts, and Marleau with another year left.
Unless you think they'd have Kovy for 1 year and trade him.

Structure it like Marleau’s deal. Something in the range of:

7.5m
6m (5m signing bonus)
4.5m

Trade him right after paying out the signing bonus to a team with internal cap. Then they get Kovvy for 2 years for only 2.75m per and additional cap relief to hit the floor.