After that whole debacle in New Jersey do you think Lou would work with Kovalchuk again?
OP.......you do realize that IK completely ****ed over the NJD's and Louie Lams right?? Why the hell do you think he would sign with the islanders.....or more so, why the hell would the islanders ( and Lou ) even consider talking with IK ????
Moreso just speculation, but there was a lot going on in NJ at the time. There is likely far more to that story than we will ever know and all factors included, it made a lot of sense for both the Devils and Kovalchuk to move on at that time. In short:
Devils had financial issues, were being supplemented by the NHL for a bit, were selling the team, and had a guy making 10 million a year on a contract worth 2/3 of what the team was. Add to that the feeling was signing Kovalchuk was largely the previous owner's doing
Kovalchuk left after the lockout season when he spent the first half in the KHL. He was one of the last players to come over so I personally think something happened there whether it was him being homesick or enjoying the experience.
On top of that, Devils cutting ties when they did had a very small cap recapture penalty (something less than 300,000) and it would've jumped up much higher if he stayed a year or two. Also the Devils future was very bleak especially after Parise had just left.