OT: Kovy retires? What?

[RedWingsNow*]

Came here to post this.

This has pretty disturbing implications. This will have fallout for sure.

People are seeing danger where very little exists

Two parties agree the contract no longer works.

They agree to dissolve the contract.

 

[Winger98]

I'll miss seeing Kovalchuk. Fun player to watch.

 

[Bench]

I'll miss seeing Kovalchuk. Fun player to watch.

That's the real tragedy here. Guy was in the upper tier of players. We're losing a top 10 NHL player in his prime.

 

[FlashyG]

I think its inevitable that eventually all the best Russian talent will stay in the KHL.

The KHL is willing to shell out much more money for them and who can really fault someone for taking a bigger payday to play at home.

Having guys like Radulov and Kovalchuk playing there will make it even more attractive for up and coming Russian players so I doubt you'll see many of them getting drafted in the early rounds.

 

[ThankYouBasedGod]

Good riddance. What a ****.

 

[PullHard]

I would honestly be surprised if in 15-20 years Russians are still coming over at all. Why would you leave home for less money? I don't think I would.

 

[Amyklas]

1. He isn't going to quit playing. He is going to simply go to the KHL and earn more money.

2. Risk or not, it doesn't make it any less of a dick move to sign a front-loaded deal then jump ship after two years.

he left before the multiple big money years

I would honestly be surprised if in 15-20 years Russians are still coming over at all. Why would you leave home for less money? I don't think I would.

Welcome to Mother Russia

 

[Gyldenlove]

yeah but if the player and team agrees that it's best for both to abolish the contract, like in this situation, they can do this sort of nod-wink deal all they want with minimal penalty.

I just dont think this is fair when teams are buying out contracts to get out of bad contracts.

But that is rarely the case though. Imagine a guy like Clarkson, in a few years when Toronto realized what a monumental mistake it was to give him 5 million a year they would like to get out of that deal. But why would Clarkson let them? he is not getting a better contract elsewhere in the NHL.

This really only applied in situations like this where a guy can go to the KHL and get huge money because it is a one way ticket. Once you go down that road the team can block you from ever playing in the NHL again.

You have to remember too that the Devils are losing 1st round pick and 250k in cap space for the next 12 years on this deal - it is not a get out of jail free.

 

[ricky0034]

I would honestly be surprised if in 15-20 years Russians are still coming over at all. Why would you leave home for less money? I don't think I would.

I wouldn't consider it a given that the KHL is even around in this kind of form that long from now though,the KHL is more of a money losing hobby than an actual business like the NHL,what happens if one day the billionaires holding it up just plain get sick of losing so much money on it?

and in any case there will always be a few Russians around as long as the NHL remains the best league,there's always gonna be some people that are competitive enough to make the jump just to be in the best league in the world

 

[Amyklas]

But that is rarely the case though. Imagine a guy like Clarkson, in a few years when Toronto realized what a monumental mistake it was to give him 5 million a year they would like to get out of that deal. But why would Clarkson let them? he is not getting a better contract elsewhere in the NHL.

This really only applied in situations like this where a guy can go to the KHL and get huge money because it is a one way ticket. Once you go down that road the team can block you from ever playing in the NHL again.

You have to remember too that the Devils are losing 1st round pick and 250k in cap space for the next 12 years on this deal - it is not a get out of jail free.

It's a pretty minimalistic penalty, all things considered. But I agree that it's a rare occasion because it really will only apply to people leaving and POSSIBLY playing in the KHL. I suppose some could leave for the Swedish Elite, but it doesn't toss around pay checks as ridiculously as the KHL. Kovy is giving up lots of money on the current contract, and him going somewhere else doesn't change that. He's also putting his chance to play in North America ever again at high risk. The Devils are losing the best player they had. It's not exactly a "free pass," but one that certainly makes sense, even if both sides are "in" on it

 

[FlashyG]

It will be interesting to see if any NHL teams take advantage of this situation in the reverse way.

I'm not sure if it was Buchnevich or Nichushkin who is still under contract with the KHL, but if he wanted to come over immediately what's to stop him from retiring from the KHL and coming over for next season?

I wonder if the KHL would view it the same way they do the Kovalchuk situation.

 

[FlashyG]

I wouldn't consider it a given that the KHL is even around in this kind of form that long from now though,the KHL is more of a money losing hobby than an actual business like the NHL,what happens if one day the billionaires holding it up just plain get sick of losing so much money on it?

and in any case there will always be a few Russians around as long as the NHL remains the best league,there's always gonna be some people that are competitive enough to make the jump just to be in the best league in the world

Look at the major soccer clubs in Europe. They operate at far bigger losses than the KHL teams and they seem to be ok with their losses.

I think the only thing that would affect the KHL in that regard would be a drastic drop in the price of oil, or an economic downturn in the Russian economy big enough to decimate some of these billionaires bank accounts.

I think the Russian players going there is a given, the question to me is whether the rest of the European talent follows.

The NHL could end up just a North American league over the next decade(s)

 

[Detroit Sports*]

1995 Karma. I hate this team still.

 

[snailderby]

Anyone wondering if the Devils and Kovy met behind the scenes here to hash this out? I sure am. Devils are in terrible shape and get out of a deal right when it's about to punch them in the gut. Maybe they don't raise a stink with the IIHF if Kovy comes back and plays in the KHL

"This wasn't a decision by the New Jersey Devils." - Lou Lamoriello

 

[WingedWheel1987]

I bet Lou must feel smart for holding onto the 29th pick.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I somehow get the sense the Devils aren't 100% unhappy with this..not exactly a rich team, unlikely to contend any time soon, Kovalchuk probably past his prime and very expensive. Serves both sides really.

 

[Kronwalled55]

I bet Lou must feel smart for holding onto the 29th pick.

In a lesser draft as well

 

[BeersHockey]

I think its inevitable that eventually all the best Russian talent will stay in the KHL.

The KHL is willing to shell out much more money for them and who can really fault someone for taking a bigger payday to play at home.

Having guys like Radulov and Kovalchuk playing there will make it even more attractive for up and coming Russian players so I doubt you'll see many of them getting drafted in the early rounds.

I disagree. Players want to play against the best in the world - that is, and will probably always be the NHL. Also, Russian billionaires aren't going to suffer losses in perpetuity just for the sake of retaining top and mid-tier homegrown talent. The KHL isn't the first attempt to rival the NHL. I am sure Russian players that have no NHL options love it - but North American players that have gone over there have given scathing accounts of the treatment players suffer, including crazy gun-toting owners, forced team lockdowns, and very suspect safety conditions in (a) travel (there were MANY comments after the Lokamotiv tragedy that players weren't really surprised that something like that hadn't happened already) and (b) medical options (compare the situations with Cherepanov and Jiri Fisher - response time and preparedness is the difference between life and death).

But, getting back to my first point, Canadian kids want to be Gretzky, Yzerman, Stamkos and Crosby. Russian kids want to be Fedorov, Mogilny, Bure etc. That is not going to happen in the KHL. Nothing wrong with staying home and making a good wage, but IMHO the KHL crazy contracts model is not sustainable. Just look at all the players that have been "released" and come back to the NHL after jumping ship. Hudler barely made it a year before his team decided it didn't want to pay him anymore. I get that Hudler is not Kovy or Radulov, but not many players are. If all NHL teams had one $15mm player and 22 players making WAY less, the league would not last long at all.

Again, just MHO.

 

[BeersHockey]

Look at the major soccer clubs in Europe. They operate at far bigger losses than the KHL teams and they seem to be ok with their losses.

I think the only thing that would affect the KHL in that regard would be a drastic drop in the price of oil, or an economic downturn in the Russian economy big enough to decimate some of these billionaires bank accounts.

I think the Russian players going there is a given, the question to me is whether the rest of the European talent follows.

The NHL could end up just a North American league over the next decade(s)

Source. I don't believe this statement at all. For example, the English Premier League is the second most profitable soccer league in the world. Its profits as a league are fourth in the world in any sport, trailing only the NFL, MLB and NBA - and it is run primarily a country that is roughly the size of Michigan. Sure, there are teams in every league that run at a loss, but they are making bets that if they spend and win a championship they will make all that money back and more - and they would be right if successful. That can happen on a team by team basis, but not on a league wide basis. The Russian billionaires that own these teams didn't become billionaires because they love to give money away. They want to turn a profit.

 

[BeersHockey]

I bet Lou must feel smart for holding onto the 29th pick.

I never understood that move. You are basically giving up a 2nd round pick. Does anyone have more background/insight into why they didn't give that pick up?

 

[SoupNazi]

Not what I expected to read today.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

This isn't just a Russia issue. It's a KHL issue.
Finland is joining the KHL. Slovakia has a KHL team.

The NHL better move quick or it's going to become a North American Hockey League.
I like Don Cherry more than most on the Wings board -- but that would be terrible for the NHL.

 

[Heaton]

This isn't just a Russia issue. It's a KHL issue.
Finland is joining the KHL. Slovakia has a KHL team.

The NHL better move quick or it's going to become a North American Hockey League.
I like Don Cherry more than most on the Wings board -- but that would be terrible for the NHL.

I would be surprised. The allure seems like more pressure on Russians than anything else. And while this is a bit of rationalizing, Kovalchuk is 30 years old now, it's not like he's a 24 year old superstar deflecting. It's a weird situation where a great Russian player is playing for a team who is going bankrupt with a contract that's untradeable. While money talks, the KHL will never have the history and prestige that the NHL has, the big time sponsorships are here as well. I think if this was a real issue, you would've seen a lot more players leaving, like Malkin and Datsyuk, but they know where their bread is buttered.

 

[1st Line Interloper]

This isn't just a Russia issue. It's a KHL issue.
Finland is joining the KHL. Slovakia has a KHL team.

Jokerit is the only Finnish team in the KHL and they are the only one to have the funds to do so. The KHL is still years away from competing with the NHL for anything.

Kovy is the rare type (much like Radulov) that likely wanted all the publicity that came with being the star player on a good team (SKA St. Pete had the most points last year). NJ probably wasn't going to make the playoffs next year plus he gets to be a big fish in a little pond, gets more money in 5-6 years than he would in 13 (I've heard he's rumored to get 20 mil a year) and he enjoys playing in Russia.

I'm interested to see if this brings up any bad blood between the US and Russian national team fanbases because Kovy will now be on the 1st line of the Sochi Olympic team.

Note: Each team in Russia (I believe, I'm not sure about KHL rules it might be all teams) have to have a certain amount of Russians on their team. If most teams have a Russian restriction, then it can only appeal to a certain nationality.

 

[RedWingsNow*]

I would be surprised. The allure seems like more pressure on Russians than anything else. And while this is a bit of rationalizing, Kovalchuk is 30 years old now, it's not like he's a 24 year old superstar deflecting. It's a weird situation where a great Russian player is playing for a team who is going bankrupt with a contract that's untradeable. While money talks, the KHL will never have the history and prestige that the NHL has, the big time sponsorships are here as well. I think if this was a real issue, you would've seen a lot more players leaving, like Malkin and Datsyuk, but they know where their bread is buttered.

Right now the pressure is on Russians.
But the KHL is expanding and threatening to become a World League while Gary Bettman focuses his energy on keeping the Coyotes in the desert.


As Russians play for millions for their teams, some rich Finnish owner is going to get sick of losing 7-1 to Russian teams, and he's going to invest in the best Finnish players in the world.

And the same will happen when Stockholm gets its team eventually..