OT: Still Much Ado About Kovy - Still still in Russia

[Emperoreddy]

I really don't like Eberle, but if Edmonton wants Kovy for him I do that deal

 

[Devils090]

Have to imagine we'd get more than just Eberle for Kovy. 34 and 4 years removed from the league aside he's still probably a better player than Eberle is, or just as good. I'd like to add a pick to that deal.

 

[NJ All Day]

I really don't like Eberle, but if Edmonton wants Kovy for him I do that deal

Then why would you do that deal? It doesn't make sense to me.
Kovy > Eberle

 

[Emperoreddy]

Have to imagine we'd get more than just Eberle for Kovy. 34 and 4 years removed from the league aside he's still probably a better player than Eberle is, or just as good. I'd like to add a pick to that deal.

We will be lucky to get a 2nd or a 3rd+ for Kovy. Definitely would take Eberle.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Then why would you do that deal? It doesn't make sense to me.
Kovy > Eberle

Not guaranteed at this point, and Eberle is also younger. Plus Kovy doesn't want to play here.

 

[Bleedred]

Then why would you do that deal? It doesn't make sense to me.
Kovy > Eberle

We don't really know if Kovalchuk is better than Eberle or not these days.

The only thing I'm confident of is that Kovalchuk is probably not a 70 or more point player anymore. I'd pencil him in for around 60-ish or a 60-ish point pace over 82 games.

Though I could see him coming back and scoring 70 points next year, the pro-Kovalchuk crowd telling everyone else ''I told you so! He's an elite player still! We're so stupid for not holding onto him! He outscored everyone on our team!'' and then the next year he only scores 50-55 points/50-55 point pace.

 

[Emperoreddy]

We don't really know if Kovalchuk is better than Eberle or not these days.

The only thing I'm confident of is that Kovalchuk is probably not a 70 or more point player anymore. I'd pencil him in for around 60-ish or a 60-ish point pace over 82 games.

Though I could see him coming back and scoring 70 points next year, the pro-Kovalchuk crowd telling everyone else ''I told you so! He's an elite player still! We're so stupid for not holding onto him! He outscored everyone on our team!'' and then the next year he only scores 50-55 points/50-55 point pace.

50-60 on the right team. If he played here I think he puts up Rico numbers.

 

[Bleedred]

50-60 on the right team. If he played here I think he puts up Rico numbers.

I think he'd do a little better than Henrique numbers, but 50-60 would be my bet.

Like I said, I could see him scoring 68 points or something and everyone going crazy, then he comes back the next year and scores 50 and then it's ''He just had an off year! He'll be back to a 70 point player next year!'' in a season in which he'll be 36 years old.

 

[NJ All Day]

We should really treat this what's been said that he's basically an rfa. If we don't get what we want in a trade we should let him walk. We find out what teams will offer the most and if Kovy won't play there and then I guess he won't be playing in the NHL next year. I really hope Shero treats this situation like this. We need top 4 D. Kovy is good so we shouldn't just accept lesser players just because that's the best offer we could get from a team that Kovy is willing to go to. We can tell him "hey Kovy Las Vegas has made the best offer that makes the most sense for us. Your options are play for NJ, play for LV, don't play in the NHL. What do you want to do?"

 

[Emperoreddy]

Not really since he can just go back to Russia if he doesn't get what he wants.

In my mind the best way to get a good return is if his agent gives us a list of teams he is interested, with basic money terms. Shero then works out the trades with each teams and when he has one or two teams down with deals we want. Kovy picks between them and they iron it out.

If his agent goes and reaches a deal on principals and leaves us out, our return would be bad.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I think he'd do a little better than Henrique numbers, but 50-60 would be my bet.

Like I said, I could see him scoring 68 points or something and everyone going crazy, then he comes back the next year and scores 50 and then it's ''He just had an off year! He'll be back to a 70 point player next year!'' in a season in which he'll be 36 years old.

I could see crazy numbers if he gets on McDavid's wing.

 

[Devils090]

I could see crazy numbers if he gets on McDavid's wing.

Kovy-McDavid-Draisaitl

Lol

 

[67 others]

I could see crazy numbers if he gets on McDavid's wing.

Draisaitl and McDavid are going to get pretty disgusting RFA extensions. Where does a Kovalchuk contract fit into plans?

Truthfully, the Devils probably want top 4 D and D prospects more than they want a guy like Eberle.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Draisaitl and McDavid are going to get pretty disgusting RFA extensions. Where does a Kovalchuk contract fit into plans?

Truthfully, the Devils probably want top 4 D and D prospects more than they want a guy like Eberle.

Sure we do, but I highly doubt any team is going to give up a valuable DMan for Kovalchuk

heres hoping, though.

 

[njdevil26]

As for the Oilers players in the dog house... what about Nugent Hopkins?

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

As for the Oilers players in the dog house... what about Nugent Hopkins?

I think RNH is more useful player than Eberle. However, it might be a problem that then we would have Zajac, McLeod, Patrick/Hischier, Henrique, and Zacha, who can play C. But then, of course, Zacha and Henrique could play LW.

Position-wise Eberle would be better choice, but as a player I prefer RNH.

 

[njdevil26]

I think RNH is more useful player than Eberle. However, it might be a problem that then we would have Zajac, McLeod, Patrick/Hischier, Henrique, and Zacha, who can play C. But then, of course, Zacha and Henrique could play LW.

Position-wise Eberle would be better choice, but as a player I prefer RNH.

Nuge is younger and I prefer him over Eberle as well. I prefer Henrique at left wing and it seems like Zacha is playing wing more and more.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

That was FIVE years ago! It will be 6 years ago in this upcoming season. Jason Spezza was 4th in the league in scoring with 84 points in 80 games. Did you see how many points he's scored the last few seasons? Significantly down from that year. He's also the same age as Kovalchuk, drafted just one spot behind him back in 2001.

Steven Stamkos scored 97 points and 60 goals that year. He's 7 years younger than Kovalchuk and hasn't come anywhere close to scoring at nearly that rate ever since. Not even in his healthy and mostly healthy seasons. Phil Kessel finished right behind him in scoring that year and was a PPG player and hasn't been so for the last 3 years. Kovalchuk also has 4.5 years on him. Same thing goes for James Neal and he hasn't been a PPG player in the last 3 years.

The point here is to stop acting like Kovalchuk is the same player he was that year. You keep doing this, as if he's identical to the 28 year old Kovalchuk. You keep insisting that he is. Just like when you insisted Zajac was stifling that BUM Sergey Kalinin's (non-existent) offense.

This is actually an interesting point, something worth looking at. Not necessarily for direct comparison, just to show how old some of these guys are:

2001 NHL Draft:

Pick Player NHL team
1 Ilya Kovalchuk (left wing) Atlanta Thrashers
2 Jason Spezza (center) Ottawa Senators (from NY Islanders)
3 Alexander Svitov (center) Tampa Bay Lightning
4 Stephen Weiss (center) Florida Panthers
5 Stanislav Chistov (left wing) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
6 Mikko Koivu (center) Minnesota Wild
7 Mike Komisarek (defense) Montreal Canadiens
8 Pascal Leclaire (goaltender) Columbus Blue Jackets
9 Tuomo Ruutu (center) Chicago Blackhawks
10 Dan Blackburn (goaltender) New York Rangers
11 Fredrik Sjostrom (right wing) Phoenix Coyotes (from Calgary)
12 Dan Hamhuis (defense) Nashville Predators
13 Ales Hemsky (right wing) Edmonton Oilers (from Boston)
14 Chuck Kobasew (right wing) Calgary Flames (from Phoenix)
15 Igor Knyazev (defense) Carolina Hurricanes
16 R. J. Umberger (right wing) Vancouver Canucks
17 Carlo Colaiacovo (defense) Toronto Maple Leafs
18 Jens Karlsson (left wing) Los Angeles Kings
19 Shaone Morrisonn (defense) Boston Bruins (from Edmonton)
20 Marcel Goc (center) San Jose Sharks
21 Colby Armstrong (right wing) Pittsburgh Penguins
22 Jiri Novotny (center) Buffalo Sabres
23 Tim Gleason (defense) Ottawa Senators (from Philadelphia via Tampa Bay and Philadelphia)
24 Lukas Krajicek (defense) Florida Panthers (from St. Louis via New Jersey)
25 Alexander Perezhogin (right wing) Montreal Canadiens (from Washington)
26 Jason Bacashihua (goaltender) Dallas Stars
27 Jeff Woywitka (defense) Philadelphia Flyers (from Ottawa)
28 Adrian Foster (center) New Jersey Devils
29 Adam Munro (goaltender) Chicago Blackhawks (from Detroit)
30 Dave Steckel (center) Los Angeles Kings (from Colorado)
Round two
32 Derek Roy (center) Buffalo Sabres (from Tampa Bay)
38 Tim Jackman (right wing) Columbus Blue Jackets
40 Fedor Tyutin (defense) New York Rangers
48 Tuomas Pihlman (left wing) New Jersey Devils (from Vancouver via Florida; compensatory)
49 Michael Cammalleri (center) Los Angeles Kings (from Toronto)
55 Jason Pominville (right wing) Buffalo Sabres
63 Peter Budaj (goaltender) Colorado Avalanche
Round three
66 Fedor Fedorov (left wing) Vancouver Canucks (from Atlanta)
67 Robin Leblanc (right wing) New Jersey Devils (compensatory)
73 Craig Anderson (goaltender) Chicago Blackhawks
82 Jay Harrison (defense) Toronto Maple Leafs
83 Henrik Juntunen (right wing) Los Angeles Kings
84 Kenny Smith (defense) Edmonton Oilers
85 Aaron Johnson (defense) Columbus Blue Jackets (from San Jose via Minnesota, Atlanta and Pittsburgh)
94 Evgeny Artyukhin (right wing) Tampa Bay Lightning (from New Jersey via Ottawa)
95 Patrick Sharp (center) Philadelphia Flyers (from Detroit via Nashville)
Round four
98 Jordin Tootoo (right wing) Nashville Predators (from New York Islanders via Philadelphia)
99 Ray Emery (goaltender) Ottawa Senators (from Tampa Bay)
101 Cory Stillman (center) New York Islanders (from Florida)
106 Christian Ehrhoff (defense) San Jose Sharks (from Chicago)
Round five
134 Kyle Wellwood (center) Toronto Maple Leafs (from Tampa Bay)
151 Kevin Bieksa (defense) Vancouver Canucks
161 Mike Smith (goaltender) Dallas Stars
Round six
172 Dennis Seidenberg (defense) Philadelphia Flyers (from Montreal)
175 Ryane Clowe (right wing) San Jose Sharks (compensatory)
176 Marek Zidlicky (defense) New York Rangers
192 Jussi Jokinen (left wing) Dallas Stars
193 Brooks Laich (center) Ottawa Senators
Round seven
202 Derek Boogaard (left wing) Minnesota Wild
214 Cristobal Huet (goaltender) Los Angeles Kings
221 Johnny Oduya (defense) Washington Capitals
227 Marek Svatos (right wing) Colorado Avalanche
Round eight
229 Aaron Voros (right wing) New Jersey Devils (from Tampa Bay)
232 Martin Gerber (goaltender) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
238 Ryan Hollweg (center) New York Rangers
241 Milan Jurcina (defense) Boston Bruins
253 Petr Cajanek (left wing) St. Louis Blues
Round nine
264 P. A. Parenteau (Left wing) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

 

[Billdo]

Then why would you do that deal? It doesn't make sense to me.
Kovy > Eberle

Kovy doesn't want to play here. Sure you could tell him to **** off back to the motherland for a year but getting any asset for him is better than nothing.

 

[Devils090]

Kovy doesn't want to play here. Sure you could tell him to **** off back to the motherland for a year but getting any asset for him is better than nothing.

Exactly this

Shero knows Kovy wants to go to a contender so why would he just tell him to kick rocks when we could improve our roster? They'll do everything they can to work out a deal for both sides.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Draisaitl and McDavid are going to get pretty disgusting RFA extensions. Where does a Kovalchuk contract fit into plans?

Truthfully, the Devils probably want top 4 D and D prospects more than they want a guy like Eberle.

Eberle would be gone and any deal Kovy signs would be short term and somewhat movesble.

Basically a win now move before the ELCs run out.

 

[Sascha Goc]

I'm all for a straight swap of Kovalchuk for Eberle or Nugent-Hopkins. Eberle has his warts but the bottom line is he is a RW who is going to give you 20-25 G and 50-60 P yearly. His contract is of no concern to me.

 

[NJDevils#4]

I think we can realistically do Kovy + picking up a salary dump from another team to a contender in cap trouble for their 2017 1st. If we have to add a little something, like a 3rd or something, fine.

Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Montreal, Columbus, Tampa, Boston, SJ, NYR (will never happen), Edmonton, LA could all use a player like Kovy and are all realistically a contender next year.

Could even add Toronto, Calgary to that mix.

LA, Tampa, Calgary are 11, 13, 16 so unlikely to give those picks up, but if we added it could be in play.

 

[Bcap88]

I think we can realistically do Kovy + picking up a salary dump from another team to a contender in cap trouble for their 2017 1st. If we have to add a little something, like a 3rd or something, fine.

Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Montreal, Columbus, Tampa, Boston, SJ, NYR (will never happen), Edmonton, LA could all use a player like Kovy and are all realistically a contender next year.

Could even add Toronto, Calgary to that mix.

LA, Tampa, Calgary are 11, 13, 16 so unlikely to give those picks up, but if we added it could be in play.

once again, 2017 picks are not allowed to be traded in a deal involving kovy

 

[None Shall Pass]

I think we can realistically do Kovy + picking up a salary dump from another team to a contender in cap trouble for their 2017 1st. If we have to add a little something, like a 3rd or something, fine.

We realistically, legally, and literally cannot. He can't sign until July 1. And we can't trade his rights.