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

[devilsfan35]

Meier and hischier would be pretty cool

 

[Bleedred]

Kovalchuk for Boedker.

**** no!

May as well trade Kovalchuk for a 7th round pick. If anyone is worried about paying Shattenkirk more than $5.5 million, taking on 3 more years of Boedker would be awful.

Although I'm staring to blame Steve Spott for maybe not utilizing him correctly on the power play. He's always been just an okay 5 on 5 point producer, but was good at racking up PP points. He only had a single PP all year long.

 

[Bleedred]

I'm actually hoping we trade him to a team like Arizona.

It would serve him right for what he did 4 years ago.

See if he has the nerve to complain that he wasn't sent to a contender.

Too bad Adam Oates isn't employed by an NHL team anymore. We could send him to Oatsie and make sure he plays him at RW because he's a righty. Didn't he or his sister say afterwards that having him play RW was something he wasn't happy with? Unless that was a made up rumor.

I have no emotional involvement when it comes to this player anymore. Send him to the highest bidder for all I care.

 

[NJDevs26]

Unfortunately the only way he's going to Arizona is if they're the only ones that want to sign him to a multi-year deal and/or have the highest contract offer by far - both of which are unlikely.

 

[Billdo]

I think the return needs to be tempered. I think at best we are looking at a 2nd and a middle tier prospect.

 

[OmNomNom]

kovy knows we control his fate, despite how much he wants to stay in nyc or florida. that's his choice, since he chose to come back this early.

 

[Smitty426]

I think the return needs to be tempered. I think at best we are looking at a 2nd and a middle tier prospect.

Bunk!
Drouin!
Just kidding, but I do get tired of hearing about all the fans of other teams who say he sucks and offer up table scraps.

 

[ghdi]

I think the return needs to be tempered. I think at best we are looking at a 2nd and a middle tier prospect.

Of course. The market will set the return. Until we know what teams are interested and what Kovy's true motivation is, its almost impossible to gauge the return beyond ruling out the huge returns (Drouin) and the complete garbage (4th round pick). I don't necessarily agree with your "at best" entirely though it wouldnt be a surprise if that was the ceiling. I could easily a see a 1st or more highly regarded prospect become involved, especially if there's multiple offers/destinations that Kovy is interested in. It needs to be remembered, Kovy is going to be utilized as top 6 talent and he still carries name recognition that translates into revenue. He's more likely to positively affect a team on the ice than not. He's also going to sell a ton of merch with his name on it whereever he goes. That will factor into return. This is largely a reason why we got 2 picks for Jagr.

 

[MartyOwns]

Of course. The market will set the return. Until we know what teams are interested and what Kovy's true motivation is, its almost impossible to gauge the return beyond ruling out the huge returns (Drouin) and the complete garbage (4th round pick). I don't necessarily agree with your "at best" entirely though it wouldnt be a surprise if that was the ceiling. I could easily a see a 1st or more highly regarded prospect become involved, especially if there's multiple offers/destinations that Kovy is interested in. It needs to be remembered, Kovy is going to be utilized as top 6 talent and he still carries name recognition that translates into revenue. He's more likely to positively affect a team on the ice than not. He's also going to sell a ton of merch with his name on it whereever he goes. That will factor into return. This is largely a reason why we got 2 picks for Jagr.

agreed. that’s what makes this so frustrating…there is literally no other comparable situation I can think of, so determining what his return will be is pointless. not that it will stop us from going through 4 more kovy threads prior to 7/1, but still

 

[217 Forever]

agreed. that’s what makes this so frustrating…there is literally no other comparable situation I can think of, so determining what his return will be is pointless. not that it will stop us from going through 4 more kovy threads prior to 7/1, but still

I don't really think this is too much different from a veteran rental at the trade deadline where the acquiring team would then try to re-sign the player before going UFA.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

from Friedman's 30 thoughts:

15. Also wondering if the Islanders will make a hard push for Ilya Kovalchuk. It makes sense for them, although they will have to convince him they are going for it now. Russian sources believe Kovalchuk had serious interest in the Rangers, but a) I’m not sure of their interest, and b) I’m not sure they could pull it off if they wanted to. Sounds like Florida has also inquired. But, if he was interested in the New York area, why wouldn’t the Islanders try?

 

[217 Forever]

from Friedman's 30 thoughts:

Are we not expecting the "don't trade within the division" thing to not apply to this situation?

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Are we not expecting the "don't trade within the division" thing to not apply to this situation?

I'd trade him to the Islanders if the return was right. Maybe one of their DMen plus Dal Colle

I'd trade him to the Rangers ONLY if they severely overpaid. I'm talking a package of like Skjei and JT Miller

Ideally, he goes out west or whatever. But that might not be feasible.

 

[Czech Trio]

With limited destinations for Kovalchuk it comes down to return. If Shero can get a haul for Kovalchuk I could certainly stomach him with NYI. Perspective here, NJ is not a vying contender. Especially if Kovalchuk is signed and traded on 1-2 year deal.

 

[217 Forever]

I'd trade him to the Islanders if the return was right. Maybe one of their DMen plus Dal Colle

I'd trade him to the Rangers ONLY if they severely overpaid. I'm talking a package of like Skjei and JT Miller

Ideally, he goes out west or whatever. But that might not be feasible.

I would take Skjei or Miller, I just don't see it happening.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I don't care what the reputation of the journalist is, but whoever mentions the Rangers as a possible destination is either relying on his own uninformed speculation or someone else's. There are too many Canadian writers who just don't get how much every Devils fan despises everything about the Rangers. Instead they think of the Rangers as just another team that's in the Devils' division. Anyone who is the GM of the Devils or who spent a few hundred million to buy the team does however know that, and doesn't want to be in a situation where there's even a one percent chance that the Rangers got a great player for anything less than a wild overpayment that the Rangers obviously would not agree to. If anything, Shero might settle for less in a trade with another team if there was some way to keep him from subsequently being traded to the Rangers.

 

[MartyOwns]

I don't really think this is too much different from a veteran rental at the trade deadline where the acquiring team would then try to re-sign the player before going UFA.

it would be the same if the vet played overseas for the past 4 years, was signing a contract right beforehand that would also be getting traded, was 1 year from turning 35 (and the contract implications that come with that) history of back issues, etc etc.

 

[217 Forever]

it would be the same if the vet played overseas for the past 4 years, was signing a contract right beforehand that would also be getting traded, was 1 year from turning 35 (and the contract implications that come with that) history of back issues, etc etc.

Yes I understand all of those variables. However in terms of how this thing plays out just like a deadline dump we will either accept the best offer or let him walk for nothing (after sitting out a year), depending on what the offer(s) actually are.

 

[Baemon Severson*]

Would do de Haan for Kovalchuk

OR

Kovalchuk for JT Miller or Buchnevich. I only want to deal him to the Rags if we rip them off

 

[ghdi]

I don't really think this is too much different from a veteran rental at the trade deadline where the acquiring team would then try to re-sign the player before going UFA.

Except Kovalchuk is not necessarily a rental and if his motivation for this year is the over 35 rules, that makes it even more paramount he gets something done. He's got to sign the contract before he's traded. It's not like he'd only have to wait a couple of months to hit the market. He's out an entire year of NHL hockey if he decides to play hardball. It's closer to an RFA than a UFA. We control his destiny for this season and there's nothing he can do about it other than not play in the NHL. UFAs have a lot more leverage since they can sign anywhere they want and the buyer at the deadline knows this. Kovalchuk doesn't have that luxury. He can only get back into the league via us.

As for the Rags/Isles, I'd rather not send him to either but the Isles are much easier to swallow. If it was the Rags, nothing short of a massive overpayment gets it done. Start with Skjei.

 

[NJDevils7]

I don't care what the reputation of the journalist is, but whoever mentions the Rangers as a possible destination is either relying on his own uninformed speculation or someone else's. There are too many Canadian writers who just don't get how much every Devils fan despises everything about the Rangers. Instead they think of the Rangers as just another team that's in the Devils' division. Anyone who is the GM of the Devils or who spent a few hundred million to buy the team does however know that, and doesn't want to be in a situation where there's even a one percent chance that the Rangers got a great player for anything less than a wild overpayment that the Rangers obviously would not agree to. If anything, Shero might settle for less in a trade with another team if there was some way to keep him from subsequently being traded to the Rangers.

This is exactly how I feel and I really hope you are right. I hope Shero is smart enough/knows enough about the franchise to be able to realize that.

IIRC, Calgary made a better offer to Vancouver for Schneider but Vancouver didn't want to trade him to Calgary because of the rivalry.

Edit: Here is a quote:

" Calgary and Edmonton, in particular, were offering far more for Schneider’s services than the Devils’ were. Gillis is said to have been very afraid to ship Schneider off to a divisional rival. Edmonton, specifically, was rumored to have offered a their first round pick, the 7th overall pick, and a high-end prospect. Ben Kuzma of the Province tweeted at the time of the draft that the "Oilers are stunned. Their package said to be bigger for Schneider.""

 

[BenedictGomez]

I'm not really buying the "Kovy will only go to a top cup contender" stuff, as I believe he is, was, and always will be motivated primarily by USD.

That said, one of the best trading partners for the Devils if Kovy truly wishes to go to a team that's just a player or two away from winning, is the Edmonton Oilers. Even after trading Hall they still have an absolute embarrassment of young offensive talent that they cannot afford. Given Eberle was crap in the playoffs and carries a $6M hit, maybe the Devils could pry him away. I'd ask for a 2nd Round pick & Eberle.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

This is exactly how I feel and I really hope you are right. I hope Shero is smart enough/knows enough about the franchise to be able to realize that.

IIRC, Calgary made a better offer to Vancouver for Schneider but Vancouver didn't want to trade him to Calgary because of the rivalry.

Edit: Here is a quote:

" Calgary and Edmonton, in particular, were offering far more for Schneider’s services than the Devils’ were. Gillis is said to have been very afraid to ship Schneider off to a divisional rival. Edmonton, specifically, was rumored to have offered a their first round pick, the 7th overall pick, and a high-end prospect. Ben Kuzma of the Province tweeted at the time of the draft that the "Oilers are stunned. Their package said to be bigger for Schneider.""

I remember reading that reports of those other offers were misleading. Apparently, Vancouver had asked Edmonton for that package and Edmonton refused, or at least was non-committal until Vancouver made the deal with Lou.

 

[JimEIV]

From what I understand we aren't negotiating a contract at all...so his agent is pounding the pavement trying to workout a contract with a team.

I'm sure the Rangers, if interested, would make his agent an offer.

Maybe Shero laughs at it, maybe he plays ball.

In this one instance, I'd honestly would play ball.

 

[Classic Devil]

From what I understand we aren't negotiating a contract at all...so his agent is pounding the pavement trying to workout a contract with a team.

I'm sure the Rangers, if interested, would make his agent an offer.

Maybe Shero laughs at it, maybe he plays ball.

In this one instance, I'd honestly would play ball.

That makes sense. Kovalchuk goes and finds a team, then the team works out a trade with the Devils. Actually gives us quite a lot of leverage.