For anyone who
thinks Ilya Kovalchuk is really retiring; you must also think the Houston
Astros will win the World Series.
The Russian superstar honored the first 3 years of his 15
year contract; shockingly the next two would see him making 11.6 million per
season.
KHL season starts
in one month
The timing is everything. Not many is aware but, the KHL
season starts in 1 month (middle of August). During last year’s lockout Kovalchuk
was quoted as saying "We are all happy here [in the KHL]," he reportedly
told Russian website Sportbox.ru in October 2012. “Basically, I don’t rule out
staying in Russia in the case of a reduction of our salaries in the NHL.”
This is what makes today’s new as not to surprising.
Good news and
bad news for New Jersey
You likely have a few thousand New Jersey Devil fans burning
their “17” Kovalchuk Jerseys right about now…. But when you think of it, the
team is allot better off. 1> You have a team (Devils) more strapped for
cash; even more so than the Phoenix Coyotes; and you just shedded 77 million over
the next 10 -12 years. 2> You have the worst “team player” in NHL history
long gone. 3> Most importantly you have the gotten rid of someone who didn’t
want to play in New Jersey or the NHL.
The Bad news. 1> You have a big gaping whole (30-40
goals) missing from the lineup. 2> The really bad news… you don’t have your
2014 first round pick in the draft; because of the “cap circumvention” penalty
for signing Kovalchuk to this contract.
One Question that
Kovalchuk should be forced to answer
Why Now? Why not at the NHL entry draft; why not July 5th
(first day of free agency). Reason being so you could attempts at replacing
Kovalchuk. If Lou Lamoriello was aware of this a week or two weeks ago; Devil
fans should be enraged. The teams additions in Ryan Clowe and Michael Ryder;
add depth but leave a front line present gap on the team. We’ll never know the
answer to the question; the Devils are the most secretive team in Sports
History.
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