Ilya

[joeyramone]

Daring move by the Devils, looks like they're going for it all this year, reminds me of when they got Mogilny back in the day.

And Johnny O is a nice player, but come on...

[polardude1]

they are poised to go for it, why not?

[mothership]

we all know how Gaborik struggled under Lemaire's system. I hope that Ilya will be a little better, but it sure offers an interesting dynamic with him and Zach Parise.

[Harry Chorpita]

I sure wish I had the opportunity to see some of these guys play-is Kovalchuk that good really?

[eric84]

Not your usual NJ move....don't tend to trade away draft picks and young players. It'll be interesting to see how Kovalchuk will do under Lemaire's stifling defensive system. Maybe talk to Gaborik.

[SeamusMcCool]

I sure wish I had the opportunity to see some of these guys play-is Kovalchuk that good really?

Definitely. Very similar player to Ovechkin, actually. He does have a reputation for being selfish, won't backcheck if his life depends on it, etc.

[kunghit]

NJ also gets rid of the Cormier PR nightmare. Ilya seems a good deal for a rental considering some of the names that were being tossed around. Besides, how many more chances are they going to have with Brodeur.

[thoughtpolice]

Not so sure about this deal. seems to me a steep price for Kovalchuk who will likely not sign in Jersey unless somebody has been chatting under the table, which is not supposed to happen....
Jersey gives up a starting defenceman, a first round pick who will get 40+ points as a rookie with limited ice time, Cormier who will be a fine NHL player(think Steve Downie slightly psycho but better hands) and a first round pick. That is a lot for a rental.

I just don't see Trader Lou coughing up what Kovalchuk wants. Don Waddell from Atlanta reveal;ed whatthe Thrashers offered Ilya, and he declined: $70 million for 7 years, $101 million for 12 years. $101 million and he declines? Lamarillo won't give him that kind of term or that kind of money.

[joeyramone]

Not so sure about this deal. seems to me a steep price for Kovalchuk who will likely not sign in Jersey unless somebody has been chatting under the table, which is not supposed to happen....
Jersey gives up a starting defenceman, a first round pick who will get 40+ points as a rookie with limited ice time, Cormier who will be a fine NHL player(think Steve Downie slightly psycho but better hands) and a first round pick. That is a lot for a rental.

I just don't see Trader Lou coughing up what Kovalchuk wants. Don Waddell from Atlanta reveal;ed whatthe Thrashers offered Ilya, and he declined: $70 million for 7 years, $101 million for 12 years. $101 million and he declines? Lamarillo won't give him that kind of term or that kind of money.

first, johnny O is probably the weakest of their D, greene has stepped it up big time. cormier has his problems, and lou knows if hes got farm system talent to replace the youngsters.

its clearly a rental, but the big push before marty gets too old

[thoughtpolice]

Not so sure about this deal. seems to me a steep price for Kovalchuk who will likely not sign in Jersey unless somebody has been chatting under the table, which is not supposed to happen....
Jersey gives up a starting defenceman, a first round pick who will get 40+ points as a rookie with limited ice time, Cormier who will be a fine NHL player(think Steve Downie slightly psycho but better hands) and a first round pick. That is a lot for a rental.

I just don't see Trader Lou coughing up what Kovalchuk wants. Don Waddell from Atlanta reveal;ed whatthe Thrashers offered Ilya, and he declined: $70 million for 7 years, $101 million for 12 years. $101 million and he declines? Lamarillo won't give him that kind of term or that kind of money.

first, johnny O is probably the weakest of their D, greene has stepped it up big time. cormier has his problems, and lou knows if hes got farm system talent to replace the youngsters.

its clearly a rental, but the big push before marty gets too old

You can slam Oduya, but he is playing for Sweden in the Olympics and they are contenders so I doubt he is a total mutt. Cormiers problem is that he is suspended, there is little doubt he'll be an NHLer and perhaps a really good one. Plus two first rounders....
Expensive rental.

[Harry Chorpita]

Don Waddell from Atlanta revealed wha tthe Thrashers offered Ilya, and he declined: $70 million for 7 years, $101 million for 12 years. $101 million and he declines?

Maybe he actually wants to win the Stanley Cup-IOW is just plain stupid.

[thoughtpolice]

Ovechkin makes about $9.5 million, Crosby about $.7 million, Ilya is delsuiaonl if he thinks he is worth more.

[joeyramone]

Ovechkin makes about $9.5 million, Crosby about $.7 million, Ilya is delsuiaonl if he thinks he is worth more.

nope, different scenario; neither of those guys had impending unrestricted free agency. look at what brian campbell received - $7 million per year. Is he worth the same as sid?

gabrik also got 7 million per, and has never matched Ilya's production career-wise, no matter the system.

[eric84]

Crosby gets $8.7M per year......Not sure who else would be willing to shell out $10M per year given the cap...

[thoughtpolice]

Oops, I missed the $8 out of $8.7

Ilya may be back to Russia this year, to the KHL.

[eric84]

That would be quite a coup for the KHL if they could land him....so far, outside of Hudler I guess, they haven't landed anyone beyond aging stars of the past.

[thoughtpolice]

That would be quite a coup for the KHL if they could land him....so far, outside of Hudler I guess, they haven't landed anyone beyond aging stars of the past.

The question is: will they pay him $10 million?
The answer is : yes, of course.

[eric84]

The answer is : yes, of course.

I'm not why it's so sure in your mind.....they have salary caps that are much lower than the NHL; I'm sure the rumours around Kovalchuk have no doubt been started by the KHL. Yeah, they have a few oil barons, I guess, but this is still a fairly new league which isn't of the same calibre as the NHL. It would still be a gamble to go

[thoughtpolice]

They have been paying Jagr $10 million per year , he is nowhere near as good as Kovalchuk at this point and Ilya is Russian, not Czech.

It will certainly be an option, why not?

[joeyramone]

They have been paying Jagr $10 million per year , he is nowhere near as good as Kovalchuk at this point and Ilya is Russian, not Czech.

It will certainly be an option, why not?

they paid Jagr that kind of money when oil was goign to $140 a barrell; apparently, many of those teams now have buyer's remorse.

[thoughtpolice]

They have been paying Jagr $10 million per year , he is nowhere near as good as Kovalchuk at this point and Ilya is Russian, not Czech.

It will certainly be an option, why not?

they paid Jagr that kind of money when oil was goign to $140 a barrell; apparently, many of those teams now have buyer's remorse.

The Dow will never rise above 8000 again too.

[thoughtpolice]

That would be quite a coup for the KHL if they could land him....so far, outside of Hudler I guess, they haven't landed anyone beyond aging stars of the past.

they have salary caps that are much lower than the NHL; I'm sure the rumours around Kovalchuk have no doubt been started by the KHL. Yeah, they have a few oil barons, I guess, but this is still a fairly new league which isn't of the same calibre as the NHL. It would still be a gamble to go

The salary cap in the KHL is lower, at about $20 million. But the cap does not apply here, each team is allowed one franchise player and they can pay him wahtever they want.
The cap will almpost certainly be dropping in the NHL, which makes me wonder who is going to offer Ilya more than the $10 million per year he has already declined?
I'm not declaring that he will flee to the KHL, his ego will have to duke it out with his greed first, but it is defintiely an option, he will get offers from home.

[eric84]

I'm not declaring that he will flee to the KHL, his ego will have to duke it out with his greed first, but it is defintiely an option, he will get offers from home.

An option, yes, but I think some of the chatter is a bit overblown like talk that he would get a $20M a year offer. That just seems farfetched. The only other thing though that might impact his decision is the 2014 olympics. If the NHL doesn't shut down for those games, I wonder how many Russian players will get lured to the KHL to start putting together a Russian team for the games.

[thoughtpolice]

That would require believing that the NHL won't be playing at future Olympics.
From a marketing viewpoint, that would be utterly stupid.

[eric84]

That would require believing that the NHL won't be playing at future Olympics.
From a marketing viewpoint, that would be utterly stupid.

Well, I would agree that it would be utterly stupid....which doesn't mean it wouldn't happen. This is Gary Bettman's NHL, after all, and the owners seem unable to get past the fact that they don't make any gates for 2 weeks in February every 4 years.

[joeyramone]

[eric84]

Your kid looks good in Canada gear, Joey