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The Kovy Conundrum


Z-Man

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Parise isn't worth 6 million with his current production. Let's bash him then.

Where was Parise during the second half last year? He didn't play. We rode Kovy, very close to the playoffs. How quickly some forget.

Not to mention he's saved us in the shootouts this year and has directly given us several wins.

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Parise isn't worth 6 million with his current production. Let's bash him then.

Where was Parise during the second half last year? He didn't play. We rode Kovy, very close to the playoffs. How quickly some forget.

Not to mention he's saved us in the shootouts this year and has directly given us several wins.

You're right! Kovy took the bull by the horns and won all those games last season on his own. It had nothing to do with Moose, Zajac's leadership, Lemaire replacing Mac or the emergence of Mark Fayne. It was all Kovy.

But since we're arguing with logic based in the 6th grade then this new sh!tstorm is all Kovy's fault.

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Parise isn't worth 6 million with his current production. Let's bash him then.

Where was Parise during the second half last year? He didn't play. We rode Kovy, very close to the playoffs. How quickly some forget.

Not to mention he's saved us in the shootouts this year and has directly given us several wins.

So has Parise. But anyway. BTW, Parise has more goals that Kovalchuk. Until today, Clarkson had more goals than both, it's a pretty stupid line of argument. You're actually degrading Kovy and don't even realize it.

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You're right! Kovy took the bull by the horns and won all those games last season on his own. It had nothing to do with Moose, Zajac's leadership, Lemaire replacing Mac or the emergence of Mark Fayne. It was all Kovy.

But since we're arguing with logic based in the 6th grade then this new sh!tstorm is all Kovy's fault.

Are you really a Devils fan?

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Where was Parise during the second half last year? He didn't play. We rode Kovy, very close to the playoffs. How quickly some forget.

There is no doubt that Kovalchuk was great for the Devils in the 2nd half of last season but that's an unfair comment to make about Parise - the guy was injured. Before last season Parise had never played less than 81 games in a year. I understand that you want to defend Kovalchuk but you can't act like Parise hasn't done anything for the Devils. 06-07 lead the team in goals (31), 2nd in points (62), 07-08 lead the team in points (65) and goals (32), 08-09 lead the team in points (94), goals (45), assists (49), 09-10 lead the team in points (82), goals (38), assists (44). Parise has done a lot for the Devils which is why he has earned the trust of a lot of fans. I still don't think he's fully back in the swing of things but I expect him to improve as he gets more games in. I also think he is a superior overall hockey player than Kovalchuk. That's not a knock on Kovalchuk, but more a testament to how well Parise understands the game and applies that knowledge. Given his history with the team and the fact he doesn't have a massive contract, he's going to be given a longer lease by most fans.

For me the jury is still out on Kovalchuk. There is no doubt he has a lot of pure talent, but its almost like he has zero hockey sense at times. Who knows what the Devils financial situation will be like, but I really hope Kovalchuk making $11M+ for the next 5 seasons after this year doesn't hurt the chances of Parise being re-signed.

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Are you really a Devils fan?

I am. I'm pointing out the flaw in your logic. You're basically tying our late season success to Kovalchuk alone. He scored more goals and had a big hand in the win, but there were many other factors that lead to our short success last season. No one on here is saying Kovy is the sole factor behind thus teams sh!ttiness, but Kovalchuk is a big, prime part of this team's sh!ttiness.

Where the hell is Manta to bring some balance?

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I understand what Parise has done in the past. Kovy has done a lot in the past too. But people have a "what have ya done for me lately" attitude towards Kovy, and it's just not fair to apply it to him and not Parise.

Who knows if Parise ever recovers to be the player he once was. Right now, would you really feel comfortable paying him Kovy-type money? I sure wouldn't. If he ups his game or at least shows signs of returning to his former self, then we can consider it...but at this point in time there's just no way you can sign him to a huge contract.

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I am. I'm pointing out the flaw in your logic. You're basically tying our late season success to Kovalchuk alone. He scored more goals and had a big hand in the win, but there were many other factors that lead to our short success last season. No one on here is saying Kovy is the sole factor behind thus teams sh!ttiness, but Kovalchuk is a big, prime part of this team's sh!ttiness.

Where the hell is Manta to bring some balance?

It sure sounds like some people are pinning the losses on one player. You can't do that, just like you can't pin a win on one player alone. I understand this, but if everyone else is gonna use fvcked up logic, I might as well get in on the fun too.

Just answer this:

Why is Kovy on the RW? Why not Parise?

Why is Kovy on the point? Why not Parise?

It's not natural for either player, but why is Kovy the guinea pig in the experiments?

The way players are being used, line combinations, and the power player strategies we are using just make zero sense to me right now.

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It sure sounds like some people are pinning the losses on one player. You can't do that, just like you can't pin a win on one player alone. I understand this, but if everyone else is gonna use fvcked up logic, I might as well get in on the fun too.

Just answer this:

Why is Kovy on the RW? Why not Parise?

Why is Kovy on the point? Why not Parise?

It's not natural for either player, but why is Kovy the guinea pig in the experiments?

The way players are being used, line combinations, and the power player strategies we are using just make zero sense to me right now.

Kovy is on RW due to no Palmieri and we have to make the best of a bad situation and placing Kovy at RW is PDB's stupid fault.

Kovy is on the point because he has a really hard, laser shot. Parise is a net crasher and not known for his slapper.

Kovy is the guinea pig because we invested 100 million into this guy and yes, when you spend that much on a player they better deliver especially since Kovy and his agent held everything up for months the summer before.

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I understand what Parise has done in the past. Kovy has done a lot in the past too. But people have a "what have ya done for me lately" attitude towards Kovy, and it's just not fair to apply it to him and not Parise.

Who knows if Parise ever recovers to be the player he once was. Right now, would you really feel comfortable paying him Kovy-type money? I sure wouldn't. If he ups his game or at least shows signs of returning to his former self, then we can consider it...but at this point in time there's just no way you can sign him to a huge contract.

It's just my opinion but I don't feel like Kovalchuk has been here long enough to warrant him anywhere close to the trust from the fanbase that Parise has earned. I mean the guy really only had a great half season for us. That's just me, I'm sure a lot of people will agree and disagree with me there. All things considered, I don't really think Kovalchuk has lived up to expectations thus far, though I'm not ready to throw him under the bus. Even with his great 2nd half last year, I view his time here as a disappointment. Hopefully he goes out there, puts it together, and silences the critics.

We don't know if Parise will ever be the player he once was but even if his offense tapers off a bit from the past the other areas of his game should be able to compensate for it. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if Parise was the one with the long term deal than Kovalchuk but hopefully the Devils find a way to be able to fit both into their payroll. I think its going to be interesting to look back on this in 5 years and see how much of an impact, good or bad, bringing Kovalchuk in had on the organization.

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I actually liked what I saw out of this team last night. we dominated a decent team (not great, maybe not really good) for two periods after a rough first period. yeah we have some issues but we also have some talent on all three lines and can put constant offensive pressure on most teams in the league.

kovy needs to stop with the boneheaded giveaways, imo, he's actually playing good Defensive hockey, he deep in the D zone he's pressuring the break outs, hes ok on the boards. its the egregious giveaways that suck the life out of his talents. agree 100% with most he needs off the point he can find the middle on the PP from LW and get wristers off. the super line was as active as Ive seen last night

Patrik has cooled off no goals in 6 games, he and hendrique look a bit better on the PP but still no success. our PP is currently or most fixable problem. and deboer BETTER FIX IT FAST. pattys passing has been off too, not up to his high standards

now I see what some are saying about zach. he has no shot outside 10 feet

I thought our breakouts were ok last night, maybe thats because for 2/3rds of the game we only needed 4 of them. but it gives me an indication that deboer is a good X's and O's guy. he's cleaned it up after the bruins game and again after colorado

defense? we just dont have any "A"-players. a-train cant skate, greene is small, tallinder is lanky but takes a few strides to get going. we need an allstar back there, and at the point. one of our most glaring needs imo

goaltending is a crap shoot which cromartie, i mean marty, which one do we get each game? i actually feel more confident in the butterfly goalie now. take away the ice and if you get beat top shelf so be it. and please guys cover the short side

edit: oops thought I was in the game thread LOL Duh!

Edited by EdgeControl
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Yep... we must be on a losing streak.

Was it a mistake to sign Kovy? If we signed him to change him... yes.

If we signed him to make us more offensive, we're not letting him. High scoring doesn't mean losing, it just isn't 'Devils' hockey.

Edited by aylbert
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I missed last night's game but I don't see a conundrum - kovalchuk is going through a rough patch. But his line has the team's last five goals. He'll get through this, stop turning the puck over so much, and the rest of the team will pick it up as well. We went through this nonsense last year.

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Yep... we must be on losing streak.

Was it a mistake to sign Kovy? If we signed him to change him... yes.

If we signed him to make us more offensive, we're not letting him. High scoring doesn't mean losing, it just isn't 'Devils' hockey.

Exactly. By signing him you would figure they would be going in a different direction from the defense-first system which was more than outdated. But nope, as I figured, they are turning him into something he's not, and it ain't looking good for us right now. This unselfish, passive, "Devils' hockey" crap hasn't worked since 2003. What's the point of signing a guy to $100 if he's going to be misused week after week, not attempting to build around him or if you're trying to change him into something he's not?

And you wanna make excuses for Parise and his injury, fine. Where was he when we were getting kicked out of the first round by inferior opponents year after year? Why didn't he try to step up? TBH Kovy(along with Zubrus) was the only guy who showed up in the Philly series, and not just on the scoresheet. "Lazy selfish Russians" actually playing hard.

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the problem I see with Kovi is...he's regressing as a Devil, he was better when we first got him. Look if he's not gonna score 50 goals per season with us, well so be it, but whats with the bad passes and turnovers every game.

I think he should go back to being a puck hog selfish shooter, just skate in towards the goal and freekin shoot. Put 2 scrubs on his line so he wont be looking to pass instead of shooting.

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I was starting to get on the kovi sucks bandwagon, but you know what... He is one of the most passionate player on the team. He sticks up for his teamates and takes the blame for some losses. The way he's been playing lately makes me glad we have him for as long as we do. He will not score nearly as much as he did in atlanta till he has the right line mates. Otherwisese, startin to love him. He needs someone to feed him the biscuit, he's not the best dangler. I have faith in him and for once I can say that I'm glad we have him.

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The Devils have to stop trying to turn this guy into something that he is not. He needs to be on the left side in all situations and they need to pair him with a playmaker. (Elias) He is our current edition of Almo. He needs to concentrate on getting in the clear for quality shots on goal and his playmaker needs to get him the puck in the clear. Ala what Gomez did for Mogilny. We don't have a Gomez any more and Elias is our closest thing. Kovy on the point on the PP is just plain dumb. The Devils problem is they have no one else to do it. Larrson just simply isn't ready yet.

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I take some comfort that most people agree with me that it was a mistake, except for the immature tweens who are internet tough guys, telling people to die and get a fvcking grip.

Thanks to those who actually contributed to the discussion (pro and con) without spewing garbage.

Edited by Z-Man
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I missed last night's game but I don't see a conundrum - kovalchuk is going through a rough patch. But his line has the team's last five goals. He'll get through this, stop turning the puck over so much, and the rest of the team will pick it up as well. We went through this nonsense last year.

Bolded because, IMO, it's the most important part. If the coaches can really hunker down and get him to improve on this one thing, there wouldn't be much left to complain about. He's shooting well, he's passing better than most of us ever really expected he would, his positioning has improved, he's actually been a positive factor when he's out on the PK, only Elias has a better points/game average, so on and so forth ...

1. Cut the turnovers

2. ?

3. Profit

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