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Kovalchuk Retired Effective Immediately?


GoArmySports

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There's a huge difference between "not worth 11 million a year" and "useless bum". If you can't see that Kovalchuk is clearly on the decline since the 2012 run, maybe you should be giving someone a break.

Exactly. Kovy was a phenomenal player, but he quit on us and was overpaid. Glad he's gone.

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when was his last game in the khl?  does he have to sit out a season or just a years worth of game for him to be eligible to come back to nj without any other teams objecting?  Would love to have him back for the playoff push this year.

 

My take is that he quit on the nhl over the lockout, not the devils specifically. And with the olympics around the corner,just looked like the grass was greener.  After the CBA, with the recapture, Lou said if you are gona go,  go now before the contract kills our cap, but wait for Lou's timing to help the team out.  I know Lou said he didn't know, but if you believe what Lou tells the press you haven't been a fan of this team for long.  Have you ever heard Lou say he doesn't want a free agent back?  Do you think he wants every free agent back?  He just doesn't bad mouth his players.  

 

I still think we get Jagr if he stayed.  Probably not Ryder or Clowe and Brunner.  

 

As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, I just got the feeling that he was never coached on how to play the game.  You saw improvements each year, but you aren't gonna put up gaudy numbers if you play both sides of the puck.  Will he ever be pandolfo in his defense?  No, but he was getting to the point were you were cringing when he went on the ice for a pk(ok, maybe you were,  I wasn't). 

Other than neids (not rob ha) skating, he was the most gifted player we've had (Molgilny had some magic as well I will admit).  You just can't teach a player to create something out of nothing which I've see him do.

This team didn't need much to be in the playoffs.  It did need scoring (and a bit of consistency, beat some good teams, lose to some bad teams drives ya nuts), I think if he could get on the same page as Jagr, the not as horrible of a pp as it seemed at times could be the difference.  

 

Besides, if Claude can come back after telling Lou that signing a fax isn't a real, anyone can come back.  Maybe with the exception of Danton who put a hit out on Lou, but if he could have helped the team, Lout would think about it.

 

I only posted here cause the thread was revived and wanted to get my 2 cents in and I don't think I have on this subject.  

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when was his last game in the khl?  does he have to sit out a season or just a years worth of game for him to be eligible to come back to nj without any other teams objecting?  Would love to have him back for the playoff push this year.

He's not coming back.  Every GM in the NHL needs to approve his return and he has to sit out an entire season of pro hockey.  He can say the Stanley Cup is his goal all he wants, but no GM is going to approve him returning, and if all the other GMs(by some miracle) say yes, Lou can just say no and boom, it's squashed.  He blew it for himself. 

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He's not coming back. Every GM in the NHL needs to approve his return and he has to sit out an entire season of pro hockey. He can say the Stanley Cup is his goal all he wants, but no GM is going to approve him returning, and if all the other GMs(by some miracle) say yes, Lou can just say no and boom, it's squashed. He blew it for himself.

not sure if what you said is true.

I'm pretty sure there are two ways he can get back in the league. Either sit out a year of pro hockey and become eligible, or be voted in by every GM right now

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Sorry SD but if you look at his injuries and performance in 2012-2013 then couple that in with his upcoming salary it would have been a train wreck. We got an amazing talent for four years and never paid him once over six million. It was the best case scenaio that he left when he did. You need to open your eyes as well.

 

What you guys are not getting is that im not saying he was AMAZING or anything. Just about the common hypocrisy some posters here have. Kovalchuk was awesome, he carried the team bla bla bla bla. Then he leaves and he was a bum and we don't need him. Eventhough we're fvcking struggling at scoring. Im aware he may have a bad back and all but he was still playing better than a lot of guys at the olympics. And he's still better than any of our guys

 

then Zach also. we ALL praised the guy we were SO proud having 2 top players in the league and we we're all arguing we had one of the best punch duo in the league and bla bla bla bla. PArise was a CADILLAC to us, you would never hear anything bad about the guy. Then when Zach left, he was a bum too. We don't need him, he had a bad shot, was not scoring from more than 5 feet out, was not scoring in playoffs, was gonna break down in a few years, ra ra ra ra ra... Don't even try to DENY that what i just said isnt true.

 

Thats what im pointing out. Im pretty damn aware that Kovalchuk was a bad contract and that Zach won't be able to keep that level of play forever. I'm still not gonna bash those guys pretending we're better off RIGHT NOW without them. Cause we're really not. 

 

This fan base seems to like to accept mediocrity in the team play and try to focus on "well hey we suck but hey! at least we're not overpaying for this top player! (eventhough we're overpaying for other guys pretty baddly) or "I wouldnt want this guy who scores a lot, cause he's not top notch defensively, no i dont want his goals, i'd rather see our team play awesome defensively but not being able to score a damn goal."

 

People just seems to want to find excuses to feel better about the team. Like a guy who got dump by his gf, then she was gonna get fat in a few years, he deserved better, etc etc etc. Thats what a bunch of people looks like now, a bunch of butthurt guys bashing guys cause they left. Im pissed at both of those guys too, but im not gonna be an hypocrite trying to convince myself that they we're useless

Edited by SterioDesign
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People just seems to want to find excuses to feel better about the team. Like a guy who got dump by his gf, then she was gonna get fat in a few years, he deserved better, etc etc etc. Thats what a bunch of people looks like now, a bunch of butthurt guys bashing guys cause they left. Im pissed at both of those guys too, but im not gonna be an hypocrite trying to convince myself that they we're useless

Another relationship analogy. Who hurt you, SD?

You're like the guy who's pining over some girl that left him and can't bear to hear his buddies make fun of her.

I'm sorry, but most of us don't want to sit around slitting our wrists and saying "man I really miss Zach and Kovy" all day. Nobody says they don't want Zach. They said they don't want Zach for 13 years. Big difference.

This team has been put together a certain way from the goal out with defensively responsible forwards for 25 years. It very rarely has flashy forwards. Why would you pick a team that so clearly is against your preferred style of hockey?

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Another relationship analogy. Who hurt you, SD?

You're like the guy who's pining over some girl that left him and can't bear to hear his buddies make fun of her.

I'm sorry, but most of us don't want to sit around slitting our wrists and saying "man I really miss Zach and Kovy" all day. Nobody says they don't want Zach. They said they don't want Zach for 13 years. Big difference.

This team has been put together a certain way from the goal out with defensively responsible forwards for 25 years. It very rarely has flashy forwards. Why would you pick a team that so clearly is against your preferred style of hockey?

 

youre going around everything i said buddy. means you have nothing to say about it i assume

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I'm sorry, but most of us don't want to sit around slitting our wrists and saying "man I really miss Zach and Kovy" all day. Nobody says they don't want Zach. They said they don't want Zach for 13 years. Big difference.

 

SD, read above and comprehend, or get someone to translate it into French for you.  People aren't saying Zach and Kovy would suck in the immediate short term (though Kovy clearly appears to have lost something since his injury), but they are saying that, when you factor in their respective deals, neither one was ideal long-term, or even mid-term.  And to have two of those deals on your books...yikes.  What we have seen is that players on seemingly "immovable" deals do sometimes get dealt (Carter, Richards, Gomer), but it's still not ideal to have players on contracts like that (and as we know, the Devils' finances were hardly on solid footing and there wasn't an obvious resolution initially).  That's one thing the new CBA got right, in putting an end to those 10-15 year deals...it's saving GMs from themselves, because we'd still be seeing deals like that getting signed every year if not for the new rules in place. 

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youre going around everything i said buddy. means you have nothing to say about it i assume

 

"I'm not your buddy, guy".

 

I have the same to say about it that we've all been saying for 2 years. Zach would have been great to have, however, not worth a 7.5 cap hit for 13 years. Same with Kovalchuk. He'd be making 11.3 million real money this season and next. He wasn't impressive in the KHL. What many of us have been saying, which is pretty clear, is that we lucked out on him leaving before he got bad. He had a great second half in 2011, and great 2012, and was ineffective in 2013. So he had 1 and 1/2 good seasons and 1 and 1/2 bad ones in his 3 year run. Those decade long contracts are exciting for one day when they get signed, and then you have to deal with the realities of them. I'm glad there's a limit on contracts now.

 

It's like when you break up with a girl and then find out that meth habit you suspected she had was real after all, and now you're glad you got out before it got bad.

 

SD, read above and comprehend, or get someone to translate it into French for you.  People aren't saying Zach and Kovy would suck in the immediate short term (though Kovy clearly appears to have lost something since his injury), but they are saying that, when you factor in their respective deals, neither one was ideal long-term, or even mid-term.  And to have two of those deals on your books...yikes.  What we have seen is that players on seemingly "immovable" deals do sometimes get dealt (Carter, Richards, Gomer), but it's still not ideal to have players on contracts like that (and as we know, the Devils' finances were hardly on solid footing and there wasn't an obvious resolution initially).  That's one thing the new CBA got right, in putting an end to those 10-15 year deals...it's saving GMs from themselves, because we'd still be seeing deals like that getting signed every year if not for the new rules in place. 

 

Thank you.

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So far Parise has been worth it, which I didn't really think would happen.  Of course it didn't help Zach that he had to play with Kovalchuk his last year in NJ - hard to get a sense of his value in that situation.

 

Not all that surprised...I think a lot of people thought the first 3-4 years of that contract would net a good performance return.  It's what happens after that.  But we know how this works...if the Wild wins a Cup in the next couple of years, and Zach's a huge part of it (or even if he isn't), the last several years on his deal won't be scrutinized nearly as hard. 

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Not all that surprised...I think a lot of people thought the first 3-4 years of that contract would net a good performance return.  It's what happens after that.  But we know how this works...if the Wild wins a Cup in the next couple of years, and Zach's a huge part of it (or even if he isn't), the last several years on his deal won't be scrutinized nearly as hard. 

 

it will be scary. let's say that he's "zach parise" for the next 5 years which takes him to 36 years old starting in 17/18. he will STILL have 3 more years at $9MM before an $8MM and $6MM. at best - he's dustin brown for those 5 years and that's paying a lot of $ for that.

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So far Parise has been worth it, which I didn't really think would happen.  Of course it didn't help Zach that he had to play with Kovalchuk his last year in NJ - hard to get a sense of his value in that situation.

 

I agree, the 7.5 cap hit is worth it as of today if he were a Devil.  However, that 13 years is going to hurt Minnesota eventually. 

You can slice it anyway you want to SD, but you can't be serious if you're going to sit there and say 13 years of Zach Parise won't have any lows or any low points. 

 

Another relationship analogy. Who hurt you, SD?

You're like the guy who's pining over some girl that left him and can't bear to hear his buddies make fun of her.

I'm sorry, but most of us don't want to sit around slitting our wrists and saying "man I really miss Zach and Kovy" all day. Nobody says they don't want Zach. They said they don't want Zach for 13 years. Big difference.

This team has been put together a certain way from the goal out with defensively responsible forwards for 25 years. It very rarely has flashy forwards. Why would you pick a team that so clearly is against your preferred style of hockey?

The bolded.  Thank you DD56, especially that 2nd bolded part.  It's been time to move on from this bullsh!t for the past 2 years.  The team moves on very quickly, but it's fan that can't. 

 

"I'm not your buddy, guy".

 

I have the same to say about it that we've all been saying for 2 years. Zach would have been great to have, however, not worth a 7.5 cap hit for 13 years. Same with Kovalchuk. He'd be making 11.3 million real money this season and next. He wasn't impressive in the KHL. What many of us have been saying, which is pretty clear, is that we lucked out on him leaving before he got bad. He had a great second half in 2011, and great 2012, and was ineffective in 2013. So he had 1 and 1/2 good seasons and 1 and 1/2 bad ones in his 3 year run. Those decade long contracts are exciting for one day when they get signed, and then you have to deal with the realities of them. I'm glad there's a limit on contracts now.

 

It's like when you break up with a girl and then find out that meth habit you suspected she had was real after all, and now you're glad you got out before it got bad.

 

 

Thank you.

You're killing me.  I'm dead.  Can't do it.  :haha2:

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This fan base seems to like to accept mediocrity in the team play and try to focus on "well hey we suck but hey! at least we're not overpaying for this top player! (eventhough we're overpaying for other guys pretty baddly) or "I wouldnt want this guy who scores a lot, cause he's not top notch defensively, no i dont want his goals, i'd rather see our team play awesome defensively but not being able to score a damn goal."

 

People just seems to want to find excuses to feel better about the team. Like a guy who got dump by his gf, then she was gonna get fat in a few years, he deserved better, etc etc etc. Thats what a bunch of people looks like now, a bunch of butthurt guys bashing guys cause they left. Im pissed at both of those guys too, but im not gonna be an hypocrite trying to convince myself that they we're useless

No one has ever said these guys were useless.  I've called Kovy a quitter, because that's what he is.  He left for an inferior league.  We are not accepting mediocrity, we are moving forward, to quote Mr. Lamiorello.  There's nothing wrong with drinking a little bit of Kool-Aid, even if can be a little bitter sometimes.  No one has ever said we don't want to score goals. 

So you're trying to tell me that you would rather overpay for a guy and give him too much term, even if it hurts the team in the long run when this player is over 40 and the team has to buy him out or try to trade him?  This is a team.  It's not about one or even two superstar players. 

I'm not pissed at either of Kovy or Parise anymore.  It's 2 years over and neither are worth my time or emotions because based on their actions, they didn't want to be New Jersey Devils.

Edited by RizzMB30
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"I'm not your buddy, guy".

 

I have the same to say about it that we've all been saying for 2 years. Zach would have been great to have, however, not worth a 7.5 cap hit for 13 years. Same with Kovalchuk. He'd be making 11.3 million real money this season and next. He wasn't impressive in the KHL. What many of us have been saying, which is pretty clear, is that we lucked out on him leaving before he got bad. He had a great second half in 2011, and great 2012, and was ineffective in 2013. So he had 1 and 1/2 good seasons and 1 and 1/2 bad ones in his 3 year run. Those decade long contracts are exciting for one day when they get signed, and then you have to deal with the realities of them. I'm glad there's a limit on contracts now.

 

It's like when you break up with a girl and then find out that meth habit you suspected she had was real after all, and now you're glad you got out before it got bad.

 

 

Thank you.

 

DD56, I'm not sure. It really reminds me of when you used to date all these cute girl next-door kind of girls that were great in their own way, but a little boring. Then you get set up with this super-hot Russian girl, one of the prettiest girls you've ever seen that you have admired for a long time. Sure she is a little exotic and rough around the edges for your family's strict conservative values, but you are sure you can make some changes to her, so they approve. You find out at first she is so needy and demanding but you give into her demands because....well look at her.

 

At first you're disappointed, but it's probably a little blip in a very long-term relationship. Then everything is great, and she wins your heart by saying of the two of you "this is team", and she buys you and her these cool hoodies with your relationship motto. She has an extended break from work so In the summer she goes back to Russia to visit her family, and see some old friends, one of the friends that you know is really into her. He's gotten his act together and has a job, his own house and car...even if they are crappy at best. Next thing you know she is actually staying at his house, but you shrug it off because you just finished such an incredible year together. You sometimes hear some stupid rumours that she actually likes this guy she is staying with and misses Russia, but you dismiss it sounds like some jealous friends making sh!t up or some idiot that usually is only right about 2.3% of the time.

 

Eventually she comes back home, but you are not sure if things are still okay and the relationship seems a bit different, definitely not as hot and heavy as before, but that's okay. So things aren't as great as they were, and maybe she isn't as pretty as she once was. Then all of a sudden she completely shocks you one summer day by dumping you and telling you she is moving back to Russia and getting engaged to that guy she stayed with. You feel like you got punched in the stomach, but you'll survive. You keep thinking that you should have seen the signs coming, yet you were just blinded by love. On the plus side, you were about to build an $11 million mansion that she designed and demanded, and she left days before you were about to break ground on the project.

 

So you are looking for a new girlfriend, and there is just no one out there except this really old girl that you sort of used to know back in high school. Well really you watched her from afar, but never dreamed of talking to her. She was the most popular girl in school and was absolutely wild. Never in a million years could you see yourself with her. Except she's matured and is looking to settle down, and you're desperate and on the rebound. She's actually been hurt by a few boyfriends recently. Even though she looks great for her age, they keep dumping her for younger guys. So after a tough first few dates, things start to look really promising. She's smart, gorgeous and really funny. So easy to get along with and not demanding at  all. She loves everything about you which kind of shocks you because you are kind of plain and boring, and she's used to wild and crazy guys and more adventerous things. She really has matured and her priorities have changed. You know it won't last but you count yourself lucky everyday.

 

Yet part of you keeps looking at your ex-gfs Facebook page, and man does she look awful. Everything there seems awful, but you can't stop wondering about what could have been, even though you are in a better relationship now. And....wait wait.

 

Actually that doesn't sound like anything that we are talking about, Come to think of it now, it also very much reminds me of that girl you break up with who you suspect has a meth problem, and then it turns out she does. So fvcking true. We can all probably relate to that.

 

 

Now no more girlfriend analogies please, unless you can work meth into them.

Edited by devilsrule33
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