Kovy has an agent that knows how to play the $$ game. The KHL rumor was also placed by Kovy's agent in an effort to drum up demand for his client. Which never came.
When there were no teams interested in Kovy, he had to settle on the Devils (although using the Devils offer and going back to try and to get LA to offer more was pretty bogus). We are stuck with him for at least the next two or three years. Until he goes the Rolston route.
First of all. Shut up.
Second of all... to say other teams weren't interested... ugh... see my first statement.
EVERY team was interested. Grossman did not drum up a KHL rumor to get NHL interest for his client. He had his own agent in Russia who came up with the offer along with the KHL president advertising their desperation to sign him and get him back to Russia. If he did, Grossman would lose out on his client and his commission. The fact that Kovy turned down such a big offer from Atlanta is what scared other teams away. No one, including you, will ever know what Kovy's motivation was. You could say it wasn't fueled by money... but who's to say that's right or wrong? The Atlanta situation and the money that the KHL was offering scared other teams away. Chiarelli in Boston expressed his interest but also said he wasn't going to bend the CBA and offer that kind of money for any player. The Kings went hard. The Isles, Rangers, Flyers, and other teams were rumored to be making offers. At the end of the day... no one was able to put out the kind of deal that Lou was. The Kings were close.
There's so much that goes into a contract it's not just money and years. Players have been seeking certain clauses if there's another work stoppage. I'm sure the olympics in 2014 in Sochi are in there somewhere. The Devils also have pretty specific team rules that go into contracts. Vanderbeek was involved to sign off on the amount he could spend.
Also for you to say we are stuck with him for another 2 to 3 years... do you listen to yourself? I guarantee you that you're alone in that thought. We are going to have a lot of cap space, great young players... add to that the money doesn't come from my pocket or yours and it appears that it will not stop the team from doing business. I personally don't give a crap what the financial terms are. The fact that the Devils get a dynamic and amazing hockey player on our team for the next 10+ years is awesome. Where's Oduya, Cormier, and Bergfors? Do you think the team was better off keeping those players? Last year, Kovy single handedly made this team respectable and actually had us thinking playoffs for a little while there.
I feel like if Kovy scored 75 goals this year and we won the cup you'd still have something ridiculous to say. Are you an 80 year old woman? Quit the bitching.
Or let us all save you the time and inform you that Kovy is going to be here for the DURATION of his career. Go find a new team to root for if you have such a problem with it.
Uhhh, poor example my friends. The KHL was NEVER realistically an option. It was just a coy to get more money and drum up value from NHL teams.
You think Kovy, at the ripe old age of 27, would retreat to the abyss of Siberia to play for Avangard Omsk or something like that?
The trajedy of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl kind of answers that question...not too many in-their-prime players are going to risk playing for a league that can't guarantee the safety and living conditions of its players. Add to the fact that these teams, although they tell you they will pay you $20-plus million, may not actually be able to pay it.
If Kovy doesn't show "true value" in the next 2-3 years, you may see him packaged and sent off to another team while he is below 31 years old...
I think the fact that he's a fan favorite already, almost brought our terrible team to the playoffs last season on his own, and in four games this year has a game winning goal and game tying goal proves some value no? You're going to see more as he helps the development of guys like Josefson and Palmieri.
