148 replies to this topic

[Triumph]

lol whatever. Tonight was certainly progress but I doubt a mere secondary assist is what the Devils were hoping for considering all the chances Kovy got. He was all over the ice I'll grant you, one of his better efforts but it's kinda sad that people think that's enough for what we gave up and paid for him.

If he plays like this every night, you'll see 2 and 3 point games on the regular. The idea that this 'isn't enough' is ridiculous - he set up a ton of scoring chances tonight.

Edited by Triumph, 03 December 2011 - 10:23 PM.

[Colin226]

If he plays like this every night, you'll see 2 and 3 point games on the regular. The idea that this 'isn't enough' is ridiculous - he set up a ton of scoring chances tonight.

Yeah how many points does his line have in the last 4 or so games? They showed a graphic on it during the game.. To say he isn't doing enough is only because your expectations for him are unreasonable

[NJDevs4978]

He can put up all the points he wants, doesn't mean much if Kovy's giving them away and more besides on the defensive end.

[CarpathianForest]

He can put up all the points he wants, doesn't mean much if Kovy's giving them away and more besides on the defensive end.

This.

Pretty much seems like whenever Kovy is involved in scoring a goal he seems to be also involved in us giving up a goal.

[Jerrydevil]

He can put up all the points he wants, doesn't mean much if Kovy's giving them away and more besides on the defensive end.

That's his career in a nutshell.

[adam85491]

Kovalchulk is a great player. Any of the other 29 teams would glady take him.

Enough said.

[NJDevs4978]

Kovalchulk is a great player. Any of the other 29 teams would glady take him.

Enough said.

If that's the case then why did only 'one' other NHL team make a lowball offer to him when he was UFA two years ago? And the Thrashers tried to re-sign him, so basically three NHL teams made him an offer...compared to the seventeen or eighteen that made Brian Rolston an offer when he was a UFA lol.

Edited by NJDevs4978, 03 December 2011 - 11:44 PM.

[SMantzas]

If that's the case then why did only 'one' other NHL team make a lowball offer to him when he was UFA two years ago?

Salary Cap

[Devilsfan118]

Lots of laughs in this thread along with the usual

I look forward to having this debate with you regulars for the next 15 years. Because that contract is going nowhere. So if you people feel like bitching about it until 2026, be my guest.

Kovy's here to stay folks. He's a supreme offensive talent whose prone to turnovers. Take the good with the bad.

Edited by Devilsfan118, 03 December 2011 - 11:44 PM.

[NJDevs4978]

Salary Cap

The same salary cap that we're supposedly catching a break on by getting Kovy for 'cheap' at $6.66 million per and two high draft picks?

I look forward to having this debate with you regulars for the next 15 years. Because that contract is going nowhere. So if you people feel like bitching about it until 2026, be my guest.

Well it's going somewhere by 2021 more likely, since he's not playing those last five years with three $1 million seasons if he can get a pretty penny to finish his career at home.

Edited by NJDevs4978, 03 December 2011 - 11:52 PM.

[adam85491]

If Kovy didn't sign with us, and instead signed to a team who had a clue how to utilise his assets, you would be calling for Lou's head as Kovy racked up the points.

Of course, right now, the team is playing terrible, and the lines make no sense, nor does the strategy of the Power Play. Our star forward for the next decade+ is on the wrong side of the ice, and is playing a different game then the one that earned him the big contract. Tell me how that makes sense.

[CarpathianForest]

If Kovy didn't sign with us, and instead signed to a team who had a clue how to utilise his assets, you would be calling for Lou's head as Kovy racked up the points.

We basically had the chance to try Kovy out in 09-10. He didn't make a difference in our offense then. A smart front office would have looked at Kovy during the off season and realized that Kovy wasn't the piece to the puzzle. That season we limped into the playoffs and almost got swept by the Flyers. The front office should have seen that and let him walk. So while I'm sure some of us would have been woulda coulda shoulda we would have gotten over it. We lost Gomer, Nieds, Rafalski, Holik etc. Sure we were disappointed but we moved forward and succeeded. We still played a team game and realized the parts weren't more than the whole. Look at the 07-08 club. Aron Asham, Karel Rachunek? We still managed to make the playoffs. Signing Kovy was the first sign that there was no sense of team effort anymore.

[adam85491]

I believe the biggest reason we blew the 09 season was because of Langencancer's hissy fit and a revolt against the coach.

[CarpathianForest]

I believe the biggest reason we blew the 09 season was because of Langencancer's hissy fit and a revolt against the coach.

If that was truly the case then that should have been addressed and it wasn't until almost a year later. Signing Kovalchuk didn't help jack squat.

[NJDevs4978]

Well Lemaire was basically pushed into retirement and Langs was asked to waive his no-trade before the '10-11 season and refused, so actually there wasn't much more that could have been done to 'address' that

Edited by NJDevs4978, 04 December 2011 - 12:13 AM.

[CarpathianForest]

Well Lemaire was basically pushed into retirement and Langs was asked to waive his no-trade before the '10-11 season and refused, so actually there wasn't much more that could have been done to 'address' that

I get that, but Adam is saying that us not signing Kovalchuk would have been received harshly. I recall us being in a scoring slump and that's what got us into the Kovy trade. It didn't help and those Langenbrunner issues weren't addressed until the foloowing season so they were put on the backburner and instead we went after an offensive dynamo that didn't pan out.
Since then it's all been plugging holes here and there at first due to the Kovy cap situation to signing players who don't really add much a la Janssen and Boulton.

[SMantzas]

We basically had the chance to try Kovy out in 09-10. He didn't make a difference in our offense then. A smart front office would have looked at Kovy during the off season and realized that Kovy wasn't the piece to the puzzle. That season we limped into the playoffs and almost got swept by the Flyers. The front office should have seen that and let him walk. So while I'm sure some of us would have been woulda coulda shoulda we would have gotten over it. We lost Gomer, Nieds, Rafalski, Holik etc. Sure we were disappointed but we moved forward and succeeded. We still played a team game and realized the parts weren't more than the whole. Look at the 07-08 club. Aron Asham, Karel Rachunek? We still managed to make the playoffs. Signing Kovy was the first sign that there was no sense of team effort anymore.

Well he has 27 pts in 27 that season and he was the only one who stepped up in the playoffs. He played well here during the rental period

[CarpathianForest]

Well he has 27 pts in 27 that season and he was the only one who stepped up in the playoffs. He played well here during the rental period

True, but we still limped into the playoffs and lost 4-1 to Philly in the playoffs. So while Kovalchuk had 27 pts in 27 games he wasn't the game changer we expected when we traded for him, thus something else was the problem and Kovy wasn't the answer.

[Exit56]

we really need to find something else to talk about here.

[Chorske17]

People fail to deal with the facts. They look at post and see what they want instead of seeing the facts.


-Kovalchuk has tremendous talent to take the puck and make a move, but he does NOT bring anyone to the next level with him.

-Kovalchuk is a defensive liability. He might score 35-40 goals, but if you are a -25 than you were out there for a goal. Sure you can come up with excuses all you want, but the other night was no isolated incident. I'd rather have a player put up less goals and have a better plus/minus. Anyone can score lots of goals and play for a team who doesn't win (HINT -See Atlanta when he was there).

-The debate about him playing Left Wing or Right Wing is silly. He should be able to play both. Sure he might be better on one than the other, but we really haven't seen such dramatic changes that it should effect his play. Sure he is coming down his off side, but so what. Shanahan made it happen. Sykora does it. It seems like an excuse. The powerplay garbage about him not being good on the point is also garbage. For years Sykora played that point and didn't have NEARLY the same mistakes happen to himn. Why than is Kovalchuk having these issues? Isn't Kovy a better player? Don't even begin to say Sykora was a better defensively or who was his defensive partner (Ah... Brian Rafalski)? Please stop the excuses.

-Kovalchuk cannot hangle pressure. I've stated before he cannot handle being number 3 in the shootout. Being the number one shooter has zero stress, because NO MATTER what happens someone on your team will ALWAYS get a chance next. Kovalchuk cannot handle the stress of being the numnber 3 guy. Why does this matter? If he cannot handle that stress, he cannot handle the playoffs. He has already demonstrated both.

-Kovalchuk doesn't want to learn. I've heard the term "two-way player" mentioned concerning him. Well he definitely tried to chase down Mikko Koivu the other night and that might be his best two way skill (skating down with the puck and trying to come back after he screwed it up). He's a two-way player like Rod Pelley is power forward. Please stop with this term. John Madden was a two way player. Kyle Brodziak is a two way player. Dave Bolland is a two way player. Ilya Kovalchuk is not and will never be.

-Kovalchuk can't be blamed entirely for his contract. The Devils did GIVE it to him. I wonder what would've happened to him if the Devils weren't able to make it happen? I see Alexei Yashin never came back. I hope Kovalchuk leaves for the KHL sooner than later. His contract has far lasting effects (the lost draft picks due to the circumvention, the inability to sign certain players, and other intangilbes that have not yet presented themselves.

-The Devils have always been about team. Kovalchuk is about himself. Sure he'll pass, but he is more interested in controlling that puck. It is his game and he seems to be just as excited stick handling through five guys than he is when he scores. This does not help the team and Ilya won't be changing his gamne so close to thirty years of age.