31 replies to this topic

[hattrick]

http://www.sbnation....contract-buyout

Just when it appeared as though the Ilya Kovalchuk saga had come to a close, the situation experiences another twist. Alexander Medvedev, the head of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, will be travelling to North America in February in an attempt to discuss buying out Kovalchuk's contract with the New Jersey Devils, according to Igor Eronko of Sports.Ru on Sunday.

[ThreeCups]

Ha, when will this guy give up?!?

['7']

Ugh. Seriously this is a lame, sitcom type attempt.

The Devils will tell him no. And if he comes they wont even let him through the door.

[Marshall]

Lou addressed this and flatly said 'no', they won't even entertain the idea.

[MadDog2020]

Btw did anyone see Melrose on the NHL Network? It's sh!t like what he said that makes for an uninformed and stupid hockey public. He insinuated the Kovy said negative things about the organization, killed his contract, and said that 'even though Lou says all the right things, its gotta be killing him inside', regarding Kovy playing in the KHL all-star game. I mean.... Are you kidding me? And people watch this who have no idea what the hell is going on and now they think Kovy is a selfish douche. And that's how narratives form and leads people to uninformed opinions because they listen to this sh!t and believe it. Its irresponsible of Melrose to be this uninformed, and he's not the only one who does it. fvcking moron.

[newarkdev01]

Well Melrose needed somthing to talk about just like we needed something to talk about...Hell even the record and ledgers staffs jumped on that bandwagon.

[Daniel]

What if the buy out offer were something obscene that would allow VBK to pay off all or a large chunk of the team's debt? Ultimately, it would be his decision, not Lou's. The lenders might have something to say about it also.

[GoArmySports]

What if the buy out offer were something obscene that would allow VBK to pay off all or a large chunk of the team's debt? Ultimately, it would be his decision, not Lou's. The lenders might have something to say about it also.

Maybe he'll offer us....

[newarkdev01]

I feel like the KHL had never seen so much attention and now it's gone all Snooky/Jersey Shore trying to keep it coming.

[Mitico12]

Buy out the contract? Actually, this is a tremendous opportunity for the NJD to cash in on Kovy and stabilize the franchise for years to come.

If they can offer somewhere in the vicinity of $50 million for Kovy, that would be awesome! Look at it this way, Kovy gave us one good year of getting us to the SCF...will it happen again? Probably not. Take the money and run.

Build around Zajac, Henrique, Larsson, and a bonafide goalie.

I would NOT say no to buying out Kovy if the price is right.

Even Man-United sold Cristiano Ronaldo. They're not doing so bad for themselves either.

[Chuck the Duck]

I don't think you can build the team around a guy like Zajac. He is good center, but he really is a support player that doesn't create much offense on his own. Plus, teams really don't fear anything about his game. He is just a good and solid all-around player that compliments his wingers well.

I wouldn't sell him if I was JVB, but I would listen to what that crazy Russian had to say about it. However, I wonder if selling Kovy to the KHL would create serious cap complications for the Devils pursuant to the new CBA.

[EdgeControl]

100 million dollars? HHHmmmmm I love ya Kovy, But 100 million DOLLARS!!!!! opulent !

[DJ Eco]

What's the legality of something like this? Is this some sort of weird example of tampering? CBA gets violated; I mean, this would become a pretty crazy precedent if it were to happen or allowed to happen.

Too bad it's not happening, this guy's a clown. This is a non-issue, and a non-story.

[Devils731]

What's the legality of something like this? Is this some sort of weird example of tampering? CBA gets violated; I mean, this would become a pretty crazy precedent if it were to happen or allowed to happen.

Too bad it's not happening, this guy's a clown. This is a non-issue, and a non-story.

I can't think of a relevant part of the CBA off the top of my head, but almost every commissioner has some sort of "best interest of the league" power to cover situations the CBA doesn't mention. I think the league would rightly say the Devils can't compliance buy out Kovy's contract in return for cash payments from another person/team/league.

Besides, look at the Dollar amounts. What is it, like 80 million to buy Kovy out, then 50 million to the Devils, so Russia is going to pay $130 million dollars up front to have Kovy come play for their league? I think that's too rich for anyone's blood. You can almost buy a whole franchise for that amount in immediate cash.

[Triumph]

Yeah the only ways I can see this working are:

A: The Devils agree to buy Kovalchuk out of his contract for an up front fee that includes the total amount of his buyout plus extra money. Buying out Kovalchuk after this season would cost $51M. That buyout can't be considered a sunk cost either, as the Devils could always trade him.

B: The Devils agree to let Kovalchuk play in the KHL under his NHL contract, and the KHL can pay him his entire contract + whatever else they want to pay him + whatever they want to pay the Devils in exchange for this. He would have to pass through waivers for this scenario to take place.

This Medvedev guy is a billionaire and he doesn't have better things to do? Sign him two years ago or stop making headlines.

Edited by Triumph, 15 January 2013 - 02:30 PM.

[ghdi]

Buy out the contract? Actually, this is a tremendous opportunity for the NJD to cash in on Kovy and stabilize the franchise for years to come.

If they can offer somewhere in the vicinity of $50 million for Kovy, that would be awesome! Look at it this way, Kovy gave us one good year of getting us to the SCF...will it happen again? Probably not. Take the money and run.

Build around Zajac, Henrique, Larsson, and a bonafide goalie.

I would NOT say no to buying out Kovy if the price is right.

Even Man-United sold Cristiano Ronaldo. They're not doing so bad for themselves either.

I agree with your general idea (that theres situations I would consider "selling" Kovy), but I dont consider this idea anything else other than "best case scenario" if this was to happen.

Zajac is also not a cornerstone player. He's a great team guy and does a lot of little things the right way, but if Kovy is a "Ronaldo", then Zajac is like a Michael Carrick. Good player that does many good things, but not a "franchise" player. There's also no guarantee Zajac even wants to spend his career here.

The only way I even consider listening to this KHL guy is if Kovy is the one who initiates it, goes to Lou, and says "Lou baby, The Ilya wants to go back to the motherland". If Kovy doesn't want to be here, than let him leave.

I personally think Medvedev is just trying to save face in his own country, because its clear Kovy is very loved over there and they're all probably disappointed that he's not staying.

[ZeroGravityFat]

zajac will probably stay since his two brothers are about to be called up, i doubt he'll pass on that.

[ghdi]

zajac will probably stay since his two brothers are about to be called up, i doubt he'll pass on that.

Yea thats true, I forget that Lou has the Zajac fam on lockdown lol

[MadDog2020]

Yea thats true, I forget that Lou has the Zajac fam on lockdown lol

Ever since Nieds left, Lou hasn't fvcked around- if you have a brother, Lou signs him.

[Zubie#8]

My God get me out of this PR nightmare. It will never end!