Leaderboard

Parise - Gone DeBoer - Gone Lou - Gone looking at you, Rangers, next....

If it hasn't been said enough already, this playoff format is just terrible. Caps win the President's trophy and they get the 2nd best team in the league in the 2nd round as a reward. Just another way the league feels Mickey Mouse/gimmicky.

It's not like he's been sitting on his couch for that time drinking and smoking. He tore up the KHL and might have led that league in points (don't know for sure). He's 34, which is not that old for some players, although it is for others, so yeah, we don't really know for sure about that. Unless we're getting an overvalued return, like a top 15 pick or a top defense prospect, I want him back. EDIT: Or let me put it this way. Let's say after the last lockout, for whatever reason Pavel Datsyuk was Devils property, and you could negotiate a new deal with him or potentially trade his rights. We'd all be ecstatic. Well he was the same age as Kovy is now, and put up fewer points per game than Kovy did this past season. DOUBLE EDIT: Actually, f'd up my math. Two years younger than Kovy is now, but you get the idea. Or you can look at Datsyuk's numbers this year. Would you really be like "whatevs" if you could get Datsyuk right now?

Also, not to mention, the Devils probably don't get sold to the new owners if we're still carrying around a $100M contract. Getting rid of that contract was definitely a linchpin in getting stable ownership for this team.

Tim Murray= Dwight Schrute. I swear, if Dwight Schrute was a real person, Tim Murray would be his long lost Canadian brother. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I don't think the Rangers are going to steamroll the Sens like most of you guys seem to. Karlsson is in full-on beat mode, Ryan is finally out of his slump, and Anderson is playing some great hockey. Plus they have a ton of "feel good" motivational stories on their side with MacArthur and Anderson('s wife).

Devils fans have a huge blind spot with this guy, and in more ways then one.... It's like a fvcking cult. If someone is willing to do a sign and trade, fine by me... I'm sick and tired of hearing about this moron though, so I'd welcome a deal that can get us an asset or two back, if it also assures I never have to hear his name mentioned by another Devils fan ever again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I mean if you think about it, we could sign him and then ship him out of town while retaining 1/2 of his salary to get some insane value for him. If we sign him to, I don't know, 1-year 6M.. what would a cup-contender like Chicago give away for a very cheap elite-ish forward? You might be able to get something pretty great. Hell, maybe ship him to Washington for Shattenkirk's rights and a 1st/2nd.

If he legitimately wants to come back, NJ has to take him as he is an asset. Then it is up to Shero to decide how best to maximize the value of that asset, whether it is through a trade or sign him to the roster. No doubt that there are a lot of Devils fans that will be pissed and boo him ... until he lights the lamp. Personally, I would prefer that they trade him, and he never plays another game in a Devils uniform. But, I won't boo him and won't be too pissed if he is on the roster next season.

My whole take on the situation is, well, I guess we should start with personal feelings from his "retirement". At the time, it was obviously a huge shock, but was it? I think a lot of us chose to ignore the warning signs, such as well-connected reporters saying he was flirting with staying there long term. Of course, NJ let him join training camp late when he decided he had to stay for the KHL Allstar game. Maybe we have the right to feel abandoned, deserted or whatever adjective you want to use. I dont see it that way. Kovalchuk gave everything to us during that 2012 run and obviously hasnt been nearly the same guy since. Call it aging, call it injuries, call it not caring anymore, that contract wouldve been a figgin disaster. There would be EIGHT years left on that original contract. If Kovy was to retire after next year, after he made 86 of his 101 million, the Devils would have a $4.3 million cap hit for 6 years. That's the price of in dead cap we would have had if/when he bolted when he made most of his money. We are paying a measly 250k for a player who was not nearly the same when we signed him in 2010. You have to be either a. high or b. naive to think that Lou wasn't at least ok with Kovy leaving (and probably encouraged it). As far as him wanting to return and whether or not it's a good fit for NJ. I suppose we should point out the possibility Tri pointed out- is he just using this as leverage for a new KHL contract? We won't know that for weeks, so let's just ignore this scenario because it's not fun! If you boil it down to positional need, we could absolutely use Kovalchuk. Palmieri, Kovalchuk and Bennett is fantastic rw depth. He even has the flexibility to move to the left if need be. If you look at age, I think this is a point against. He just turned 34 and will only get worse. I think Kovalchuk is a 25 goal scoring, 50 point forward these days, which would probably rank top 3, after Hall and Palmieri. Is that worth 3 years at 20 milllion, or 2 years at 14? NJ has no foreseeable cap issues, tho, things can really get complicated if Shattenkirk decides he wants to take the money and sign here. Then we have to consider Severson is getting a nice raise and Shero is going to have to bring in another top 4 dman if NJ want to compete soon. Is Kovalchuk someone you want to commit that money to? Another question to consider, does he even want to be here? I'm sure Kovalchuk wants to win a cup and I can't think of many teams that are farther way from that goal as us. I guess this is a long winded way of saying we should sign and trade him, if we're allowed. I think Friedman says we can, so hopefully he's right. His age does not fit with our window and I think NJ would be better served selling him for a high pick (1st if possible) or a young player. Let's face it, teams are going to be desperate to win for a myriad of reasons. Teams like San Jose, LA, Anaheim, Montreal and NYR may want to take a final shot at a cup with an aging core. Chicago, Washington and Pittsburgh have high expectations and are smack dab in the middle of their respective windows. Or maybe he wants to join a young up and coming team like Toronto (who have a crazy amount of cap space). There are no shortage of potential suitors for Kovalchuk and I think Shero would be wise to try and continue the rebuilt and acquire assets. IK17 is a free middle-high end asset that just fell into our laps again. Be thankful.

As per the offseason thread: The only thing I'd ever advocate when it comes to Kovy is a straight sign and trade. Get him in the league, then flip him ASAP. As for people suggesting he is worth a 1st + prospect, good luck with that. We'd be lucky to get a 2nd straight up for him. He's 34, left his team after signing a long term contract, hasn't been in the NHL for several years. If Shero gets a 1st, he is a GM god.

It'd be cool to see the Preds win it all. They've been knocking on the door for a while. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay Ottawa, you have one job... Go do it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Say NO-Valchuk. If this isn't a ploy, just sign and trade. good riddance ... again...

Ridiculous to say to yourself you wouldn't take a Kovy level talent for literally nothing. He did us a favor by leaving when he did. This team is as untalented as you will find at the NHL level, and to call the pipeline below average is being generous. Worst case, he's most likely worth more at the next trade deadline than he is right now. It would be downright stupid to move his rights over the summer, only to see his value double six months later. That's irresponsible asset management, something this ownership group is not in the business of.

the thought of having him and hall together... just makes me excited in all kinds of ways

My problem with Kovy will always be the same: I don't trust him. If he gets off to the same kind of start that he did in 2010-11, I could see him saying screw it, I don't need the NHL, I gave it another try, but it just wasn't meant to be. I'd rather see the Devils bring in someone who they can count on as being more committed. That being said, I would consider bringing Kovy back on a one-year deal, with the understanding that he probably won't be here past the trading deadline...more of a "OK Ilya, tell you what, now you decide that you want to come back to the NHL, fine, but since you have to go through the Devils, you use us to show other NHL teams what you have left, and we'll use the opportunity to try to get more for you than we would right at this moment" scenario. If I thought the Devils had a legitimate shot to make the playoffs next season, then I would feel differently, but it still feels like they're not terribly close, and this team needs assets for the future. I don't see Kovy being much of a positive in the locker room, though there's only five current Devils who were here for Kovy's last season: Zajac, Greene, Josefson, Henrique, and Kinkaid. How much bad blood would there be? Who knows. The above is predicated on the belief that Kovy doesn't have that much trade value at the moment, as it's been a while since he last played in the NHL...of course, if someone offers something that's to Shero's liking right away, then just deal him and be done with him. I can't welcome him back with open arms...I've never judged his reasons for leaving the Devils, but the simple fact is he left, when Lou bent over backwards to keep him. He turned his back on this franchise. So fvck 'im.