Daniel

His tone (to the extent one can pick up a tone in writing) sounds like he would probably waive it depending on what the destination is.

Did Parise or Gionta, in and of themselves, put more fans in the seats when they put up (almost) 50 goals? Hockey is what it is. Obviously we all love it, but the casual sports observer isn't going to come to more than maybe one game they ordinarily wouldn't have because of Kovalchuk. An exciting team THAT WINS will be what helps attendance. The latter part being more important.

True (that happens every year it seems) but the team was, at best, mediocre in the second half, which is when interest is supposed to pick up. While it might not be as noticeable in the point total at the end of the year, I think the coaching is better (not saying that Johnny Mac is going to be awesome, just that you can't do much worse than Lemaire last year), and even without Martin, the defense is improved (but I have an irrational hatred of Martin).

Gaborik was a great signing, and has delivered in the department he was brought in to help. Offense. He's got flaws, but if Kovy puts up the numbers Gaborik was at least on pace to put up (50 goals, 100 points) before he got hurt, we'll be happy.

I think you're right, but only because they'll be a better team, and yes, that will be IN PART because of Kovalchuk. My point is that Kovalchuk will not boost attendance simply by being there. I'm hoping that Vanderbeek recognized that and doesn't make this Kovalchuk's team. If he scores 65 goals and has 120 points, it won't do anything for attendance if the team isn't good.

I go back and forth on the notion of how much Vanderbeek was pushing for this over Lou's objections. Kovalchuk is certainly a big name, but really only in hockey circles. Once the novelty wears off, if it hasn't already, Kovy won't draw any more fans. I don't think Vanderbeek is so dense as to not realize this (or look at last year's attendance figures and see that the trade wasn't an enormous attendance boon). And as Sundstrom has noted, making a Russian guy the centerpiece of your franchise over a young American who was something of a national hero only a few months ago isn't the best marketing decision you can make. I think it was obviously a collaborative effort between Lou and Vanderbeek, but I'm speculating that ultimately Lou had veto power over how to proceed.

We'll see what contracts Lou manages to unload. However, if Zach gets to unrestricted free agency, barring another inexplicable Sather signing, bet your bottom dollar that the Rangers will be all over that. It's not for nothing that Drury and Rozsival will be off their books at that point. Hopefully we're laughing at this in the near future.

I'll trade places with him.

This also restarts the discussion of who's getting shipped out of town. So the news is a two-for-one so far as board discussions.

My sources tell me that what finally swayed Kovy to re-sign was the proximity of the airport to the arena.

My head just exploded.

That's exactly what they want you to think. It's all a psyche out for when he signs with the Blue Jackets.

... on what he'll have for breakfast tomorrow.

Lack of defense doesn't bother me too much at this point. Adequate defense for an offensive forward, which I think can be taught, is enough so far as I'm concerned . He doesn't need to be John Madden circa 2001, just needs to be good enough at it that he isn't a complete liability. I also think Tedenby is more skilled than Gionta, who is more of a grinder.

Am I the only one that thinks Tedenby is going to be a star and sooner rather than later? The guy can absolutely skate (as even outsiders like Hradek observed) and apparently plays with an edge. Especially if Kovy's gone, I think he makes the team this year. If so, does a line of Tedenby-Arnott-Elias, moving Elias to right wing?

I get it. If he's a good player and fills a concrete need, with the extra bonus that important Swedes on your team might be able helped in the process I'm all for it. All I'm saying is that if you're taking a $3 million cap hit for a couple of years, he better be a lot more than a "good locker room guy" or a mentor.

If Lou begins negotiations with Zach early enough, I don't think it matters if the Devils are necessarily at the top of his list. Unrestricted free agency is two years away, so from his standpoint, unless he absolutely hates playing for the Devils, a bird in the hand yada, yada, yada. As I keep saying though, the goal has to be to get a deal wrapped up before the end of this season.

Maybe he said that, but I really hate the "mentoring" rationale for signing a guy to a relatively big contract. I'd like to think that the Young Swedes are nevertheless grown ups and by now have learned a thing or two about playing hockey, and can speak English well enough so a veteran Canadian could be just as a good a mentor. Not saying Tallinder won't fill other needs, but the mentoring thing figures at the bottom of my list.

If there was a free agent signing that potentially stood in the way of re-signing Kovy it was Tallinder. While Volchenkhov's cap hit is larger, he figures to be a more integral part of the team than does Tallinder. Given that Kovy has done all he can to make it work in LA, I doubt he would have re-signed even if we didn't have Tallinder's cap hit.

Watch the interview of the Android (better than "A-Train") on the Devils official website. I think you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt considering that it appears he just picks english words at random and hopes they mean something.

Miko Koivu apparently signed an extension, 7 years $47.25 million, AAV $6.75 million. Way too much, if you ask me. Will unfortunately make Parise all that much more expensive.

Somewhat relatedly, Hradek on his Twiiter page says that Volchenkov has spoken to Kovy a couple times in the past weeks. Also has good things to say about Tedenby. (Sorry for no link, but my browser is acting a bit funny).

One recent home grown example is St. Vincent's in NYC. My friend was a resident there until it closed down earlier this year. Took in a lot of patients who the government was paying for. Needless to say, they didn't get much in the way of reimbursement and went under.

"Hockily"?