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So Apparently The Rumor Is Kovy Could Be Coming Back


TheMazz

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Guess you didn't read any of my posts when Kovy left.  I said I didn't really hold his choosing to leave against him, that if he wasn't happy here and his heart truly wasn't into being a Devil or being in America for that matter, I wasn't going to judge him for it, or have any hard feelings.  I'd rather he not be here than be completely miserable being a Devil, which apparently he would've been at that time had he stayed. 

 

If I truly thought that Kovy could help this team (because that's all I really care about...can he make the Devils better?), then I'd be all for it (and admittedly even discussing this is probably pointless), though nervous (see below).   But I don't think he does.  I've already stated why.  He had a pretty disappointing year in a lesser league last season, after a not-so-great season in the NHL in 2013.    

 

You don't really have any proof that he's going to be that much of a help here, outside of blind hope...you're coming off like his coming here will lead to an automatic playoff berth, and him being productive. Like I've said, I don't have anything against Kovy personally, but if any of this crap is true, he wanted to go back home, even left a lot of money on the table because he wanted to go home that badly (though he signed for nice money over there, to play in a lot less games per season), but now he wants to come back and leave SKA behind?  Sorry, I'd be a little nervous about a guy prone to that kind of flip-flopping, even if was only for a one-year or two-year deal...if Kovy is about halfway through this season and is clearly having a rough time, do you put it past him to say "Screw this"?  Is it really that much of a stretch to think he might not honor yet another deal, after bailing on two long-term contracts?    

No I didnt read those post's you wrote when he left (and we dont know the real reason why he left)

but I do think this team needs help scoring, and I do think in situations like: 4 on 4 / OT, in the shootout, on the PK he would help this team

just from the perspective of the other teams keying on HIM could open up the other players on our team

and he was exciting to watch at times......our team was a little drab to watch recently

Edited by The 29th Pick
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I was upset, but I didn't even have a jersey to burn. He's the most exciting player I've ever seen play for my favorite team and, let's be real, last year's team plus Kovalchuk makes the playoffs (if even just on shootout goals alone)

 

If Jagr was only brought in to replace Kovalchuk, I'd say no way. With Kovalchuk....still no guarantee.

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'The big picture' is that Kovalchuk did not improve the team at all 5 on 5 and perhaps hurt it.  A dynamo shorthanded and a help 5 on 4 (although who knows how much of it he gave back through short-handed goals).  Shootouts were a plus though again he was terrible at them before he came to NJ.  It's hard to imagine him as a 2 wins/year player.

 

Tri - I value your analysis a lot, almost always I think that your evidence-based approach is correct. In this case, I'm wondering if the data you are looking at has been adjusted for quality of competition. I'd imagine Kovy draws all the hard matchups 5v5, allowing for some other players to play against 2nd or 3rd pair defenders. Do you know if the data has an opinion on that one way or another?

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If Jagr was only brought in to replace Kovalchuk, I'd say no way. With Kovalchuk....still no guarantee.

 

It was really Brunner, and perhaps Ryder that were brought in to replace Kovalchuk.  There was the rumor from the same Czech source that said Jagr was signing with the Devils at the 2013 deadline that the Devils were working on a trade for Jagr. 

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No I didnt read those post's you wrote when he left (and we dont know the real reason why he left)

but I do think this team needs help scoring, and I do think in situations like: 4 on 4 / OT, in the shootout, on the PK he would help this team

just from the perspective of the other teams keying on HIM could open up the other players on our team

and he was exciting to watch at times......our team was a little drab to watch recently

 

No arguments on the team needing more scoring and for being a tough watch.  But Kovy's exciting for the wrong reasons too. 

 

If I could have the 2011-12 Kovy back, I'd probably take him, flaws and all.  But that's probably hoping for too much. 

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No arguments on the team needing more scoring and for being a tough watch.  But Kovy's exciting for the wrong reasons too. 

 

If I could have the 2011-12 Kovy back, I'd probably take him, flaws and all.  But that's probably hoping for too much. 

 

I feel the analytics types moved the goal posts on Kovalchuk a bit.  I really only saw them look at his points per minutes rate as evidence that he was not that good at 5 on 5.  I've never really seen them harp on it for any other player. and there were a few other good players that I recall that did not fare that well in that category either (Parise I believe was one of them), and some mediocre players that pretty high on that list at around the same time (if I recall, Clarkson and Benoit Pouliot). 

 

He was awesome in the 2012 playoffs, especially against Philly and the Rangers, and that was with a significant back injury.  And the fact is also that in 2013, the team was comfortably in the playoffs and fell off a cliff when he got hurt.  Yeah, small sample size/luck, but it ain't nothing. 

 

In the small chance that he comes back, my big concerns are injuries and that the power play would go back to the predictable bombs away from the point.  But otherwise, the team gets better with him here.

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No arguments on the team needing more scoring and for being a tough watch.  But Kovy's exciting for the wrong reasons too. 

 

If I could have the 2011-12 Kovy back, I'd probably take him, flaws and all.  But that's probably hoping for too much. 

thats the only argument...will he or wont he make the team better? I'm thinking he will, you're thinking he wont...fair enough

 

this reminds me of the Cory vs Marty saga last year halfway through the season, many were saying "play Cory, he has a lower GAA and better save%, the other half said "play Marty, he has more wins, can handle the puck better and start the breakout to get our team from D to O"

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In the small chance that he comes back, my big concerns are injuries and that the power play would go back to the predictable bombs away from the point.  But otherwise, the team gets better with him here.

 

Hopefully they would move him to the top of the left circle on the PP like he was in Atlanta and let Gelinas bring the bomb from the point.   With Zidlicky and Elias setting the table for those two it could be a nasty PP. 

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One thing that seems to be ignored in this situation is that Kovalchuk still has 3 years left on a big money, low tax contract in Russia. Why would he be interested in leaving that money, and why would they be willing to cancel that contract for him? These are things that should be considered.

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One thing that seems to be ignored in this situation is that Kovalchuk still has 3 years left on a big money, low tax contract in Russia. Why would he be interested in leaving that money, and why would they be willing to cancel that contract for him? These are things that should be considered.

 

There are so many layers/obstacles to this:

 

1) Is there any truth to this rumour at all (very very unlikely)

2) Can Kovy just get out of his KHL deal. 

3) How in the world are the Devils going to be able to get him even if he wanted to return to the NHL and the Devils specifically

4) Is he worth signing anyway (back issues, knee surgery, everything else)

Edited by devilsrule33
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There are so many layers/obstacles to this:

 

1) Is there any truth to this rumour at all (very very unlikely)

2) Can Kovy just get out of his KHL deal. 

3) How in the world are the Devils going to be able to get him even if he wanted to return to the NHL and the Devils specifically.

4) Is he worth signing anyway (back issues, knee surgery, everything else)

Devils have first shot at him if he was allowed to return

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There are so many layers/obstacles to this:

 

1) Is there any truth to this rumour at all (very very unlikely)

2) Can Kovy just get out of his KHL deal. 

3) How in the world are the Devils going to be able to get him even if he wanted to return to the NHL and the Devils specifically.

4) Is he worth signing anyway (back issues, knee surgery, everything else)

 

5) All of the above.

 

It's something to BS about, even though deep down I think we all know it's pretty pointless.  Costa comes off as a self-important, begging-for-attention clown more than anything else.  As much as I'm not a Francesa guy, that's the career Costa would kill to have.

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I feel the analytics types moved the goal posts on Kovalchuk a bit.  I really only saw them look at his points per minutes rate as evidence that he was not that good at 5 on 5.  I've never really seen them harp on it for any other player. and there were a few other good players that I recall that did not fare that well in that category either (Parise I believe was one of them), and some mediocre players that pretty high on that list at around the same time (if I recall, Clarkson and Benoit Pouliot). 

 

He was awesome in the 2012 playoffs, especially against Philly and the Rangers, and that was with a significant back injury.  And the fact is also that in 2013, the team was comfortably in the playoffs and fell off a cliff when he got hurt.  Yeah, small sample size/luck, but it ain't nothing. 

 

In the small chance that he comes back, my big concerns are injuries and that the power play would go back to the predictable bombs away from the point.  But otherwise, the team gets better with him here.

 

No, there hasn't been any goalpost moving.  Just look at the raw goal numbers, Daniel.  +/-.  It paints an unpleasant picture.  You can use Goals/60 and Points/60 if you like, but they are all just reflections of the same thing - Ilya Kovalchuk doesn't help a team 5 on 5, or at least not enough to justify the large salary he would no doubt receive.  Teams don't score more goals with him on the ice.   Kovalchuk used to be a leader in ES G/60 before he got to NJ - in goals per 60, he was 3rd in the NHL in the two years in the Corsi era where he played for Atlanta (08 and 09).  He also used to be a complete liability defensively.   Taking out 09-10 since he split teams that year, as a Devil, he ranked 135th as a Devil.  They fixed him on D and that fixed his offense too - fixed it to being a 2nd liner's offense.  And when I say they 'fixed' his defense, he was never good, he just stopped standing still as a default in the D zone.

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No doubt this rumor was made up to get attention for Costa's new show. I feel like the "Kovalchuk coming back" rumor is something that will be made up every summer for the next few years by someone trying to get attention.

 

Even if there was any validity to this, which there isn't, I wouldn't want Kovalchuk back due to his health and the amount of games he has already played. Next year will be his age 31 season and he's already played 1,007 games between the NHL, KHL, and RSL (2004-05 lockout). He's clearly already declining as do a lot of players that have broken into the NHL full time at age 18. He's no longer the player he once was.

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There are so many layers/obstacles to this:

 

1) Is there any truth to this rumour at all (very very unlikely)

2) Can Kovy just get out of his KHL deal. 

3) How in the world are the Devils going to be able to get him even if he wanted to return to the NHL and the Devils specifically

4) Is he worth signing anyway (back issues, knee surgery, everything else)

 

shoulder too

There are two factors we need to remember.

 

First, the geo-political situation is vastly different to when Kovy signed, this could very well be impacting his decision making process.

 

Second, Lou let him leave. I was always under the opinion that something was prearranged between both parties.

 

i speculate that Bettman and the new owners were involved as well

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