RunninWithTheDevil Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/ilya-kovalchuk-eyeing-nhl-return-in-2016-17-season--report-144816069.html I myself am I little confused. Would the Devils retain his rights and have to basically give him permission to come back as an FA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squishyx Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/ilya-kovalchuk-eyeing-nhl-return-in-2016-17-season--report-144816069.html I myself am I little confused. Would the Devils retain his rights and have to basically give him permission to come back as an FA? We own his rights until he is 35, then he falls off the voluntary retirement list and is a UFA. If he wants to come back before then straight from the KHL (or another professional league) he needs permission from all NHL clubs, if he sits out a year and wants to come back before the 2018 season he just needs permission from the Devils who could presumably strong arm him into playing for us, if we we were interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoArmySports Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I hope he comes back for the Vet's minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 There's no way all 30 teams allow him back in. Not a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William D'Aquila Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Lou's greatest trick of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Every team in the Metro should block him from coming back. What do any of them have to gain by the Devils bringing in someone who could help them? Sorry Kovy, you made your bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 It says 2016-2017, which means he could sit out next season and come back with simply the Devils consent. He's under contract with SKA next season. He's not sitting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 (edited) He was also under contract in New Jersey. If he's eyeing a return, and the Ruble continues to be as bad as it is, what is the threat of breaking that contract? Like, say he calls Lou and says "I'm coming back for 2016. Will you honor my existing contract?" And Lou says "Yes.". What stops him from 'retiring' from the KHL? The difference is that when he retired from the NHL he immediately moved from one salaried position to another. He can't be paid for playing hockey next year in order to be eligible for reinstatement without a 30 team approval. Given that Russian money is still tax-free and he's still being paid lots of it, I'm sure he's still making more money in Russia than he would be here. Interestingly, all the leverage goes to the KHL after his next contract because he can't play in the NHL without sitting a year out or someone managing 30 teams to vote yes, so I imagine that's why the rumblings of him coming back to this league. Edited March 23, 2015 by Triumph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I really do not want Kovy to come back. Parise left for money/family/friends, but he at least honored his contracts with the Devils. Kovy just left for money (I do not buy the playing home in Russia nonsense) and now that the Ruble is in shambles wants to come crawling back to the NHL. fvck him. I'd rather deal with us being sh!tty and/or boring for the next 5 years than to have that sort of guy back on the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I think Kovalchuk is like that gorgeous ex girlfriend from college. You dated her, both of you changed for the better. Everywhere you went, people stared at her in amazement. And then, a year after you proposed, she left you to go home. She left you in shambles. And you hated her, you hated her so, so much. But you saw Facebook photos of her and knew you were still in love. In the years without her, you lost your job, your apartment. Your life, for the most part, has been miserable without her. Yeah, you don't spend money on her any more which is nice, but you replace her cost with cigarette-smelling strippers named Brunner and hookers named Ryder. You had a short stint with a cute girl named Jagr, but that's done now too. And then, a few years later, when you think you might be getting over the pain, you get a text. "Hey", she says. "I miss you. I want to come back. I still love you." Maybe it's about the money, maybe she got bored going back home. Maybe you should be the bigger man and move on. But you haven't scored with any chicks in forever, your future looks bleak, and when you close your eyes at night you can still picture her doing that cute little dance, where she puts her knee on the ground and her hand in the air. She always used to say that 'This is Couple', and it was adorable. So what do you text back? "never text me again" At this point while there is still hurt, you see her true colors and you just don't want to deal with that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghdi Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 He'd be 33 if this story was true and got the consent of all teams (and no way would the Rags or Flyers consent), so his best option is still going to be 35 in 18-19 when it requires no consent. At that point, I don't expect Lou to be GM, and its too far out to guess whether or not we'd want a 35 year old Kovy on this team. I frankly couldn't care less at this point of his reasoning for going. If he came back and performed well, I'd get over any ill will quickly. He's a mercenary and never has been anything else. At the most, he's posturing and likely just trying to gauge what his chances of reinstatement would be and see what kind of tea leaves come up from NHL media. He's not coming back anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Post of the year, by far. So entertaining and so true lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 (edited) I think Kovalchuk is like that gorgeous ex girlfriend from college. You dated her, both of you changed for the better. Everywhere you went, people stared at her in amazement. And then, a year after you proposed, she left you to go home. She left you in shambles. And you hated her, you hated her so, so much. But you saw Facebook photos of her and knew you were still in love. In the years without her, you lost your job, your apartment. Your life, for the most part, has been miserable without her. Yeah, you don't spend money on her any more which is nice, but you replace her cost with cigarette-smelling strippers named Brunner and hookers named Ryder. You had a short stint with a cute girl named Jagr, but that's done now too. And then, a few years later, when you think you might be getting over the pain, you get a text. "Hey", she says. "I miss you. I want to come back. I still love you." Maybe it's about the money, maybe she got bored going back home. Maybe you should be the bigger man and move on. But you haven't scored with any chicks in forever, your future looks bleak, and when you close your eyes at night you can still picture her doing that cute little dance, where she puts her knee on the ground and her hand in the air. She always used to say that 'This is Couple', and it was adorable. So what do you text back? Pretty similar to a post I had last year making fun of SD's analogies (obviously not copying) Nice touch with the cigarette-smelling strippers, though. Edited March 23, 2015 by devilsrule33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 heh, glad you liked it I was going to say that maybe you're out looking for younger girls, but that's when the analogy derailed and turned a creepy corner. Lol that is creepy. But anything is better than a girl who dumps you out of the blue for her own selfish reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDfan1711 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 He's a mercenary and never has been anything else. Um, what? He played his entire career for just 2 teams, and with us it was considerably shorter. Not to mention he was exactly dead-on a point per game player with 816pts in 816 games played, with nearly 420 goals -- he had a legit shot at 700+ had he stayed in the NHL and remained productive. The word mercenary doesn't seem accurate in any sense. Post of the year, by far. So entertaining and so true lol Agreed. That was awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck the Duck Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I think Kovalchuk is like that gorgeous ex girlfriend from college. You dated her, both of you changed for the better. Everywhere you went, people stared at her in amazement. And then, a year after you proposed, she left you to go home. She left you in shambles. And you hated her, you hated her so, so much. But you saw Facebook photos of her and knew you were still in love. In the years without her, you lost your job, your apartment. Your life, for the most part, has been miserable without her. Yeah, you don't spend money on her any more which is nice, but you replace her cost with cigarette-smelling strippers named Brunner and hookers named Ryder. You had a short stint with a cute girl named Jagr, but that's done now too. And then, a few years later, when you think you might be getting over the pain, you get a text. "Hey", she says. "I miss you. I want to come back. I still love you." Maybe it's about the money, maybe she got bored going back home. Maybe you should be the bigger man and move on. But you haven't scored with any chicks in forever, your future looks bleak, and when you close your eyes at night you can still picture her doing that cute little dance, where she puts her knee on the ground and her hand in the air. She always used to say that 'This is Couple', and it was adorable. So what do you text back? "Nice shoes...want to fvck?" Seriously, I don't want him back, but at least he would make things more entertaining in the near future around the Rock. For all reasons stated above, its a moot point because he isn't coming back to the NHL anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerzey Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I thought it wasn't that we own his rights till he's 35, but that we have first right of refusal. He's free to play anywhere if we ok his return, but he doesn't have to play for us. Then all other 29 teams have to ok his return. When he turns 35 he can go to whatever team he wants without anyone's concent. But we don't own his rights at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hystyk28 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I thought it wasn't that we own his rights till he's 35, but that we have first right of refusal. He's free to play anywhere if we ok his return, but he doesn't have to play for us. Then all other 29 teams have to ok his return. When he turns 35 he can go to whatever team he wants without anyone's concent. But we don't own his rights at all. I was under this impression as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squishyx Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I thought it wasn't that we own his rights till he's 35, but that we have first right of refusal. He's free to play anywhere if we ok his return, but he doesn't have to play for us. Then all other 29 teams have to ok his return. When he turns 35 he can go to whatever team he wants without anyone's concent. But we don't own his rights at all. This is close but Bill Daley clarified it when this all went down. Under 35 and If he doesn't skip a year of professional hockey he needs all 30 teams permission to come back and we have his rights. Which happens first, approval or us owning his rights is sort of moot, they are both in play. Under 35 and If he does skip a year of professional hockey, he only needs to work it out with the Devils, either playing for us, or getting permission to play for a different NHL team. And then as you mentioned, when he is 35 he is free to do whatever / sign where ever with no permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeski Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 He was also under contract in New Jersey. If he's eyeing a return, and the Ruble continues to be as bad as it is, what is the threat of breaking that contract? Like, say he calls Lou and says "I'm coming back for 2016. Will you honor my existing contract?" And Lou says "Yes.". What stops him from 'retiring' from the KHL? Do you really think Kovalchuk gets paid in Rubles? His contract is in Euros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellOnICE Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 If it's as simple as him coming back then absolutely give him a shot. We'd be dumb not too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas0nMacIsaac Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Kovalchuk with less PP's and two years older is not a pretty combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellOnICE Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 We don't have many options. If you think he can help the team ffor the right money, you do it. I don't care what his baggage is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devlman Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 The difference is that when he retired from the NHL he immediately moved from one salaried position to another. He can't be paid for playing hockey next year in order to be eligible for reinstatement without a 30 team approval. Given that Russian money is still tax-free and he's still being paid lots of it, I'm sure he's still making more money in Russia than he would be here. Interestingly, all the leverage goes to the KHL after his next contract because he can't play in the NHL without sitting a year out or someone managing 30 teams to vote yes, so I imagine that's why the rumblings of him coming back to this league. Why cant he play in the KHL and then come to the NHL? is there a rule that says to be reinstated that you have to have sit out a year of hockey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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