NJDfan1711 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 2 hours ago, DevsMan84 said: I wonder if most of these fans who are begging and dreaming for Kovy to come back would be in the same boat if the news didn't come out in the middle of a 3-game losing streak and instead in the middle of a 3-game winning streak. I would say a few but not as many. Most of the drum beating I se/hear are coming from younger fans who are thirsty for a "Superstar" player to be on the Devils as they feel it is something we are lacking. I don't hate the guy, but I don't want any part of him. He is only going to decline more and is unreliable. That and it's a been there, done that feeling I have with him. Time to move on from him. It IS something we are lacking, and as someone else put it earlier, yes that's why a lot of people still want him, and were thrilled when we got him a few years ago, because indeed the Devils NEVER go after the big free agent names or high profile individual goal scorers. I'm not young nor a new fan -- been watching since the Chris Terreri days a year before Brodeur was drafted, and I can remember on that very day seeing on my phone that we "won the Kovalchuk sweepstakes", and the first thing I did was text or call a few of my buddies who are also big hockey fans and just tell them how unbelievable it was. For 20 some years we were all about defense and goaltending, and it was fun, and still is. But man was it sure exciting to bring in a true superstar. And, the obvious, we needed it too. You're right, some people might be wanting him now more than we really do or should, as we're in the midst of this 3 game losing streak....it's kinda along the lines of the saying "love is blind", we're in love with the guy for what he could do for us, but in reality and in the long run we know he's probably not right for us, but we still want him anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 2 hours ago, roomtemp said: If he'd come back for a year or two deal at nothing more then 2 million or so with intensives to bump it up or something like that then its worth the gamble. In which fictional realm does this occur? He is a diva and will he will be expecting to be paid in the $8-10 million dollar range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDfan1711 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 11 minutes ago, MantaRay said: In which fictional realm does this occur? He is a diva and will he will be expecting to be paid in the $8-10 million dollar range. He is, but sometimes people change and/or swallow their pride on their own over time. And, even if that's not the case, he might be forced to do that whether he likes it or not, once all the other offers are gone and the KHL doesn't want him anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hit the post Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 He divorced us all......why would you remarry your ex ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moustic Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 24 minutes ago, hit the post said: He divorced us all......why would you remarry your ex ? Because she is hot? (i could have said "because boobs" but I'm a romantic...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 41 minutes ago, hit the post said: He divorced us all......why would you remarry your ex ? Cause she could do things that no one else you've ever had could do.. And you hope that if you bring her back she'll do those things again. This.. Got deeper than I anticipated. Brb, gonna go stare off into the sunset and contemplate life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck the Duck Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Only reason I would take Kovy back is to trade his rights to another team for some picks/prospects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roomtemp Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 7 hours ago, MantaRay said: In which fictional realm does this occur? He is a diva and will he will be expecting to be paid in the $8-10 million dollar range. In what world would he get that much being a 34 year old with acceptable for a superstar stats in the KHL? He'd get 2-3 for a one year deal unless he can only negotiate with the Devils and 2 or maybe less if he truly wants back into the NHL. If he sucks what did we lose. If he's productive we got a good player for a year and maybe can trade him or use him to try and win in the playoffs. I see little to no downside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 In which fictional realm does this occur? He is a diva and will he will be expecting to be paid in the $8-10 million dollar range. Holy crap I just laughed loudly. MantaRay hasn't been around for what seems like years, but there's a topic on Kovy so here he is again. I've never seen someone dislike a player quite as much as Manta hated Kovy. anyway, welcome back. Stick around, it's nice to see some some old posters back! I remember redRUM absolutely HATED Jeff Friesen. HATED him. Maybe more than Manta hates Kovalchuk. [emoji14] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfitz804 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 15 hours ago, moustic said: Because she is hot? (i could have said "because boobs" but I'm a romantic...) Best reply ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfitz804 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 13 hours ago, Chuck the Duck said: Only reason I would take Kovy back is to trade his rights to another team for some picks/prospects. If he's got anything left, running him out there until the trade deadline and then moving him would not be a bad idea. But, if you wind up in playoff position because of it, then you let it ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I'm kind of on the fence here. On one side you have people who are either butthurt or pissed that since he left wanted to convinced themselves that it was no big deal and that he was not even a great player. The same people now are saying he's done. Is he or is he not? Hard to say. I wouldn't commit to say he is. Numbers can be really deceiving and that's all we have to gauge that for now. So those people will only focus on the negative and won't even entertain the idea that he should come back. Then on the other side we have people who realize that we are desperate when it comes to offence. Someone posted about how Kovy would still be better than quite possibly any of our forwards. And will ignore all the red flags and all. So where i stand is kind of in between those 2 train of thoughts. We do need scorers, we're basically the "little starving african kids with flies walking all over our face" version of an offensive team. At what cost do we want to find a solution to that? that's the question. Personally I think Kovalchuk could be useful. We know Kovy and we've seen him play and even if he's really slower now... how many goals have we seen him score while he was just standing there. His shot was unreal (but then some say his shot is not as good now ? says who? Look at guys like Sykora, he was all shot and even though he was slow as fvck he was really helpful in 2012 and again. Most of his goals he was just standing there and used his shot. I'd expect the same thing from Kovy. Also Kovy left the NHL not the Devils i think. He was the player who lost the most money with the lockout. He was pissed at that whole situation and went in Russia his home land and was treated like a king. Who wouldnt make the same decision? Imagine for a second that the KHL would be THE LEAGUE... then most Canadian and American players would be playing there. Then they would have a stupid lockout fuelled by greedy owners and most of those players would join the NHL temporary and a guy like Pat Kane or Toews would be treated like kings, be able to play in their country in front of their friends and families. And would be thrown INSANE money. They'd be seen as HEROS here. And russians would be sh!tting on them and we wouldnt care what they think. It's the same exact thing. That been said i think Kovy might have seen the ship was sinking in NJ and decided to jump ship too. Not saying that's that but i'm sure it helped the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I think once he decided that his heart was no longer into being an NHL player (only Kovy knows exactly when that happened), nothing else mattered. In a parallel universe, if Kovy had never wanted to leave, I would've been pretty happy with four or five more seasons of something resembling 2011-12 Kovy. The contract was outrageous from the second he put a pen to it, but under the circumstances I would've considered that the best return we could've hoped for. I detailed the balance of Kovy's Devils career and on the whole he was not great. The promise of what we thought we might be getting with Kovy never truly materialized. We got great moments here and there, but definitely nothing approaching consistent and true greatness. Regarding this quote: He was the player who lost the most money with the lockout. He was pissed at that whole situation and went in Russia his home land and was treated like a king. Who wouldnt make the same decision? I've never judged Kovy on his decision...I'm kind of glad he had the balls to not stick around here if he was going to be that unhappy and miserable...all the talent and ability in the world means a whole lot of zilch if you hate being where you are. But don't make it sound like a lot of guys would do the same thing if they were in Kovy's shoes. Kovy turning his back on the best hockey league in the world (as far as pure talent goes) and an insane amount of money was pretty historic and downright shocking. Not like Ovechkin or others who could've easily made a similar choice followed suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lateralous Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 38 minutes ago, SterioDesign said: I'm kind of on the fence here. On one side you have people who are either butthurt or pissed that since he left wanted to convinced themselves that it was no big deal and that he was not even a great player. The same people now are saying he's done. Is he or is he not? Hard to say. I wouldn't commit to say he is. Numbers can be really deceiving and that's all we have to gauge that for now. So those people will only focus on the negative and won't even entertain the idea that he should come back. Eh, I think there's a clear third category. I don't like all the draft pick penalties that came with his contract and I do think we lost Parise as a direct result of making such a big commitment to Kovy, but it was a fun couple of years while he was on the team and I don't really have any ill will towards him. I just don't think he would be much of a factor on the ice at this point and he has the potential to be a negative off the ice with all the baggage and reported marginal work ethic . IMO, the Kovy ship sailed and there's no reason to go back. Regarding his play, I was listening to one of the podcasts out of Canada on Monday, maybe Overdrive or whatever they are calling the new version of Leafs Lunch and I think they had Elliot Friedman on who was discussing Kovy. He was saying that the Owners of his club in Russia were really unhappy with him and that his play has been very lethargic. The suspension would seem to support that. He went on to say with the increase in speed in the the NHL, people he had talked to didn't think he would be much of a factor. I'm paraphrasing here as I was only paying half attention while driving to a meeting but I really don't think he would add much except a little extra media attention and ticket sales down the stretch. As for him still being useful due to his shot, I think we have guys like Palmeiri, Cammilleri and Boucher that fit that role now. The problem is that we don't have a guy like pre-2015 Elias anymore to consistently get those guys the puck in the right spots to use the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 He's just been suspended for games 3 and 4 and been stripped of the captaincy. But yeah, seems like a good player to bring in. Kovalchuk has very few mental skills. Once his physical skills decline, that's it. Seems like that's what's happening. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 11 hours ago, MadDog2020 said: I remember redRUM absolutely HATED Jeff Friesen. HATED him. Maybe more than Manta hates Kovalchuk. [emoji14] 18 hours ago, Martyisth3b3st said: Holy crap I just laughed loudly. MantaRay hasn't been around for what seems like years, but there's a topic on Kovy so here he is again. I've never seen someone dislike a player quite as much as Manta hated Kovy. anyway, welcome back. Stick around, it's nice to see some some old posters back! Gentlemen, I have never left. Just tend to be less active these days aside from our NJDevils Fantasy sports groups. I heard the news and immediately wanted to make sure the fantasy world didn't enter the conversations in the real world. Wanted to deter some of the bandwagon fans from entertaining the foolish notion that "he" should come back here. I miss you guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeCups Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Count me in the group that would take him back (assuming for wayyyyy less $$) At this very second he is better than most of our forwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 i understand the too many years thing... but i truly don't understand the knock on Kovy's cap hit... 6.6m cap hit was pretty good for a player like him compared to other players. Plus now cap hits are going up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerzey Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Well everyone can relax now. Єklund (2.3% accurate) has him rumored to be joining either us or the Leafs so we know it's not gonna happen now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roomtemp Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 23 hours ago, Jerzey said: Well everyone can relax now. Єklund (2.3% accurate) has him rumored to be joining either us or the Leafs so we know it's not gonna happen now. Well it means a 1.15% chance since its split between two teams. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 So.. Wonder if he's bluffing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 1 minute ago, Devilsfan118 said: So.. Wonder if he's bluffing. Well, the plot thickens... As much as I loved him while he was here, and as I've been previously saying I'd take him back in a heartbeat, at this point I just hope the Devils say forget about it and get something of value for trading his rights, unless there's been something extraordinary going on this whole time behind the scenes that none of us are aware of (something like him and the Devils always having an understanding that his stay in Russia would only be temporary to get out of the cap hell that his contract would have become). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 There is no understanding. Kovalchuk's probably not bluffing, but he doesn't realize that he can't come back. He has to sit out a full year if he wants to do that. He lost his NHL privileges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 2 minutes ago, Triumph said: There is no understanding. Kovalchuk's probably not bluffing, but he doesn't realize that he can't come back. He has to sit out a full year if he wants to do that. He lost his NHL privileges. Just for my understanding/clarification: Why did he not have to wait a calendar year after terminating his NHL contract before playing in the KHL? Why must he wait the full year to return after terminating his KHL deal? Is it simply because the KHL and NHL have different rules? I thought there was some sort of transfer agreement in place that worked both ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 14 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said: Just for my understanding/clarification: Why did he not have to wait a calendar year after terminating his NHL contract before playing in the KHL? Why must he wait the full year to return after terminating his KHL deal? Is it simply because the KHL and NHL have different rules? I thought there was some sort of transfer agreement in place that worked both ways. Kovalchuk retired from the NHL. As such he's considered a retired player. But since he's been playing in another league, his retirement hasn't vested. The NHL doesn't want players to have the power to break contracts by retiring and then jumping back into the NHL with another team and a different contract. Imagine if Vincent Lecavalier or Roberto Luongo, both of whom had long unhappy stays in a city where they didn't want to be, just retiring and then instantly signing with another team. It'd be a joke. So instead there are rules to prevent this, and there are rules to prevent guys from getting out of contracts by retiring and then jumping to another league and then coming back. The KHL doesn't care about any of this, they're their own separate league with separate rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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