Kovy was JVB's call

[sundstrom]

http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/lou_lamoriello_admits_kovalchuk_contract_shouldnt_be_part_of_nhl1/

It was clear that ownership—headed by Jeff Vanderbeek—was behind this particular contract, but not the idea of re-signing Kovalalchuk.

Lamoriello said he “absolutely” rolled his eyes when the Islanders signed Rick DiPietro to a 15-year contract in 2006 and when Washington signed Alex Ovechkin to a 13-year contract in 2008. He also said he “absolutely” rolled his eyes about the Kovalchuk’s contract terms.

So why would he sign Kovalchuk to such a deal?.

“You’d have to speak to ownership about that,” Lamoriello said. “The commitment that ownership has made here, this is a commitment and a decision they wanted to make for this type of a player and all I can do is say whether the player is a player that will fit into the team, can help the team and is not a risk as a player. As far as what the financial commitment is and that aspect of it, that was out of my hands.”

well there you go. i still think he told Gilfilan and VBK that he could make it work cap wise and that Parise can be taken care of. But this was an owner who wanted his toy. VBK is a fan as much as an owner and this could be a "lehman" like move.

[Neb00rs]

Wow...that's all I got to say. Not so surprising though.

[GoArmySports]

We need Parise more then Kovalchuk in my mind. But I'm so excited he's staying. he's been my fav player ever since 2001, I can finally buy my Kovalchuk Jersey!

[msweet]

Lou's boss is taking the heat... make things work better going forward... Lou 100% orchestrates the whole thing.

need to do the same with Parise before they change the rules

don't believe, "it wasn't up to me" bs from Lou

[Neb00rs]

Lou's boss is taking the heat... make things work better going forward... Lou 100% orchestrates the whole thing.

need to do the same with Parise before they change the rules

don't believe, "it wasn't up to me" bs from Lou

hm. Interesting POV. You're probably right.

[msweet]

for anyone who believes it wasn't 100% Lou, you'll also believe Kovy is keeping in shape to play until he's 44

both were said with a straight face at the pressor

[devilsrule33]

for anyone who believes it wasn't 100% Lou, you'll also believe Kovy is keeping in shape to play until he's 44

both were said with a straight face at the pressor

Why are you so sure of this? Everyone in the business and media who knows Lou well could not believe he of all people would put together this record breaking deal for Kovalchuk. They were all sure it was the owner.

Edited July 20, 2010 by devilsrule33

[ice dog]

it appears "fire and ice" server just crashed...must be getting a lot of hits...wonder why?

[Triumph]

lou will be gone by the time this goes wrong. this can be interpreted in two ways, one is that Lou is stating that he doesn't have the authority to sign 17 year deals (which is probably true), the other is that it wasn't exactly Lou's baby and that it's his job to make it work with the rest of the team.

[msweet]

Why are you so sure of this? Everyone in the business and media who knows Lou well could not believe he of all people would put together this record breaking deal for Kovalchuk. They were all sure it was the owner,

Lou calls the hockey shots and the financial shots for this team. It was Lou's persona that got Kovy (read all of the articles on his pursuit of Kovy). It was Lou that made the trade last year. It was all Lou, Lou, Lou.

Did Lou ask the owners before he spent their $102M?...you bet... but the deal was 100% Lou...it's his decision on how to spend and who plays...... "don't worry about MY cap" the MY is Lou.

JVB and Gilf just said "ok"... they've perverted it a little to help Lou going forward.

[Daniel]

I don't think this dynamic is anything new. Lou the tight-wad has always been something of a myth. Back in the day, it was really McMullen the tight-wad. Not surprising that once the Yankees were in the picture, Lou was willing to dump $8 million on Bobby Holik of all people.

I don't care how tough a negotiator Lou supposedly is. If your owner assures you that the money is there from a financial standpoint, you don't blow a chance to land a once in a lifetime talent if you can make it work cap wise.

[Triumph]

I don't think this dynamic is anything new. Lou the tight-wad has always been something of a myth. Back in the day, it was really McMullen the tight-wad. Not surprising that once the Yankees were in the picture, Lou was willing to dump $8 million on Bobby Holik of all people.

I don't care how tough a negotiator Lou supposedly is. If your owner assures you that the money is there from a financial standpoint, you don't blow a chance to land a once in a lifetime talent if you can make it work cap wise.

could we stop citing the 8 million for bobby holik like it means anything at all? that was a totally different world.

[DaneykoIsGod]

Lou's boss is taking the heat... make things work better going forward... Lou 100% orchestrates the whole thing.

need to do the same with Parise before they change the rules

don't believe, "it wasn't up to me" bs from Lou

Perfect word to sum it up. Lou orchestrated a master stroke here and I'm not sure he's getting enough credit for it.

Kovalchuk is a rare talent and he was set to go UFA during an offseason with an uncharacteristically down market. Lou traded for him without giving too much up, wooed the hell out of him during his short stay and made the right offer come July 1. And by the right offer, I mean he lowballed Kovy enough that it was a tough choice and we got a favorable cap hit, but he bid high enough to be a preferable destination over the sexier L.A. market. This is pure speculation on my part, but if the bid was any higher I think it wouldn't take nearly three weeks to make the decision, and if it was any lower I think he's a King. And with the way the contract is written, it's absolutely brilliant in terms of salary structure, cap hit and potential exit strategies.

Vanderbeek may have been the one who set the wheels in motion, but Lou made it work. The man is 67-years-old and he's still the craftiest sumbitch in the business.

[NJDevs4978]

Lou's boss is taking the heat... make things work better going forward... Lou 100% orchestrates the whole thing.

need to do the same with Parise before they change the rules

don't believe, "it wasn't up to me" bs from Lou

While we're trying to read between the lines about whether Lou was ordered, pushed or encouraged to do this deal...personally I think it's just a case of Lou saying 'hey it's crazy money but it's not mine so all I care about is if it works hockeywise, which I believe it does'.

No Lou probably would not spend $100 million on Kovy if it was his money...but by the same token if he wasn't on board with this I think he would have resigned. I can't picture Lou as someone taking orders when he can write his own ticket anywhere.

[msweet]

From Rich Chere star-ledger

I guess I was right?

So I did speak to Vanderbeek about it.

"No, this is not my signing," Vanderbeek said. "It was a combination of the whole organization. Certainly Lou did a lot of the heavy lifting. My partner, Mike Gilfillan, was very supportive and helpful. This is never just about one person.

"We did what we could to put our best foot forward. You make a decision and you don't look back."

There are people who won't believe Lamoriello pushed for this because of the salary and length of the contract.

"I would just say those people don't really know him well," Vanderbeek said. "Lou is all about giving the organization the best chance to succeed. T

[Anhkheg]

This is not only about winning. Watch Devils viewership and ticket sales sky rocket this season. Devils marketing is all primmed and ready to go. Next season is going to be fun.

[Prucenterrules]

This is not only about winning. Watch Devils viewership and ticket sales sky rocket this season. Devils marketing is all primmed and ready to go. Next season is going to be fun.

HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!

[ZeroGravityFat]

Lou's boss is taking the heat... make things work better going forward... Lou 100% orchestrates the whole thing.

need to do the same with Parise before they change the rules

don't believe, "it wasn't up to me" bs from Lou

It's especially funny since LL just signed an extension on his deal, there is no way he would let JVB call the shots as they deal with Kovy and still signs knowing that he fvcked up and offered a huge contract without having LL's blessing.

[Legion15]

so now are we going to be one of the "sexy" teams in the NHL after locking up Kovy? Are we going to be seen on national TV more? are we likely to get a winter classic? respect of the writers? finally pull out of the shadows of the ranjerks as the dominant atlantic (or NY metro) team?

Is Bettman betting on the Devils as a marketing machine?

Nah. I'd be surprised to see us going anywhere in that sense. We're not an "original six", nor do we have the wet dreams of the NHL (Cindy and Ovi) or "the market" (even though I think those of us on here are just a percent or two of all Devils fans) that the ranjerks have. (still can't believe how many people haven't seen the light who live in NJ but root for the ranjerks.)

Nah, I'll believe things like that when I see it. No matter how many cups we win, who's on our roster, who our coach is, or any of that, we're just written off as the typical "new jersey" rimshot joke. We rarely get the respect we should.

Edited July 20, 2010 by Legion15

[GoArmySports]

so now are we going to be one of the "sexy" teams in the NHL after locking up Kovy? Are we going to be seen on national TV more? are we likely to get a winter classic? respect of the writers? finally pull out of the shadows of the ranjerks as the dominant atlantic (or NY metro) team?

Is Bettman betting on the Devils as a marketing machine?

Nah. I'd be surprised to see us going anywhere in that sense. We're not an "original six", nor do we have the wet dreams of the NHL (Cindy and Ovi) or "the market" (even though I think those of us on here are just a percent or two of all Devils fans) that the ranjerks have. (still can't believe how many people haven't seen the light who live in NJ but root for the ranjerks.)

Nah, I'll believe things like that when I see it. No matter how many cups we win, who's on our roster, who our coach is, or any of that, we're just written off as the typical "new jersey" rimshot joke. We rarely get the respect we should.

Bingo!

[overtime98]

Of course Vanderbeek was pushing for Lou to sign Kovalchuk. Did you notice attendance and sell outs went up big time after we acquired Kovalchuk? JVB if the owner. He wants the team to have more sell outs. He wants more people to come to Newark. It helps his bottom line. $$$$$$. Yes he may be a fan as well, but he has a job to do and that is make money for the organization and city of newark as well.

[pattyelias]

Of course Vanderbeek was pushing for Lou to sign Kovalchuk. Did you notice attendance and sell outs went up big time after we acquired Kovalchuk? JVB if the owner. He wants the team to have more sell outs. He wants more people to come to Newark. It helps his bottom line. $$$$$$. Yes he may be a fan as well, but he has a job to do and that is make money for the organization and city of newark as well.

I did a breakdown on hfboards of the last 15 or so games the last two seasons. I excluded the philly blizzard game for obvious reasons. There wasn't as dramatic a difference as you would think. There were definitely more sellouts but the devils tend to draw well down the stretch. Next season looks interesting because there tons of weekend games to start the season and the first weekday game is a monday afternoon against pitt on columbus day. Lots of sellout potential. Jvb should be pissed if we don't average over 16k.

[run_to_the_ditch]

The NHL decided to put its foot down with Kovy's contract but they "technically" have no legal legs to stand on...and they know it. This is just posturing by the league to let other teams know they will act as a "bump" in the road for future contracts like this until the new CBA is written and agreed to banning these types of contracts or cutting down on how front loaded they can be.

The NHL denying this contract is like your mom finding you looking at a Playboy when you were little and she said, "you wait until your father gets home", all the while you know NOTHING is going to happen. The contract will be approved...when, hopefully soon.

The NHL is just making a knee jerk reaction because Lou didnt slip through the loop hole, he opened it up like Grand Canyon, held a press conference knowing it would initially be denied...all the while giving GB the finger knowing it would have to be approved.

You dont make a boo boo with a contract like this when the guru of the CBA who used to work for the NHL is now working for the Devils.