Thank Goodness That's Over: Kovy re-signs with the Devils
by IslesOfficial on Jul 19, 2010 12:46 PM EDT
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"I swear guys, Lou never told me he was going to pay me THAT much! Please don't hit me?!"
photo via PicApp
I can't even tell you how sick I am of this storyline. Needless to say, 'bout friggin' time! Check out the Devils website for the press conference at 1 PM tomorrow, 7/20/10.
Now that the saga to land one of the most coveted free agents in recent memory is over, how do you think think this bodes for the Islanders and the dominos that are sure to fall as result of Kovy's signing? Get your thoughts down in the comments.
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I'm guessing one decent signing
Frolov, perhaps? I wouldn’t mind, so long as the number of years in the contract is a sideways 8.
Warning: This post may cause Yashin Rashes, Spano Spasms, and Dingle Milburys.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Jul 19, 2010 12:56 PM EDT reply actions
Curious what Loophole Lou's terms are
Don’t know how this will affect the Isles (will they bite on a wing like many of us hope?), but I know we can now enjoy a decade of Devils fans telling us how it makes them Cup winners while deep down inside they fear it will all go terribly wrong.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Nah, I think all but a deluded few Devils fans are pretty clearly worried it might go terribly wrong.
We’ll see what happens once the other shoe drops and the terms of the contract are released, and the inevitable personnel changes that must happen to accommodate him go through.
DON'T PANIC.
I’m sure Puck Daddy-Wysh was just poking fun, but him talking about the Cup parade next summer is just the kind of crazy stoking that will spread such fire.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
What are the terms?
I didn’t see them on the Devils’ site, and the Daily News link is just for the post’s photo.
Yeah, whatever the terms are, I’m guessing they’re for a loooong time. He won’t be fast forever.
By the way, I meant to say above that the number of years in the contract is NOT a sideways 8.
Warning: This post may cause Yashin Rashes, Spano Spasms, and Dingle Milburys.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Jul 19, 2010 1:02 PM EDT reply actions
What are the terms? I didn’t see them on the Devils’ site
They might discuss that at the press conference.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 19, 2010 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I guess so. I was only reacting to something Dom said. It sounded like he read it somewhere. Upon further review, that wasn’t the case (“Loophole” referring to Lou, rather than the contract).
Warning: This post may cause Yashin Rashes, Spano Spasms, and Dingle Milburys.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Jul 19, 2010 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions
No fillers
I think we should sign another winger or two as long as they bring something more than we could get out of a prospect. I don’t think we get Frolov but maybe Afinogenov. If that does not work I could go with a 1-2 year deal on a aging vet like Nolan or Kariya as well. You can get 15 goals out of them (if they stay healthy) and either would make a good mentor. The short term contract would leave room for youth in the near term and they could always be trade bait if need be.
No fillers indeed
I agree — add a winger with punch or run with what they have (Barring a really smart but undervalued checking forward, like Malhotra was). Frolov would be great. A guy like Gagne would be a nice short-term boost for next season, but they just aren’t in position to be giving up assets on the trade market.
Kariya and Nolan both have the expected age red flags to me, but I won’t like, I’ve thought about a (finally) healthy Kariya streaking down Tavares’ wing. Seems like he has his pick and can sign with a Pitt type of team if he wants to continue though.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Moving Forward
Now that the Kovi situation has been resolved, we can all move on. While the young stable of talent is impressive, most are still not ready for prime time. If Petrov is indeed going to be on the roster, signing a countryman to help ease the transition is a good idea. Afinogenov would be the most logical, not Frolov, and not Yashin Pt.Deux. Owen Nolan adds size,grit, and leadership, and can still play a bit. That would be a nice fit, if he were willing to play here. If none of this comes to fruition, you can only hope that Garth can take advantage of a team trying to get under the cap, and pick up some real talent (Sharp,Gagne) on the cheap.
Sharp should be the target if I’m Snowman. Gagne has supposedly been dealt to Tampa already…as of this comment.
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by IslesOfficial on Jul 19, 2010 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Speaking of which...
What the HELL are the Flyers doing?
Seriously. Bring on Zherdev, MESZAROS?!, Walker, and dump Gagne’s expiring contract?
One step forward, two steps back.
We spin our wheels when Holmgrem attacks.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Flyers weren’t going to be able to keep Gagne and Richards at the end of the season.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
But why...
Why bet on Zherdev? Why bet on freaking Meszaros at that salary?! That’s what I don’t get. And why take on Walker? If you’re salary dumping, just dump already.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
the whole Walker thing, I see as a smart move by Yzerman in getting rid of a purely Depth Dman who was making nearly 2 million a year. The Flyers will probably dump him, but Stevie Y probably wasn’t willing to make the deal without dumping some salary of his own.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Probably right. And Walker, if you have the room, isn’t a bad 6 or 7 guy to have at all. Plus for games when you need to put on the foil…
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
That would be funny...
… if the Isles signed Yashin (which we all know will NOT be happening). But if it did, that would make him the only player to be paid for both playing for a team, and for NOT playing for that same team, at the same time.
Are any of Weight’s old buddies available? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind giving a sales pitch.
Warning: This post may cause Yashin Rashes, Spano Spasms, and Dingle Milburys.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Jul 19, 2010 2:07 PM EDT reply actions
Weight's buddies
LOL. Billy McNulty Guerin needs work! Tkachuk put himself out to pasture. Modano’s weighing 3rd-line offers … anyone younger in Dougie’s rolodex?
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
LOL- oops, you beat me to that, Dom! :D
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 19, 2010 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Are any of Weight’s old buddies available?
His BEST buddy is available, actually.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 19, 2010 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Rumor has it
I hear tell that this is the long-whispered 17-year deal. In other words, Kovi is making his $10 mil per for the first seven or eight seasons, and much less for the remainder. The Devils will be paying him probably a million per season while he’s 44 years old.
Makes sense all around. The Devils get their guy pretty much for the rest of his career; Kovi gets his money and the relative freedom from gangsters American athletes enjoy. The league fumes a bit at a $10 million-per deal only hitting the cap for $6 mil or so.*
* If the deal is $10M/yr for 8 years, then stepping to 8, 6, 4, 2, and then 1 for the remainder, it comes out to $105 million over 17 years, or $6,176,470.59 on the cap hit.
I suppose I see a small problem with it, but only a small one. The team is going to have that cap hit for five years after he retires. The question is whether the idea of a cap survives the next few collective bargaining sessions, especially with Donald Fehr coming on board.
Of course I'm an expert, I've seen Slap Shot eleven times!
Kovi gets his money and the relative freedom from gangsters American athletes enjoy.
God I love this.
Yeah, we’re in a strange universe if the next CBA allows some of these stupid commitments to go away. One clarification though: His cap hit won’t linger after he retires; only 35+ (when signed) deals do. So the awkwardness will be if/when he thinks he still has it, and the team says, “Really, we need you to retire. Like now.”
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
so the Cap hit is just the average salary
does that mean each year it only counts as $6 million towards the cap? I didn’t know that
by Rickfansince76 on Jul 20, 2010 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Yep
There are pros and cons to that, but no matter how much your salary goes up or down, the cap hit is the average annual value (you’ll see it referred to as “AAV”) of the entire deal.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
oooooohhhhhhhhhhh
One clarification though: His cap hit won’t linger after he retires; only 35+ (when signed) deals do.
I did NOT know that! That’s why Bettman’s so steamed – essentially it’s four million free dollars under the cap, because when the guy packs it in, those five years of cap hit magically vanish. That’s a Zamboni of a different color. I thought that it was much less of a loophole.
They’ve gotta fix that. Maybe any contract of a certain length has a persistent cap hit even if the player retires? Say, anything longer than ten seasons and due to run out the year after the player turns 38?
Of course I'm an expert, I've seen Slap Shot eleven times!
The easiest thing they could do is say no year’s salary can be less than half of any other year’s. (At present, the only stipulation is that no drop from one year to the next can be more than 50% of either of the first two years, which is why Hossa’s drops off on a fast curve in the later years.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
more fun from prospects… and yep, that’s our anders…
still trying to figure out the meaning of "want you, cuckoo, cannonball" ... ... ... 17 years later...
That is one helluva fracas
I went ahead and put up a FanShot for it with an additional local link.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
The easiest thing they could do is say no year’s salary can be less than half of any other year’s.
YES- this absolutely has to happen, to stop these stupidass frontloaded cap-circumventing BS contracts.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 19, 2010 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions
not bad
It would stop the long lingering single years at one million.
A deal like Kovi’s may not be affected that much by a rule like that. 10 × 8, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 × 5 is the same as 10 × 6, 5 × 11 as far as total money, length, and hit per year. From the team’s standpoint the latter is preferable, as you owe less money up front and save more if the player calls it quits: Kovi could play, say, 12 years and earn $100 million one way, or $90 million the other. In the end you can waive and demote if the player refuses to retire twelve years later, and then the hit is gone, even though the team would still be on the hook for the actual dollars. A guy may not like leaving $10 million on the table, but if that’s the rule they’ll sign deals like that anyway, and the overall effect is the same. (Signing for 8 years at $9 million per instead means hoping for one more deal of four years, $4.5 each, at a well-advanced age. Net effect is the same for the player. In other words that $10 million will stay in the owners’ pockets.)
The real effect would be in the Hossa-to-Chicago deals, something like eight years/ $40 million, where the first four years are $9 per and the last four are $1 per. A 45% discount on the cap hit is good times for a team that needs to add a big-time player short-term without buggering their cap when their own RFA’s come calling. Those deals would vanish. Fewer huge paydays for those players and a tougher job for the GMs. That may not ever get into the CBA unless all the small-market sorts bully it through, and that’s highly unlikely.
Of course I'm an expert, I've seen Slap Shot eleven times!
Escrow
One interesting variable in this is the front-loaded deals hit the mid-level guys on escrow. That could create some union division. Guys whose salary far exceed their cap hit costs other guys money.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
heh
Apparently, I also don’t know how to blockquote properly.
Of course I'm an expert, I've seen Slap Shot eleven times!
Sometimes the clutch sticks.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
So I ask again
What the hell are the Flyers doing?
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
wonder if we should have signed him
it will be interesting to see how he endures, and if we could of had a good thing for a long time or if skipping was th eright move
Very seriously doubt the Isles were ever a consideration. They could have offered a max contract in perpetuity and likely no chance in hell Kovy would have come here.
I’d have to think that the Isles could have / did offer more in $ terms but were likely laughed at. Who knows about length of contract, but I’d love to hear DP’s thoughts on the 17-year deal.
I think I do hear something, AP...
Be sure to stretch before practice and games!
Of course I'm an expert, I've seen Slap Shot eleven times!
Avoid All-Star Skills Competitions like your career depended on it…
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Always wear sunscreen…a lot of it.
"..."
by Thaddeus Ballpheasant on Jul 19, 2010 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions
I think if he wanted to compete for the Cup, he should have signed with the Kings. How many more chances at winning the cup are the Devils going to have?
Plus I just don’t like the whole old school reunion that the Devils are doing bringing in guys like Arnott. It reeks of desperation.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
He’s 38 next year, and 4 of the last 5 seasons he’s faced the most shots in his career.
If he wins the Cup, he’s got to be ready to retire. But I don’t think he can keep this pace going beyond 40. And he’s really due to get another injury.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Good points
I agree, I think Kovi would have been a far better fit in LA and he probably would have been part of a buid toward cup contention there…in New Jersey it just seems like they are just throwing a bunch of players together and hoping it all works out…but on the other hand Lou usually has a plan. It will be cool to see how this plays out the next few years…I’m just glad we didn’t get him with a long term deal.
It's an interesting dilemma
I think LA’s a better bet. Then again, they’re in the tougher (as of now) West, and that’s adding minimum 4 hours (likely more) on a flight to Russia, if that matters. And NYC certainly has a bigger draw for your average Russian than LA. (Ilya was reportedly big in Atlanta’s Russian community, so I feel okay making that suggestion.)
But really, it’s impossible for me to place myself in his shoes, as I’d go for the best team or, alternatively, go for a big one-year payday ($11.5 million from an NYI-type?) to show my mettle and prove doubters I’m worth it before cashing in big the next year. The difference between $5 million on a winner and $10 million on an aging team is incomprehensible unless you have designs on buying an island.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
I agree
The Kings have so much young up and coming talent, they seem like the next version of the Hawks. The Devils have done ok when Marty has gone down in the past and have made some very average goalies look pretty good so who knows. I do think they are past their peak and declining though so we’ll see.
they seem like the next version of the Hawks.
You are definitely not alone in feeling that way, but a team has to do a lot more than make the playoffs one flippin time since 2002 (and get wiped out in the first round!) to make me go that far. Heck- the Isles have done more than they have, as I pointed out here
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 20, 2010 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions
I wanted Kovi but not for 10 or more years
Good luck in NJ
"we believe in comebacks"
Jerry being Jerry
How about 17 years?
That’s what’s being reported. I kid you not.
Warning: This post may cause Yashin Rashes, Spano Spasms, and Dingle Milburys.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Jul 19, 2010 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Ehhh, the breakdown is such that once he hits 34/35 the cap hit is almost nothing, and if he retires the whole thing comes off.
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
at 44 he will still be getting a paycheck
it is kind of a pension for playing 10 years, a tenure
by Rickfansince76 on Jul 20, 2010 7:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Nah
And if he IS getting a paycheck, it will not be that one. He will retire the day that the fake salary years start… and make millions elsewhere.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 20, 2010 8:40 AM EDT up reply actions
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
