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In today's post, I will be writing about Ilya Kovalchuk for the third consecutive day.
There are a few reasons for this:
1) Kovalchuk is a treasure and I love watching him play more than most people love their first born child (maybe not, but it's probably close!).
2) A potential return is huge news. Remember that time he led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final while fighting through serious back problems? The guy is a beast.
3) There are a lot of layers to the story, which means there's a lot to touch on.
4) It is April. Preseason doesn't even begin until mid-to-late September. There's a lot of time to kill, people.
Now, for some more notes on Kovalchuk:
- The great Bob McKenzie posted a few tweets on Monday afternoon that added some more clarity to the Kovalchuk situation. I'll share the most important.
This doesn't impact much. If a team were to trade for Kovalchuk, one would think they'd get the framework of a contract in place behind the scenes. No team would trade assets for Kovalchuk without knowing if he is willing to sign with said team and how much he'd want in the way of years and dollars. The no trading rights thing just means the Devils would have to officially sign Kovalchuk to the contract an acquiring team wants, then they can trade him. No problem there, should it come to that.
This is not at all a surprise. Theoretically, let's say Kovalchuk has no interest in returning to the Devils and wants to sign with the New York Rangers. Do we think for a second the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, etc. will sign off on that? No. Even if they did, the Devils could mess things up for everyone and disapprove of him signing with any team in the league. That, of course, means the Devils would be in complete control of the situation. If they aren't getting Kovalchuk, they're going to make teams go through them and trade assets to get him.
- I've seen some people suggest Kovalchuk is using the NHL as leverage to work out a better contract in Russia. I'm not 100% on this, but I believe he signed a new deal there last year. Even if he didn't, I don't think a local player who put up 78 points in 60 games needs to threaten to leave in order to get paid.
Also of note: Kovalchuk's friend and national teammate, Alex Radulov, seems pretty sure the former is coming overseas.
- "Kovalchuk just turned 34 and is past his prime. Is he even worth the hassle? How much of an impact could he even make?" Great questions, I'm glad you asked.
Jonathan Willis of Sportsnet, among other websites,
put together a good piece on Kovalchuk. It is definitely worth a read but, in short, Willis used a formula that helps get a baseline for how much KHL production translates to the NHL level. His findings were that, based on Kovalchuk's last few years overseas, he would probably still be good for 60+ points in the NHL, which is 1st line production. For perspective, 60 points on the button would have ranked Kovalchuk 40th in scoring among forwards this past season.
That total would give Kovalchuk more points than Evgeny Kuznetsov, Filip Forsberg, Alex Wennberg, Sean Monahan, Jonathan Toews, Claude Giroux and Taylor Hall, among many others. Getting that kind of production without losing a player, prospect or draft pick would be fantastic.
Kovalchuk may not be the player he once was but he is still a damn good one.
- I've been asked several times about what New Jersey could get for Kovalchuk if they decide to trade him or he won't sign with the team. It's hard to say considering situations like this are so unique but I would think the Devils would chase a roster player rather than picks/prospects. They have 19 picks over the next two drafts and an improving pipeline. At some point, you need to stop adding futures and get something that can help improve the team right away. I expect that's what Ray Shero will try and do if he ends up trading Kovalchuk.
- I don't ask for much in life but I really want to see Taylor Hall and Kovalchuk spearheading the top line. Hall averaged more 5v5 assists per 60 last year than the likes of Tyler Seguin, Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, William Nylander, and Jonathan Drouin, among many others. He is low-key a spectacular playmaker and I think he'd be a great fit with Kovalchuk.
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