Well he said there were no downsides for him. There clearly are some. He doesn't get money from both contracts.
- MrToast

yet in the khl he doesnt lose nearly half...due to agent fees and taxes he's right, there are no downsides for him

Guys why are we even worried. Rod Pelley > Kovalchuk.
- MannySilvers

The "True" captain is back!!!

We seriously couldn't have won two more games in 2012?

This whole thing would be much easier to swallow...
- MannySilvers

I was thinking the same thing

Cant even play NHL i hear his name and get pissed.

Think the Devils would do like the Hernandez thing and let us trade our jerseys in for a different player? I wish

Cant even play NHL i hear his name and get pissed.

Think the Devils would do like the Hernandez thing and let us trade our jerseys in for a different player? I wish
- K-dizzle

if only kovy murdered somebody

good thing we've got Rod!

so kovy hated zid that much that after zid signed he had to run?

Cant even play NHL i hear his name and get pissed.
w
Think the Devils would do like the Hernandez thing and let us trade our jerseys in for a different player? I wish
- K-dizzle

Insanely unprofessional. What a fukking jerk.

yet in the khl he doesnt lose nearly half...due to agent fees and taxes he's right, there are no downsides for him
- annoyance_101

Unless he negotiates without his agent, Russia can't make the agent fees disappear.

You know, good for him for having the balls to do what's important to him. I wish him well.

Still in disbelief. One crazy day.

Cant even play NHL i hear his name and get pissed.

Think the Devils would do like the Hernandez thing and let us trade our jerseys in for a different player? I wish
- K-dizzle

I have him on both my Action PC hockey teams. It's a territorial league and I have the Devils in both leagues as one of my territorial teams. I've been over .500 in the first league every year since it started and I got Crosby this year thinking he and Kovalchuk would be a tandem for years. Not only does this screw me in terms of real life but now I can't even open the game without feeling anger.

And I get it, it's big money. But isn't there anything to be said for playing in the most competitive league in the world? I don't want any part of a big-name Russian player again ever. The risk-reward is too high even if they play in the league let alone if they decide on a whim they don't want to be here anymore. Guys like Radulov barely even scratched the surface of their talent when they were here. And you could find numerous cases of Russian players who never played up to their talent level in the NHL. The lower profile guys like Zubrus, Brylin and Zelepukin are different. They adjusted just fine to a North American style of play and clearly value being here. But the high-profile guys seem to have a quality about them similar to some of these higher-tier gifted NFL wide receivers, probably because they are treated like God's gift from a young age back home. A selfishness like they are above it all. And you never know what you are getting out of them from one year to the next in terms of statistical performance either. The Kostitsyns. Nikita Filatov. Ovechkin even has had his moments where he is in and out of the game. No thanks. Never again. I bet Lou feels the same way.
- BarryB1124

I don't even want to do so much as waste a draft pick on a russian at this point. No telling if they will ever come over to the NHL.

It's 2 am and I'm getting sicker thinking about it. Lou is generally getting trashed on the Fire and Ice blog.

While short term this stinks, long term the ability is there to make this a blessing in disguise provided the money gets spent properly.

The list of UFAs is impressive. The Devils would have enough money to sign both Sedins next year and still have cash left.

You know, good for him for having the balls to do what's important to him. I wish him well.
- LeftCoaster

Does it really take balls to go back to your home country and make more money? He'll be treated like a hero there and laughing all the way to the bank. It's not like the Russian media will criticize him or the players there will dislike him. Seems like a sweet deal to me.

It's 2 am and I'm getting sicker thinking about it. Lou is generally getting trashed on the Fire and Ice blog.

While short term this stinks, long term the ability is there to make this a blessing in disguise provided the money gets spent properly.
- BarryB1124

I still hope its Thursady when I wake up tomorrow

People say we get the long term benefit, but you have to wonder if the long term benefit was worth it for the short term loss.

I still hope its Thursady when I wake up tomorrow

People say we get the long term benefit, but you have to wonder if the long term benefit was worth it for the short term loss.
- rmdevil313

A lot of us were looking forward to the coming year. It's going to be difficult particularly if we don't make the playoffs and lose the first rounder. Such a downer because the team looked well-balanced on paper. 4 strong lines for the first time in a long time.

Does it really take balls to go back to your home country and make more money? He'll be treated like a hero there and laughing all the way to the bank. It's not like the Russian media will criticize him or the players there will dislike him. Seems like a sweet deal to me.
- Nucker101

yeah (frank) em! living at home blows.

A lot of us were looking forward to the coming year. It's going to be difficult particularly if we don't make the playoffs and lose the first rounder. Such a downer because the team looked well-balanced on paper. 4 strong lines for the first time in a long time.
- BarryB1124

Those are really the two things that make this sting so bad. This was probably the best team we had to start the season post 05 lockout (key word being start) and yet we don't even get to see it. And then for all our troubles for losing our best player we don't even have a pick to look forward to.

Those are really the two things that make this sting so bad. This was probably the best team we had to start the season post 05 lockout (key word being start) and yet we don't even get to see it. And then for all our troubles for losing our best player we don't even have a pick to look forward to.
- rmdevil313

Just keep hearing Samuel L Jackson asking Kovy if Lou looks like a female dog.

I'm too hung over for this poop

The manner and timing in which the player made this decision is disasterous for the Devils, and the short-term impact is huge. With that said, long term it was a blessing, because under the new CBA, in 4-5 years (of the remaining 12 on his contract), the contract would have become an albatross, which would have crippled the Devils ability to compete for the Cup. He has probably set the Devils back three years, but under the new CBA, is his decision is probably a long term blessing. But, I know that doesn't mean much now

Long term frees up a lot of capital. But short term aka mainly this season we are for a better term screwed. If we can convince Brunner and maybe another guy it would help. But Kovy's dont come around too often and are not replaced. At this point if nobody is added we are looking horrible. Going to only have one solid scoring line. Elias-Zajac/Henrique-Ryder. All other possible line combos are going to be inconsistent. And no gurantess Those two choices above click. But i see Ryder meshing real nice with patty.

The manner and timing in which the player made this decision is disasterous for the Devils, and the short-term impact is huge. With that said, long term it was a blessing, because under the new CBA, in 4-5 years (of the remaining 12 on his contract), the contract would have become an albatross, which would have crippled the Devils ability to compete for the Cup. He has probably set the Devils back three years, but under the new CBA, is his decision is probably a long term blessing. But, I know that doesn't mean much now
- Pete V

timing was both bad and good. Do we sign Clowe and Ryder if Kovy announces this before UFA period? Not sure probably would of but can't say for certain. Would of had more money and went after more players though thats for sure. So definitely horrible in that sense.

I think this is what irks me most. "He basically came back as a reluctant player after the lockout was over."- Bob McKenzie

Now that it's all gone down he did look like his heart was still in russia this past season. Probably honestly better off just because of this. Don't want someone here who doesn't want to be here. Think everyone can agree on that. If he was retiring from hockey be a lot easier to take, and if you could actually believe him about going back there for strictly family reasons too. But lets be real its all about the $$ it will be proven when he signs a deal paying him what he would of made here in half the time...He got paid more in half a year in russia then he did in any season in the NHL and thats why he wants to go back.

Let's get this to 800 comments