Ilya Kovalchuk and Kings Attempt to Negotiate Again
On Sunday, the Los Angeles Kings had announced that they were no longer in any sort of contention to sign star free agent winger Ilya Kovalchuk. On Wednesday, the Kings reopened negotiations with Kovalchuk’s agent.
The new talks proved to be just as fruitless as the initial ones and the Kings ended up saying ”thanks, but no thanks" to the agent’s counter-proposal. It seems Kovalchuk wants to actually play for the Kings but the team decided it was in its best interests to pass on the revamped offer.
This deal would have been an epic situation for the Kings, but given their salary cap it could have had damaging future repercussions. According to General Manager Dan Lombardi, the Kings felt that signing Kovalchuk would mean sacrificing the ability to retain the young players that have been the cornerstones of L.A.’s game.
"We really would love to add Kovi to our team, but not at the cost of our good young players," Tim Leiweke, the Kings' governor and chief executive of parent company AEG, told Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times. "Dean is trying here, but we know what we need in cap space going forward to keep our nucleus together. We can't let one guy throw us into panic in a year or two. It is not about cash. It is about cap."
According to Elliot, the Kings offered him $63 million over 12 years, which would be an annual $5.25 million. They also offered an improved $84.5 million for 13 years, worth $6.5 million per season.
Kovalchuk did not take this offer as he is known to be looking for deals that will pay him within the range of $10 million per season.
The reason the Kings were unable to sacrifice any more salary cap in their attempts to sign Kovalchuk is due to the expiring contracts of Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. The young defensemen’s contracts expire next year and Los Angeles considers it a necessity to retain the pair.
The two combined for a 85 points last season and the Kings main priority is to ensure their long-term presence on the blue-line.
This leaves the New Jersey Devils, who signed Kovalchuk to a short-term deal halfway through last season, as the only team with an open interest in the 50-goal scorer.
The New York Post has reported that the Devils offered a six-year, $60 million deal to the Russian star, but nothing has actually come to fruition. When ESPN contacted Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello, he remained mum. According to Lamoriello: "Everything is status quo, that's all I'm going to say."
Apparently there have been numerous short-term offers for Kovalchuk, in the vein of how Marian Hossa has signed around the League over the last few seasons, but that is not Kovalchuk’s desire.
It is uncertain which team has the money and necessity to offer Kovalchuk a deal, but the Devils remain the best candidates.
Kovalchuk has also officially received an offer from the Kontinental Hockey League’s SKA St. Petersburg. SKA has just signed goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who was let go by the San Jose Sharks in the offseason.
Kovalchuk, a consistent 40-goal scorer, would be an addition to any team but his monetary demands have been almost impossible to meet. While the Devils are the best fit, to sign Kovalchuk they would have to clear out some serious salary cap space.
Kovalchuk needs to decide if he wants to win or if he wants to get paid. At $10 million, his deal is almost a negative impact and his salary is the reason that the Atlanta Thrashers could not build a team until he left.
He may be a phenomenal scorer, but can a player really be considered elite with a career total of five play-off appearances? Kovalchuk should be smart and opt for a smaller deal that guarantees success, like that made in L.A., but something says he wouldn’t be past splitting for Russia just to earn a huge salary.
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