Ilya Kovalchuk’s Agent Jay Grossman says Kovalchuk's choices narrowed
Fans of the National Hockey League anxiously await news of where Ilya Kovalchuk will be contributing around 40 goals next season. Unfortunately, the wait is slated to continue. Jay Grossman, agent for the star winger, had announced via Twitter that Kovalchuk’s decision could be announced on Monday. Instead, he posted that no decision was forthcoming. The initial tantalizing tweet posted early on Monday read: “Ilya Kovalchuk looking to make decision on his future today."
Later on in the evening Grossman followed up with: "Ilya Kovalchuk choices have been narrowed down, details to be finalized, but no announcement tonight." Although anything is possible in negotiations like this, the top two contenders for Kovalchuk’s services seem to be the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders. The Los Angeles Kings were also thought to be a possibility, but General Manager Dean Lombardi told local papers that the Kings were unable to reach any sort of agreement.
He could give no specifics on where negotiations fell short, and in an e-mail to the Los Angeles Times' Helene Elliott, Lombardi’s only explanation was: “We took our best shot to meet his needs and the team's.” As the two remaining options seem to be the Islanders and the Devils, Kovalchuk has to choose between money and victory. The Islanders are far below the salary cap and can afford to shower Kovalchuk with money, while the Devils are perennial contenders and have won three Stanley Cups since 1995.
Islanders GM Garth Snow confirmed to both Newsday and ESPN.com that he had contacted Kovalchuk's representatives, though he did not mention any specifics. An anonymous source close to the situation has reported that the Isles could make an offer worth $100 million over ten years.
Such an offer is not guaranteed to sway Kovalchuk. Last season before he was traded to the New Jersey Devils, Kovalchuk turned down a similarly priced deal of $70 million over seven years from the Atlanta Thrashers. He also reportedly did not accept the subsequent offer of $101 million over 12 years.
If Kovalchuk does go to the Islanders, he could make an excellent pairing with the team’s young centre John Tavares. Last season, in his rookie year, Tavares played all 82 games and had a total of 54 points on 20 goals and 34 assists. Given a talented presence like Kovalchuk on the left wing, Tavares’s sophomore efforts would surely be even more fruitful.
Unfortunately, the Islanders are a franchise needing to be rebuilt and Kovalchuk’s departure from the Atlanta Thrashers was due to a desire to win rather than a monetary dispute. Whereas the Islanders finished last in the Atlantic Division last season, the other team offering Kovalchuk a deal finished well atop the standings. The Devils have not missed the playoffs in 13 years.
Last season Kovalchuk played 27 games for the Devils after being traded from Atlanta and had no issues producing. He averaged a point every game and had 10 goals and 17 assists total. In the playoffs he maintained his production and had six points in the Devils’ five games.
Unless another offer emerges, the man with 338 career goals in 621 regular-season games will most likely end up in New Jersey once again. At this point in his career, Kovalchuk should not be hampering for money but rather success. He was a dominating scorer for Atlanta, but he also has just nine play-off appearances, five of which came last year.
The true mark of NHL players is often measured by their trophies and accolades and Kovalchuk lacks the most important one. He may be young and able to wait for the Isles’ rebuilding, but New Jersey has shown so much consistency over the last 20 years that it’d be foolish to assume he could win it all more quickly with any other team.
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