Kovalchuk going Kontinental?
When it comes to Ilya Kovalchuk and his contracts, it’s about as clear and transparent as mud. Kovalchuk is the rumour magnet this offseason and his reign has not come to an end yet. There shouldn’t be any point in mentioning this but erring on the side of caution, here is a roundup of things so far.
Thrashers traded Kovalchuk to the Devils. Kovalchuk entered free agency as the Thrashers, the Devils and the Kings tried to sign him. Pursuers from across the Atlantic also wooed Kovalchuk but the Kontinental Hockey League had no success either. Eventually the Devils signed him but the NHL struck down the contract and Kovalchuk became a free agent again.
That was painful, having to relive this summers’ saga in the 60 words. But let’s put the past behind us and look at the newest twists in the Kovalchuk drama.
The latest Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract rumours say that a new deal with the New Jersey Devils was struck down again. According to these rumours the Devils submitted a contract that they thought would fly with the NHL but didn’t. Thankfully though, those were just rumours. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman explicitly denied reports that the Devils had submitted a new contract to the NHL which was struck down.
He did however acknowledge that the Devils had been in contact with both Kovalchuk and the league to discuss what would be acceptable to both. There was no signed contract, but a ‘conceptual’ contract framework was presented to the league and it was reported that the NHL turned it down. The new deal took the Devils and Kovalchuk almost two weeks to work out and now the Devils and Kovalchuk are still no closer to a deal. All the while, time is running out. The league isn’t budging from its stance even with the very real risk of losing out on one of the NHL’s most prominent players.
Yes losing. If the NHL can’t lock down Kovalchuk than the Russian Kontinental Hockey League might just whisk Kovalchuk away.
The Russian League’s president, Alexander Medvedev said that Kovalchuk knew a deal was still on the table. If the Russians can get their hands on him, they wouldn’t think twice. There has always been a sort of tug of war between the European Leagues and the NHL with the NHL having the upper hand. But if the NHL misses out on Kovalchuk, it would be a significant victory for the Kontinental Hockey League.
Medvedev hinted that Kovalchuk was considering the option. “He's a top-five player in the NHL and if he will decide to come back it will be a breakthrough.” There are indications that Kovalchuk is actually considering it. Medvedev, who also owns a team in the KHL, confirmed that he had received a call from Kovalchuk’s agent but didn’t go into anymore details. He said that he would be calling back the agent. The subject of these talks couldn’t be anything but a move to Russia.
The longer the Devils-Kovalchuk deal takes the more likely it gets that the KHL might in fact acquire the Russian. NHL deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, was unmoved by the remarks made by Medvedev’s at the World Hockey Summit. His confidence, Daly said, came from the fact that Kovalchuk prefers the NHL over the KHL.
“During our arbitration on the first contract, he said as much. His priority is to play in the National Hockey League. It's the best competition in the world, and he wants to be in the League.” That maybe so but if the KHL offers the Russian native a better deal; he might just head back home and that would indeed be a great loss for the NHL.
Daly acknowledged Kovalchuk’s importance to NHL but said that it was very important for the NHL to protect its rules. “I’d rather protect out rules than make an exception for an exceptional player.”
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