The arbitrator finally ruled that the NHL had the right to void Ilya Kovalchuk's contract. Sorry Devil fans. Not really, but you get what I mean. You know Lou isn't going to pony up the cash to give him an offer that doesn't completely work around the CBA. He'll probably give something similar to Hossa's deal, but I'd expect the Islanders or the Kings to match or exceed it. Honestly, if I were Ilya, I'd sign on somewhere else. This isn't because of geography. Unlike most people, I love Jersey, but once Marty's gone the Devils are in for a few rough years. The other two teams in the race are on the up and up. The Islanders have a young group that should be exciting to watch develop over the next couple of seasons and the Penguins have shown that you can go from bankrupt to league gem with the right faces. The Kings play in a potentially big market if they produce a winner, have made the playoffs, and are looking to take the next step. Whatever happens, the free agency circus is open again and, though it seems hypocritical, the NHL has gained some credibility by taking a stand on ridiculous long-term contracts. A line has been drawn. It may be a few 10 year deals too late, but at least it's been drawn.
Monday, 9 August 2010
Kovy Back in Free Agency
The arbitrator finally ruled that the NHL had the right to void Ilya Kovalchuk's contract. Sorry Devil fans. Not really, but you get what I mean. You know Lou isn't going to pony up the cash to give him an offer that doesn't completely work around the CBA. He'll probably give something similar to Hossa's deal, but I'd expect the Islanders or the Kings to match or exceed it. Honestly, if I were Ilya, I'd sign on somewhere else. This isn't because of geography. Unlike most people, I love Jersey, but once Marty's gone the Devils are in for a few rough years. The other two teams in the race are on the up and up. The Islanders have a young group that should be exciting to watch develop over the next couple of seasons and the Penguins have shown that you can go from bankrupt to league gem with the right faces. The Kings play in a potentially big market if they produce a winner, have made the playoffs, and are looking to take the next step. Whatever happens, the free agency circus is open again and, though it seems hypocritical, the NHL has gained some credibility by taking a stand on ridiculous long-term contracts. A line has been drawn. It may be a few 10 year deals too late, but at least it's been drawn.
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The NHL is supposedly looking into the Pronger and Hossa deals, as they should if they want to have any sort of credibility with their decision to contest the Kovy contract....and I disagree that the Devils are in for a rough few years when Marty is gone. Keep in mind the last 4 teams left this year had goalies by the names of Niemi, Rask, Halak and Nabakov.....not exactly a superstar lineup of net minders. I honestly believe the days of the elite goalie are coming to a close...I mean other than Marty who are goalies that you could say are consistent Vezina finalists? Miller, Luongo, maybe throw Lundqvist in there?...Plus think about the Devils last year when Marty got hurt, Clemmensen came in and went on a tear because of the TEAM in front of him....now hes down in Florida riding the pine or for 60 games with a 2.91 GAA.....All I'm saying is the Devils days aren't numbered when Marty is gone, if anything the team will elevate their play knowing he's not back there to rely on...just like they did with Clemmer
ReplyDeleteBefore commenting on the Devils I'll start with the goalies. Rask is young but he's a superstar in the making. In a couple of years he'll be consistently up for the Vezina. Halak also put up filthy playoff numbers, and without him they wouldn't have made it out of the first round. Nabakov is a consistent Vezina contender, even though he's garbage in the playoffs, so to say he isn't elite is a bit of a stretch. While it is true that you can win without outstanding goaltending as the Hawks just proved, but the Hawks got themselves into cap trouble organizing the talent to make up for their goaltending issues. To a lesser extent, the same can be said about the Flyers who needed to get rid of Gagne this offseason. Keeping a winning team in front of a bad goaltender is difficult to do in this era because of salary issues. Everyone using that style is building off Detroit's model, but striking gold in the 4th and 5th rounds of the draft doesn't always happen. It can work short term, maybe for a couple of years, but I have my doubts about whether it's a way to build a consistent winner. Even Detroit is relying more on Jimmy Howard going into the future.
ReplyDeleteMarty's only the most notable piece of the Devils puzzle that you can point to when referencing their decline. I think the bigger issue is complacency. The Devils have been consistently good for so long that they are bound to fall off. What else does Lou have to prove to the league? He's already in the Hockey Hall of Fame, has already won cups, and he's almost 70 years old. Does he still have the same fire to build the winners he put together in 1995, 2000, and 2003? They may still be winning division titles, but flaming out in the first round doesn't exactly bode well for their future. Lou's attempt to do something uncharacteristic, like bring in a big name superstar at the expense of resigning someone like Paul Martin, may be to attract fan attention but it may not be what's best for the club. That's not the way they've won in the past and looks more like something the Rangers would do (and as a Ranger fan I can assure you that those years of throwing together big names hoping to make a splash sucked). It's only natural that they'll have a few down years and it feels like they're beginning now. The Islanders and Kings, on the other hand, are just starting to come together as competitive clubs. They're assembling young talent in organizations that are hungry for a winner.