Ilya Kovalchuk announces retirement

[FireCaptain 563]

Countdown to Brunner going to NJ begins in:

1...

[St. Michael (the Red Wing) 422]

I don't feel sorry for the Devils organization on this one.

However he indeed was a fun player to watch.

[Rivalred 630]

Looks like NJ will be looking to replace his presence... Best wishes Kovie

[Travis 576]

Seriously he played like 27 min a night. Double shifted all the time.

Seriously? Holy hell. Maybe that's why he left.

[SaCkaveli20 275]

Countdown to Brunner going to NJ begins in:

1...

While I think Brunner is a good player...

Could you imagine their fan base? Write off your Ferrari for a Cavalier?

[sleepwalker 512]

Lou wishes him the best, and then calls Luca.

The kid on the second floor, who lives upstairs from Lou?

[FireCaptain 563]

Yes, I think you've seen him before.

The kid on the second floor, who lives upstairs from Lou?

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

Yes, I think you've seen him before.

[Cloune 270]

[ogreslayer 1,069]

Wasn't Lou not all that happy to have to sign Kovy to that ridiculous deal in the first place i.e. was strong-armed by ownership to do it? If I were him, I would actually be pretty happy getting out from under that contract, especially now that he's not looking down the barrel of an big cap penalty if Kovy stayed on instead & retired a year or two before the contract was up. Given the size of the contract & the Devil's ongoing money issues, there's no way they would have bought him out so I really don't see Lou putting up much of a fight to convince him to stay if there were really any regrets about signing him to begin with.

Edit w/ additional thought: I do wonder how much of the retirement was Kovy's idea & how much Lou contributed to it.

Edited July 11, 2013 by ogreslayer

[Opie 308]

The kid on the second floor, who lives upstairs from Lou?

Fantastic reference!

[FireCaptain 563]

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!

Greg Wyshynski ‏@wyshynski7m

What I know in my 30 years as a Devils fan: When strange sh|t happens, there's a reason they call him Loophole Lou.

Edited July 11, 2013 by FireCaptain

[StormJH1 231]

Wasn't Lou not all that happy to have to sign Kovy to that ridiculous deal in the first place i.e. was strong-armed by ownership to do it? If I were him, I would actually be pretty happy getting out from under that contract, especially now that he's not looking down the barrel of an big cap penalty if Kovy stayed on instead & retired a year or two before the contract was up. Given the size of the contract & the Devil's ongoing money issues, there's no way they would have bought him out so I really don't see Lou putting up much of a fight to convince him to stay if there were really any regrets about signing him to begin with.

Edit w/ additional thought: I do wonder how much of the retirement was Kovy's idea & how much Lou contributed to it.

This is STUNNING. People have to remember the original context of this - this was the contract that broke backdiving deals like the ones the Hawks abused and helped perpetuate the lockout. They were also penalized a 1st and 3rd rounder for trying to sign him. And all of that was to penalize them for something that never happened - which was that he would retire later in his 30's before his actually salary fell below his cap hit.

I'm not sure the Devils wanted to "get out" from this contract. The original deal was voided by the NHL, and they signed a different one again anyway. Kovy got them to a SCF, and pretty much delivered everything they could have asked for. That franchise is becoming a wasteland out of nowhere.

[SaCkaveli20 275]

It's looking better and better everyday Detroit moving East

[Guest The Axe]

The kid on the second floor, who lives upstairs from Lou?

Good stuff!!!

Kovalchuk would look good in a Wings uni.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Wow, what a class act; he really screwed over the Devils here. He cost them millions of dollars in fines, a first-round pick, and the chance to re-sign Parise, and now he jets almost a week after free agency began.

Kovalchuk cost them millions in fines and a 1st round pick? Lamoriello and the owner, who structured the backdiving deal, had no part in it?

Here's his statement on the Devils website (emphasis mine). Sounds like he's going back for family.

“This decision was something I have thought about for a long time going back to the lockout and spending the year in Russia. Though I decided to return this past season, Lou was aware of my desire to go back home and have my family there with me. The most difficult thing for me is to leave the New Jersey Devils, a great organization that I have a lot of respect for, and our fans that have been great to me.”

http://devils.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=677775

Lou's statement:

After many conversations with Ilya over the past year on his desire to retire from the National Hockey League, Ilya’s decision became official today. On behalf of the entire organization, I wish Ilya and his family all the best in their future endeavors.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1701198-ilya-kovalchuk-retires-from-nhl-after-11-year-career

[Hairy Lime 234]

This really screwed the Devil's. Maybe they would've resigned Clarkson, or gone after a few of the other big-name free-agents.

There is something really screwy here.

[Mitchmac33 103]

Bob Mckenzie just tweeted that it voids his contract. So what does that mean if he ever decides he wants to come back?

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie4m

A few quick thoughts on Kovalchuk's "retirement" from NHL that voids his NHL contract but paves way for him to sign in KHL

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie4m

1. Mutual (player and club agree) termination of an NHL contract not that unusual but usually involves lower-profile players.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie1m

2. If NJ had so chosen, it could've blocked Kovalchuk from the KHL by tolling contract. But NJ isn't doing that, he's free to go to KHL.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie3m

3. Kovalchuk doesn't get paid anything (by NJ) and Devils don't get cap hit other than a modest $250K/year penalty for each of next 12 years

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie52s

4. NJ will miss Kovallchuk on ice in the short term but long-term gain is getting out from under long-term financial obligation.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Mitchmac33

[TheDetroitRedWings 286]

After somewhat recently losing their former captain in Parise, then losing a heart and soul player like Clarkson, now losing Kovy?? You can pretty much bank on them signing Grabovksi and probably Brunner as well. Cause not only do they need some players they now have extra $ to spend. I'll be shocked if they don't sign one (or 2) of the big names still out there by the end of this week

[StormJH1 231]

Apparently, if he ever wants to return to the NHL, it would have to be approved by every team.

I guess I'm just perplexed by how many media outlets are talking about how great this is for the Devils organization. Great how? Nobody put a gun to their head and made them give this guy that length of term...twice. If you sign a contract that's so bad that you'd happily lose an elite player in his prime because you don't want to pay for him, you shouldn't have played high stakes poker to begin with. That team now has terrible long-term contracts for both Zajac and Clowe (I liked the 2-yr deal for Ryder). They have 10 million in cap room, but virtually nobody left to spend it on because Kovy did this now instead of two weeks ago.

After somewhat recently losing their former captain in Parise, then losing a heart and soul player like Clarkson, now losing Kovy?? You can pretty much bank on them signing Grabovksi and probably Brunner as well. Cause not only do they need some players they now have extra $ to spend. I'll be shocked if they don't sign one (or 2) of the big names still out there by the end of this week

Right, except signing Grabovski and Brunner will probably approach the cap hit that Kovy had. I'm not sure any rational Devils fan would rather have two mid-level players over one mega-star. So now you have a less competitive team saddled with a greater number of mediocre contracts, instead of one huge contract for a guy who was one of the best scorers in the NHL. If I'm a Devils fan, I'm PISSED.

Edited July 11, 2013 by StormJH1

[amato 3,210]

Poor zajac is stuck allll alone ha

[Euro_Twins 4,475]

Wow. He was gonna make a crap ton of money over the next few years too and he is only 30 right in his prime. Kind of a Dick no e by him

[edicius 3,269]

Don Cherry is going to have a field day with this.

[Kira 451]

Anyone want to play for Jersey? I hear they're looking for some power up front.

I just saw this when I came home from Saginaw. Who'd of thunk it???

Edited July 11, 2013 by Kira

[FireCaptain 563]

Read a twitter, maybe it was Wishinsky (sp) that said Kovy is in deep with the money men in the KHL and will probably make $50 Million over the next 5 years.

Don't cry over his 'lost' NHL money.