That their attendance woes are such that Lou Lamoriello felt that he had to bring back the Russian sniper is just sad. Kovalchuk is the red hot sportscar, the Lambo that goes fast and turns heads. But it can't deal with the potholes and inclement weather of the NHL season and will never pull into the great parking lot Stanley Cup parade.
I guess Devil ownership pressured Lamoriello to fill their still relatively new building night after night because the usually shrewd GM can't have wanted this. Kovy has folded in each of the (few) high pressure situations he has been in - the two playoffs and the Olympics. He is all flash and little substance - a complete opposite from the usual Devil. But he can score some sexy goals and might be able to bring back the few fairweather fans who follow hockey in Jersey and can't/won't make it to the Garden.For Kovalchuk, it is a great deal, he makes money and has no pressure. He will be at least fifth on the pecking order behind Mmmmaaarrrrtttyyyy, Parise, Elias and new coach Johnny Mac (Lou reigns over all and doesn't count on the ladder of accounability). Kovy can head to Brighton Beach whenever he wants, enjoy the lights and sounds of New York without any of the pressures that come with it or the city taxes. And if the rumours that the deal is really for 17 years, well, that is just comical on all fronts.
For a Ranger fan, of course, I have no issues with the Devils strangling themselves like that. As for when Kovy steps on the ice against the Blueshirts, sure he is a career 19-14-2-1 (1 being a pre-lockout tie) against the Rangers but he is also the author of such monumental moments as this, this, this and, awesomely, this. Let's hope that the new chapter of Kovy's career is filled with all of that and more.
34 comments:
Wow. I can't wait until 2027 when the Devils fans are all excited to have that Kovy albatross from off their back. Good lord that is a stupid deal.
-Sather Die in a Fire
Hey Kovy...Boogaard's gonna kill you.
Wow, whining much? Since when did you become an expert on how this deal was done with Lou? Yup and Avery is going to be so effective this year too since his balls have been cut off by Torts. Now, when the Devils play the Rags, he can get it on again with MacLean who sent Torts back crying to Brooksie after the game. WWWAAAAHHH!!! I will enjoy our parking lot parade over an empty Broadway for many Junes to come.
Can't wait for Volckenkov to say hi to the Rags.
Cue the bitter whining of a rangers fan. It's comical. It's no wonder your blog holds no merit in the hockey world.
Have fun with injury-plagued gabo. I'll take kovi, with a simliar contract, in a heartbeat.
How're your other big contract signings going for you?
Go brag on your own team's blog, you stupid Devils fans. Kovalchuk at 17 years--now you've got your own absurd albatross of a contract to deal with. Gabby outscores him this year anyway, I bet, even with less talent.
Only cowards like being anonymous when they are expressing their thoughts. Have a nice day, douche.
Wow, what an unintelligent article. Your mind is so fixated (like a typical Ranger fan) on non hockey related issues such as attendance and our parking lot parades. What about winning? You actually think that Lou cares about filling the building every night? You think Devils fans care where they celebrate their championships? Meanwhile, if it was the Rangers who signed Kovalchuk you'd be speaking of it as the greatest move ever (refer to the summer of Gomez and Drury signings). Keep crying and enjoy Sather as your GM!
Everyone understands the point of a 17 year deal right?
It's front loaded, and the final years are for puny ammounts of money. Kovalchuk will retire well before the contract is up, and the fact that it was signed before he turned 35 means that it won't be on the cap.
i never waste my time on other teams blogs. why would i care what is on them? but the 1st time the devils make a free agent splash which will now make them hypocrites they come running over to this site like a snot nosed little kid going "look at me, look at me" trying to feel good about themselves...pretty poor self esteem if you ask me. or maybe nobody cares about the devils so they dont have their own blogs to read and are bored. i dont know, ive never looked for a devil site. proves how good this one is though, to draw attention of the opposition.
I will avoid most of the trolls but:
"What about winning? You actually think that Lou cares about filling the building every night? You think Devils fans care where they celebrate their championships?"
And yet I made the point that the Devils won't win because Kovy is not a winner. Goddamn fools don't read before they start harping. As I wrote in my car metaphore, "it can't deal with the potholes and inclement weather of the NHL season and will never pull into the great parking lot Stanley Cup parade." The guy is all flash and no substance. Once Fatso calls it quits, that franchise has no chance at the playoffs, much less the Cup.
And Volchenkov is a massive downgrade from Martin. Have fun with that. For yearssssssss.
yeah these comments are funny, say what you want about sather, but he would never make a 17 year deal, and who said that kovy and gabos contracts are similar... kovys is like 12 years longer, although since they wont have room for parise, scotty, we should sign him, parise is a winner. that would be funny.
I hate devils fans.
haha Scotty...apparently you're a "Goddamn fool" who doesn't read his own blog.
June 29th, 2010
Guys I Want on the Rangers by Scotty Hockey
"Anton Volchenkov- Possibly THE BEST SHOT-BLOCKING DEFENSEMAN IN THE LEAGUE, Volchenkov can hit a little too and would provide some relief to Hank. But only if the cost is not Redden-esque..."
fast forward to today
"Volchenkov is a massive downgrade from Martin. Have fun with that. For yearssssssss"
as a shut down defenseman, martin is better than volchenkov and it comes back to volchenkov isnt a winner, devils fans are not getting that just because you have stats, as in kovulchuk, doesnt mean you can win a stanley cup, its more than goals. have fun for the next 17 years!
I'd take 17 years of Kovy(he'll likely retire before then with no cap hit) over the last 16 years of Rangers hockey any day
What does that idiotic comment even mean? Nice to see you are man enough to show yourself too, you Devils bitch....
Devils fans are so goddamn dumb that they don't even realize that their franchise just turned into the Rangers....without the fan base, original six prestige, a place to have a championship parade, or more than 80% of their seats filled.
Out of the Original Six teams, it's the Rags that are stinking up that group. While the others are actually making the playoffs and winning cups, the Rags are still at an old-ass arena with terrible sight lines and too-few bathrooms, have at least 3 albatross contracts (Redden, Roz, Drury), and have been in a sea of mediocrity for years. I will take my parking lot parade over another empty broadway for years to come. Too bad Scotty is just a bitter Rangers fan who cannot even keep his opinions consistent.
When you only have things like "original six prestige" and "a place to host a parade" to flaunt then it REALLY shows how bad the Rags have been. Nobody except you cares about those irrelevant facts.
Stop being so jealous.
Hey, Ilikebeinganonymous, i like it too.
if you havent noticed, original-sixers Toronto, montreal and boston havent done shit in years. so it isnt only the rangers.
and maybe you should get your prostate fixed so you wouldnt care about the bathroom situation at MSG
and lastly, one word is all you need....wait for it......
Newark!!
My opinion didn't change, Volchenkov IS one of the best shot blockers in the league, but he IS a massive downgrade from Martin - who, as Daniel said, is a better shutdown defenseman, and a better puck carrier and a guy with a better pedigree.
As for bashing the Garden, I have a good sightline, I have a nearby bathroom that I rarely have to wait on line for. It is all in timing and where you sit. But, I don't get where that came from as I've said that the Rock is a decent building. Only big thing that I've bashed about it is the location and the corner sections where there is no leg room.
I think this guy on Puck Daddy's site has a good assessment of the situation: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Five-revelations-about-Kovalchuk-s-sympathy-for-;_ylt=Arv5ZuzbbxA26xbQW0sQLMJ.ppJ4?urn=nhl,257079
But, I tell you what. The genius-ness of Lou's contract is only such that Kovy continues to be Kovy. If someone gives him a concussion, or he breaks a this, that, or something else, and turns into a 20+ goal scorer, then Kovy quickly turns into a liability. A contract is such that it protects both the parties involved.
I think the 17 year ha more potential to hurt the Devils than help them, in the long run. But, for the next, what, 4 years, barring anything unforeseen, the signing of Kovy makes a lot of sense for a Devils team that is being rebuilt, specifically around Kovy.
Anyone who says that Rangers fans are jealous of the signing are just crowing because their team got a little better this summer. I think everyone but Brooksie knows that Kovy just wouldn't have worked on Broadway, for a number of reasons, and by reasons I mean problems with the Rangers organization in general. But those Devils fans shouldn't crow too hard. If the other changes that Lou made this summer don't pan out, they'll be eating crow come the first round of this year's palyoffs as well.
With the exception of Toronto and the Rags, all of the Original Six teams have fared better than the Rags in the last 10 years. Apparently, if there was no bathroom issue at the arena, you would not be so defensive about it. Also, you may have good seats Scotty, but try to be in the corners of the blue seats where my ticket stub states "limited view" and you will see what I am talking about. None of the tickets from the Rock has that printed on them. Perhaps the limited view was about the product on the ice, as there has not been much to see from in the last 15 years.
When has Paul Martin been a shut-down defenseman? I cannot find an example of this and I hated him on the Devils and was always being caught. He also cannot seem to keep his stick in his hands at critical times, and has never cracked the 10 goal mark ever, so his hands and puck handling ability are average at best. Have fun on barren Broadway!
Devils Fans just shut up and go away. Stop creating perceptions as if we like big contracts like Drury and Redden and support Glen Sather. We dont, never have, and never will. Do you honestly think we liked Redden when he came to New York? And yes the Rock is a better arena right now and you know why? BECAUSE ITS NEW! The Garden is an old building. Of course the layout is going to be a little inconsistent you moron!
Zubrus, Volchenkov, and Kovalchuk are the types of signings Ranger GMs make, not the supposedly brilliant Lou Lamoriello. So is signing an over-the-hill Brian Rolston.
As far as anything else? When anyone but your pathetically small fan base even notices the existence of your team, please let us Rags fans know. As far as original six teams that stink it up, here's some numbers to remind you that you are both ignorant and cowardly:
Boston Bruins--currently working on a 38-year Cup drought.
Chicago Black Hawks--broke a 49-year drought with a Cup win this year, in case you'd forgotten.
Detroit Red Wings--a 42-year championship drought was broken in 1996-97. Much success of late of course (4 Cups), but weak-ass fans like yourself would've left this team in the dust as the drought approached its fourth decade.
Montreal Canadiens--last won the Cup in 1993, the year before the Rangers won the Cup. Have pretty much sucked every season since, despite their surprising run this year.
New York Rangers--last won in 1994.
Toronto Maple Leafs--working on a 43-year drought.
Accusations of mismanagement can be levelled at pretty much every original six team...but ignorant Devils fans who began watching hockey in 1995 would not know this history.
Enjoy watching Kovalchuk turn into Rick DiPietro.
Oh yes we do Mike. Add up the # of playoff wins in the last 15 years and see how mismanaged the Rags are. Rags fans are always in denial about their team and will always point to attendence #'s to justify their pathetic arguements about how they are somehow the better team. Can't wait to see Volchenkov drilling Avery's head in this season!
Just like you get more attention when you bring your bullshit to a Ranger blog, I guess.
I'd worry more about what happens to Kovalchuk's head against Avery than what Volchenkov will do to Avery. At least there's a track record to back up what I'm saying here too, instead of empty conjecture.
i would have expected such a bad deal from sather, not lamoriello. he'll be great for the devils for the next five or six years, but what after that?
...and devils fans, trust us rangers fans. we know bad deals pretty well.
and now kovalchuk isn't a devil anymore.
hold up, i jsut read a comment that you havent seen martin be a shut down defenseman??? are you kidding me? as a ranger fan i know that and i would love to have him! and i was suprised that lou did this contract since he is one of the best GM's, but i just read on puck daddy that apparently is was mostly the ownership which makes more sense. Also the garden is getting that massive renovation, just saying.
hahaha!
NHL rejects the salary cap loophole...if true, good!!! that would have opened up a terrible can of worms and given GMs like sather even more rope to hang us with. All superstars would expect similar deals. All this clamoring and devil gloating for Nuttin! 30 comments on 1 post for what?....kovy will not take less money and Lou will not tie up more cap space. Way to change the rules on the fly before too much damage is done, as long as no games have been played under this farce.
The only thing that can make this better is if Kovy goes to the Kings now! And since Sather has made it nigh impossible for the Rangers to win a cup this year, I hope the Kings and Kovalchuk go all the way!
...and all of a sudden...silence from the Devils fans. How strange...
dont worry, when the arbiter finds in favor of the Devil's because of precedent, the FAIR-WEATHER fans will appear out from under the ROCK where they live. Front running PUSSIES.....
After reading all these bitter Devils fan posts, I cannot wait until Fatso retires and they are high and dry. I will heartily welcome the Devils fans to the On The Playoff Bubble Every Year club.
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