Ilya Kovalchuk Retires

[lucscaps]

The thing that bothers me the most about this is the use of the word "retirement". This word usually means leaving the vocation you've chosen to make a living at entirely and completely. In this case, the word "retirement" is merely a euphemism for describing how he is simply walking out on the Devils and on his NHL contract. He isnt "retiring" from hockey. He's "quitting" or more accurately "walking out" on the NHL. He isnt hanging up the blades once and for all like most players who "retire" do. He is bolting on his team and teammates with whom he signed a legal contract stating he would play for and with for the next dozen years. He shouldnt state he is "retiring". He is simply walking away from one contract he signed for another that will pay more money. He is nothing near "retiring".....

Like Steve Miller sang......take the money and run Ilya.

Thank-you. This is exactly my view.

 

[GabbyGuy]

The only thing better in the NHL for the Russian/Euro players are the flights...a little more safe here (think Pavel Demitra and his KHL team).

And like it was said before, he "retired" from NHL only...not hockey. He'll get paid well in KHL and be around friends and family back home. A win/win for him.

Happens........

--Curt

 

[tiger tiger]

"retired" is just a loophole.

This bails out NJ in the long term too. That contract was stupid, and the new CBA made it worse.

NJ fans will realise that this is actually better for them. Imagine getting cap tied up in the later years of the contract, when you need to sign the star players who are entering their prime.

The "price" paid for Kovy's signing is on NJ's shoulders. They tried to circumvent the cap, tried to re-negotiate the 1st round pick penalty, instead of giving up the 29th pick, etc.

Kovy's soured on the NHL. We all wonder why there was a lockout. Imagine the players. They're wondering the same, plus they have escrow too. You begin to be suspicious of the NHL's HRR numbers, wonder how they are cooking the books, and anticipate how the owners are going to scam you out of paying your full contracted salary.

 

[chakhae1]

I will be one of the few who will say that what Ilya Kovalchuk did was fine. Since the lockout in 2004-05 he has made just over 50 million dollars. He easily has enough money to go back home and retire on. I know that he will be making more money but if you were in his shoes can you blame him?

He has 816 career points in 816 career games. He is currently in #137 place for career points in the NHL. That is a pretty crazy stat considering that he is only 30 years old. There are only 10 players currently in the NHL with more career points than what he has.

I will just throw a little more math out here. If he were to play another six seasons in the NHL he could have these approx numbers. I chose six seasons because after that is when his NHL salary significantly drops and I assume that was the planned retirement time for him. Say that he averages just .75 points per game or 60 points per season. That would be another 420 points. I will take say 70 points out due to injuries and missed games because no players will play every single game over the next seven years without a whole lot of luck. That gives him a career of approx 1,150 points and that was rounded down slightly. That would be good enough to crack the top #50 of all time.

So with his decision he would have been a sure Hall of Famer and could have went down as one of the very best goal scorers in the history of hockey. Consider that he is #78 on the all time goals list. He could have very well been top #25 on the all time goals scored list.

Kudos to him for wanting to go back home.


Plus one more cheap shot to take at NHL owners here. I know that his contract was signed before this past seasons half year lost to lockout. I thought that the owners were fighting to stop with these huge contracts. What has happened this offseason? Lots of players have signed very lengthy extensions that will pay the players very well until they are into their mid 30's. The owners fought for the exact thing that they are doing. I only add this statement because I feel that if their were no lockout than Kovalchuk would not have played in Russia for half a year. Thus, the lockout is what has prompted Kovalchuk's NHL retirement.

The NHL is the greatest league in the world and if he has those numbers why doesn't he stay on the Devils, fulfill his contract and try to win a cup with them or two or three and make it to the hall of fame instead of bailing to "be with his family?". He is going for the money and nothing else. Do you think he would have retired if he was guaranteed a low salary in the KHL? I think not.

 

[habscards]

The NHL is the greatest league in the world and if he has those numbers why doesn't he stay on the Devils, fulfill his contract and try to win a cup with them or two or three and make it to the hall of fame instead of bailing to "be with his family?". He is going for the money and nothing else. Do you think he would have retired if he was guaranteed a low salary in the KHL? I think not.

I will agree that the NHL is the greatest league in the world. Their is no doubt about that statement at all. The only problem is that Europeans do not grow up dreaming of the Stanley Cup. They dream about Olympic gold and World Championships. Not to say that they do not try in the playoffs.

The way that I will reverse it is imagine that you are a pro soccer player... You are a kid from Canada who went over to Europe to play the sport that you love. You are 30 years old and have played pro there for eleven years now. You have made just over 50 million dollars over the last eight years alone. Now you have a wife and three children who are growing up across the ocean from where you grew up. You have a chance to come and play pro soccer in North America and raise your children in your own backyard. Yes it is not as good of a league but being a family man and being able to retire at the top of your game before injuries could catch up to you. Would that not be a beautiful thing?

 

[Metrags]

instead of bailing to "be with his family?". .

That my friends is the difference between a teenager and a late 20's/ early 30's person with children.

He isn't bailing, he is actually doing the good thing. Our Western greed expects everyone to chase dollar signs and nothing more.

He has expressed his wishes to go back home with his family since the lockout, the fact he will be earning more than double what he makes here is just icing. If he was just chasing a few extra dollars I could understand the anger, like Tim Thomas last year, you can't fault a guy for being a better human than most of us and choosing family over everything else.

 

[chemicalstylez]

Devils did this to themselves. No one to blame but ownership. They traded for a player who really didn't want to play for them, and his contractual demands showed that. After signing him to that absurd contract it was a complete slap in the face to Zach Parise, who left as fast as possible(and who would blame him?). They chose the wrong guy, and now their out both players and get nothing in return. And don't they lose a first round pick too? All you can do is laugh at the Devils management. As for Ilya, to say he is a thief I would disagree. The biggest years of his contract were upcoming and he left it all on the table. He played with heart and passion when the Devils lost in the cup final, playing injured and carrying the team on his shoulders. And on the money end its a relative no brainer. You make $10 million, after taxes and everything else you might clear $4 million if your lucky. America punishes you for success, so why not go to Russia and make $15 million tax free? Besides Russia is his home, he's obviously home sick after playing there. It's a total win-win situation for him. Only positive for the Devils is they have a lot of cap space to work with, but also no one wants to play there. Double edged sword for them.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[nucks4cup]

i think that Kovachuk made the right decision here. He is gonna be close to his family and get paid huge money. why stick around in the NHL knowing dam well that another lockout is inevitable and you will be losing money being here in another 5 years. I'm sorry but i have a feeling you will see a bunch more Russians and European players "retiring" or just not coming here in the future.

 

[tiger tiger]

The NHL is the greatest league in the world and if he has those numbers why doesn't he stay on the Devils, fulfill his contract and try to win a cup with them or two or three and make it to the hall of fame instead of bailing to "be with his family?". He is going for the money and nothing else. Do you think he would have retired if he was guaranteed a low salary in the KHL? I think not.

Cups and the Hall of Fame don't mean that much to Euros/Russians. Plus Bure just got in. Most likely Mogilny will not get in, and he has better numbers than Kovalchuk. HHOF is all political anyway. Pat Burns is still waiting.

With Brodeur retiring, NJ's shot at another cup was 2 years ago. They're far from being a cup contenter. Forget about winning it multiple times.

The greatest league in the world has been run like a bush league under Bettman. Sure HRR has grown, but the owners have screwed over the NHLPA and players over and over again. League is great, owners are shady.

Of course he's going it for the money. We all do. Do you work for fun? Seriously, how many of us dream about becoming the best employee at our work, so that we can get promoted to the top and one day get invited to have dinner at the CEO's home? Will we be the envy of all our collegues and our friends?

Plus the owner situation in NJ is pretty unstable. They're over-leveraged and have missed interest payments. They're losing money big time, so it's not like your employer is giving you a lot of stability.

It's a much better situation than buying Kovy's contract out. It's good for both sides.

 

[lucky19]

He went home to play for more money.If anybody here says they would go halfway across the world and work for 1/3 to 1/2 the money they make in N.America you are a liar or just plain stupid:duh: