Kovalchuk Traded For Peanuts

[bhurt]

the wings are/were led by guys like yzerman,shanahan,lidstrom, and zetterberg (assuming you know the last 2 guys are swedes and not russians).The wings ruskys (datsyuk,larionov,etc) were the flash and the players i mentioned were the team leaders.

say what you want but i garantee ovechkin or kovy would take an 80 goal season over a stanley cup any day. If I ever see ovechkin, or kovy block a shot in the playoffs i will eat my shorts.

ps. Im not talking about russians vs "N americans". Im talking about russian vs canadian players.

I guess when Sakic signed with colorado for 91 million that had nothing to do with money.

 

How about Ignlia's contract I also guess that has nothing to do with money either.

 

How about crosby's contract, or how about yzerman, or even lacavilier, or st. lous, what about luango, and the list goes on with high paied players from canada.

 

I would like to see crosby block a shot, if he did he would probably hit the ground and cry like he was shot, he's a good finesse player but he's not tuff at all.

 

To say the only reason a russian player plays is for stats and money is probably the most rediculious thing I have ever heard of. Can you say honestly you know the exact reason WHY kov didn't resign with Atlanta, nope and to make assumptions on to why just makes you look like a idoit.

[yak]

More just what I have seen. Iginla peaked at 29/30. I think the strength and endurance and speed of youth is more powerful that smarts in this league. Speed wins. Still you need someone with smarts on the ice to set up plays but what is more powerful than smarts is just chemistry. Some players just play well and compliment each others styles and can guess which direction they will turn.

 

When this guy turns 30...his asset value will be dropping...not rising IMHO. In terms of skill and value...that offer is more like paying him

 

Age Salary

27 $15 million

28 $15 million

29 $15 million

30 $15 million

31 $10 million

32 $10 million

33 $5 million

34 $5 million

35 $5 million

36 $5 million

 

 

Which is pretty sweet in the twilight of your career.

 

My sense is either...he only wants to play 3 or 4 more years then retire a king in Russia, pick a team that can win as an expensive last minute hire or hated Atlanta and just wanted an excuse that people understand...greed versus saying "I hate it here and want out".

he will take his act to the KHL where he will sign a 10 year deal worth 120 million. He will play for minor league championships in a watered down league were hitting is frowned upon and spend the offseason rolling in his money. Dont expect him to "go to the wall" for the devils either as he wont risk injury (think of Dorn from the movie minor league) for a championship i garantee he doesnt really care about.

 

[bhurt]

he will take his act to the KHL where he will sign a 10 year deal worth 120 million. He will play for minor league championships in a watered down league were hitting is frowned upon and spend the offseason rolling in his money. Dont expect him to "go to the wall" for the devils either as he wont risk injury (think of Dorn from the movie minor league) for a championship i garantee he doesnt really care about.

You forget with the movie that you qutoed that in the end he did take one for the team, and to compare real life to the movies is just making your argument look even worst, I bet like many people have said already he didn't want to play for the team or he had issuses with the team, can I say this 100% nope but I bet my pay cheaque it is close to what we all think, not including you.

[yak]

I guess when Sakic signed with colorado for 91 million that had nothing to do with money.

 

How about Ignlia's contract I also guess that has nothing to do with money either.

 

How about crosby's contract, or how about yzerman, or even lacavilier, or st. lous, what about luango, and the list goes on with high paied players from canada.

 

I would like to see crosby block a shot, if he did he would probably hit the ground and cry like he was shot, he's a good finesse player but he's not tuff at all.

 

To say the only reason a russian player plays is for stats and money is probably the most rediculious thing I have ever heard of. Can you say honestly you know the exact reason WHY kov didn't resign with Atlanta, nope and to make assumptions on to why just makes you look like a idoit.

while i know you are a football coach i assume you dont follow a lot of hockey( dont think I need to stoop to calling you an idiot). Iginla signed for approx 2 million dollars less than he could have on the open market because he recognized who gave him his start and remained loyal. Yzerman played his nuts off for the team that drafted him,won 3 cups and retired as a wing. He too played for less money in detroit than he could have made had he whored himself out like Kovy ( cmon, turning down the team who drafted you for a 100 mill. contract for 10 years is ridiculous) .

Pretty sure if you check all your "examples "you will find the same thing. Yes candian playeras sign lucrative contracts but I garantee every one of them has a single goal in mind ( the same one they had when they wer playing midget and junior hockey ) and that is to hoist Lord stanleys mug.

ps. again, you obviuosly didnt watch any of the SC playoffs last year as Sid did everything a team captain and leader needs to do(including laying out in front of slapshots). Resulted in a stanley cup for his team

[yak]

You forget with the movie that you qutoed that in the end he did take one for the team, and to compare real life to the movies is just making your argument look even worst, I bet like many people have said already he didn't want to play for the team or he had issuses with the team, can I say this 100% nope but I bet my pay cheaque it is close to what we all think, not including you.

Do you need my address so you know where to send your check when Kovy signs in russia this summer?

[reevesr1]

I've worked with Russians. And Swedes. And Finns. And Norwegians. And Canadians. And Americans. Add French, Malaysian, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Egyptian, Iraqis, Iranians, Lebanese, Nigerian, Algerian, Congolese, South Africans, every single South America country and probably a whole bunch others I can't think of right now.

 

After you boil off the cultural differences, they are pretty much all the same. I've never noticed any difference in work ethic. I'm quite sure the same would apply to hockey players. The myopic may not agree.

 

And if somebody offered me double the money I'm making now to go work in Russia, I might do it. Why should hockey players be different?

[yak]

I've worked with Russians. And Swedes. And Finns. And Norwegians. And Canadians. And Americans. Add French, Malaysian, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Egyptian, Iraqis, Iranians, Lebanese, Nigerian, Algerian, Congolese, South Africans, every single South America country and probably a whole bunch others I can't think of right now.

 

After you boil off the cultural differences, they are pretty much all the same. I've never noticed any difference in work ethic. I'm quite sure the same would apply to hockey players. The myopic may not agree.

 

And if somebody offered me double the money I'm making now to go work in Russia, I might do it. Why should hockey players be different?

Its not so much work ethic as a tradition thats ingrained in canadian hocky players from the time the learn to skate. Its all about team goals and the ultimate goal is the stanley cup. I recognize that players like AO and Kovy worked dam hard to be as good as they are but i just dont think the SC is a big a deal to them(Again, Im fairly certain either OA or Kovy would rather have 200 points seasons or olympic gold).

I also dont think they have the loyalty to NHL teams that canadian players have. When Iginla signed for 7 million a year it was no secret he could have made 8-9 if he had opted to free agency. For Kovy to turn down a 10 year 110 million dollar contract ( would have made him the highest paid player in nhl history) from the team that drafted him is BS.

Not trying to go all Don Cherry on anyone, but seeing him turn down that offer made me want to puke.

[bhurt]

while i know you are a football coach i assume you dont follow a lot of hockey( dont think I need to stoop to calling you an idiot). Iginla signed for approx 2 million dollars less than he could have on the open market because he recognized who gave him his start and remained loyal. Yzerman played his nuts off for the team that drafted him,won 3 cups and retired as a wing. He too played for less money in detroit than he could have made had he whored himself out like Kovy ( cmon, turning down the team who drafted you for a 100 mill. contract for 10 years is ridiculous) .

Pretty sure if you check all your "examples "you will find the same thing. Yes candian playeras sign lucrative contracts but I garantee every one of them has a single goal in mind ( the same one they had when they wer playing midget and junior hockey ) and that is to hoist Lord stanleys mug.

ps. again, you obviuosly didnt watch any of the SC playoffs last year as Sid did everything a team captain and leader needs to do(including laying out in front of slapshots). Resulted in a stanley cup for his team

Actually for the last three years I have subscribed to the NHL ticket and get the flames package on Pay for veiw so I watch alot more hockey then you might think. I might not understand all the fine little details surrounding hockey but I understand the game enough.

 

All I have to say is that to turn down 100 million over ten years there has to be a reason and I highly doubt it has anything to do with wanting more money, just think of it this way he goes to a team that wins a stanely cup how much money you think he will get in indorsements, I bet you alot more money then he would get by playing in any of the other leagues out there.

 

Oh and for the record when you score as much as ovekin you don't need to stop shots (Never knew a scoring forward (not a defensive forward) to be resonsable for stoping pucks isn;t that the job of defense men?) cause if you do and get hurt those goals are no good for the team as the player is now riding the pine.

 

Also when Detroit was winning their cups you think that it was won just by yzerman? It was a whole team effort even from the russian players, to think anything diffrent is crazy.

 

Lets look at Patric Roy when he left montreal, he was already a very successful goile but he had problems with the coach and didn't want to be there anymore, so he signed a deal with the avs and won another couple of cups there.

 

Lets also look at eric lindros when he came into the league, refused to play for qubec cause they were not a contendor and screwed himself over as the next year they moved to Colorado and won a cup.

 

Since I have been watching hockey since 88 (Yeeep like I said since 1988) I have seen many high end players leave teams to go to other teams for less money, it happens all the time, look at how many teams brett hull played through the course of his carrer.

 

My point in the end is it doesn;t matter where a player comes from money talks and bullshit walks espically in professional sports regardless to what sport it is

[yak]

I bet he just hated atlanta and he will sign for ovy / crosby money somewhere. 8-9 mil.

I would be surprised if he signs for less than league maximum anywhere (I believe that is the 10.75 mill. that atlanta offered him) and I dont know how many GMs out there are willing to commit 1/5 of their cap to a a guy who may or may not decide to try and earn his money.

Im not sure what there was for him to hate about Atlanta. He was treated like a king,had no pressure in a non hockey market, great weather, was offered the biggest contract in NHL history, the team was playing decent ( last time i checked they were still in the playoffs) and management seemed to be doing everything they could to make the team better.

[bhurt]

It could be lots of things we are not in the dressing room every time he is, maybe he didn't like the players, maybe he hated the coach or the front office staff, maybe he wants to go to a team that is a top contender for a stanely cup, could be alot of reason to leave, we will never know the truth until he tells us why.

[yak]

Actually for the last three years I have subscribed to the NHL ticket and get the flames package on Pay for veiw so I watch alot more hockey then you might think. I might not understand all the fine little details surrounding hockey but I understand the game enough.

 

All I have to say is that to turn down 100 million over ten years there has to be a reason and I highly doubt it has anything to do with wanting more money, just think of it this way he goes to a team that wins a stanely cup how much money you think he will get in indorsements, I bet you alot more money then he would get by playing in any of the other leagues out there.

 

Oh and for the record when you score as much as ovekin you don't need to stop shots (Never knew a forward to be resonsable for stoping pucks isn;t that the job of defense men?) cause if you do and get hurt those goals are no good for the team as the player is now riding the pine.

 

Also when Detroit was winning their cups you think that it was won just by yzerman? It was a whole team effort even from the russian players, to think anything diffrent is crazy.

 

Lets look at Patric Roy when he left montreal, he was already a very successful goile but he had problems with the coach and didn't want to be there anymore, so he signed a deal with the avs and won another couple of cups there.

 

Lets also look at eric lindros when he came into the league, refused to play for qubec cause they were not a contendor and screwed himself over as the next year they moved to Colorado and won a cup.

 

Since I have been watching hockey since 88 (Yeeep like I said since 1988) I have seen many high end players leave teams to go to other teams for less money, it happens all the time, look at how many teams brett hull played through the course of his carrer.

 

My point in the end is it doesn;t matter where a player comes from money talks and bullshit walks espically in professional sports regardless to what sport it is

LOL, sorry bhurt but theres so much wrong with this post Im not sure where to start but will give it a go anyways.

1- he turned down the league max from atlanta because he knows he can get more for playing less in the KHL. Again, you will see this when he signs in the KHL this summer

2- While I agree that 3 whole years of watching the flames on PPV elevates you to near expert status, quality teams and quality players do everything they need to do to win. Including blocking shots. The secret to the Avs success this year is they lead the entire league in blocked shots and every guy on the team is willing to do it. Teams that win 16 games in the post season also have every guy on board when it comes to sacrificing the body. This is one of the nuances of the game you may have missed.

3-when detroit was winning cups they were led by yzerman,shanahan,maltby,draper and others. Datsuk,larionov, and the other russians were good "accessories" but for anyone who watched those great Wing teams there was no question who the leaders were.

4-patrick roy left montreal because his coach embarassed him by leaving him in to be shelled for 7 goals in a nothing game. Coach was fired at the end of the year and the habs went in the pisser. Had nothing to do with money

5-cant argue much about lindros although i believe his dad was born in moscow (saw it on NHL ticket one night)

6-A)Brett hull is an american. when exactly did he sign for less money when he went to other teams?

[yak]

It could be lots of things we are not in the dressing room every time he is, maybe he didn't like the players, maybe he hated the coach or the front office staff, maybe he wants to go to a team that is a top contender for a stanely cup, could be alot of reason to leave, we will never know the truth until he tells us why.

could be hes going to russia for 130 million................................................

[theboy]

I say KHL or he rents out (Hossa)all over the league!