Kovulchuk, not about the money, it's about competing

I can't post the rumor article because it's on espn.com rumor central, which i pay for to have access, but I'll sum it up for you guys.

There's a rumor article regarding the Kovulchuk negotiations. Talks between the Thrashers and Ilya Kovalchuk's agent are heating up, but it doesn't look like money's the problem to get an extension done.

Kovi has a year @ $7.5 million left on his contract, and is eligible for an $11.2million deal. But his biggest concern is that he wants to know if the Thrashers will be competitive if he signs a long-term contract, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Thrashers obviously want to and hope to ink Kovalchuk to a long-term deal, but some analysts are saying he'll opt to test the free agent market next season.

I hope the Kings make a nice push into the playoffs this year, and sign Kovulchuk to a long term contract, like the hawks did with hossa. Ilya's only 26 and would fit well with our youg core. not to mention him playing with Frolov and winning a championship at the 2009 worlds this year. Can you imagine a Kovi-Kopi line.

How much do you think it would cost to get him here, if we make or don't make the playoffs. Do you think we can sign both kovi and frolov?

This thread will turn into the [B]we still have hopes for KOVI joining the Kings![B] in

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115 million, 15 years. 10 mil a year the first 10 years then 5,4,3,2,1 the last five. Cap hit 7.6 mil per year.

I seriously doubt that he would consider a team that finished one spot ahead of his own in the standings as "competing".

The only way Kovulchuk plays with Fro is with Fro wearing a thrashers jersey.

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Originally Posted by Det_John_Kimble

I seriously doubt that he would consider a team that finished one spot ahead of his own in the standings as "competing".

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If you think the Thrashers and the Kings are on the same path, I think you're completely mistaken.

While I do not think Kovi will ever be in a Kings Uni, give him a littl more credit. It doesn't take much to look at teams like Chicago, Pens, Nash, and a couple of others and see that the Kings are built more like those teams than Atlanta, Fla, Bolts, etc.

A little test...You are a high end UFA that WANTS to win. You want a long term contract for stability. What 6 teams would you look at? Why?

I would say that I would chose the following. (Not in order)

Det. Have to, they are the class of the league and have shown staying power.
Pit. Youth, Stability. Winning now
Philly. Youth, grit. Winning now
LA. . Solid future.
Caps. Solid team. Little taks here and there.
Blues. Looks good for the future. Solid organization

The Los Angeles Kings are not going to get Ilya Kovalchuk.

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Originally Posted by backofthenet

If you think the Thrashers and the Kings are on the same path, I think you're completely mistaken.

While I do not think Kovi will ever be in a Kings Uni, give him a littl more credit. It doesn't take much to look at teams like Chicago, Pens, Nash, and a couple of others and see that the Kings are built more like those teams than Atlanta, Fla, Bolts, etc.

A little test...You are a high end UFA that WANTS to win. You want a long term contract for stability. What 6 teams would you look at? Why?

I would say that I would chose the following. (Not in order)

Det. Have to, they are the class of the league and have shown staying power.
Pit. Youth, Stability. Winning now
Philly. Youth, grit. Winning now
LA. . Solid future.
Caps. Solid team. Little taks here and there.
Blues. Looks good for the future. Solid organization

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If you really want to add some realisticness to this, you can scratch 3 or 4 of those teams, Det, Pits, Philly and the Caps all don't have the cap room, unless they make a major trade and dump a bunch of salary, the Blues and Kings both have the cap space to do it, same with the Devils, and Leafs. Unless Kovi is willing to sign for 3 mil a year, there is no way that 3 of those teams can afford him and keep their cores together

Anyone who still thinks we would have a shot at Kovi needs to wake up and come back to reality.

HE WILL NOT leave Atlanta and come to the Kings where we might not even make the playoffs again. Our team isn't solid enough yet and still too many question marks.

Also you might want to look back at what happened with Hossa and the Kings. Hossa wouldn't even talk numbers or years and flat out said he wants to go to a 100pt team. DL simply can't get it done when it comes to real UFA and I don't see that changing.

IF Kovalchuck even leaves after this year he will probably go to Detroit (a team who can land people and will get it done), NYR, or a few other teams.

There is still a good chance we won't even make the playoffs this year so don't set yourself up for disappointment when he re-signs in Atlanta or goes elsewhere.

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Originally Posted by eyesk8r

If you really want to add some realisticness to this, you can scratch 3 or 4 of those teams, Det, Pits, Philly and the Caps all don't have the cap room, unless they make a major trade and dump a bunch of salary, the Blues and Kings both have the cap space to do it, same with the Devils, and Leafs. Unless Kovi is willing to sign for 3 mil a year, there is no way that 3 of those teams can afford him and keep their cores together

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Detroit doesn't have room? They lost Hossa and a few other guys. They have the room and will have the room if it came down to it and he likely will go to Detroit or NYR.