The waiting is finally over.
Left wing Ilya Kovalchuk has decided to re-sign with the Devils, his agent, the team announced this morning.
The team will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Prudential Center to make the official announcement.
No contract details were available, initially. Ilya’s excited to be continuing his career with New Jersey and knows first-hand the team’s dedication and commitment to winning,” Kovalchuk’s agent Jay Grossman said in a release posted on his agency’s website.
Kovalchuk, 27, had been an unrestricted free agent since noon on July 1. The Devils acquired Kovalchuk, a two-time 52-goal scorer, from Atlanta on Feb. 4 (along with defenseman Anssi Salmela) for defenseman Johnny Oduya, right wing Niclas Bergors, prospect Patrice Cormier and the Devils’ 2010 first-round draft pick.
Assuming Kovlachuk’s salary is for more than $3.5 million – he made $7.5 million last season– the Devils will have to move players to get under the $59.4 million salary cap before the start of the regular season. Teams can go as high as 10 percent over the cap until the start of the regular season.
[Fire and Ice]
Links to the Story
Ilya Kovalchuk signs with Devils [NJ.COM]
Kovalchuk, Devils agree to deal [ESPN.COM]
Done Deal-ya: Kovalchuk returns [devils.nhl.com]
BREAKING: Ilya Kovalchuk Re-Signs with the New Jersey Devils [inlouwetrust.com]
Kovalchuk's decision: He's a New Jersey Devil again [Puck Daddy]
Kovalchuk inks deal with the Devils [Globe and Mail]
Kovalchuk deals with the Devils [CBC.CA]
Ilya Kovalchuk chooses Devils over Los Angeles Kings [NJ.COM]
I don't think Kovalchuk is a drama queen.
ReplyDeleteHe's no where near LeBron James.
What happened is this: Ilya is facing the same problem that college football players, and many pro athletes are facing: Too many advisors and too much bad advice. Ilya was getting offers all over the place (Atlanta, LA, New Jersey, and a KHL team for starters). He wanted a secure contract with maximum payout. Who doesn't, ya know?
Well, he weighed his options and took his time and that freaked out New Jersey and LA. It caused the Atlanta organization to walk away dejected and the KHL team out in the cold.
It was the media (mostly Canadian) that made this a big deal. Why? Because this free agency period has had, thus far, the same intrigue and appeal as the British Open.
So, they tried to spice it up. And they failed.
Perhaps Ilya is a drama queen, but if he was really, where's the hour long special that was offerred to him?
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In other news, there was rumors circulating before this signing that the Devils weren't going to be able to re-sign Parise to begin with and signing Kovalchuk was their insurance policy in case they couldn't re-sign Zach.
I just hope Zach doesn't end up in pergatory like the Islanders, Wild, Canadiens, Maple Leafs, or Oilers.