Kovalchuk Turns Down $101M

Submitted by Micheal A. Aldred on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 15:54

UPDATE 7:30: Looks like it's Jersey.

FROM PRAX: Just like last night, talks are heating up again. Darren Dreger is reporting that he could be moved tonight to an eastern team. It could be down to Montreal, Philadelphia, New Jersey and maybe Washington. The western teams look to be out. Stay tuned to TCL for all the breaking details, looks to be another long night!

The Atlanta Thrashers GM, Don Waddell, has told TSN that Ilya Kovalchuk turned down a $101M dollar contract from the organization. "Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract," said Waddell in the statement. "During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to be a Thrasher for life. We've spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we've reached an impasse and at this point he has declined all of our proposals and we can't reasonably go any higher.

"Ultimately, we offered Kovy more than $101 million over 12 years, which would have been the highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent in the history of the league. If accepted, this contract would have been the second highest offer ever to any NHL player. We also met his desire to be the highest paid player based on average annual salary with a separate offer of 7 years at $10M per year ($70M). This offer is $0.5M higher per year than any other player.

"If we went beyond these offers, we would not be able to retain the young players on our roster when it came time to sign them, or invest in other top tier players needed to assemble a truly competitive team. Therefore, we are aggressively exploring all of our options as we move forward."

Kovalchuk's days are certainly numbered, but he must truly dislike the organization and the city to turn out a contract like that. Keep in mind that the Phoenix Coyotes were sold for $140M.

Micheal A. Aldred
www.checkingfrombehind.com

--------------------------------------
Earlier Kovalchuk Posts:

- Ilya Kovalchuk Trade Watch - George Prax

- Are the Isles Persuing Kovalchuk? - Rob McGowan

- New York Rangers Drop Out of Kovalchuk Sweeps - Michael A. Aldred

Check back here for all the latest!

Comments 17

Patrick Storto says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:00

Enjoy the KHL, any GM that offers more than this or even equal to this will be running their team into the ground for the next decade.

Phil T says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:07

I think it's pretty clear he wants out of Atlanta. Similar to the Gaborik negos in Minnesota. Don't be surprised to see him sign for 5M per year with the Red Wings or something.

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:08

Ya, I agree with Phil, he obviously doesn't want to play there anymore. Hopefully Wadell can get a good deal out of him, and hopefully he doesn't go to the KHL... he'd be a huge loss to the league.

Patrick Storto says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:17

At this point I think it would be wise to sit Kovalchuk. An injury now could be devastating to the Thrashers in the long-term considering the potential gains they would be giving up.

And also my opponent has him this week in fantasy hockey

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:19

lol. To be honest I'd be surprised if he wasn't traded before their game tomorrow. Either way this needs to get done before the trade freeze. If something happens to Kovalchuk at the Olympics, it's not only the end of the deal, but the end of the Thrashers in Atlanta. At least with a good trade they can stay alive for a few years and compete.

Phil T says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:21

I agree with Pat, they need to sit him until he is traded to keep the value high. Anything can happen in a game; injuries are random.

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:25

Phil T wrote:

I agree with Pat, they need to sit him until he is traded to keep the value high. Anything can happen in a game; injuries are random.

For all we know he could get injured playing the bagpipes.

Patrick Storto says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:35

George Prax wrote:

Phil T wrote:

I agree with Pat, they need to sit him until he is traded to keep the value high. Anything can happen in a game; injuries are random.

For all we know he could get injured playing the bagpipes.

He should be kept inside of a bubble until the trade is made

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:39

Patrick Storto wrote:

George Prax wrote:

Phil T wrote:

I agree with Pat, they need to sit him until he is traded to keep the value high. Anything can happen in a game; injuries are random.

For all we know he could get injured playing the bagpipes.

He should be kept inside of a bubble until the trade is made

You clearly don't watch enough Seinfeld.

Patrick Storto says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:44

George Prax wrote:

Patrick Storto wrote:

George Prax wrote:

Phil T wrote:

I agree with Pat, they need to sit him until he is traded to keep the value high. Anything can happen in a game; injuries are random.

For all we know he could get injured playing the bagpipes.

He should be kept inside of a bubble until the trade is made

You clearly don't watch enough Seinfeld.

I haven't watched a lot of it, no

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:46

Watch the bubble boy episode and get back to me on that

Patrick Storto says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:46

George Prax wrote:

Watch the bubble boy episode and get back to me on that

you killed quote tunnel we had going there

demez says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 17:18

*Sigh* I wish I had the luxury of turning down 101 million dollars.

demez says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 17:20

George Prax wrote:

Watch the bubble boy episode and get back to me on that

There's no moops you idiot!

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 18:59

The way I figure, Wadell is in an impossible situation. He keeps Atlanta and they make a run for the playoffs, they either miss them entirely or lose in the 1st round like they did a few years ago. Then what? He walks away from nothing on July 1st and the franchise is ruined.

He trades him now, and he's almost certain to get UNDER market value as teams don't want to trade too much these days. Or he has to take on some ridiculous Gomez-like contract.

Most people think that all of the pieces of the eventual trade will be gone in a few years anyway, just like in the Hossa deal. But what can he do? He has to go through with the trade, it's the only way to potentially save the franchise. Problem is, he has no choice but to ask for the moon and negotiate from there. If he can't get a deal done by the roster freeze, he might be screwed.

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 19:10

From my update on the blog:

ust like last night, talks are heating up again. Darren Dreger is reporting that he could be moved tonight to an eastern team. It could be down to Montreal, Philadelphia, New Jersey and maybe Washington. The western teams look to be out. Stay tuned to TCL for all the breaking details, looks to be another long night!

George Prax says:
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 19:27

Looks like it could be jersey.