BULLSH*T: My Take On Kovalchuk, The Isles & The Insult To The Rebuild
BDGallof | Jul 03, 2010 | Comments 35
BULLS*T.
Wait, don’t get me wrong, I do think Snow’s interest, talk and the chasing is legit. I just don’t buy it. I don’t buy it as a solution, option or a good move. But let’s start at the beginning….
Let’s take a moment to climb inside the structure of Long Island’s rebuild. It has been a slow process that happened when Garth took over the organization and all sense of the ill-notion Committee faded away. It was when Ted Nolan was tossed for not going along with the plan, and Garth ran the show. It was 2 years ago, and we are about to go into our third season since. Since then, the farm was completely overhauled, the AHL and NHL teams play the same Scott Gordon system, and now of this past draft, the prospect pool is the best it’s been in years. Years.
The behavior has been careful, meticulous, secretive, silent, guarded and systematic. It was never leaked to press. Nor was it texted to Pierre LeBrun. It was never telegraphed all over the press, blogosphere and twittersphere,
So now you tell me that the NY Islanders are chasing Ilya Kovalchuk with their panties waving in the wind?
Sorry. Don’t buy it. Bullshit. If it is Charles Wang pushing, he better shut up and sit down before he buries this organization under his hodgepodge of compulsive and destructive moves.
No player will suddenly make the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County look up and say: “Oh yeah, we better listen now”. Both have been waiting for Charles and the Lighthouse Project to say a word since November.
No player will suddenly heal all the Isles fans wounds and make it sunshine and lollipops forever more. Well, none available. But if the Caps want to deal Ovie, I’m all ears.
Everyone wants a star, and when they don’t have one, they are willing to take one with flaws. Let me be very clear…Kovalchuk is no Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin or anyone of that top dynamics. He is a flawed offensive star.
And, let me add this one for you…he’s not coming here. No way. No how. If he does at the insane 10 year fortune that is reported, then you might as well kick this rebuild right into the toilet.
This team’s payroll is paying for past mistakes. So, what, it’s time to add another one?
Talk about insanity. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. And here we are, with a grand crowd of apologists following the rabble over the cliff, like lemmings. Sorry, not buying it. Not one bit.
Ilya is 27 years old, and despite some morons attempt to tie him to Yashin, he isn’t. That I will give him. Hell, he’s a dynamic forward to boot and he’ll do fine on an established team that doesn’t need to play that 2 way game.At a reasonable cost, he’d be not a bad fit, offsetting the scoring pressures of the kids. I mean, seriously, our rookie John Tavares led the team.
He needs support in the worst way.But, so could Frolov. So could any other modest scorer.
What the Isles are pushing to do here is add a top guy for all the wrong reasons. Ilya does not make the Isles relevant. It does not make them a playoff contender. He does not help them get a new venue. He might put a few more butt in the seats, until the bottom falls out. And when you try skipping steps, most assuredly, the bottom WILL fall out.
What Kovalchuk does is destroy the pay structures. It skews expectations. It will backfire like every other dunderheaded move pushed by the owner. His best move was to let Garth do his thing.
Scott Gordon, in his third year as coach, has not shown his team can play consistent defense. Despite some slight alteration and upgrades to the defense, they are not any better where we can say this is a playoff team.
I get how Isles fans want all things solved. They want a new venue. They want to respect and love this team again. Well, I get it, but you need to stop buying the snake oil. This is nothing but snake oil, which will pollute the process and the futures like a BP deep sea pipe.
I can only hope that this all is some public feint for them to pull off a signing or trade that is more economical, realistic and fits their schema. But if you ask me, this whole thing is just plain rotten and the smell is foul. Lots of people are sucking down the sugar pop and not realizing that it came from Milbury’s closet 10 years ago.
Wise up.
Filed Under: Featured • Featured Rumors • New York Islanders • NHL
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Nice piece. Makes sense to me. I can’t imagine Kovi signing there or the Isles paying such an insane amount for him. And we on the left coast think that’s exactly why he isn’t a King yet. Dean Lombardi isn’t going to offer 10 for 10. No way, no how. I say he ends up back at NJ for a year or two…
For a guy who has been “published” and blogs like crazy about the Isles and Hockey, it’s a shame you are not understanding the idea behind signing Kovalchuk. For the longest time it has been a chicken and the egg story with the Isles playing chicken. The team has gone no where in 10 years so now you want them to stay the course? How do you expect the Lighthouse Project or any proposition that includes a new rink to get done with the “same ole, same ole”??? No, it’s time to plant a seed. Bring in a guy with talent enough to make them contenders, draw fans and rebuild a once proud franchise. The fact is, if the Isles don’t make a move they stand a good chance of being relocated which will be the ultimate catastrophy. Credit Wang with trying to pull out all the stops. And when you look at Kovalchuk you are getting a 27 year old player in his prime, a tp 5 foward in the world, who can not only get this team on track but mentor a slew of Russian prospects the Isles have. It makes perfect sense. Let’s hope Kovy and his agent are on board.
Excellent write-up, Brian-Daniel. Kovalchuk is poison to a rebuild. Hope for the Isles sake they are just bluffing.
I’m gonna be honest with you, this was a real convincing piece. My first reaction was to deffinetly go for it, but after reading this I’m not too sure. Between this and Chris Botta’s on PointBlank, I really don’t know how I feel. Having a player like that would be unbelievable for the team, but the contract offered is just another huge mistake. Honestly, I don’t know if we can’t not do that. I feel as if time is running out for this franchise, and something big needs to be done, a superstar who can be a face of a franchise and really put people in the seats. If Wang thinks this will get us the lighthouse and still add a very offensively talented player to the team, than so be it, but if it’s going to really set back the rebuild than why bother? But from a fans point of view, I’m getting sick of seeing the same garbage over and over. Not playing a full 60 minute game, inconsistency on all aspects of the game, and having a netminder whos career is in doubt and we still have him for 1000 years. It’s a tough call on this situation, but I don’t know because I really don’t have a like for Wang’s track record of forced moves. All in all great piece, very convincing.
hahah twitter is toooo confining.
No question the 10y 10mil “rumored” offer is too much, spector had a good idea of cutting the length to like 5 years.
I dont get how u would give frolov 4-6 mil, when he’s not “flawed”, he’s a disaster. Did kovy get benched this year because of his attitude/work ethic? All he’s done is avg more than a point per game on a terrible team for the last 7.5 years. (not that kovy is perfect, but frolov is another yashin who shows up for about 20-40 games even though he’s in the lineup for more games than that)
Realistically, we havent had a player like kovy since turgeon and palffy and neither player was an islander in the 2000′s.
Will kovy bring us a playoff spot singlehandedly? no, but think of what he would add to our dispicable PP, which will get us a playoff spot if we can get from 28th to even just 15th in the NHL. (got distracted thinking about streit and kovy setting each other up for 1-timers haha)
Do i believe we will get him, prob not, but i’m loving knowing that snow is battling for him and hamhuis, and martin, and michalek, and volchenkov. I feel that we are finally becoming something, and just hearing our name come up when bidding is enough for me right now.
Hindsight is always 20/20, so think if we actually got the yashin that played for ottawa (and not his evil twin that we ended up with) or that Ricky didnt become cursed immediately after he signed the 15 year deal. Wang would be praised but he’s the one being ridiculed, and detroit (franzen,etc), philly (richards), chi (hossa) give these stupid contracts and the same ridicule does not apply.
Adding someone that u know will be a 80 plus point producer is never a bad idea when weighed against waiting 4 years to see if Brock nelson ever plays an nhl game.
This franchise has had ZERO luck since the 2nd round of ’93 playoffs (aside from getting tavs), sometimes u have to risk to gain.
Ending up with gagne or signing ryan to an offer sheet is not a bad consolation if this is posturing
I’d rather have a bit of snake oil to get us through july and august if only get our team into other peoples heads hahah
(sorry for the novella)
The biggest issue for me would be giving the motherload to a a 27 yr old player. By the time the sun dots line up and the team is ready to be a Cup challenger he will be 31 or 32.
Look up the scoring stars which have been consistent scoring leaders after they were 30 years old.
Start with those which entered the HOF in the last 20 years….very seldom does a player keep his same scoring prowess into his 30′s.
My only issue with the Hossa signing was he was aready close to 30…but he doesn’t have to be the lead horse here….big difference.
A better choice would be to take on a couple of older dmen which are overpaid but have little time left on their contracts. Somewhat like the Coyotes did and then have them come in and teach the younger dmen how to play.
The Oilers have bit the tamale on Souray… take his contract(1 yr. reamianing) and have them throw in a 2nd round pick…and try to do the same elsewhere.
Take on the salary, bad contracts, to get to the minimum and gather as many draft picks as possible.
Build through the draft and learn to play defense.
Don’t get a guy who just left a team becasue they couldn’t get to the playoffs….right now the Thrash are probably a little better than the Isles.
Kovy to the Island doesn’t make sense.
I amend my opinion becasue Souray has 2 years left not one…big diference….Maybe Nylander would be a better choice…
BD, I get your skepticism…and your frustration.
My point of view, from someone who saw Denis Potvin as an Ottawa 67, and his eventual effect on the Islanders; who watched Bobby Orr transform the Bruins; and Bobby Hull make the Blackhawks–and the Jets–go…
Ilya Kovalchuk is that kind of player.
Not saying he’s as great as they were…but he has the same quality as an impact player for a franchise.
If Charles Wang is ready to sign the check to bring Kovalchuk aboard, more power to him.
BD – Appreciate the passion and candidness of your piece … and very hard to argue.
My brother called me earlier and told me to put on Garth on NHL Radio … Garth said the terms of the contract that has been speculated about is a bunch of Bull Shit (he musta read this)… He said there is no contract … That all he did was call Grossman and ask if Kovy would have any interest playing for the Islanders and if so what is he looking for … Garth was encouraged by his response so he and Charles are going to whip something up to propose to him. After losing out on defense the bid on the first day, they need to hit on something.
I agree that Kovy may be a little too early for this rebuild. I think a 10×10 contract would be insane… However, if they gave him a 5 x $10 … I could deal with that.
According to Garth this whole thing blew out of hand. I wish I heard the whole interview.
I have to disagree with you, BD. Although I don’t think Kovy will sign with the Isles, no matter what the offer, if he did it would only help the rebuild, not hurt it.
I don’t buy into the nonsense that signing Kovy will get the Lighthouse built, or that Kovy’s signing is in anyway related to the proposed scaled back version of the Lighthouse Murray will trot out soon. But Kovy seriously upgrades the on-ice product.
Kovy instantly makes the Isles a much better offensive team. The power play will improve as will JT. Kovy will also help at the box office. Lighthouse or not, Wang needs people in the seats and nobody’s going to the games to watch this “rebuild”. The Coliseum is 30% empty every game except for Ranger games or when the visiting team has a large contingent travel to the Coliseum for the game. Kovy will help sell seats with star power as well as with making the team better.
Is he worth $100 Million? That’s up for debate. But the Isles are so far below the Cap floor, they won’t have problems re-signing their own and keeping the kids together.
I guess I’m saying that if it happened, I wouldn’t be upset at all, but I doubt it will and really never allowed myself to think it will, so I won’t be too disappointed when it doesn’t and PA Paranteau is taking a shift for the Isles next year instead of Kovy.
Honestly, I could not agree more. When I heard about the Kovy-to-NYI rumors yesterday, I thought it sounded just like the problematic contracts they signed Dipietro and Yashin with. Suppose they did actually ink Kovalchuk to a 12 year, $10mil a year contract – how would they resign Tavares or Nino if those players develop as well as they’re projected to? As enticing as a 40+ goal scorer seems in your lineup, he’s not worth $120 Mil, and he’s definitely not what this franchise needs now.
BD, great piece dude. Love it. Agree with it. Would probably marry it. (if possible). Actually, would probably sign a 10 year contract to it.
Slightly off topic, can someone explain to me how signing a contract that’s twice as long as what is reasonable makes sense? I’m aware players want big pay days, but it’s not like they won’t get a great pay day on a 4 year deal.
I don’t understand why any player wants to sign a 10 year contract, or anything remotely close. Can you imagine committing to YOUR job for 10 years? I have a hard time thinking longer than 3 years…
That’s because lazy people love job security!! That’s why I am self-employed :-)
Job security…Lets say he gets a 5 yr deal but after those 5 yrs hes just not as good so he will get less $$$. He wants to get paid now so he doesn’t have to worry about that later
[...] another man’s take on the Islanders rebuilding hatred. | Tags: attendance, b campbell, blackhawks, charles wang, garth snow, h gill, I Kovulchuk, [...]
Everything BD is saying here is spot on. That is IF you really don’t believe Kovalchuk is a franchise-changing player. I, for one, do think the second he signs on the dotted line he becomes the best player to sport the blue and orange sweater since Bossy. It’s hard to compare a sniper to a playmaker. I was always a fan of Turgeon and LaFontaine, but they were entirely different players. My thing has always been I’ve had a problem with the Islanders never seeming to score enough goals. Forget contracts and defense for a second. In the new NHL, where scoring is at a minimum a player of Kovalchuk’s ilk is very hard to come by.
The best pure goal scorer the Isles have had since 1993, the last time they were in the East finals, was Palffy, a tweener of a guy who rarely got to 40 goals. Kovalchuk is light years better.
This is not about a quick fix. It’s about getting one of the best offensive talents the NHL has seen in a decade to agree to come in and play with a plethora of young guys who have the potential to be the type of playmakers this franchise has not seen since Weight wore another sweater and going back to Turgeon.
Scoring, folks. The Islanders have had none for two decades. Think about that.
Better invest $10 million/year on a superstar such as Ilya Kovalchuk that will score you 50 goals, help improve your youngters like Tavares and Okposo and bring fans in the stands, than invest the same in two $5 million/year overachiever like Alex Frolov and Maxim Afinogenov…
I agree with BD that you really have to know what you’re doing with your rebuild and how such a signing will impact your future plans though.
BD, you definatly had we rethinking my stance but after pondering I would be ecstatic if Kovy were locked in as a NY Islander for the next.
[...] ‘John Kordic was just a casual user’ scale.Depending on who you listen to, the whole idea of Kovy to the Isles reeked of bullsh*t from the beginning. There’s also the notion that Garth Snow has Wang’s blessing to [...]
I disagree. Bring Ilya to NY. He is a good option.
How can you say Ilya doesnt make the Isles a playoff contender?!!! Come on now. Doesnt make the Isles relevant…disagree. Im getting text messages from guys I havent talked to since the season ended.
One thing youre right about is this…Ilya is not coming to the Island.
And now the mask is gone forever more…
In authorizing Snow to confirm to the media the pursuit of Kovalchuk, Wang has undercut any remaining pretense to integrity.
Regardless of outcome, never again can it be argued: slow and steady rebuild; building through the draft; no major free-agent signings until the Lighthouse is approved; marquee players won’t play on LI; Wang loses money every year and cannot spend on top talent; etc, etc.
That patchwork of rationalizations, layered thick one upon another, year after year, used to erect a facade behind which to hide the ineptitude and duplicity which have long been the hallmarks of this Organization, has now been torn asunder by the very hand that built it: Charles Wang.
Of pourse they can…because going all in for generational talent doesn’t change a thing…
While I understand consistency may be the hobgoblin of little Islander minds, Wang’s Kovalchuk ploy has rendered every excuse to the contrary implausible.
Charlie: Yeah, so I happened to have 100 Mill on the table for Kovie; but until Kate Murray approves my Lighthouse plan fans can pay to see Zenon.
Uh-huh.
I believe there is a good chance that Wang is courting Kovy to increase his chances to go to Queens ( in addition to try to bring TOH back to a negotiating table). Whereas influential people in NYC such as Evan Weiner (a Queens democrat) and Mayor Bloobmerg want the Islanders. Signing Kovy MAY force NYCEDC’s hand to give Mets the developing right to the Willets Point project. The Islanders have been talking with Mets and the WP project will likely include both Isles and the Mets as it’s a multi-billion project. If one entity tries to build a multi-billion project it will most likely be a suicide.
Back to TOH, even after Isles dialogue to the Mets was leaked to the Newsday, they did not seem convinced to give the Islanders more of what they want in LHP, as they’re emphasizing a scaled down version of LHP.
Thanks for making me a Congressman, but I think you mean Anthony Weiner, all I do is write and lecture on the Politics of Sports business.
Evan
The same Islander fans want a superstar who also want to criticize the team for going to get a superstar. Face it, you just want something to complain about. I’m tired of reading idiotic statements like: if Kovi signs here, kiss the entire rebuild goodbye. Fans want the Isles to make the right moves, but the “rightness” of the move changes with the tide at Jones Beach. “Right” is too often what the fans use to criticize Garth while “wrong” is whatever move the Isles make–regardless of how many fans also advocated that move.
What’s that coming down Hempstead Tpke? It’s the waaaaaambulance.
BD Gallof…inteeresting read. Passionately written. However, I do disagree with you on a few points. One, while I do think 10 mill per for 10 yrs is not a good idea, teams have managed to win with a major contract like that. Look at Tampa with Vinny’s or Pitt with Sid’s. Granted Tampa had to blow up the team because they would eventually end up with three such contracts. But a team can win with a guy in the 8-9 mill per range and not destroy the cap. It just means they will need to be judicious in how they deal with the rest of the cap. Isn’t that what all teams that sustain over the long haul must do anyway? Look at Detroit. While they don’t have such deal, they still manage to find gems at inexpensive prices. All teams must.
On the cap, DP’s contract situation will be settled LONG before Okposo, Tavares and the other kids come up for new deals. Either DP will regain his health and form and be a bargain at his current price or he will not be able to go and retire due to injury…thus removing his cap number with insurance covering the contract. I don’t believe we will have more than 2 more seasons of the “can he go” saga, and unfortunately, I think it will end with a short career for DP. That will free up 4.5 mill, which I don’t see Bailey or Mouslon ever earning more than that in a single season. Opkoso will never be more than a 5.5 mill guy and I don’t see Tavares being more than a 6.5 million guy…and those deals are at least another contract away for Okposo.
What Kovy would do is give us a top 2 lines that can compete with most in our own division and be better top to bottom than what the Rangers and Devils have. A top 6 of Kovy, Tavares, Bailey, Nino, Moulson & Okposo? I’ll go with that the next 5 seasons.
Do I think Kovy makes us an “instant contender”? Of course not. Our gaping holes on D can’t be filled by deHaan, Hamonic, and Donovan next season or the season after. They will take time and our goaltending is still up in the air.
But Kovy can be the next step towards taking the playoff step with kids like deHaan, Hamonic, Donovan, Martin, Kubanov and maybe Petrov coming in to fill other holes in the next 3 seasons…and hopefully helping us build to the next level when doing so.
I do agree with you that Kovy does nothing concerning the LH Project. Kate Murray and the do-nothing TOH wouldn’t care if we signed a 22 year old healthy Bobby Orr, Maurice Richard and Jesus Christ as goalie (He saves). It won’t make one bit of difference to the TOH. But I do think Kovy can be a help to this org and accelerate the rebuild. Personally, I wouldn’t mind him going for 8.5 mill per for 7-8 years. I don’t think it blows up the rebuild to the degree you think, but then again…time will reveal all.
As a person who grew up in Freeport from 1969-1994, I enjoy reading the take of someone in Freeport. Keep up the good work
[...] was admittedly gobsmacked by both reports but I’ll leave the Islanders bid for Kovalchuk in the good hands of B.D. Gallof and focus today instead upon the Gagne [...]
So are the Isles really out of the bidding? Makes me wonder if they were ever serious.
it was only serious to a few bloggers who made a mountain out of a molehill. like a 3 day kovalchuk watch despite the fact Garth said no offer was made.
Why, that’s an insult to moles everywhere.
Still say Wang should have had Vinnie Chase call Grossman to “inquire”.
After spending the holiday weekend spouting fanciful notions (Read: nonsense), such as: “If Wang wants him, Kovalchuk is an Islander”, I see the home-team blogger is at it again gushing about the Russian prospects…
Also known as: two Krills and a shill.
Vacation credit cards could be a lot much more than pre-printed credit cards stuffed in envelopes with mailing labels applied. With some imagination and also the correct greeting card supplier, a greeting card can be a truly unique, greater higher quality present that projects organization professionalism as well as heartfelt wishes for that holiday season.
I can’t comprehend the key reason why each and every time brad and angelina try to do something good, the mass media give them a very hard time, I feel sorry for them.