5 Major Reasons Kovalchuk Should Be an Islander

It has been interesting to see the change in mindset of Islander fans from day one of free agency when everything was very quiet, to now, when Kovalchuk has become a very real possibility for the New York Islanders. While writers such as BD Gallof and Arthur Staple have made their statements against the signing of Ilya Kovalchuk, I feel like it is time to analyze the reasons why we could use a player like him on our roster.

1.He can score 40+ goals per season: When is the last time the Islanders had a 40-goal scorer? That’s right, Jason Blake, three seasons ago. To be fair, it was also just a very lucky season for Jason Blake, who immediately returned back to his third-line form with the Maple Leafs and now the Anaheim Ducks. Kovalchuk is an elite scoring forward, mentioned in the same sentence with names like Ovechkin, Gaborik, and Crosby when it comes to scoring goals. He would immediately become a deadly first-line player, and he would look incredible on the point next to Mark Streit. Imagine seeing them running the power play, passing back and forth , teeing up slap shot after slap shot on opposing goalies. Man, it’s been a while since we’ve seen something that sexy on our powerplay. He brings intimidation, which is something we haven’t had in years. When he lines up next year next to Tavares, and quite possibly another free agent, and when he puts back the first 50 goal season any Islander has had in years, will you be complaining that he’s getting paid like a superstar? I certainly wont. My season tickets will cost the same amount of money next year, it’s just the addition of entertainment value that my season tickets have lacked for the last 10 seasons.

2. Yes, he can play 5 on 5 hockey. I’m not sure where this notion came along that Kovalchuk can’t play 5-on-5 hockey that well. If you look at his numbers over the years, Kovalchuk has managed to score more than 3/4 of his career goals playing 5-on-5 hockey, which is something that Ovechkin can’t even say. What’s more than that, is that Kovalchuk has managed to keep his plus/minus reasonably fair considering that he has spent the majority of his career with the Atlanta Thrashers, a team that has struggled to ever provide support around him, and a team that may actually be one of the few that is managed worse than the New York Islanders.  Does Ovechkin play on the penalty kill? Does Gaborik play on the penalty kill? Why all of a sudden, now that the Islanders may finally be given the chance to sign an elite talent (yes, ELITE), does the fact that they don’t play on the penalty kill and play incredible defensively matter? I have seen Ovechkin toss pucks away in his own zone numerous times per game. Why does no one care? Because he scores 50+ goals a season! Outside of Pavel Datsyuk and Marian Hossa, few elite scorers have ever sniffed penalty kill time, and that hasn’t changed anything for them.

3. He can attract other players: Year after year, the Nassau Coliseum and our facilities (or lack thereof) has become a “good” excuse for why we don’t sign any good players when free agency opens up. Do you want to know another “facility” in the league that is actually considered almost as bad as the Coliseum? Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings. Want to know why people still sign there? Because they win! Because they have good players on their roster, and good players enjoy playing with other good players. Having a full roster of good players is how you win these days (DUH!), something that Islanders management have only started to realize over the past few years. With up and coming premier talents in John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, and the 2010 draft class, the Islanders have some really good talent. Add a proven star in Ilya Kovalchuk to that list, and you will have other free agents thinking about joining a winning team, not about joining so they can enjoy the “newest model of treadmills, or the nicest free weight room they’ve ever seen. Good players reel in other good players, and Kovalchuk’s star-status is something that we could use to round out our somewhat-decent roster. It is time to put to rest that Long Island is not a “premier” destination. Have you looked at what cities like Detroit, Raleigh, and Philadelphia look like? In all fairness, they don’t hold a candle to the New York City nightlife, and they certainly don’t have beaches like Long Island. Give me a damn break with those excuses.

4. We have enough cap space to sign three Kovalchuk contracts. As it stands, the Islanders, barring incentives, are about $8 million under the SALARY FLOOR for next year, a feat that is hard for any team to accomplish these days with the bloated values of contracts. By signing Kovalchuk, the Islanders would find themselves hovering around the salary floor, giving them approximately $17 million in cap room during the 2010-2011 season. That kind of salary cap room is rare, with about 25-27 other teams in the league having anywhere from $10 million or less of cap room, while about 10 teams are literally right on the cap. With future extensions for Okposo, Tavares, Bailey, and the other prospects coming up, we obviously want to be very careful, however, we have enough room to sign them all to $7 million a year contracts and still have some cap space, that’s how well Snow has done financially. Furthermore, Yashin’s contract buyout dips down from a $4 million cap hit to only $2 million cap hit after this year, freeing up another $2 million. Also, we must remember that the salary cap increases anywhere from $1-2 million per year, freeing up even more space for the Islanders. If people are complaining that we are going to become Chicago Blackhawks 2.0, I think they better look again. The Islanders have kept players at such reasonable values that bringing in a player like Kovalchuk will not affect us financially, whatsoever! Bring on any “cap-ologist” and he will tell you the exact same thing!

5. We NEED the excitement. Let’s face it, the Islanders are drowning in mediocrity. Even with such great young talent on the roster, and other great talent coming up through the rankings, how many people can you honestly turn to and say “hey, how about those Islanders?” and actually have them give a damn. I am sick and tired of watching my parents, friends, and family discuss how great it was to watch the Islanders during the 80’s. Who gives a rat’s ass how they did over 30 years ago? How does that honestly effect how they do now? We NEED to find a way to get people excited about coming to the coliseum. We NEED to put an exciting product on the ice so that people want to pay to come and watch. Kovalchuk is an exciting player! Hell, he can electrify the crowd with one deke and a shot…that’s all it takes. The Islanders have a nice little core coming together, and the addition of a stud like Kovalchuk would really boost ticket sales, there is no questioning that. Even those against the Kovalchuk signing would still cough up a few hundred bucks to go with their families to watch what he can do next to Tavares. Remember how nice it was when the Islanders reeled off those big wins against the Red Wings, Sabres, and Devils in the middle of the year? People get excited over high-scoring wins, and Kovalchuk can certainly put goals up on that board. As nice as it is watching Okposo hustle through two guys or Tavares throw a nice deke around a defenseman, it won’t light up the building as much as a Russian sniper deking three guys at full throttle and then making a goaltender look silly. Excitement is what he brings, and excitement is what we need. We need it on the ice, and we need it off the ice…and Wang knows it!

There are many reasons why Kovalchuk and the Islanders make sense. I respect the opinion of the detractors, as their arguments hold justice to their beliefs, however, I truly believe in the fact that we need a legitimate superstar. John Tavares is going to be a star in this league, but he will never be a superstar, let’s face it. He will never be mentioned in the same sentence as Ovechkin, Crosby, Gaborik, or Kovalchuk, as he is simply not as flashy as these four. Furthermore, the Islanders will never have a legitimate shot at another superstar of his stature, as Crosby and Ovechkin certainly aren’t going where else but Pittsburgh and Washington, respectively.

I am the first to admit I was shocked to see the opportunity of Kovalchuk signing on Long Island become possible, but now that the steam has begun to move the train, I say we start moving full steam ahead. I understand that 10 years, $100 million is a little crazy, but rest assured, Snow believes that it is too. I would not doubt Snow putting together a more “reasonable” deal in order to solidify the services of the Russian sniper. Snow has not done wrong by us yet, and I dare believe that he will not. In Garth I trust.

Now please, Garth, please bring the excitement starved Islander fans a little bit of mid-summer fun. It won’t hurt when you find out you’ve sold over 1,500 new season ticket plans and about 2,000+ Kovalchuk jerseys by opening day. Oh, and the playoffs next season wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

-Justin M.

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