Back to the Pile!

The independent arbitrator dealing with the Kovalchuk hearing has decided that Ilya's 17-year pact with the New Jersey Devils is null-and-void. This, by default, makes the league's most heralded free agent in the last five years an unrestricted free agent once more. As I posted yesterday, almost all major offseason activity in the NHL hinges on where Kovy ends up. It's somewhat amazing that a 40+ goal scorer is still on the market as we approach the middle of August. Most teams already have a basic understanding of where they stand going into the 2010-11 season, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions are all parties involved in the Kovalchuk sweepstakes (and possibly the Kaberle negotiations as well). I can't imagine that a new deal for Kovalchuk will take nearly as long to hammer-out as the first one did, so expect the Russian to sign on with the team of his choice by week's end.

I was a skeptic when the Devils chose to re-ink Kovy a few weeks ago, and I remain critical of that decision. To me, it would be a huge surprise if they devoted a higher cap hit to the sniper who, by all means, made them a worse team last season after he arrived. With Zach Parise headed toward free agency next season, the Devils have more important items on their agenda. Having said that, they certainly will explore bringing him back and should not be eliminated altogether.

My prediction, and yes, I'm going bold on this one, is that Kovalchuk sticks in the NHL and signs with the Islanders. I know that the boys on Long Island have gone relatively unnoticed throughout this debacle, but it seems like too good a fit! The Kings and Devils, even maybe the Rangers, have hogged the rumor mill surrounding Kovalchuk, but I think the Islanders represent the best fit. You have a team that has struggled to draw an audience at home since the lockout. Last year, John Tavares helped restore interest in the team. If they are going to stay on Long Island and get a new arena, they are going to need to prove to the league and ownership that they are capable of drawing fans to their games. A team consisting of Kovalchuk, Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Nino Neiderrater, Mark Streit, Rob Schremp, and possibly Kiril Petrov or Kiril Kabanov would be a fun team to watch (keep in mind that Kabanov was compared to Kovalchuk during this past Entry Draft, yet slipped to the 3rd round because of attitude concerns). Not only would Kovy add electricity to their lineup, but it would prove to fans that the team is dedicated to winning NOW. Again, this is a move that probably makes too much sense to actually happen, but if the Islanders want to survive in the long-run, they might want to strongly consider this possibility.