Quote:
Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat
Smart. At 33 he should still find a sucker willing to sign him to an eight-year contract.
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Would be surprised if its that long...maybe even after 1 season, at most 2. Had a taste for being at home for the lockout, the pressure from friends and the rich Russian "entrepreneurs" and others to stick over there....toss in the the Olympics there in 9 months as part of that and moving back makes sense. Tied to NJ for another long stretch wouldn't have allowed that, and I am sure Lou helped him and his agent along, given the not 100% commitment seemingly Kovalchuk had...get the move over with now and save NJ some cash penalties.
Get settled for his retirement over there as far as family goes, make and maintain those "business connections" that he will need to be a part of post retirement, then come back for a 2-4 year last stint in the NHL to make some more stable cash.
That's the "nice" story for going back....though you do have to hope that he or his family are not part of some sort of blackmailing scheme, forcing him to go back now for a period of time, but in modern day Russia (P. Bure had his issues in that regard, surprised that info even ever got out), so you never ever know.