He'll probably get at least a 50 mil contract in Russia. It'll be tax free. Plus he'll get endorsements. When was the last time you saw a Russian player with an endorsement in Canada for anything other than hockey gear?
He'll probably make very close to and possibly more money in Russia.
The Sochi Olympic hockey games fall under the auspices of the IIHF. In order to play in any tournament under the IIHF umbrella, a player requires an IIHF transfer card as a permit to play. All European leagues, including the KHL, fall under the jurisdiction of the IIHF, hence "IF" Ilya Kovalchuk wants to play in the olympics, he has to be signing on with a member team, which is why I can believe the rumours that he'll be signing with SKA quite soon.
Anyways, although I'm cheering for Canada all the way, I do hope Kovalchuk can compete in the Olympics, because I want Canada to win against the best the opposition can field.
Yah, that doesn't make sense at all. If that's the case, what's to prevent players who think they're underpaid, to retire, and then re-sign with another NHL team for higher contract dollars?
Exactly. Take this a step farther even. A guy doesn't like a team he was traded to (doesn't want to move there, etc.), so retires and signs elsewhere or even what's to stop a kid that doesn't like the team that drafted him from retiring and then signing somewhere? You cannot just retire (with years left on your contract) and then pop up again.
@TSN1050Radio Bill Daly tells TSN Radio what the implications of the Kovalchuk retirement are.
Bill Daly: "Cap advantage" was roughly $4M over the first 3 years of his contract (his first 2 years were significantly below his AAV).
Bill Daly 2nd quote: "Devils will have to pay it back in cap charges over the remaining 12 years of the contract (roughly $300,000 a year)."
When you look at how the contract is structured, makes you wonder what Lamoriello knew at the time. No other long term deals have been that way where the first two years are low, it goes up for a good chunk of the middle and then goes back down.
If Kovalchuk had played even one more year, I think the cap benefit recapture would have been closer to a million and it just went up from there.
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I dont blame them. I feel sorry for them, they just got royally shafted.
I guess "love" was too strong of a word. I've just never liked the Devils, so I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for them. I'm more indifferent with a hint of schadenfreude.
When you look at how the contract is structured, makes you wonder what Lamoriello knew at the time. No other long term deals have been that way where the first two years are low, it goes up for a good chunk of the middle and then goes back down.
If Kovalchuk had played even one more year, I think the cap benefit recapture would have been closer to a million and it just went up from there.
I"m pretty sure Lou knew for a few weeks now and let Clarkson walk anyways. He isn't worth what the Leafs gave him.
All I know is that he turned down a huge deal after he announced his intentions mid-playoffs, whether that was a renegotiation of his current deal or a new offer (renegotiations were not too uncommon back then if I recall), I don't know. I do know that at most, he would have been an RFA.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
I believe that Håkan Loob had promised to return to Färjestad after X number of years in the NHL.
No, the decision came that year and the Flames tried hard to keep him. I remember some story about his kids being bullied in school and he said that he'd help the team win the Cup that year, and then he was leaving.
