[News] Ilya Kovalchuk retiring

[YYC in LAX]

His lack of desire showed last season. Just didn't have that jump in his step. Wow, this is like shattering news though.

Whether you like him or not, this is a West Stains Massive headline.

[mrdonkey]

Wow, didn't see this coming.

Seems like more and more Russians are heading back home these days. Really glad we didn't select Nichushkin.

[CaptainCrunch]

Holy crap, retiring at 30 and giving up that much bank.

I don't think it keeps him from playing in the KHL, once he signs his retirement papers in the NHL I think his contract is void unless he reactivates.

I'm betting that once the ink dries on his retirement papers, Moscow whatever will hold a press conference announcing his signing.

I would think the NHL might be furious if the above is true. It certainly opens a interesting loop hole for players to leave the NHL.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

wow. Pretty big news if true.

Though saddened, i'm sure that the devils may be slightly relieved as his contract could have been a scary one down the road. though, i assume that him retiring gets them out of that contract, or do the new rules still screw the devils??

Apparently if he does retire today, they would have a cap hit penalty of 250K until the 2026 season. Peanuts really.

[jschick88]

Just gets worse for the Devils

@simmonssteve Not only do the Devils lose Kovalchuk but they have no first round pick next year because they were penalized for Kovy contract.

[GreenLantern]

All of a sudden NJ has a lot of cap space to play around with..

Should be sitting somewhere around 10 million total with Henrique to sign.

[Regular_John]

So is there any cap hit associated with this now? I assume the Devils don't have to pay him out anything more at this point, just wondering if it effects their cap structure going forward.

[$ven27]

You know, I can understand where he is coming from though. Yes every player wants to win the cup, etc etc however if you can make millions still playing hockey in the KHL while being close to your family and your home country, then that has perks too.

[Gundo]

Funny how the one guy who started this new existence of these long term B.S. contracts is walking away with so much left on the table. Not so much funny as appauling really.

[MissTeeks]

Chemmy‏@felixpotvin9m

"I forfeited my first and all I got was this lousy cap recapture penalty."

[Senator Clay Davis]

Oh how I wish they would have traded Kovalchuk for Corey Schneider straight up.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

So is there any cap hit associated with this now? I assume the Devils don't have to pay him out anything more at this point, just wondering if it effects their cap structure going forward.

According to capgeeks cap recapture calculator, because they got a benefit of 3M, they will have to have that spread out over the next 12 years (the remainder of his contract). Only 250K, so nothing worrisome.

[Tinordi]

Hmm... something fishy, especially in light of the state of the Devils ownership situation.

[RT14]

Wow. Just...wow.

At first I thought he must've been paid a ton of signing bonuses and earned the majority of his $100,000,000 salary already, but he's leaving a TON of money on the table over the next 5 years.

2013/14 - $11.3 M
2014/15 - $11.3 M
2015/16 - $11.6 M
2016/17 - $11.8 M
2017/18 - $10 M

That's a lot of dough to be giving up, which makes this decision that much harder to understand, but at least he's not totally screwing the Devils owners.

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

So is there any cap hit associated with this now? I assume the Devils don't have to pay him out anything more at this point, just wondering if it effects their cap structure going forward.

Yeah...if he just up and retires, do they get away scott free from his cap hit?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by valo403

First thought I had too. Would he be eligible for the Russian team if he was 'retired' up until the Olympics? I don't know of any clause that would require him to retire from international hockey too, but I'm not exactly an expert on something like that.

He could play as long as he isn't in violation of his NHL deal. Aut no, retiring does not free him to play in the KHL. His NHL contract would still be valid if he tried to play elsewhere professionally.

[Ozy_Flame]

I wonder how the NHLPA feels about this.

[danny darko]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

Good time for Feaster to remind Lou about Cammalleri.

Was just coming to post this same thing. Seems like a pretty prime opportunity to move him if they are wanting to fill that void with another top 6 forward.

[Tyler]

$11.3 million in taxable earnings in the US, or $10-15M tax free in Russia?

Wouldn't necessarily say he's leaving money on the table.

[getbak]

It looks like it's only a $250,000 penalty because the first two years of the deal were actually below the cap hit, and he's only played one of the big money years. Better than buying him out would have been.