We don’t know that there was even an offer made. LeBrun doesn’t cite who his “source” is, and he doesn’t name specifics behind any offer. Without either, I chalk up LeBrun’s report to rumour-mongering and nothing more. Heaven knows we have all sorts of wild and crazy rumours floating around out there.

If Los Angeles even got around to making a concrete offer, I suspect it was most likely something along the lines of “New Jersey gets such-and-such a draft pick if Kovy signs prior to July 1”…. when you’re getting four days to negotiate with a guy, you don’t give up much of value unless you’re certain you’re getting a deal done in that window. In light of statements that Kovy is headed to the open market to listen to all offers, that makes the offer of a conditional draft pick (conditional on the guy signing early) worthless for all practical matters. Lou has no reason to give away any of his leverage in that case.

It doesn’t say what the Kings were willing to give up. Personally, I expect it was a late-round pick, or a conditional late-to-mid round pick for next season, depending on how things shake out. In any event, not enough to tempt Lou into pulling the trigger.

Personally, I don’t see the point in LA trading for his rights. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they already had some informal discussions with his agent, the way it works in every other sport.

The GM involved in a deal has a lot more to lose by saying too much. LeBrun gains and loses very little by peddling such a rumor, among the many many rumors he peddles.

The Devils are going to give it their best shot to try to re-sign Kovalchuk. And part of that is making him feel like he is a precious, integral part of the team. Trading his rights for a pittance might get you something for nothing, but even by merely entertaining the idea Lou risks alienating Kovalchuk and strengthening LA’s chances of signing him. If you think you have a chance at re-signing a guy, you don’t trade his rights. If you’re not going to make a trade, then you don’t even admit that such a trade is an option.

Lou doesn’t lie, per se. But he never lays bare the whole truth. He never comments on trade rumors surrounding one of the Devils and he never discusses their injuries in much detail. He does it to protect and support his players, as a good GM should. I believe him when he says he “didn’t have an offer”, but that doesn’t mean he and Lombardi didn’t have a conversation about the availability of Kovalchuk’s rights. When Lou says something, I take the ultra-literal interpretation. I might find something interesting about the particular way he worded it, but I don’t take the connotations attached to his comments at face value. The connotation here is that no team was interested or asked him about it, but all you can really say about his comment from a literalist point of view is that no team made a concrete offer.