NJ owner Jeff Vanderbeek, NJ GM Lou Lamoriello and Ilya Kovalchuk's agent Jay Grossman met with NHL...

NJ owner Jeff Vanderbeek, NJ GM Lou Lamoriello and Ilya Kovalchuk's agent Jay Grossman met with NHL execs at league's NY office today. Hmmm?

E.J. Hradek from ESPN

Could this mean that the Devils have finished working on a more cap friendly deal with Kovalchuk and they're seeing if the NHL is okay with it? We'll see...

UPDATE: Dmitry Chesnokov reports that the deal w/ Kovalchuk will be announced in the next 24 hours.

Update #2: Tom Gulitti has confirmed that the Devils have not submitted a contract for Kovalchuk. Lou, Grossman and Vanderbeek were discussing the structure of the contract.

Update #3: Tom Gulitti's post has this quote from Bill Daly: " 'There was no new contract submitted," Daly said. "We talked conceptually.' " In a word: "Hmmmm." (Editor's Note, I'm responsible for #3, Kevin for all else.)

over 1 year ago Kevin Sellathamby 25 comments 0 recs |

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Exciting news. I hope it works out in the Devils favor this time.

by kellyn on Aug 23, 2010 5:11 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting that Vanderbeek took the trip too.

Over/Under on the number of “They won’t be able to keep Parise next year” comments on that link is 17.

I’m taking the over.

Playing Devils' advocate since 1982.

by elesias on Aug 23, 2010 5:31 PM EDT reply actions

I bet your right. haha

by Jacob Shepherd on Aug 23, 2010 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Can someone explain to me why this is even an issue?

Few things: If the Devils were to re-sign him now, the new cap hit would not be in effect until next year, and second of all, his current cap hit is $3.1M, and free agent to be Jason Arnott makes $4.5M. He’s gone, then you ADD that to Parise’s and his salary/cap hit becomes $7.6M, isn’t that what he’ll be looking for anyway? Langenbrunner also comes off the books, and if Andy Greene doesn’t re-sign, which I honestly don’t see happening, the Devils can enter the market for a D-man next year, and whew there are a lot of them available.

Yankees in baseball, Giants in football and Devils in hockey. It's that simple. I have no off-season.

by DownGoesAvery on Aug 23, 2010 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s mostly fans of other teams who think their team has a chance at signing Parise if the Devils sign Kovalchuk long-term who care about this, not well-informed Devils fans.

by kellyn on Aug 23, 2010 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s definitely a legit issue. You do realize that even if Arnott and Langenbrunner walk, which is likely, you’ll still need players to replace their spots in the lineup. Even prospects would take up cap space. Depending on how much is really available, it will affect the eventual Parise extension.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog

by John Fischer on Aug 23, 2010 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions

it still shouldn’t be a problem. no surprise that the author of TG’s blog post is actually andrew gross.

by Triumph44 on Aug 23, 2010 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Most people who think it is an either/or situation with Kovalchuk vis-a-vis Parise haven’t run the numbers. If you go by the numbers Capgeek uses, you’ve got better than $17.5 million available for 2011-2012 with eleven spots to fill at the present time. If you assume Kovalchuk arrives, and that Zubrus and Salvador depart, that cap space won’t change dramatically but you’ll have twelve spots to fill. If you then give Parise $7-8 million per, you’ll have $8-10 million to fill the rest of the roster.

Not ideal, naturally, but if you’re intent on giving many of the “kids” a chance, they slot in at less than a million apiece, given they were drafted lower in the first round. More than that, how many of those veterans were you really keen on retaining? There will be money for Andy Greene in there, and for another veteran or two to re-sign after the season if the price is right, so I wouldn’t be that worried. What we’re asking for at that point is for the “kids” to demonstrate they can play in the League — if they can do so, so much the better. In a salary capped world, you want solid production from the youngsters while their cap hits are that small, because it balances out overpaying for veteran talent.

by acasser on Aug 23, 2010 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions

it’s still going to be dicey and i want rolston re-entry waived before zubrus is sent packing, but there is still lots of room. especially if they sign parise to the same contract that kovalchuk ends up getting.

by Triumph44 on Aug 23, 2010 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions

You don’t gain anything by waiving Rolston. If he goes unclaimed and you send him to the AHL, you save $100k on the cap under the 35+ rules…. and then you have to replace him on the roster for $500k minimum. In other words, you lose at least $400k of cap space in the process.

If you had a deal where someone would claim Rolston on re-entry waivers, and Rolston consents to the move, that’s another issue altogether. Just make sure you have the deal first, or you’ll create unnecessary problems by attempting the process.

by acasser on Aug 24, 2010 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions

i am aware of the 35+ rules.

rolston doesn’t have to consent to the move – he has an NTC, not an NMC – and there doesn’t necessarily need to be a deal in place, although i’d hope that lou has called around to see if anyone would take him.

i mean, i suppose rolston could spitefully retire after getting waived, but that sounds real silly, doesn’t it?

by Triumph44 on Aug 24, 2010 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions

If Lou is as good at being a GM as we claim him to be, I’m sure he’s at least done his due diligence. Not just on Rolston, but on a number of his players, as to gauge who he might be able to move when Kovalchuk signs and their relative values. Most of the better GMs touch base with their colleagues and kick tires a fair amount, as to keep that information fresh for when it might be needed.

As for Mr. Rolston…. you’re absolutely right, Rolston doesn’t have to consent to a waiver claim. I still submit that putting him through waivers and then recall waivers without something in place is a substantial risk. If he doesn’t get claimed in the process, you gain nothing and stand a good chance of sacrificing most (or all) of the goodwill you have with Brian Rolston. If Lou has the deal, I think the courteous thing to do would be to inform Rolston before anything goes public (or the waiver process begins) and let him find out from the club, and not just by being claimed through a one-line release from the NHL office.

i mean, i suppose rolston could spitefully retire after getting waived, but that sounds real silly, doesn’t it?

Actually, that might make him easier to trade (save for that pesky NTC). If he retires, he isn’t going to get paid…. and some team looking to save some dough would trade for his cap hit knowing that they wouldn’t actually have to fork over any money. Of course, he could then just as spitefully un-retire, but that’s a whole ’nother can of worms.

(Triumph44 — Is it me, or did we on switch sides here from the argument we just had over Jay Pandolfo?)

by acasser on Aug 24, 2010 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions

that’s fair about letting rolston know – you could even let him shop himself to other teams a la huet. still, i think there’s like 5 contracts in the league that could possibly be traded for rolston (and have a lower cap hit than rolston’s contract). finger, blake, and a few others. and why would rolston want to go to any of those places? it’s tough because brian does have leverage here.

you cannot trade retired players, so that’s a problem with the dealing of the cap hit if he retired. still, i just don’t see a trade possible involving rolston, and he’s just such a dog. you’re right, we did switch sides, and that’s in part because jay pandolfo gave everything he had to this organization, and brian rolston gave about 30%.

by Triumph44 on Aug 24, 2010 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions

i think there’s like 5 contracts in the league that could possibly be traded for rolston (and have a lower cap hit than rolston’s contract)

It’s a slow news day on the NHL front, so I’m going to be persnickety here. Which are the other three you have in mind? (Not sure I’d make the deal if I were Anaheim with Blake, or Toronto with Finger, but you could probably get the phone conversation past the initial one-for-one offer.)

by acasser on Aug 24, 2010 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Looking forward to hearing that a deal was made that met with the standards of the league.

A game of Chess is like a sword fight....you must think first....before you move.

by LoNJDTechnology on Aug 23, 2010 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

Another update: TG says that the three were only discussing the structure of the contract, no contracts have been submitted.

In Lou We Trust: Continuing a saga no one really cares about
"Pfft, Wii’s where it’s at. *Swings toy plastic racquet, separates shoulder"- RudyKelly

by Kevin Sellathamby on Aug 23, 2010 5:52 PM EDT reply actions

Hopefully we can sign kovy to a deal of around $7million capt hit..All these elias rumors are such bs. I think zubbie or salvador are outa here.

by zach parise9 on Aug 23, 2010 7:21 PM EDT reply actions

I won’t believe anything until I see that an actual contract is confirmed from multiple sources and we have a cap hit to look at. NJ will most likely dump Salv and Zub, moving Elias is BS, and Lou is smart enough not to give Kovy so much money that it threatens keeping Parise. All these rumors are tiresome.

by njdss4 on Aug 23, 2010 8:03 PM EDT reply actions

6.5 Mil.

Is my Kovy cap hit limit. Any more then that compromises our line up too much for me.

Go Devils!
Numbers don't lie, Martin Brodeur

by S.Stevens on Aug 23, 2010 8:12 PM EDT reply actions

I agree

but I think Kovy’s contract will go over that, unfortunately. I’m thinking it’ll be a $7M/yr cap hit. The only thing we can hope for next offseason is that Arnott wants to stay in NJ and takes a lower salary to stay (provided he shows he’s worth keeping).

by njdss4 on Aug 23, 2010 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I am not sure we need Arnott next year. I mean Josefson was playing 2nd line center in the SEL and he may be ready to step up and Adam Henrique played well in Winsor. Unless he is willing to take a huge cut in salary it is hard to fit him into the cap.

by devsfan9 on Aug 23, 2010 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly

If Lou feels that Arnott didn’t play well enough and that Josefson and Henrique are ready, we could let Arnott go and move them up. Strangely, I feel that at Arnott’s age, and considering how much he says he loves playing in NJ, he may be willing to take enough of a pay cut to stay after his contract expires.

by njdss4 on Aug 24, 2010 4:10 AM EDT up reply actions

I added a quote from Gulitti's post that was relevant

In short: there were discussions but nothing submitted. So keep breathing, true believers.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog

by John Fischer on Aug 23, 2010 11:18 PM EDT reply actions

Stupid ESPN

put on their bottom line “Devils and LW Ilya Kovalchuk send contract to NHL for approval” then one hour later they took it down and I haven’t seen it for the last 3 hours.

by njdss4 on Aug 25, 2010 4:01 AM EDT reply actions

They had it up on the ticker yesterday, I noticed, while I was watching some of the LLWS. I ran to the computer to see what the deal was, since that was contrary to what I’d heard previously, and their story credited it back to an Everson NY Post story that cited “sources.”

Disregard it with extreme prejudice.

Playing Devils' advocate since 1982.

by elesias on Aug 25, 2010 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions