Kovy's Blues

Vol. II, No. 2

The saga of Ilya Kovalchuk continues.  His case is a symbol of a much wider problem.

The hockey press has widely reported on what the NHL has done to the Devils and Kovalchuk.  At this moment, he is barred from playing in the NHL for any team.  But I think the real story is the NHL Players Association and their Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The CBA has now been turned into a farce. Long term contracts which evade the salary cap are the latest method. But let's face it. A long term contract is the absolute opposite of free agency - the right that all professional sports players have struggled to obtain over the past three decades. If a player is now able to accept restricted un-free employment, is that not the decision of the individual? Why should the league try to overturn that decision?

So what do the players want?  Big bucks?  Freedom to choose their employer?  Can they have both?  What about the owners, the teams and the fans who must ultimately pay for mega-buck deals?

The underlying reality is that players in the NFL, NBA and MLB make much more than their NHL counterparts.  Will the NHLPA rebel over the NHL's rejection of Kovalchuk's deal? This could be the opening shot in the re-negotiation of the next players/league agreement. The last time, bad feelings resulted in a season lockout in 2004-05.

Let's hope the NHL and players are not stupid enough to kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs.  Kovalchuk deserves what the market will bear.  The Devils deserve the right to set a long contract term, if that is what Kovalchuk accepts.

Meanwhile, the league should focus on ways to increase media revenue, and share the proceeds with the teams so that higher salary caps are made possible.  Reduce the dependency of teams on gate revenue, and leave policing to the refs on the ice.

Ilya, Jay and Lou Get Down

Vol. II, No. 1

This is the first post of the new hockey season, on a blazing hot day, in the beginning of July.

API, Sports Illustrated and the New York Post are reporting a blockbuster event in hockey.  It seems that Ilya Kovalchuk is about to re-sign with the New Jersey Devils for $60 million over a seven year term.  A month ago, nobody in the hockey world would have thunk this possible.

The details will be widely reported elsewhere, and the prospect of Ilya remaining with the Devils will not be certain until the last phone call has been made and the last page of a contract has been signed. But his agent, Jay Grossman (of PuckAgency), indicated that July 5th was D-Day, and that Ilya's future would be announced today.  So, how could this have happened? Here is one hypothesis.

Ilya Kovalchuk is represented by PuckAgency in Briarcliff Manor NY.  Two weeks ago, the Devils announced the acquisition of two other players, Johan Hedberg (goalie) and Anton Volchenkov (defenseman). Guess who represents Hedberg and Volchenkov?  PuckAgency, of course!

Could it be that Lamoriello and Grossman worked out a deal which would kill three birds with one stone?  The Islanders were (or still are, as of this writing) in the running. But uncertainly clouds the future of the Isles, who have been reported to be looking for a move to Kansas City if a new arena is not build to replace the Nassau Coliseum.  Would Kovalchuk risk playing in KC after his experience in Atlanta?

By the time the newspapers hit the stands on Tuesday, July 6th, the hockey world will know if the rumors are true.  If they are, a lot of fans in the Garden State are going to be buying #17 jerseys for the fall. If not, API, Sports Illustrated and the New York Post will have a lot of  "splainin to do".

Hockey Rules!