Comments on: Ilya Kovalchuk's stunning contract with the Devils: By the numbers

By: Should the NHL be upset with the structure of Brad Richards’ new contract? | ProHockeyTalk

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 21:56:48 +0000

[...] is how Ilya Kovalchuk’s rejected contract would have looked. 2010-11: $6 million 2011-12: $6 million 2012-13: $11.5 million 2013-14: $11.5 million 2014-15: [...]

By: lumberjack

lumberjack — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:58:42 +0000

Back when America was great….. you got this right in those days you did not have to spend a half a paycheck to see a game. You did not have sports players making millions of dollars….no, those were the good old days where the owners did not have to raise the ticket prices every year just so they are able to pay the greed of players their millions and sock it to the fans. No, we have lost it and greed has taken a hold of America. Sad, very sad.
Reduce the ticket prices and the owners have no choice but to reduce the salaries and cut the greed of the players. You die-hard fans pay almost anything the see the games and the owners know it. KEEP SPENDING YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY so Kovalchuk, A-ROD and company just love to puchase a few more homes and a couple more Mercedes-Benz.

By: Mark McKee

Mark McKee — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:23:35 +0000

If I had a nickel for every time someone said a deal by Lou Lamoriello would cause the whole front office to be fired, (myself included), I could buy a team. I’ve learned to sit back and watch, and so has the NHL, which is why Lou’s in the Hall of Fame. I think it was a great deal.

By: Mark McKee

Mark McKee — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:13:28 +0000

Get a grip people. Why do you always complain about the salaries of entertainers when in actuality they are they only ones who deserve what they make because WE decide if they get to remain employed. Once we the fans are done with them, they are done period. Keep your eye on the ball, and cry about those Wall Street jerks. Also, I think it’s nice in this day & age when a guy decides to play with one franchise for life, which used to be the norm back when America was great.

By: F2B&G

F2B&G — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:46:52 +0000

They overpaid, but someone was going to. The Devils play a pretty defensive style, and he’ll be paid that kind of money to learn it and mostly adhere to it. Plus, not playing for a craphole organization like Atlanta might force him to realize that competitive, well-run NHL franchises have serious postseason expectations.
I have a feeling that he’s going to work out better than Rangers fans would like to think, even though, as a neutral observer, I think the Devils have invested too much up front.

By: brad

brad — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:30:44 +0000

how can the devils even afford to pay him, i live 20 minutes from the arena, the place is never even half full and the devils havent paid their rent since 2007!!!!!! the reason the devils say they havent paid rent is because its to cold in the arena and the heat doesnt work right!!! Hey Mr. Vanderbeek you do realize hockey is played on a sheet of ice!!!!!!! http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/devils_newark_housing_authorit.html

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:25:45 +0000

I agree but then again Hockey Players are paid the least amount out of any American professional sport and endure the roughest season of anyone; its not as long as baseball but you have to laugh at comparing the vigor of hockey and baseball together.

By: JerryF

JerryF — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:17:58 +0000

In the truest economic sense a person is always ‘worth’ what a willing buyer is ready to pay. But the people who say a hockey player (or football, baseball, basketball, soccer player) is not ‘worth’ some contract never say that some movie star isn’t ‘worth’ what he makes for a movie; and never says some business executive is not ‘worth’ what he makes.

By: Hello McFly!!

Hello McFly!! — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:55:49 +0000

Listen.. all you idiots complaining about him making 6 mil a yr need to take a look at other sports. This still doesn’t compare to the 30 mil a yr people are getting in baseball and football and basketball. OK 102mil may be a big number, but there’s 39 OTHER players in the NHL that will have a higher cap hit than him next year anyway. If they can throw $150 mil into The Last Airbender, they can give 102 mil over the course of 17 years to someone people would actually go and watch. And all you haters, from raggedy old msg know you’d be gladly spending that money to watch ur broadway bums get skated all around by the Devils anyway. Everyone should shut up and go on a diet if you want to save money.

By: hockey dad in Colorado

hockey dad in Colorado — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:55:35 +0000

Whatever lady. Do you give all your extra income to charity, or to the education and medical care of stangers you don’t even know? I didn’t think so. You probably live in a one bedroom apartment right? It’s called freedom lady, maybe Kovalchuk wasn’t sitting in a bar during his youth or playing video games, but skating his ass off in a freezing ice arena, probably before 6am. All you idots whom have no clue on what it takes to actually make it to any professional sports, let alone be a star, should shut the hell up. Patrick Kane’s family spent over a quarter of a million dollars on lessons and camps, not including lodging, travel and time involved. Go volunteer to help with the mini-mites kids at your local ice rink, and just begin to see what a great sport, and people are the sport of ice hockey.

By: richard

richard — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:46:07 +0000

The Devils overpaid for him. The offer the Kings made, about $20 million less spread over 14 years, is what he’s actually worth (and with the young talent on the Kings, he would win a Stanley Cup) but you can’t fault someone for taking more money. Six years from now, if the Devils haven’t made it to the finals and with Kovi making 11.5 million a year as his skills start to decline, the Devils front office will be purged.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:40:23 +0000

The team wouldn’t pay the player the salary unless they knew they were going to make the money back. Yes, there are parts of the country hurting, but in the tri-state area there are still plently of people that are going to pay to see these sports stars to play. I see no reason why players should say no to money if someone is going to give it to them. They have a talent that people enjoy watching and are willing to pay to watch. CAPITALISM at it’s best.

By: lumberjack

lumberjack — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:37:36 +0000

O.k. guys, if some of you sees nothing wrong with these sports people pulling 5,10,15,20,25 MILLION bucks a year and no ending in sight that it will stop …. one can only wonder.
We have thousands of people out of work or earning peanuts. We have people fighting to get a 10 cent raise – yes 10 cents!!
We have our President making I believe $400,000 a year
and then, just to name one, A-ROD making $30 MILLION a year.
Unless my figures are wrong, it would take the average joe blow 600 years to make that kind of money. IT MAKES ONE SICK JUST TO THINK ABOUT IT …. sad, very sad and we see nothing wrong… crazy man crazy.
Stop the high prices per ticket for all sports so people can enjoy their teams and have money left for a couple of cold beer ~ love you – all you crazy sport fans.
Sit back and watch the NY RANGERS win the CUP NEXT YEAR. Ha ha ha

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:11:44 +0000

Whoever did this deal on the Devils side should be hung from the rafters. Other than Fetisov and Federov, no Russian player has played with any level of NHL competitiveness, ever. Mogilny, gone. Bure, gone. This guy is going to be a fourth line wing in a few years, and will be laughing all the way to the bank.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:04:28 +0000

One other small issue. Hockey is a team sport. The Gretsky’s, Lemieux’s, Howe’s, Ovechkin’s etc of the world couldn’t have chaulked up what they’ve done without playing as a part of a team (offense and defence). Kovy has no concept of this concept throughout his career. His idea of defense is doing figure – 8′s around his blue line waiting for an outlet pass. Backchecking????? LOL!!! An NHL career +/- of -8??? Uncle Lou, you just buried your team.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:55:55 +0000

Why is it we hear all this moaning groaning b*tching and complaining about player contracts but never that Angie Jolie is making $20 million to make a movie?

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:36:57 +0000

Paul Newman is dead…so I would have a huge problem with him getting $25mil

By: NYISLANDER

NYISLANDER — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:58:07 +0000

You guys have to be kidding me… Take a look at the money players in more “marketable” sports make, and then tell me he doesn’t deserve this money.. Tracy McGrady made $23.4 mil last season, A-Rod makes $33 mil a year, and Kovalchuk, who plays the most physically demanding sport in existence, outside of perhaps rugby, will make around 1/2 and 1/3 of those, respectively, and that’s at the peak of his contract! Whether or not it’s a smart move is debatable, but the fact that this guy deserves this kind of money is not. You go out there and get hit everyday by the likes of Zdeno Chara and tell me he doesn’t deserve half of what a basketball player makes, please. And In Florida, I don’t see you complaining about the money that Lebron and Wade will be making these next few years. As for the intelligence behind this move, I hope for the Devil’s sake it doesn’t turn into A Rick DiPietro situation for them.

By: Joebob

Joebob — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:56:30 +0000

Lou Lamoriello is widely considered to be one of the most astute GM’ in all of sports. He has built a consistent winner in the Devils (3 cups and, several divisions, decade + long playoff streak).
He is far from stoooopid. He gave the Devils exactly what they needed this offseason: volchenkov, arnott, and a sniper/superstar in kovalchuk.

By: BC

BC — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:47:05 +0000

How many o’s are there in stooooooooooooooooooooopid?

By: Actual Hockey Player

Actual Hockey Player — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:39:31 +0000

In Florida: A Kids game for most of their life? Your a complete joke. I’d like to see you lace up a pair of skates and go up against the best hockey players in the world. I Bet you end up in the hospital, maybe worse…deservedly so.
For the guy who said he is not a hockey fan, your comment clearly shows the truth in that. The Devils are only paying him ON AVERAGE 6m/yr. Since the last CBA came into effect the Devils and every other team in the NHL has been paying between 50 and the current 59 million dollar Salary Cap for the whole team (the Cap tends to increase per season). I don’t think Kovy’s contract is dependant on sell outs…
Since your not a fan (this goes for the rest of you that clearly have no clue what your talking about, Debbie) don’t read the article, or at least don’t comment on it. It just shows your utter incompentence. But then again this is an online message board and we all know Americans LOVE to bash and bash on people that don’t line up with their opinion. Luckly for me, I am an ice hockey player with a DEEP love and passion for this sport, not to mention a great knowledge of the sport. So I have earned the right to bash .

By: Joebob

Joebob — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:15:25 +0000

“does he give some of his money away”?
Yes, in the form of approx. 50% tax bill.
So quit your whining, his $45million tax bill is more than you or your entire family tree will ever contribute to those poor kids.

By: Joebob

Joebob — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:12:20 +0000

What would it do for education and healthcare? Not much. You see NJ taxpayers and particularly residents of Essex county already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation to subsidize the education and other social programs in Newark. 100′s of millions are already being pumped into the Newark area. As is the revenue generated by the Newark Arena, the Devils and their players. By and large that money is completely wasted. Many people there don’t value their educational opportunities and instead focus on being Mr pants on the ground gang members. They allow the majority of their city to deteriorate into an urban nightmare of murder and drugs, and you whine about giving someone else’s earned money (that’s right he earned it by working hard his whole life at something) to them.
On the other hand, Kovy will buy a house or 3 and pump that money back into the economy. Not to mention the outrageous tax bill he will have (unless he decides to commute from Delaware).
so save your “what could newark do with that 100 million” crap…they get more than they deserve already.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:29:09 +0000

FLORIDA you’re an idiot. Why are you on a sports site anyway?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:04:33 +0000

you could always become his maid! It would be one way to feed the homeless wuth his money.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:57:01 +0000

Well, looks like Kovalchuk isn’t too concerned about winning the Cup apparently. The Devils aren’t going anywhere any time soon with Brodeur still between the pipes (a playoff choker the past three years, showing that he’s truly on the decline) and the Devils haven’t done much to groom anyone to be his replacement. The rest of the supporting cast on the Devils beyond players like Zach Parise isn’t all that impressive.

By: in FLORIDA

in FLORIDA — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:53:34 +0000

The stupidest argument about this guy’s contract I’ve seen yet is the one about how their bodies break down and they only have earning potential for “x” number of years. Can’t they get a JOB after playing a kids game for most of their life? Then again, that would require responsibility and actually having a marketable skill to the working world. Face it, this country has long been screwed up in the money it pays to sports people, movie stars, etc. It’ll never be fixed, so quick complaining about it. If you want to DO something about it, quit going to see their movies, quit filling the seats in the arenas, and quit buying the products the sponsors make which have to be over-priced in order to generate the revenue to pay the outrageous salaries.
Oh wait, can’t do that. That would require sacrifice on YOUR part.

By: popi0721

popi0721 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:52:28 +0000

All the complaining is ridiculous. We have no one to blame but ourselves. WE are buying the tickets, the products, etc. Any one of us would gladly take the same deal if we had the same talent. As long as sports fans continue to support professional sports at the level we do, nothing is going to change. Don’t blame the athletes.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:29:48 +0000

It’s nice that everyone is concerned with hungry children, the sick and the elderly. The problem is that the only way that money like this can be used to help them is either to donate it or to raise taxes. I don’t know of anyone volunteering to pay higher taxes. Hopefully we all make at least minor contributions to good causes, but no one is going to take the money they spend on season tickets and donate it to charity. It’s just not realistic. Not to mention that the economics of sports go way beyond just season ticket sales. The networks aren’t going to give the money they pay for rights fees to any charities. The people who buy jerseys and other products, while they may give, won’t do it instead of buying products.

By: TominMA

TominMA — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:17:08 +0000

Im not a hockey fan, but this is an absolutely STUPID contract by the NJ Devils! I wonder how they justified it top the bean counters. They had BETTER have sellouts for a VERY long time! Think Belichick would ever hand out this kind of contract???