Kovalchuk Nearing Deal With The Devils?

When we last check in on Ilya Kovalchuk, three teams were at the forefront of his free agency status. The Los Angeles Kings were perceived as out of the mix per comments by General Manager Dean Lombardi. The New York Islanders were preparing to fork over a $100 million, 10-year offer. And the New Jersey Devils were, somehow, still in the running.

That somehow part was given a bit of clarity today by The New York Post. At first, Mark Everson reported that Kovalchuk was expected to sign with the Devils on a seven-year pact worth $60 million. Everson's tune changed shortly thereafter, simply stating that Kovalchuk was expected to make a decision today and the Devils remained the favorites with their $8.57 million per season offer.

Unsure of what the Kings' last offer to Kovalchuk was, this seems like surprising news considering Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman reported that Lombardi just could not get Kovalchuk to get under his request of a $100 million contract (Source 1/2). If that's the reason he dropped out, then why is Kovalchuk accepting a lower bid from New Jersey?

According to The Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta, Kovalchuk enjoyed his time with the Devils. Despite the fact that it's a limiting offensive system in which Kovalchuk's numbers are destined to plummet over the long haul, re-joining the organization meets the top priority believed to be on Kovalchuk's agenda - play for a winning team. The Devils should continue to be a perennial postseason player. How deep into the postseason they remains another issue entirely, however. Also, Kovalchuk's agent, Jay Grossman, just so happens to represent recent Devils free agent signee, defenseman Anton Volchenkov.

This move move would put New Jersey over $3.82 million above the salary cap, which must be rectified prior to the start of the 2010-11 regular season. That means somebody on the team is going to have to get dealt. Dainius Zubrus would be the most logical player out of New Jersey, with a $3.4 million salary in each of the next three seasons and production that doesn't necessarily match the payoff. But that still doesn't get the Devils under the cap and finding a suitor for Zubrus could become difficult. The easy road would be trading Patrick Elias ($6 million per season over the next three) or Brian Rolston ($5,062,500 owed next season and in 2011-12), although one would have to believe New Jersey is reluctant to part with either player.

This may just be premature conjecture, anyway. The deal is not yet completed. Grossman noted earlier in the day that Kovalchuk should make a decision about his future at some point today. The only news thus far today points toward Kovalchuk returning to The Garden State.

As for the Kings, it was reported that they are also no longer in the running to acquire left wing Simon Gagne from the Philadelphia Flyers, which would have been a solid Plan B for Lombardi. While it's still possible they get back into the discussion, the appearance right now is that the Kings are striking out on all fronts.