The Market For Ilya Kovalchuk: Islanders Prepared To Offer $100M, Devils Still In Mix, Kings Out?

 

A flurry of activity was expected to surround Ilya Kovalchuk when the free agent market opened for business on Thursday. Not only was he leaps and bounds better than any other available player, but the 27-year old Russian sniper also possesses a unique ability to dramatically change the face of any NHL franchise. It therefore came as a bit of a surprise that there was little to report on his situation as Day 1 came to a close.

The Los Angeles Kings were at the forefront of negotiations with Kovalchuk, which was to be expected considering their interest dating back to the trade deadline. New Jersey Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello believed his team was very much in the mix despite having added at least $8.625 million against the cap with previous signings throughout the day. And any number of unconfirmed teams were also posturing for the left wing’s services.

One of those other teams was revealed late in the day on July 2. TSN’s Darren Dreger pondered the idea of the New York Islanders going after Kovalchuk and indicated a source informed him of the team’s possible intentions to offer a $100-million, 10-year contract. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun followed up with a text confirmation from Isles’ GM Garth Snow that they were in the mix.

A situation that had little movement in the first day of free agency suddenly transformed into the high-priced bidding process anticipated for Kovalchuk. Even in light of the Islanders' potential offer, the Kings were still believed to be the favorite to land Kovalchuk, with the Devils not too far behind pending Lamoriello’s ability to work around the less-than $5 million in cap space still left on the payroll. But with a proposed offer of $10 million annually for the next decade, the Islanders instantly emerged as a contender for Kovalchuk.