Ah Yes. There it is. Foot in Mouth Syndrome.

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 12:03 PM CST Comment 13 comments

In a podcast on the Atlanta Thrashers website, Ilya Kovalchuk answered an array of questions. None of the questions was particularly probing, none of the answer particularly telling until that one, the one question, and the one answer that everyone will be talking about. Or should be.

At the 3:31 mark, the question comes from a yet unnamed reporter:

Do you get to a point where you say to Jay, 'Get a deal done, take what's on the table?'

And Kovalchuk opens his mouth as wide as he can, and in a performance usually reserved for the summer Olympics, inserts his foot squarely in his mouth:

But it should be a good deal for everybody, not just one side. You know? We are [hockey players], but I have a family and three kids, too.

Forgive him the language barrier, if you must, but you know what Ilya? Buddy? I have two kids and a family, too. Don't try and sell me the "I have a family" routine. You and your agent have turned down contracts worth more money than 99.99999% of the world will ever see.You get a lot of over draft notices, do ya, Ilya? Trouble finding enough bread to feed your poor, starving children?

I am not going to beat the already dead horse on this topic. It should be clear where I stand on this issue already.

Respect for Ilya Kovalchuk = 0.

However, what I will do is add his face to the new Mount Greedmore. Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Gaborik, Randy Moss, and Latrell Spreewell. Any other nominations?

Later all.

-Buddha

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Not Greed

It’s not greed, it’s success. We allegedly offered Gaborik $80M over 10 years, or $8m a year. He took $37.5M over 5 years, or $7.5m a year. The reason most likely is he thought the Rags had a better chance at the Cup.

The Thrash haven’t won a playoff game since…ever. And then they missed the playoffs for two straight years after. Why bother spending the rest of your career there?

If it’s about money, it’s KHL, or take the huge deals you’re being offered. In reality, he wants to go to a competitive, winning team.

Not that I think Kovalchuk is a saint, but it’s about winning, not greed.

by Jarick on Feb 4, 2010 1:00 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

What does winning have to do with his family?

Gaborik turned down 8 mil per from the Wild, spent the entire season on IR, had the offer pulled off the table by the Wild, and signed with the Rangers for less than what was offered originally by the Wild. The Wild never offered a contract once the offer was pulled by Risebrough, and Fletcher never even contacted them.

Back to Kovalchuk. If he goes to the KHL, he is an idiot. Sure, there is money, but the competition is not there, the fans are not there, the buildings and the lifestyle are not there.

I don’t disagree that he wants out of Atlanta, but why not just come out and say it? If the reports are true, he wants the top salary available, $11.2 mil per season. Where does he, or anyone else, get off thinking they get to make more than Ovechkin, Crosby, or Malkin? The dynamic duo took smaller deals than they are worth so they could both stay around, and good on them. But why does Kovalchuk think he is worth more than Ovechkin, especially as the cap is shrinking?

This is about money. I truly believe he could care less where he goes, so long as the number is right. But there is no evidence to support that. It is just a gut feeling. This comment, however, is about money. It is not about a more competitive team, security, schools, houses, dogs, cats, or possible trade destinations. It is about money. Flat out, money. He brought up his family to suggest that Atlanta is not offering the right amount of money.

Hockey Wilderness

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 1:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Alex Rodriguez for your greed mountain.

But hearing him say that is not surprising, unfortunately.

RonGarde: Target Field is going to be exactly like Progressive Field, except you'll have a chance to die of frostbite in the middle of July

by fischean on Feb 4, 2010 1:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm...

Several people are bringing up that he was talking about where he was going to live, not about the money. I have listened to the interview three times now, and I still never hear him mention anything about where he is going to live.

The question above is posed asking Kovalchuk at what point do they just accept the offer and stay in Atlanta. He then says it has to be fair to both sides, and that he has a family. What part of the deal on the table is unfair to his family? Is it the $10 million a year? Is it the fact that he doesn’t have to pack up his family and move? Is it that his kids get to stay in their schools (age?) and keep all of their friends?

I don’t understand the argument. I don’t hear where he brings up the location of his family being the issue, and I don;t understand what his agent would have to do with that at his point.

The question was very simple. Why doesn’t he take the offer on the table from Atlanta. He suggests it isn’t fair, and uses his family as the reasoning. How is it unfair to them?

Hockey Wilderness

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 1:27 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

From The Hockey News

A statement by the GM of the Thrashers:

Statement from Thrashers GM Don Waddell:
<a href="http://Statement from Thrashers GM Don Waddell: “Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract. During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to be a Thrasher for life. We’ve spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we’ve reached an impasse and at this point he has declined all of our proposals and we can’t reasonably go any higher. Ultimately, we offered Kovy more than $101 million over 12 years, which would have been the highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent in the history of the league. If accepted, this contract would have been the second highest offer ever to any NHL player. We also met his desire to be the highest paid player based on average annual salary with a separate offer of 7 years at $10M per year ($70M). This offer is $0.5M higher per year than any other player. If we went beyond these offers, we would not be able to retain the young players on our roster when it came time to sign them, or invest in other top tier players needed to assemble a truly competitive team. Therefore, we are aggressively exploring all of our options as we move forward.” " >
“Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract. During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to be a Thrasher for life. We’ve spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we’ve reached an impasse and at this point he has declined all of our proposals and we can’t reasonably go any higher.

Ultimately, we offered Kovy more than $101 million over 12 years, which would have been the highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent in the history of the league. If accepted, this contract would have been the second highest offer ever to any NHL player. We also met his desire to be the highest paid player based on average annual salary with a separate offer of 7 years at $10M per year ($70M). This offer is $0.5M higher per year than any other player.

If we went beyond these offers, we would not be able to retain the young players on our roster when it came time to sign them, or invest in other top tier players needed to assemble a truly competitive team. Therefore, we are aggressively exploring all of our options as we move forward."

Hockey Wilderness

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 1:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Wow… format failure. Excellent.

Hockey Wilderness

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 1:58 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Offer of $101 million over 12 years on the table. Highest contract ever offered. Seperate deal that would have made him the highest paid player in the league.

But… it’s not enough for his family, right?

Hockey Wilderness

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 1:59 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

You want to get depressed?

Calculate out how many years it would take you to earn what Martin Skoula did just last year.

.. make sure there’s not anything that can be used to hang or shoot yourself nearby when you do.

by SpaethCo on Feb 4, 2010 2:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Greed

It comes in many forms. I know the following two indiviuals aren’t necessarily sports related, but they we’re most likely also thinking of “providing for their families” as they commited their crimes*: Bernie Madoff and Tom Petters…

*Please note I am NOT saying that demanding/asking for higher and higher contracts in sports is a crime. Please do not assume that—I’m just trying to bring another example of the lengths greedy men will go to get what they want (money, the cup, whatever…).

Let's Go Wild!

by redheadzeb on Feb 4, 2010 2:08 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!!!

Randy Moss is not greedy………FYI, he turned down more money in Philadelphia to play for NE……really when you think about it…..you can call just about every pro athlete “greedy” because they all ask for WAAAAAAAAAAY more $$ than they will ever need in their lifetimes………….why? because they can…happiness is all relative and if an athlete feels like letting his family and friends live in ridiculous luxury is what he wants in life, who are you to judge?! dont act like you wouldn’t do it if you had the chance….talk is cheap!…no pun intended

by ysoserious on Feb 4, 2010 8:39 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Your user name is “ysoserious” and you come at me with a tirade? Really? Wow. Well done.

Anyways, how much did you follow Randy while he was in Minnesota? He made cracks all the time about how much money he should be making, and how much he was worth. Not greedy, whatever. Get your facts straight.

I could call all athletes greedy, you are correct. But I don’t. You know why? Because they don’t bring up their family and make it sound like all they are doing is fighting for the right to feed their kids. It’s an ego thing, and if they came out and said it, I would respect that. But to tell me that you can’t accept $10 mil per because it’s not fair to your family? Come on.

Who am I to judge? The guy writing this blog, that’s who, and that is all I need to be to judge. It’s what I do.

Don’t act like I wouldn’t do it if I had the chance. I wouldn’t, even if I did get the chance. I’m old school. Loyal to a fault. If I was drafted by the Thrashers and worked my way up with them, and wanted to win a Cup, I would work with the owners to accept a deal that stil pays me way more than I need and allows them to build a team around me. Yes. I would. If you wouldn’t, than you are no better than he is.

Hockey Wilderness

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 11:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

See how many times the amunt of money is brought up in this?

There is a reason. Do the math, use the logic. I’m glad you love Randy Moss. He appreciates it, too. Especially the three plays a game he actually plays.

Hockey Wilderness

by BReynolds on Feb 4, 2010 11:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs