CONFIRMED: Kovalev signs two-year deal with Senators
by PeterR on Jul 6, 2009 3:54 PM EDT
34 comments
According to several reports, including most reputably the FAN 590 in Toronto (via Twitter), the Ottawa Senators have signed free agent winger Alex Kovalev to a contract, with some sources indicating it's a two-year deal. Here's the FAN tweet:
The FAN has learned that the Ottawa Senators have signed Alexei Kovalev. Stay tuned to The FAN for more details on this story.
Unconfirmed reports at the moment, but stay tuned for more information. If this turns out to be true, if will likely be the Senators' biggest free agent signing in years.
EDIT: Although I haven't seen financial terms yet, the deal is done, as reported by TSN and the Sens' official website: Two year deal. I can't imagine this sits very well with Habs fans.
EDIT AGAIN: Looks like it's a deal worth $10M, meaning a cap hit of $5M per year, and also meaning that the Sens have next to nothing in cap room available. So it makes trading Dany Heatley more pressing, and also makes it equally pressing to take little to nothing back in terms of salary.
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Don't know how those numbers work.
Big trade must be in the works, or else the Sens are over the cap.
by PeterR on Jul 6, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Let's cross our fingers!
Hopefully this will put an end to the Heatley saga.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 6, 2009 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
just under
“With this development, it looks as though Ottawa could just dump Heatley to any taker. They better hope for one. By adding Kovalev, Ottawa’s cap space is now a mere $2K – according to NHL Numbers – enough to sign a part time waterboy!” from eyes on the prize habs blog.
by xBKx14 on Jul 6, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yikes
I can live with Kovalev-Spezza-Alfie, but not at the price of dumping Heatley to any taker. I really want to get some good young kids in return for him. I hope Murray doesn’t decide to just wash his hands of the whole problem for a few mil in cap room, especially with the personnel decisions coming up next year.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 6, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Now with 50% more Russians!
Dear Edmonton. Smid, Cogliano, Eberle, please. Will also consider Tom Gilbert for Picard.
Love this signing. The idea of Kovalev with Spezza is tantalizing. His numbers are inconsistent but overall don’t suck, and he already has the NE Division rival spite included. I very much like.
by Ryan Classic on Jul 6, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
not my favorite signing but hopefully i'm terribly wrong.
it might be a bit hard to make the transition from hating him to loving him, i challenge i’m willing to take on. I’m skeptical because he’s old, but he still but up points last year. we should still trade heater to establish a overall younger locker room, because with this signing that old edmonton trade sounds better than ever. and does murray really think kovalev is someone who would fit into the clouston system? i really didn’t see this coming. although i’m not entirely sold (yet), this can only be good. I think i might be sick, i would imagine i would be over joyed by this. Next year’s looking better already though.
by xBKx14 on Jul 6, 2009 4:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, I'm withholding verdict
I don’t know how I feel about Kovalev, but it’s nice to see an offensively talented free agent signing. Maybe he and Zubov will get along well, and for a great pairing.
by PeterR on Jul 6, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
maybe you're on to something
it would be great for zubby’s development for sure. it’s always seemed good to have a couple russians on a team to intermingle (malkin and gonchar room together for example) but on the ice i can’t say for sure. i can see zubov getting more nhl time to see if that’s the case with kovalev. i think it’s a great possibility if they fit on a line well. if they did go on a line, he would need seen as a scoring type player rather than the fourth liner type is was in ottawa last year. to see that line’s full potential, i think zubov would need to get used to being a scorer in the nhl like he is in binghamton. so i guess what i’m saying is zubov needs to develop a bit more and it wouldn’t be a instant connection with him and kovalev.
by xBKx14 on Jul 6, 2009 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Surprised, but not unhappy
Well, I am very surprised at this signing, not only because of the cap problem, but the fact that it’s Kovalev. I just didn’t see Ottawa as a potential destination for him.
Yes, 5 million is definitely too much, but if we end up trading Heatley that’s not a problem, and it’s only a two-year deal which is nice because it doesn’t tie up cap space for a long time.
I’m happy that we at least finally signed somebody. My guess would be that Kovalev plays on the 1st line with Spezza and Alfie. Hopefully we can acquire some 2nd line players in a Heatley trade, if that ever happens (I don’t see it happening before the start of the season though).
And by the way, according to NHL Numbers we’re 1.2 over the cap at the moment. If we could dump someone like Kelly, we’d be underneath it.
by Sensfan on Jul 6, 2009 6:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Great signing
Well, I sure think this was a coup… Kovalev is an impact player, a game breaker, the guy who scores the big game winner. He has been put through the Montreal shredder, like so many others before him, but will be a much happier guy in Ottawa.
Generally, I’m not a big Murray fan, but I must admit that this was some fancy footwork that nobody expected, especially with the Heatley thing going on.
Murray also claims to have a plan to fit Heatley in under the cap, if he returns (although Edmonton seems more likely).
A new young coach with a gritty attitude and an up-tempo strategy, a young star goalie (pray for the knee and ankle to hold up!), Campoli, and now Kovalev… Not bad for a few months’ work.
With a little luck, this team could return to some degree of respectability. At least there’s hope now…
by Wall Street on Jul 6, 2009 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't think we need 2nd liners
I thought the Foligno-Fisher-Shannon line was frequently our best last year. I’ll start throwing my poop at bystanders if they get broken up. I’d love to have 2nd line talent as our 3rd line, though. That’d be awesome.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 6, 2009 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That was definitely a great line
But I’m not sure it qualifies as a bona fide 2nd line. It’s too good to be a 3rd line, but doesn’t have quite enough scoring prowess to be a 2nd line (just like Fisher himself).
I wouldn’t mind adding a couple 2nd liners in the Heatley trade and using the FFS line as a sort of 2A.
by Sensfan on Jul 6, 2009 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I Agree!
Mark is totally right… Foligno and Shannon were a great pair, even with Fisher weighing them down. If Fisher finds his way back to scoring a few goals next year, that line will be just fine as it is…
by Wall Street on Jul 6, 2009 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Penner-Spezza-Alfie
Kovy-Cogs-Zubov
Foligno-Fisher-Shannon
Ruutu-Kelly-Neil
Hell of a highly paid fourth line, but a decent lineup in my eyes.
by PeterR on Jul 6, 2009 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
As long as the D could get the job done, that would be a solid team. I’m not fully confident in our D, however.
If I had a choice Kuba, Kelly, and Neil would all be on their way out (too expensive, all of them)
What if Heatley stays?
Heatley – Spezza – Alfredsson
Foligno – Fisher – Kovalev
Donovan – Kelly – Shannon
Ruutu – Bass – Neil
Not as strong, I don’t think. (The 4th line would SuperPest Central though)
by Sensfan on Jul 6, 2009 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like our D...
It’s weird, but I really do. Kuba, yes, can be better, but he’s a lot stronger than Mattias Ohlund, and he’s cheaper, too.
Kuba – Lee
Volchenkov – Phillips
Campoli – Karlsson
Picard
To be traded: Schubert, Smith
With Wiercioch and Cowan in the AHL (not sure if Cowan can play in the A, but we’ll see), it’s a decent corps.
by PeterR on Jul 6, 2009 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Do you really think Lee is ready for #1 pairing minutes? I guess he gets them by default, because there’s no way Karlsson is ready yet, and I hate the idea of breaking up Phillips and Volchie.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 7, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He looked ready near the end of last year
but I don’t know if he’s readt for top-pairing minutes in 82 NHL games. I guess we’ll probably see… he’s started pretty slowly the last two seasons, so if he does so again he’ll be demoted rather quickly.
by PeterR on Jul 7, 2009 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’d trust Campoli more with the 1st line minutes over Lee.
And I just realized, compared to the Leafs’ defence, defensively not offensively, ours sucks. The only decent hitters on our D are Phillips and the A-Train.
by Sensfan on Jul 9, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like that lineup a lot
If Leclaire returns to form, they’d at least be a playoff team. I would love to see them to dump Kelly and let Smith center that fourth line instead, though.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 6, 2009 8:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Rumours about Kelly's discontent circulate
Although they are nothing but rumours at this point. If he is traded for cheaper asset, or just in a salary dump, it’ll be sad to lose another great character player but great to gain that cap space which is wasted on Kelly. Harsh, but his play has shown them to be true.
by PeterR on Jul 6, 2009 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hope Kelly goes with Heatley
I can’t wait to see what Murray pulls off next.
As per below with Matthew’s comments on Neil. I agree. He’s becoming obsolete.
by Tony S on Jul 6, 2009 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like Kelly as a person
But I’m sick of watching him miss the net.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 7, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Come on, now...
It was Fisher’s work in the corners getting the cycle going that helped that line generate their goals. No argument that he needs to score more, but I wouldn’t say he weighed them down. They worked well as a unit and you could see their chemistry grow under Clouston’s system.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 6, 2009 8:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fisher
Bad choice of words. Fisher works hard… No arguments from me. But if Neil is overpaid (which he is) then Fisher takes the cake if that’s all he will produce.
BUT, because I’m feeling hopeful tonight, I will go along ith the idea that Fisher will return to form this coming year. I am certainly convinced that Foligno will be one of the best players to come out of the draft for the Sens in a long time. That kid has guts, heart and very good hands. He was one of the few reasons I still filled my seats by mid-season last year. He will make everyone around him better and take some of the pressure off Fisher on that line.
Anyway, I think 2008/2009 will go down as a freak year, during which very little went according to plan, and 2009/2010 will be a welcome fresh start. I thought Fisher stunk last year, but he has the work ethic and drive needed to turn things around and solid linemates to help him do it. That was my point, really.
P.S. Both the line-ups suggested are more than just good… The D is still only average and much will depend on our new young (potential) star in nets. One NHL coach told me that he was perhaps one of the three the best goalies before he went down with the first injury. If the risk of picking him up works out, that move will be Murray’s crowning glory, because a great goalie means more than almost anything else.
by Wall Street on Jul 6, 2009 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Lots of guys with lots to prove
In one of the extremely rare instances in which I agreed with Kulka and Versage, they were discussing the many players on Ottawa who had uncharacteristically bad years next year, and the fact that so many of them have so much to prove. If they do so, it’ll be something special.
by PeterR on Jul 6, 2009 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Full disclosure
Fisher is my favorite Sen. Is he overpaid? Yeah… especially if, as you say, last year is the level he produces at. I think he has proven over the years that he just doesn’t have the talent to make something happen on his own. That said, I’m of the belief that most scoring opportunities in the NHL are born from hard work and smart play — and that’s something I think he brings every night. Foligno is exactly the kind of player that style benefits, because he has the tenacity and hands to finish off a play. I think if he can take the pressure off of Fisher (and it sure looks like he can), that line could easily provide that fabled secondary scoring we like to talk about with this team.
I hope the coach you talked to is right about Leclaire. I can’t help myself — I’ve already got high hopes for him. If he can just not let in the one softie a game that the corps last year did, I think the team will be much improved. If he can be great consistently, our D will look a lot better than it is, and we can start whispering about being contenders again — Like you, I think last year was a freak year and this squad will finish closer to their true talent level.
by Mark Parisi on Jul 7, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
On another note
I can’t wait until Kovalev contributes to the No Habs No! Campaign. That will be sweet.
by Sensfan on Jul 6, 2009 8:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good signing for you guys
as I said on our site this morning, I think Kovalev is at his best when he plays for a coach who will push him hard, and Clouston seems like that type of coach.
If you want Redden back for Heatley, we’re all ears….
Kidding.
No I’m not
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Jul 6, 2009 9:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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