Kovalchuk

as someone who has a lot of kovalchuk stuff, I can tell you I've seen them slide. Some that should be automatic sales have stalled.
 
I don't see him coming back - between playing at home, making a lot of money, playing a lighter schedule - what incentive is there to come back to the NHL?

You've got Alexei Morozov, who's been playing there for years, going back after his deal with Pittsburgh expired and he's never looked back. You can't underestimate the effect the KHL has had on the NHL - especially as more Europeans opt to stay in Europe. With Jokerit joining the league soon, you could see some Finns choosing to stay home.

Yes the NHL is the best league in the world - but it's way too simplistic and arrogant to assume that the best players will ALWAYS play in it or that those who choose not to aren't prepared to pay the price physically to play in North America.
 
Alexander Radulov is another example.

Also the caps are having a tough time getting Kuznetsov to leave aren't they?
 
That's true he is at home and stuff. I just find it hard to swallow that a player with his skill doesn't want to win the stanley cup at least once in his career. I know if I played hockey for a living I wouldn't quit until either I won the cup or simply can't play anymore.
 
BleedxBlue said:
That's true he is at home and stuff. I just find it hard to swallow that a player with his skill doesn't want to win the stanley cup at least once in his career. I know if I played hockey for a living I wouldn't quit until either I won the cup or simply can't play anymore.
Click to expand...

Money speaks as a better prize that the cup in many a circle methinks.. i hope its not true..but appears to be the case.
 
He gets almost 3x (or a bit more than 3x) more in salary while playing for KHL plus much less games, easy choice no matter what the actual reason is....

I don't understand why CSKA did offered him a $20m per season contract at the first hand, pretty sure that $8m is just enough, so money talks no doubtly, sadly enough....
I completely understands frustration by all those Kovy collectors, but much can still happening in some years and he's pretty youg at 30....
 
This point has been stated time and time again but it bears repeating...

The Stanley Cup doesn't mean the same thing to every player - especially those coming from overseas who don't grow up with the same exposure to the NHL game. Why do we feel the need to believe that they care as much about the trophy as we do?

Think of how the average Canadian views a World Championship Gold Medal and you likely have a similar emotional tie when many Europeans think about the Stanley Cup - something that is nice to win but not something that defines a career.


Back to the original post - I would expect a bit of a dropoff until he gets a few games under his belt in the KHL. At that point I would expect a very slight increase in sales and a plateau out from there - just my gut feeling.
 
I'm telling you one thing, I hope UD and Panini pull his cards from checklists. I don't want to see his jersey cards be coming out of $200 products lol. Which I'm sure they will, but just my little rant for the night.
 
thorn said:
Kuznetsov is coming to NHL after next year.

Radulov and Kovalchuk belong to KHL since they can't compete in NHL.
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I'm tired of hearing these comparisons of Kovy to Radulov, Radulov couldn't hold Kovy's jockstrap. Also, I agree that SOME Euro/Russian players might not view winning the Stanley Cup to be the ultimate goal of their careers, but don't paint them ALL with that brush as some members have. Look @ #13, recently signed a 3 year extension with Detroit when you know he very well could have gone back and made Kovy $$$ in the KHL. Pavel was quoted as saying, one of the biggest reasons he is staying is because he considers the NHL to be the greatest competition/league in the world.
 
He has had a longer NHL career(Games played) than players like Lindros, Forsberg, Neely and Bure. But the way he left may put a sour taste in some collectors mouths.


My best,

Ken
 
If it was a one year deal, collectors could hold their breath. 4 years?? He'll be an old man by then. I can't see much hobby future for a 35+ yo player. His kind of player, elite speed and skating, that extra step, is what makes him a top forward in the world. When he loses that proverbial step, he'll look a bit ordinary, a guy who scores 25 goals because of his shooting and hockey sense ability. And we all know how much those players are worth.

The Kings fans were quite tickled to see the thing play out but I feel bad for the collectors here...that's a below average situation.
 
timber09 said:
This point has been stated time and time again but it bears repeating...

The Stanley Cup doesn't mean the same thing to every player - especially those coming from overseas who don't grow up with the same exposure to the NHL game. Why do we feel the need to believe that they care as much about the trophy as we do?

Think of how the average Canadian views a World Championship Gold Medal and you likely have a similar emotional tie when many Europeans think about the Stanley Cup - something that is nice to win but not something that defines a career.


Back to the original post - I would expect a bit of a dropoff until he gets a few games under his belt in the KHL. At that point I would expect a very slight increase in sales and a plateau out from there - just my gut feeling.
Click to expand...

Agreed in full.
 

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