Ilya Kovalchuk Announces His Retireme--WHAT?!

That was my reaction when I got that notification on my phone from the NHL GameCenter app while I was at work. Needless to say, I was stunned. Honestly, I don't know how I held myself together. This post is going to be cathartic for me, and it's going to help me gather my thoughts and put some perspective on all of this. I'm going to split this into two parts. One part is going to be the emotional fan's point of view. The other part is going to be the viewpoint of an objective third party (read: journalist, sports businessman).

How Could He?!

I can't believe this! Retired?! To go back to Russia?! I though he liked it here in New Jersey, hence the 15-year contract. This is completely ridiculous. We are so screwed now. We have no one that can consistently score goals! Our best goal-scorer is thirty-seven and isn't getting any younger. We are going to be one of the worst teams in the league next year. I can't believe it. I gave him the benefit of the doubt for his entire tenure with the Devils. I made EVERY excuse in the book for him because I so desperately wanted this team to be successful with him, and this is how he treats the fans?! Good riddance you lazy bum! Go back to Russia so you can just cherry-pick at the blue line and play no defense. We all know that you never fully bought into playing complete hockey with New Jersey. I believed that he was going to turn over a leaf and be different that other Russians before him. Nope, they're all the same (Malkin and Datsyuk notwithstanding). Now, I understand all of the Canadian reporters' disdain towards Russian players. You'd never see a Swede do this. You'd never see a Finn do this. You'd never see a Czech do this. I hope all of the Russian players that actually want to play in the NHL are happy with Kovalchuk. He pretty much killed any chance of any Russian player getting a long-term deal. No team is going to want to commit big money to a player they fear is going to jump ship for an inferior league. We put a ton of resources towards Kovalchuk that it cost us Zach Parise. Now neither of them are on our team! How did we let this happen?! I was planning on burning my Kovalchuk jerseys (yes, plural) last night after I got home from work, but my mom talked me out of it. I'm giving my SKA one away for five bucks, and I'll light up my Devils one once we start using the fireplace at home. This is going to be a long season for this team and the fans.

Let's Take a Step Back Here

Yes, Kovalchuk running away does put the Devils in a huge hole in the short-term. The timing of this could have been better for the team, but a lot of things "coulda, shoulda, woulda" happened here. We can't dwell on that. It happened, and Lou and co. have to figure this one out. Let's look at this from a purely financial standpoint. We all know the Devils aren't the most financially stable team in the world. Kovalchuk's contract was going to be a burden on the back end of it. He was slated to make $56 million in the next five years alone and $77 million over the next twelve years. This helps the Devils financial situation tremendously. You can't say Jeff Vanderbeek isn't privately celebrating this. Only negative to this financially is that any prospective buyer might not inject as much cash as they would have before, but any new owner (that IS NOT looking to move the team) would be better than JVB. The next thing you have to look at the makeup of the team itself. As it stands right now, we seem incredibly devoid of any scoring outside of Patrik Elias. However, one my buddies I interned with at the Devils and I posted a picture that explained the 2003 Cup-winning squad. No player on that team had more than 57 points that year. Yes, it was a full 82-game season. It gave me a ton of perspective on the outlook for next season. I can see this team using this situation as a rallying point throughout the entire season. This team has always played better with a chip on their shoulder. I have no intention of not getting my partial season tickets again. I'm sticking by this team 100%. I just hope Lou is able to do something to make this season not a total disaster. If anyone can get a team out of this mess, it's Lou Lamoriello. I'm sure he's got some tricks up his sleeve. I'm sure if he can convince Mike Gillis to give us Cory Schneider for only our first-round pick this year, he can get Darcy Regier to give us Thomas Vanek without giving up Adam Larsson. I'll be watching very closely to see what Lou has in store for the team and the fans. Whatever happens, I hope it is for the best. LET'S GO DEVILS!

The aforementioned picture. (Photo credit: Zach Antonucci)