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Kovy’s Return To Thrasherville – Don’t Expect Me To Boo |
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Tuesday night Ilya Kovalchuk makes his much-anticipated return to Thrasherville after being traded to the New Jersey Devils. He, along with young defenseman Anssi Salmela made their way there…while Johnny Oduya and Nic Bergfors came this way. There was some draft picks swapped around as well.
As such, I am quite curious to see what the reaction will be tomorrow night when Kovy emerges from the locker room for warm-ups and during the game when he touches the puck. I’m certain that there will be a significant number in the Thrasher faithful who will take the opportunity to express their dismay toward the prolific Russian sniper given how he turned away a deal that could have paid him as much as $10 million a season for seven years…even one that would have reportedly put upwards of $100 million in his bank account over 12 years.
They are upset, they say, because he strung the team along and when the contract negotiations turned south just after Thanksgiving last fall…so too did his play and the overall play of the team.
Of course, I am sure there will also be a good amount of fans who will instead cheer and applaud Kovalchuk tomorrow night, post up signs of well-wishes on the glass …in a sense saying their official ‘good-byes’ to him and thanking the first overall pick by the Thrashers in 2001 for his years of service here.
No hard feelings, they’ll say, and some even hold on to the possibility that he would be open to re-signing here in July…something I personally hold little hope of happening.
But whichever way others choose to do in regards to Kovy’s return, it’s your right as a fan…a paying customer…to either boo or cheer him and I hold not opinion as to that.
As for me…well…count me in the number that will neither. I will not boo nor cheer Kovy.
See, to me, Ilya Kovalchuk now is simply a player for a team the Thrashers are going up against this week, a team that I will be rooting for the Thrashers to beat…nothing more and nothing less. What happened last winter between the Thrashers and Kovalchuk was a business transaction and a player moving along after seven and a half seasons isn’t exactly a rare occurrence.
Especially here in Atlanta, where we have seen players like Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa come and go to name just a couple.
Also, if he turned down those kinds of numbers … then I have to assume he simply did not want to remain here. Given that, I believe just as much, if not more, blame should be placed at the feet of the organization…specifically ownership and general manager Don Waddell…for failing to do their part in creating a winning situation here where a player of Kovy’s stature would wish to remain.
Also, Don Waddell should have pressed more last summer to have him sign and then move him then when it was clear he wasn’t going to re-sign. But that’s a 20/20 hindsight statement on my part admittedly.
Could Kovalchuk been more forthcoming about his intent to turn down the type of money he did from the Thrashers, thus allowing the team the courtesy of knowing a deal was really not realistic and they should move him along sooner rather than later? Oh sure…but Ilya was in the driver’s seat during the negotiation process all along. Why should he tip his hand? Maybe he wanted to see if Waddell and the Thrashers would indeed cough up the “max salary” he apparently was looking for.
shrugs…Who knows.
Regardless, the deal is done…the separation has been performed…the NHL world continues to turn.
Boo him if you wish or cheer him if that is your mindset. But this fan has moved on and holds neither adoring adoration nor scorned disdain for Ilya Kovalchuk. I wish him best of luck in the playoffs but won’t be rooting specifically for him and the Devils because he’s on that team now.
I’m simply rooting for the Thrashers tomorrow night and #17 will be wearing red and black. As such, he is a part of the collective whole that I will be rooting for the Thrashers to defeat.
Nothing more and nothing less.
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