There is an unnecessarily ugly tone to your comments boyled. You come off as one of those guests at a hotel that yells at his kids in the lobby, gets his credit card rejected then yells at his wife, and then stomps away back to the Motel 6.

Let’s look at some of the meat in your spew…

You say, “You have 13 forwards and 8 defenseman going against the cap.” Yes, correct, that was Quisp DEFINING THE PROBLEM. In your rush to dump on Quisp you totally missed the point, which is made when he suggests an offset to the defined problem by saying, “That’s $4.4MM OVER THE CAP. So, pick two of Handzus, Stoll, Brown or Williams to get rid of right away, dumping them for picks.”

You say, “Take a look at this, for instance. 14 year deal that takes Kovy until he’s 41 years old…”
Quisp’s article is about the FACT that the supposed cap space we have now will be diminished by looming contracts for vital players like Doughty, Simmonds, Jack Johnson and Jonathan Bernier. Elsewhere, Quisp defined Kovalchuk as a “franchise killer.” Maybe in your world a 14 year deal (roflmfao) makes sense, but to me that is exactly the perfect way to kill a franchise. 14 year deal? Seriously? When you cannot even competently look at the very next season?

Your second option in the 14 year deal scenario is what really makes me laugh, though, this is priceless. “10, 10, 10, 10, 8, 8, 8, 8 , 7, 7, 4, .5, .5, .5”. C’mon Dean, anybody in the world would want an aging one-dimensional sniper whose hands went away 5 years ago to be making .5 million for three years, just think of the motivational inspiration he would lend to the new kids coming up. And of course Kovalchuk would just leap at the chance to guarantee .5 million a year, skating for less than the entry-level contract amount. Definitely!

To quote Roosevelt (Franklin)-There are as many opinions as there are experts.

To quote Roosevelt (Theodore)- I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head.

(first, to everyone else, dignify shmignify, he’s got his opinion, he’s entitled to it; I’m happy to dignify.)

I thought you actually had to have some knowledge about hockey to have
a ‘professional’ blog.

Not at all. Also, I’m amused by your use of the word "professional."

You have 13 forwards and 8 defenseman going against the cap.

One of the defensemen is a forward/defenseman hybrid who frequently plays
forward these days. The Kings typically carry 21 skaters on their active roster.

I don’t know where you’re getting some of your numbers either, because
capgeek lists the L.A Kings as having 17 million in remaining cap space.

The numbers from CapGeek. You also have to include the rest of the team, however,
which means Richardson’s and Lewis’s RFA contract, promoting a defenseman
from the prospect pool (I picked Muzzin but you can pick Hickey or Voynov if
you want – though they cost more). Schenn and Clifford will likely make the
team. Bernier will all but certainly replace Ersberg. That, plus the Kovalchuk cap
hit which has been reported in the press as his demand, is more than $17MM.

That’s enough to sign Kovy to a 10 mil cap hit contract, with 7 mil remaining to fill
out the rest of the team, which is more than plenty.

No, see above. Or look at the original post, which does the adding for you.

But, more importantly, who ever said Dean should sign him at 10 mil per year?

Nobody said "should." I said "should not." $10MM cap hit is Kovalchuk’s widely
reported demand.

The Devils can’t give him 10 per year, or anywhere close.

They can, of course, because clubs are allowed an extra 10% of upper limit
during the summer and Lamoriello has said that he will dump salary to make room. I
find it hard to believe he will pay that much. But he can.

Which means if the Isles really are offering 10 mil per year, they’re offering way,
way more than any of these other teams.

No kidding.

And since Kovy hasn’t signed with any of the other teams, it means he would
have signed with the Isles, or the KHL, if he was looking for that money.

That doesn’t follow.

It’s obvious that he wants to go to either the Flyers, Kings, or even Devils, and is
trying to get 8 – 8.5 from those teams.

Kovalchuk hasn’t said anything about who he wants to play for, other than "a
contender." Flyers don’t have cap space.

Gaborik at 7.5 per did wonders for the Rangers, a team much closer to the cap
than the Kings, and Kovalchuk is a much better, much more durable player.
Getting him at 8.5 per would do wonders for the Kings.

Possibly true. But Kovalchuk’s salary demand is purportedly $10MM CAP HIT.
Not $8.5MM. The Gaborik thing is a non-sequitur. Brown at $3MM+ did wonders
for the Kings, too. So what?

Also, given how (suddenly) ambitious Kings ownership has gotten, who’s to say
they wouldn’t be willing to either bury in the minors, or buy out the likes of Smyth,
or J Williams?

Why would Lombardi have to do that to anyone, since according to you there’s plenty of cap room? Another thought: Lombardi would never bury Ryan Smyth in the minors, or buy him out, out of respect alone. The guy waived his NTC to come here. And, um, we like him. Williams? Yes, he was one of the players I said would have to be moved. Lots of people would have to be moved or otherwise lost. That’s the point.

There is a deal to be had here. If Dean can get it done, or rather if he could have gotten it done, the Kings may have won a cup this coming year.

I agree there’s a reasonable offer to make to Kovalchuk and that Kovalchuk at that (reasonable) price is a good thing. The point is, Kovalchuk’s line in the sand is not reasonable.

The west is wide open with Lidstrom and Rafalski aging in Detroit, and Chicago being forced to ship off half their team …

Chicago was forced to ship off half their team because Tallon signed Campbell and Huet to giant albatross contracts. The bonus cushion penalty was the least of their problems.

because of the NHL’s insipid rule about bonuses being carried over to the next year.

I don’t think you understand the rule. But that’s fine. Call it flavorless if you like.

if Dean offered a front loaded, 8-12 year deal that gave Kovy the equivalent of 8.5 mil per year, at maybe a
lower cap hit than that, the Kings would be much better for it.

Two things. (1) You’re negotiating with yourself. (2) Not only do I agree with you, but I have proposed that very thing (with cap hits ranging from $7MM to $8MM) about a dozen times. This tells me you have not done your homework.

Take a look at this, for instance. 14 year deal that takes Kovy until he’s 41 years old…
10, 10, 10, 10, 10 , 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 (there’s his 100 mil/ 10 years), 7, 3, .5, .5.
7.9 million cap hit.

Yes. No kidding. I have proposed many MANY (many) versions of this. The cap hit can be lowered by extending the term. BUT THAT’S NOT WHERE WE ARE NOW. The point is, Kovalchuk doesn’t want $10MM for several years and then still be under contract for less. He wants $10MM per year average.

How about 10, 10, 10, 10, 8, 8, 8, 8 , 7, 7, 4, .5, .5, .5 [blah blah blah cap hit of] 6.5 million. Less than Patrick Marleau’s supposed "home town discount" with the Sharks. That’s less than Kopitar’s! See? Easy as pie. Kovalchuk at a 6.5 million dollar cap hit? That’s an incredible deal.

Why, yes, it is! Go back into the archives to find where I mapped out the $6MM cap hit ten year deal. It would be an incredible deal, but for the fact that Kovalchuk wants a $10MM CAP HIT. (until we are informed otherwise, we have to assume that the confirmed reports of his salary demands are true; this of course may change any second now.)

But it’s pointless for you to negotiate with yourself in an alternate reality with its own rules that you yourself are cherry-picking to make your point, which is essentially that if only Lombardi would listen to you and do what, by the way, he has almost certainly already done — make an offer that is front loaded with $10MM or more in the first years tapering down to nothing in the final years with a cap hit in the $7-8MM ranger — that then Kovalchuk would accept it despite the fact that he has already passed on it.

To quote Roosevelt, don’t tell me it can’t be done, jackass.

To quote Woody Allen, be fruitful and multiply. But not in those words.