Russian source says Flyers after Kovalchuk ” Phila.Bright
According to the Russian website Life Sports (need translator to read in English), as of Friday, cap-strapped Philadelphia is one of three NHL teams chasing Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk. The rough translation states that Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Colorado are vying to land the potent winger, and that all are offering a similar contract.
Colorado? That’s new. Noteworthy that he characterizes all the NHL offers as similar.
The site also states that SKA of the KHL is also still in the running. Leaking the information is Kovalchuk’s agent, Yuri Nikolayev,
Who? I wonder how having two agents with conflicting interests is affecting things.
…who says that his client is mulling over all the offers and still working through negotiations. Is this credible information? Yes. Does it make any sense? No. Due to salary cap restrictions, the Flyers were recently forced to ask long-time forward Simon Gagne to waive his no-trade clause so that he can be traded away as a cap casualty. But if the Flyers really want to land the 27-year-old Kovalchuk, they will need to move more than just Gagne.[…] UPDATE: It is being *rumored* as of Saturday at 2. P.M., that Kovalchuk and the N.Y. Islanders are finalizing an enormous deal. Nothing has been confirmed, however James Murphy of NESN has said the Isles and Kovalchuk are very close.
I heard they’re just good friends.