HockeyKovalchuk may be next $100M man

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In 1985, the New York Knicks, coming off two miserable seasons, won the NBA draft lottery and the right to take Patrick Ewing, a guaranteed franchise player. Falk prepared a proposal that would see Ewing receive a 10-year deal worth $30 million. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was making $2.5 million a season at the time. The previous number one, Hakeem Olajuwon, was at $1.2 million.

The team laughed at him.

The Knicks sold $6 million worth of tickets since winning the lottery and put Ewing’s face all over the franchise. The agent refused to back down and, “By the middle of the summer, the Knicks had started to digest the reality of the situation,” Falk wrote. “They reluctantly came to recognize the unprecedented leverage Patrick had and understood the unique circumstances that demanded they sign him.”

New York eventually gave Ewing the deal Falk wanted.

In 1990, another client, Danny Ferry, was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers (whom he refused to play for) to Cleveland. The Cavaliers traded a very good player and two first-round picks for Ferry, who had to be signed in 45 days or he would go back to Italy, where he’d spent the previous season. Falk wanted to make Ferry the first $4 million-a-year player in NBA history. Ferry didn’t want to go that high.

From the book:
“You’re crazy,” I told him. “You have the out with the Italian contract. They gave up Ron Harper and two first-round picks. There is no way they can’t sign you.”

Ferry wouldn’t budge, but still got a 10-year deal worth $37.5 million, astronomical at that time. Quite simply, Ewing and Ferry had all the leverage. Their teams had no choice but to agree. They were in the right place at the right time.
Which brings us to Ilya Kovalchuk.

According to sources, Atlanta is going to offer him the chance to become the NHL’s second $100 million man. (Alexander Ovechkin was the first.) Under the CBA, the maximum per-year salary he could receive is $11.36 million per season, so it would have to me a minimum nine-year deal. (Thrashers GM Don Waddell would not comment. Same goes for agent Jay Grossman.)

First thing you should know: Other GMs would do the same thing if they were in Waddell’s chair. The comment you hear both inside and outside the organization is the same: “We/They cannot afford to lose him.”

For Atlanta, it goes beyond Kovalchuk’s on-ice performance, which has come a long way since former coach Curt Fraser benched him in Toronto to send the loudest possible message.

The Thrashers have always had problems attracting and/or keeping great players. Dany Heatley’s circumstances were tragic, and shouldn’t be held against the franchise, but Marian Hossa never really wanted to stay. Top free agents haven’t been interested. By keeping Kovalchuk long-term, it sends the best possible message for the future.

Kovalchuk is the perfect salesman for the team. Despite occasional frustration with losing, he has never demanded a trade or been tainted by any whiff of scandal. He’s worked hard to improve his game. His wife is Russian, but their two children are Georgia-born, with a third on the way. People joke about the fan base, but make no mistake, he is beloved. If Kovalchuk leaves, you might as well lock the doors, pack up the big trucks and move the franchise.

He is more of a leader than he gets credit for. He’s embraced the captaincy, aiding Waddell in recruiting several players who’ve helped the Thrashers get off to a good start. It was Kovalchuk who ordered Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin to settle their differences, not wanting their feud to jeopardize Russia’s Olympic chances.

That’s the potential holdup: he wants to see where this franchise is going. He’s won gold at the World Juniors. He’s won two at the World Championships. He craves that level of success in the NHL.

It’s possible that, instead of the $100 million offer, he may ask for a shorter term so he’s not stuck in an unhappy situation. It’s also possible he won’t sign at all – but I would view that as unlikely if the Thrashers maintain their early success. He doesn’t turn 27 until the playoffs, so it’s not as if a nine-year deal is ridiculous.

There is also the KHL, where president Alexander Medvedev makes no secret of his desire to bring Kovalchuk home. Waddell has admitted he can’t compete with a lucrative tax-free offer, but believes his captain wants to stay, providing the finances are reasonable. I believe that, too, and clearly, they are going to be.

For Atlanta, he is indispensable. That’s why no one should fault Don Waddell for making such a monstrous offer.

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