If the revenues decrease, will the players again have the option to exercise the five-percent clause, or was last year a one-time only deal?

Posted by cs6687 on 10/17/09 at 10:19 PM ET

I don’t buy this for a second.

Why would he make a decision just three weeks into the season, when his team is doing very well out of the gate?

What does the KHL offer that he can’t fetch in the NHL?
Does he just want money? Atlanta could definitely find a way to land him a fat yearly paycheck.
Does he want a winning team in the NHL? He could fetch that *AND* a HUGE sum of money in free agency.

The KHL does not offer NEAR the amount of competition and glory he could have with a good team in the NHL. I’d fathom he could make an even bigger mint there, but with so many teams going bankrupt there, that money is NOT guaranteed. Not to mention the bush league quality facilities that have so lovingly served the likes of Alexei Cherepanov and Martin Kariya.

I’m calling bull on this story.

Posted by Joe Ranger Fan on 10/18/09 at 12:50 AM ET

Forgive the double post, but one last point.

The only source of information they have on this is from KHL players themselves? pfffft.

Whatever generates site hits, though…

Posted by Joe Ranger Fan on 10/18/09 at 12:51 AM ET

Paul, how solid was the talk of Savard to Toronto? And for who/what?

Posted by Shawn on 10/18/09 at 03:03 AM ET

If the revenues decrease, will the players again have the option to exercise the five-percent clause, or was last year a one-time only deal?

They can exercise that option next year as well, or even agree on a different percentage if they wish (can) according to the CBA.

The five percent are automatic when the revenues are below or equal to $2.1 billion but we’ve exceeded that revenue amount, so the owners and players have to vote for the increase every year.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 10/18/09 at 06:37 AM ET

I’d fathom he could make an even bigger mint there, but with so many teams going bankrupt there, that money is NOT guaranteed. Not to mention the bush league quality facilities that have so lovingly served the likes of Alexei Cherepanov and Martin Kariya.

That I think is a very important consideration for him.  He’d more likely get his money than many other players as he is Russian (and not to imply that the KHL teams wouldn’t try to stiff their own - they most certainly would - but that he might be better equipped to negotiate the system better than a non-Russian player would), but in the NHL he knows that he will be paid whatever the contract says without having to badger the pay out of anyone.

He’s also been in the NHL since he was very young - I know it’s always a surprise to me to realize how young he still is, because it sometimes seems like he has been playing forever - and any issues of homesickness are in his past by several years.

Whether with Atlanta or some other team, I hope he stays in the NHL just because I think the league is less fun to watch without players with that kind of talent.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 10/18/09 at 09:09 AM ET

Shawn, it was just mentioned in a general term, “the Savard talk to Toronto has already started”.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 10/18/09 at 09:22 AM ET

You can also watch the whole Hotstove segment here.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 10/18/09 at 09:29 AM ET

Odds are that Kovalchuk is staying in the NHL given the salary conditions in the KHL. I think the salary cap for 2008-09 was approx. $35M (25 man roster), where the $10M was to be used on four star players. Most teams, IIRC, didn’t come close to that ceiling and the financial situation doesn’t lend itself to lucrative conditions for a player like Kovalchuk. I doubt any team could match a longterm (frontloaded) contract in the NHL.

Furthermore, I hope he stays in Atlanta. They building a competent team and need a leader and star quality in the mix.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 10/18/09 at 10:17 AM ET