Behind the Trouble With Kovy

If you want to know what started all the trouble with Ilya Kovalchuk in New Jersey, it apparently all relates to Martin St. Louis in a connect-the-dots, six-degrees-of-separation kind of way.

Last season in Tampa, Adam Oates joined the Lightning staff and convinced management and head coach Rick Tocchet that after years of playing right wing - his off wing - St. Louis needed to be shifted to the left side. That's no small thing for a star player like St. Louis.

Oates' theory, that he backs up with videotape evidence, is that left-handed players need to play on the left side and right-handed players on the right side because it's more important than ever in the faster, modern NHL that wingers be moving north-south with the puck, rather than cutting into the middle of the ice as many players who skate on their off-wing are prone to do.

St. Louis made the switch essentially without complaint in late December, right around the time he wasn't selected to play for the Canadian Olympic team, and he ended up having a strong second half. He accepted the change, and this season has continued to play the left side on Tampa's top line with centre Steven Stamkos and right winger Steve Downie, even though NHL stats still list St. Louis as a right winger.

So what does this have to do with Kovalchuk?

Well, after Tocchet and his staff were fired at the end of last season, Oates joined John MacLean's new coaching group with the Devils. Not surprisingly, he pushed to have Kovalchuk, a right-handed shot, moved from left wing to right wing. The St. Louis experiment, after all, had seemingly legitimized Oates' theory.

The difference was that while St. Louis accepted the change, Kovalchuk did not. He chafed, and ultimately rebelled. He comes from a Russian hockey culture in which it is common for wingers to play their off wings, and years of successful sniping in Atlanta left him convinced that's where he had to be.

The Devils wanted him to play right wing on a line with left winger Zach Parise and centre Travis Zajac, but Kovalchuk's very apparent unhappiness with the arrangement, insiders say, is what led to him being late for a team meeting prior to being scratched for a game on Oct. 23.

Subsequently, he has been returned to left wing, in essence rewarded for his obstinance, and the Devils as a team seem to be unravelling. After so many years in which players obediently followed orders, Kovalchuk has changed the culture in Jersey, particularly with the club's salary cap structure so dominated by Kovalchuk's deal.

So much for theories.

 

 

Comments

[Pyramid Power]

You've been giving the Devils a tremendous amount of attention lately Damien. Makes me wonder if you know something we don't re an impending deal with the Devils by Burkie. Especially given that Volchenkov and Salvador will be back in the not too distant future, and provide more cap migraines for Lamoriello and the Devs. Just a thought.
Had not heard until now why Kovy was a healthy scratch. Now I know. Thank you for clearing that up.
Kovy getting his way on this just makes you wonder what is going on with Lou Lamoriello, and to a much lesser extent, John MacLean. Lou would never have stood for this in the past. Amazes me.

[JT]

A coach doesn't always know best and a theory which worked on one player does not mean it will work with everyone else. The player has to be comfortable with the idea, otherwise, it's a failed experiment because his head's not in it. St.Louis struggled and something wasn't right which is why Oats looked for potential improvement. Kovy has been successful in his career so why force a change to something that isn't broken?

[Sanj]

So I guess Kovalchuk is the bad guy in all of this? He is the single reason why the Devils are unravelling. So he should accept his role like a good old Canadian boy like St. Louis and things would be better?

Another example of a non Canadian being made to look like the bad guy.

[Conn Smythe]

'Another example of a non Canadian being made to look like the bad guy.' I think you are jumping to conclusions there, Sanj. Is Kovalchuk to blame for all of the Devils woes? Of course not - but since he is on the team (and one could argue one of their best, if not best, players) he deserves to shoulder the blame. It is just strange that a great GM like Lou signs a guy like Kovi to an outlandish contract when he hasn't in the past. Very strange.

[Conn Smythe]

Sorry, I meant it was strange that Lou signed Kovi to a huge contract when he hasn't signed any player previous to a contract of that length, dollar value.

[fleetinggame]

First: 6.67 million is not dominating the clubs salary cap structure.

Second: The only time Kovy looked happy on the ice was when he was playing with Zajac and Parise.

Third: The team is not unravelling. They have actually looked like a cohesive unit as of late. The problem is the rookie defense and AHL caliber bottom 6. They are simply not that good of a team due largely to injuries.

[Crippler]

I don't really get the cap domnated by his salary thing... when you look at the huge amount over the period of time yes it is mind boggling but when you look at it as 6 mil a year it's not cap crippling... there are a lot of players making a lot more per year....

[Boo Boo Bear]

Why isn't Oates also getting these guys to cut off the first 2 inches of their stick blade, like he did? Why would you mess with the head of an obvious "kid-gloves" kind of player like Kovalchuk?? Dumb move. Really dumb.

[James Jack]

I have said it before and I will say it again, the Devils uncharacteristically put all their eggs in one basket with Kovalchuk. This guy is a sniper and could be very valuable but only on a team with a lot of surrounding talent for Kovy to make any difference. I personally think this Kovalchuk scenario will wind up being the catalyst that brings down the salaries of these so-called "stars". Hockey is a team sport and played properly defense should be stressed first with offence coming off the transition. I think Lou Lamoriello might be past his prime as a hockey man.

[mark]

Appearances would have you believe that Kovy is a head case in this. And, as the saying goes, the inmates should never run the asylum. However, there could be a financial angle here too. If he feels he will score fewer goals from the right side, and his contract has goal incentives, then this move hits his pocket book too. And, Oates theory is just that... a theory. He has one case with a perceived correlation to point at: St. Louis. But, as Damien points out, St. Louis' improved play could be tied to his team Canada snub. Dubious evidence to me and not one that I would use to force a player of Kovy's talent into a situation he's not confortable with. Regardless of what transpired, it appears that the Devils really over- reacted and did not handle this situation well at all. Odd behaviour. As I said in a previous blog, anyone know what Larry Robinson is up to these days?

[We BeLeaf]

The Devils should have passed on Kovy when they saw he wouldn't fit into their system and now they are suffering for it. I applaud Oates for at least trying to effect some positive change for the team, however since this experiment has failed and reverted back, it probably sends a negative message to the others that Kovy gets special treatment and forget about anyone else.