Are contending teams really willing to gamble on a player like him when it matters most??

Great point.

There are gems all over the draft. Not just in the first two rounds.

Well I guess we will have to wait and see, in my opinion the way he is playing makes him, to Montreal not necessarily to other teams worth more than a fourth rounder, I would like to see MTL keep him and try to give him a one year deal unless somebody gets desperate and decides to overpay

Maybe I didn't give enough nuance in what I said, but a player in another context with 10pts in 13games would fetch a 1st rounder. Heck, even Reaves fetched a 1st rounder. Kovalchuk is worth anywhere between a low 2nd and a low 3rd (since only playoff teams would be interested anyway). Does that mean everyone is in a hurry to get him? No. As I said, I think there will be very few people interested in Kovalchuk because he doesn't fit more teams' styles. But if a trade happens, it's likely in the fair value range I mentioned. No need for your sarcasm.


Even effective 3rd line wingers go for the 2nd to 3rd range at trade deadline, depending what the market is like. GM's must have also not forgotten that LA's team strategy wasn't a good fit for Kovalchuk. A lot of teams will pass. Some teams might think he'd be a fit--to those teams, he can be worth that range of picks.

And if he isn't, well, oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the trade just won't happen

Because from all reports, he has been great in the Montreal system. We have a fairly young team with many of the younger players looking up to him. An extra 20ish games with him around is better than a 4th round pick (when we already have 3, and still have other depth players to sell).

It absolutely blows my mind... BLOWS MY MIND that habs fans are like we cant get a 2nd? oh well keep him FOR WHAT!?! entertainment factor? you really think he wants to be a hab? he wants to contend for a stanley cup. why would you want him to resign in montreal? get the best pick you can and move on.

I think people forget that value is relative to every team. No player has a single objective value. What Kovalchuk is worth to the Habs is different than what he's worth to LA, and is different from what he's worth to the Penguins, or to Detroit, or to Dallas, or to any team.

But the range where supply can meet demand is likely 2nd-3rd range.

He wants to win the cup. Going to Montreal was to boost his value so they could send him off to a contending team.

For locker room atmosphere. You don't want the team to feel like a bunch of losers (see: for the past while until this year--Oilers, Yotes)

I agree. But if Montreal just sells players to the highest bidder even though its not enough, then GMs will just low ball them in the future. Can't get a good return? Keep him and try to re-sign him. If he is mad we didn't trade him, explain to him that other teams didn't even want to spend ________ on him.

You do realized Kovalchuk hasnt won a damn thing. He isnt a winner or even a great locker room presence. What? The habs have a great locker room guy in weber. kovie is just there as a quick trade piece to get a draft pick back.

Everyone (in the organization and media alike) in Montreal has said he is great in the room. The players are ALL ABOUT HIM on their social media accounts. Please, tell me again what YOUR opinion of Kovalchuk is...

Who said you had to win anything? He's bringing smiles to the room, and players are enjoying playing. They don't have that slump on their faces anymore. That's valuable internally.

I'm not advocating for resigning him the next season.

If he was "great in the room" dont you think he woulda stuck in LAK. Weird how an organization wants to portray a guy as a great teammate to get the best pick they can lol.

I think i like kovi o Boston, krejci needs a wing and hes not exactly fleet of foot so a pure gunner like kovi might work.

For a 4th rounder and he makes no money so toss him if hes a dick, sure.

not really. Look at Fast, is he a 2nd round draft pick worht? not really at all, so why would someone pay a 2nd for Kovy to play ont eh 3rd line when you have a cheaper options who arent just 5v5 and and maybe squeeze onnto your 2nd PP unit

Sometime might find a spot for Kovy in their top 6 bc of an injury but realistically contending teams are looking for nibbling around the edges moves and you dont need to burn good assets for lesser roles

with the way Bergevin drafts, he stinks more often than not on Top 60 picks, let him have 3rd and 4th rounders and work some magic

I think of the trade deadline has proved anything it's that contending teams tend to make that gamble when it matters most, Boston getting Rick Nash, Washington making that stupid Martin Erat trade, Toronto paying a 2nd for plekanec, there are tons of examples of teams paying a ton at the deadline for that extra depth that brings thier team to what they think is 3 complete lines or bring in that one guy that they think makes the big difference, whether it works or not is another story but if you dont gamble you never know.

Also keep in mind that a 2nd round pick only has like a 15% chance to play in the show on a regular basis, so it's actually not that big of a asset.

Say what you want, my dude. I've seen past TDL deals, and a 2nd-3rd range sounds reasonable. I don't know any true contender team that's itching to hold onto their 2nd round picks.

Multiple contending teams are more than willing to hold onto their draft picks over spending them foolishily. I think kovy could get a 3rd with conditions, hes not getting a pure 2nd rounder with ease, so its not a slam dunk hes getting some haul back for him.

Hes a 3rd line Winger, 2nd PP guy on a good team. Hes not taking anyone over the edge to win them the cup. A team who has struck out multiple times might panic and over pay a bit to get him but hes nto going to be a top target in super high demand TDL asset. Look at wingers at the deadline, Guys who are legit 2nd line wingers and having solid seasons are getting 2nd round picks like Zuccerello.

Not a 36 year old putting up points in 10 games while getting 20 mins of icetime a night

Zuccarello got a conditional 2nd (which can turn into a 1st with some reasonable conditions) + 3rd
The market fluctuates a lot. He could've even gone for a first.

Let's stop pretending there's a hard line value for any player. You already agreed with me on a 3rd+conditions, so I don't see what you're still on about.

I am not pretending its a hard line, just saying pointing out that trade precedent do not support any sort of concept of Kovy getting a 2nd round pick like montreal fans keep on mentioning.

Trade precedent shows he's closer to a 2nd than he is to a 4th, which was your claim.

not even close, go pull up a recent trade precedent where a winger, a pure winger, who has less than 20 points is fetching 2nd round picks
Namestnikov, Fast, Simmonds...they are all the same. To think Kovalchuk is special enough tthat teams will line up for when there are other and frankly better options out there, thats just living in a fantasy world

If you think Kovalchuk can get you a 2nd, then Avs better be getting calls on matt Nieto, those 3rd line 25 point guys are just too good to pass up