At the 18 day mark, we may just run out of thesaurus entries for the word “exhausting” when describing the Ilya Kovalchuk saga. Dare someone use the headline “Ilyawn” at this point? The give-and-take between the Russian winger and the Los Angeles Kings/New Jersey Devils has been drawn out beyond well-worn boundaries, not unlike the excessive buildup between two attractive co-eds in a typical sitcom. “Just get it over with, already,” we said a week ago. At least.
There’s at least one group of people who might only find this amusing: Atlanta Thrashers fans. One happens to write a column/blog for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and he expresses relief in not having to follow “As the Kovalchuk Turns” this time around.
So if there is to be a repeat of that holdout drama, then Kovy-Watch ’10 as only just begun.
About the only thing that seems to be certain regarding Ilya’s summer adventure this time is that he’s not going to get the same coin as the Thrashers offered up to him last winter. $10 million for 3 to 7 years or somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 mil for 12 years is now surely out of the question for Kovy.
So just where will Kovalchuk eventual wind up...and when will he wind up there? shrugs...I dunno. But all I can say is that I’m glad happy thrilledecstatic that Thrasherville is not the site of this particular saga.
In fact, I’m sorta looking forward this coming season in which the Thrashers aren’t having to deal with such distractions. You know, distractions such as whether or not superstars like Marian Hossa or Ilya Kovalchuk will re-sign...or if Kari Lehtonen’s back/groin/[insert issue here] will keep him out of the lineup for an extended period of time.
Quite frankly...Thrasherville can do without the drama.
Rather than counting on mercurial talents, the Thrashers are shifting their focus to building a team that is about as subtle as a kick to the junk. It’s unclear if such a departure will actually result in an increase in victories, but at least Atlanta won’t be a glorified vacation for opposing teams any longer. A team once embodied by its departed Russian captain is already looking drastically different just six-or-so-months later.
We’ll see if Thrashers fans should like what they see starting in October.