Ilya Kovalchuk - REP Given

[DerekReese]

In a salary cap dynasty league using real NHL salaries what worth would you put into Ilya Kovalchuk? Is he someone to have on your team or should I try to move him and if I do try to move him, who do you think I could get for him realistically? Remember it is a real NHL salary cap system that we use.
Stats in sig.

His salary is:
2011-2012- 6,000,000.00
2012-2013-11,000,000.00
2013-2014-11,300,000.00
2014-2015-11,300,000.00
2015-2016-11,600,000.00
2016-2017-11,800,000.00
2017-2018-10,000,000.00
2018-2019- 7,000,000.00
2019-2020- 4,000,000.00
2020-2021- 1,000,000.00
2021-2022- 1,000,000.00
2022-2023- 1,000,000.00
2023-2024- 3,000,000.00
2024-2025- 4,000,000.00

[BladesOfSteel]

Does the 11M go against the cap that year or is it averaged out like the real NHL?

Either way I think he's too expensive, but if the former is the case then I would definitely move him for a player at 6M before he skyrockets to 11M and becomes an immovable contract.

[hockeyguru_87]

After next year he takes up around 1/7th of your salary cap space. With 19 players on your active roster, thats a lot of cap space to take up. I'd probably see what I could get for him, but it may not be alot considering other gm's will be aware of the restrictions he places on cap management.

[TwoPuckCanuck]

Is it NHL salary per year or cap hit of set contract? I'm assuming that is annual salary as you posted those individually.

Kovalchuk is a very valuable player in this format, he has a ton of SOG year in and out and aside from last year is a point a game player. There are few players who could earn you as strong G, PPG, GWG, A, PTS and SOG at a lower salary. Most don't encompass all of these aspects except for the elite; Crosby, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Malkin etc... but they all come with similar salaries. LW is not the deepest of fantasy positions, but you could consider trading Kovalchuk.

Personally, I think with a 75M cap and a 19 man roster, he's chewing up your salary fast. I'd look to move him for a package - a decent F and upgrade on D. I'd try for something like 60 pt forward and 40-45 pt dman. You may be able to pull it off for someone looking for an elite winger.

[gainerama]

Kovalchuk is an ugly Russian! That is all.

[joos]

I am in a 14 team salary cap league with a cap limit @ 77 mill with a roster size of 21 players.

In my league, the team with Kovy is fine. Yes his 11 mill contract is horrible but he is a very good player. His value somewhat decrease seeing as you dont use LW or RW, just F position.

That being said, if you can keep him, I'd keep him... like TwoPuck said, he does provide good stats that not the easiest to find. But on the other hand, I'd also be looking to move him as well if the right deal comes by.

And really, your basically gonna be paying Kovy 11 mill for a long time... cause odds are, your league will probably be done by the time season 18/19 rolls around.

[iamlilc]

In a 14 Team Keeper your team looks pretty strong with Backstrom, Perry, Getzlaf, Kovalchuk & Carter up front. Out of the 5, Kovy is probably the worst bang for your buck when it hits 11M in 2 years. However, if you can afford to keep him I would hold on to him for a bit because a lot of people remember his poor season, so his trade value will be less.

As for trading him - it's hard to gauge what you can get back, but ideally you would want a cheaper proven young talent in return.

[mapletreemarty]

I would definitely shop him around and see what you can get for him, you have some big names there that could be getting expensive in the future.

With his expensive salary after this year, and based on his performance last year, it would be difficult for you to get full value for him this off season. I would hold off to see Kovalchuk bust out of the gate on a tear, and than move him for fair value, unfortunately his contract won't allow you to sell him high but you should be able to get better bang for your buck

Good luck, and let us know what kind of deals you come across!!

[lobo1969]

At $6M for next year he is a deal so hold onto him. But for the following years it may be a tough pill to swallow and you may have to trim some fat with other players but I would hold on to him. His trade value may be at an all time low so you may not be able to get good value for him.
For a 14 team league you have some good quality players already that I would do all that you can to hold onto. I guess Kovie's salary is really not worth it if your team is a constant bottom dweller, but if you threaten to win every year then you make every effort to keep him.

[JHM]

You're in a 14 team league, so I would imagine the winner would have 800 to 1000 points. Yes, I know you're multi-cat. The extendeds make things very interesting, but points is still the largest single element.

Thus, 7 Kovy's at $11.0 salary would fill your cap. This would give you how many points? 350? 420? 490? 560? 630? (depends on what you think of Kovy). However you want to cut the pie, it's not enough to win the pool, from a simple points perspective. As far as sitting it out, I wouldn't. In this instance I'd be looking to cut my losses. Grabbing a couple of Elite prospects would do it for me. Let the next guy have the worries. I'd start discussing Kovy to see what type of return I could find. Opening extra cap space also does other wonderful things for you, in regard to creating trading possibilities.

Now at salary cap hit 13 Kovy's would fill your cap space. Would give you 650 points? 780 points? 910 points? 1040 points? 1170 points?(depending on how many points you think Kovy will get).

Cap is a math equation. I try and keep in mind 20 points for every $1.0M of cap space. $500,000 D-men that get 25 points ARE VALUABLE! They make ratio. To win, you don't get to make excuses, you simply spend your dollars better than anyone else in the pool. You will have room for a couple of goaltenders at $5.0M. A couple of forwards at $5.0M. From there, you must have cost effective players throughout your roster if you are to be successful. The one team we have with cap and 21 players, wingers additional stat is PM/hits/blocked shots. D-men additional stat is blocked shots/PM/hits. Centres need to get lots of FO. Of course everyone needs G, A, PPP.

[Pengwin7]

Two steps:
1. Let your season get underway... see how you are doing. Kovalchuk is a very nice player for this season at $6m... see how it goes.

2. If, at some point, your season goes down the tubes, you should look to move Kovalchuk immediately. His $6m will still fit into somebody's cap space nicely.

One of your big problems is that Perry/Getzlaf have probably the two nicest salary cap numbers in the league. Both are up for huge pay raises in summer 2013. Your cap is going to be a big problem at that point. If you get to the point when your season is over, you really only have one "discount" year from Perry/Getzlaf left.

Anyways, what I would do is dangle a combination of Getzlaf/Kovalchuk and go after Ovechkin. Ovechkin has a nice long contract at $10m/year... which looks expensive... but is $1m less than Kovalchuk and a much better all-around player.

Like I said with Getzlaf, he'll get a big pay raise to $7m-$8m/year. This is way too much in shooter-heavy-cat fantasy leagues for Getzlaf. Keep Perry though.

Summary:
If your season goes to shit...
Kovalchuk ($6m,$11m,etc.) & Getzlaf ($5.3m,$5.3m,+++_
for
Ovechkin ($10m,$10m,etc.) & another solid player.

[DerekReese]

Thanks for your responses. I ran out of rep for today, if I didnt get you today, I will get you tommorow.
We use actaul dollar figures for our salaries, unlike the NHL, so guys who have the Wiz or Erhoff are really hurting right now.
Last season I was in the top 3-4 teams all year and then did a Washington in the playoffs and lost in the 1st rd.
I never thought of trading Getzlaf away (I like this guy), but you have given me some food for thought. I will think it over and I will let you know.

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

Personally, I would be looking to move Kovalchuk. The downside to starting the year with him on your roster, is if you hang around in contention for too long, you're going to be tempted to keep him. Nothing wrong with that especially if you win, but it's gonna be tough to trade him once his salary hits 11 mil.

I had Brad Richards in my league, and instead of dealing him before his new contract, I held onto him like an idiot. Once his salary hit 12 mil, my chances of getting full value for him were shot. The only way I was able to move him was by taking on Ehrhoff's contract, and I got J. Josefson and Gormley as well for him.

If anyone in your league is seriously going to try and lowball you on Kovy because of one bad season they're an idiot. You should be able to get full value for him right now, so I think I would be shopping him before the season starts.

Pengwin's advice is pretty good. I could stomach Ovechkin at 10 mil, not so sure I could handle Kovy at 11.

[waddy1788]

As a Kovy owner, I am with Pengwin here. I am also in a salary cap league that goes by the players current annual salary for that year. If Kovy and NJ come flying out of the gate, I am going to throw Kovy on the block so I don't have to absorb his salary next year. Maybe turn him into some nice young stud winger.

Good luck Derek! Let us know what you decide to do.

[DerekReese]

Update time: I tried to trade Kovalchuck and Getzlaf for Ovechkin and got shot down. Then I tried to trade them for Crosby and the same thing happened. I dont want to go after Malkin as I am not sure about his bum knees. Any other ideas??