Could Kovalchuk actually land on Long Island?

Last night, while some of you east coasters were turning out the lights and looking forward to the holiday weekend, TSN’s Darren Dreger dropped a bomb on Twitter (later confirmed by others) that sent shockwaves through the hockey world: Ilya Kovalchuk is being pursued by New York – and it’s not the Rangers!

The New York Islanders have reportedly thrown their hat into the ring of the Kovalchuk sweepstakes, and the numbers are staggering… the rumored deal is said to be worth $100 million over 10 years. It has been confirmed by GM Garth Snow that they are interested in his services.

Now, before you shrug this off and think the Islanders aren’t a realistic destination, a scenario where Kovalchuk ends up on Long Island makes some sense.

First off, let’s make one thing clear. If Kovalchuk was truly all about winning, wouldn't you think he'd wearing a Kings uniform by now? He wouldn’t be seeking this (reported) $10 million deal, and likely would have signed for ‘less’ with the Kings. But let’s face it… Kings GM Dean Lombardi may be reluctant to close the deal with the Russian superstar because the asking price is too high.

In come the Islanders.

As of this second, they are $9 million below the salary cap floor. They also have 21 players under contract, complicating the matters of trying to reach $43 million without any other high-priced free agents on the market. So they need to spend that $9 million, yet the roster is just about set. Starting to make some sense, right?

Owner Charles Wang is seeking a marquee star to help speed up the process of getting a new arena – something this franchise desperately needs. To have two stars like Kovalchuk and John Tavares would surely be a nice bargaining chip for Wang.

Now, when you plug Kovalchuk into the Islanders lineup, this team could actually compete for one of the last playoff spots. A top line featuring Kovy, Tavares, and Kyle Okposo could potentially be near the top of the Eastern Conference; and when you throw Mark Streit into the equation, you have yourself a damn good power play unit!

Granted, they have some depth weaknesses offensively and on the back end, which would keep them from being a threat to the likes of Pittsburgh, Washington, and Philadelphia this upcoming season.

But signing Kovalchuk would do wonders for this Islanders club, putting a somewhat-stagnant franchise back on the map.

Since entering the league eight years ago, Kovalchuk has averaged a shade over 42 goals a season. In that same time frame, the average of the Islanders’ leading goal-scorer is less than 29. Kovalchuk would bring an element to the Islanders they haven’t had since, well, Mike Bossy in the 1980’s.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense if Kovalchuk does opt to sign with the Islanders. Winning on Long Island would take a few more years than it would if he went to Los Angeles or New Jersey – the only two feasible destinations before this report.

If Wang, Snow, and company are willing to shell out $10 million a year to the 27-year-old scoring machine – and Kovalchuk won’t settle for much less – why not think this could really happen?

The Islanders franchise needs someone like Kovalchuk to bring optimism (and victories) back to Uniondale.

Now Kovalchuk must decide if he needs them.

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