"SHOULD BURKE SUCCUMB TO TEMPTATION AND GO AFTER ILYA KOVALCHUK IN FREE AGENCY? Absolutely not… and this is why: The Russian-born sniper was a good player on a bad team, and a bad player on a good team. Only good teams win the Stanley Cup. Whichever club bows to his demands for salary and tenure is likely to regret the decision."
I am not totally convinced that the best thing to do for Toronto is to acquire Kovalchuk, unless other moves were to follow......to help the cap structure of the team.....However...
Is it Ilya's fault Lou gave up to much roster depth (Oduya, Bergfors) without replacing them with a comparable type player at the deadline?
Is it Ilya's fault he averaged a point per game while in New Jersey? Playoffs and regular season. (apparently he was bad in New Jersey) seems like he did his job.
Is it Ilyas fault that Atlanta did not surround him with enough talent ? (Antropov is not talent)
when the Jason Blakes, Shawn Horcoffs, etc get 4 + million why is every one so gun shy on a 27 year old PURE & proven sniper?
Kovalchuk's dont grow on trees....
BUT THE
Finger's, Mayers, Kilger's, Blake's, Ponikarovsky's, Jeff O'neils, Mark Bell's, Jonas Hoglunds......etc do
Toronto needs to stop overpaying for grinder/depth players. (see Tucker, Blake etc and start bringing in all world talent...
Maybe Ilya is not the way to go but since we refuse to draft them why not sign them!
decent article by Berger (can't believe i said that)
Only one glaring spot he was wrong "Kovalchuk is a good player on a bad team, but a bad player on a good team"
Kovy was the Devils best player down the stretch and probably the teams best forward in the playoffs.
Yeah I dunno if I agree with that entirely, but the logic behind it seems ok. I would say, he was a great player on a bad team, and a good player on a good team, good players don't make 8.5 mill a year- great players do- so I actually don't think Berger is entirely off (for once lol)
berger is a idiot , he's overcritical about the leafs when ever he can ** not that there isn't anything to complain about right now} but give me a break. we know our last cup was in 67, he brings it up in almost every column he writes. and then he goes on to crap on kovalchuk even though he was a point a game player in the 30 or so games as a devil. it's not a bad idea to sign kovalchuk
berger is a idiot , he's overcritical about the leafs when ever he can ** not that there isn't anything to complain about right now} but give me a break. we know our last cup was in 67, he brings it up in almost every column he writes. and then he goes on to crap on kovalchuk even though he was a point a game player in the 30 or so games as a devil. it's not a bad idea to sign kovalchuk
He's no different then Damien Cox or Steve Simmons.
How was Kovalchuk a bad player on a good team? He averaged a point a game and was a +9 for the Devils. He had six points in five games in the playoffs.
It's a small sample size anyway. His goals were down, but his shooting percentage was very low for the Devils. No reason to expect to remain that low over a whole season.
I also wouldn't want to sign Kovy if his term and cost were high. 8 million + for 2 years? Sure. 8 million + for 8 years? No way. I would hate to see Leaf fan reactions when hes 33 and either (if he hadn't already) bolted to Russia or his play declined to about 60 points a year, and then the threads about dealing with his awful contract ala Lecavalier and Campbell. You just can't hand out huge contracts anymore, times have changed. And I want more win from Kovy, so far it has been lots of flash, few results. I don't like how he is 1 win 8 losses in 9 playoff games, even if his team in Atlanta was poor and Philadelphia really upped their game this year.
I do not agree at all with what Berger is saying about Kovalchuck. This guys going to score boat loads of goals wherever he goes - he's that talented.
I don't get it. First he say's the Maple Leafs should go for elite talent and not the window dressing 3rd liners like Torres and Armstrong, but then shoots down the idea of adding (for nothing but cash mind you) what would be one of the most talented players to ever wear the Maple Leaf.
I do not agree at all with what Berger is saying about Kovalchuck. This guys going to score boat loads of goals wherever he goes - he's that talented.
I don't get it. First he say's the Maple Leafs should go for elite talent and not the window dressing 3rd liners like Torres and Armstrong, but then shoots down the idea of adding (for nothing but cash mind you) what would be one of the most talented players to ever wear the Maple Leaf.
And if the Leafs don't sign either Marleau or Kovalchuk, he'll write another article claiming they dropped the ball and how management doesn't care about winning and bla bla bla.
I do not agree at all with what Berger is saying about Kovalchuck. This guys going to score boat loads of goals wherever he goes - he's that talented.
I don't get it. First he say's the Maple Leafs should go for elite talent and not the window dressing 3rd liners like Torres and Armstrong, but then shoots down the idea of adding (for nothing but cash mind you) what would be one of the most talented players to ever wear the Maple Leaf.
Yup, didn't make much sense to me either.
Kovy is elite - on any team. Its comments like those from sport personalities that makes me question the media for hiring these clowns.
I do not agree at all with what Berger is saying about Kovalchuck. This guys going to score boat loads of goals wherever he goes - he's that talented.
I don't get it. First he say's the Maple Leafs should go for elite talent and not the window dressing 3rd liners like Torres and Armstrong, but then shoots down the idea of adding (for nothing but cash mind you) what would be one of the most talented players to ever wear the Maple Leaf.
this was a decent read, HB puts out one of these every couple of months
Berger is a hack, and the "who shot J.R." line proves it. that is such an unoriginal opening line that if I was marking a paper I would write in big red marker DO NOT USE CLICHES IN ACADEMIC PAPERS C-
Although this is not an academic paper by any means, it just goes to show how uncreative and generally a bad writer Berger is.
A few examples:
"Not since "Who shot J.R.?" has a mystery been so compelling, but fans went ape-spit trying to figure out the identity of the nearly ..."
"Ian has fond out my secret,and Stacey killed Archie,not since Who shot JR has a soap suspect created such interest"
"And, not since "who shot JR" have we been left in such suspense as to what happens next."
"Not since who shot JR has there been this much secrecy!"
"Not since "Who shot JR?" has there been a bigger murder mystery on television."
"not since 'who shot JR Ewing in "Dallas"' have I been so fascinated with a TV progamme"
"Not since “Who Shot JR?” has a media storm brewed about fictional characters"
And Berger:
"Not since “who shot J.R.?” in the early 1980s has a question apparently been posed as often as this one"
It's pathetic, really. From a writer's perspective of course. It's the kind of writing that makes me literally cringe.
I do not agree at all with what Berger is saying about Kovalchuck. This guys going to score boat loads of goals wherever he goes - he's that talented.
I don't get it. First he say's the Maple Leafs should go for elite talent and not the window dressing 3rd liners like Torres and Armstrong, but then shoots down the idea of adding (for nothing but cash mind you) what would be one of the most talented players to ever wear the Maple Leaf.
The best thing to do is try not to understand him. Better yet skip over his articles and on to a different one.
I do not agree at all with what Berger is saying about Kovalchuck. This guys going to score boat loads of goals wherever he goes - he's that talented.
I don't get it. First he say's the Maple Leafs should go for elite talent and not the window dressing 3rd liners like Torres and Armstrong, but then shoots down the idea of adding (for nothing but cash mind you) what would be one of the most talented players to ever wear the Maple Leaf.
I don't disagree that he is talented, nor scoring a boat load of goals. How many will he be responsible for going the other way? Will he play a team game with a team structure(no 2 1/2 minute of three minute shifts)? 8mill for 8-10 years. You expect excellence across his whole game yet his character is questioned. If this guy would go through a wall would there be a question of some team giving him 10 million a year. If talent evaluators are correct, he has as much talent as Crosby, Malkin, Sedin, Ovechkin etc but he brings as many questions to go with all his superlatives.
He scares me on so many levels. Everyone is getting wound up over the rumor of Campbell coming to Toronto. What if Ilya's play slips, what if he is a horrible team mate and a disruption. That contract will be immovable just like Campbell.
Huge risk=huge reward. Burke and MLSE, are you willing to roll the dice? Not as a slam dunk as many of you think.
} but give me a break. we know our last cup was in 67, he brings it up in almost every column he writes. and then he goes on to crap on kovalchuk even though he was a point a game player in the 30 or so games as a devil. 
it's not a bad idea to sign kovalchuk
