THE FIVE STAGES OF KOVALCHUK

In her book, On Death and Dying, published in 1969, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the model commonly known as the “Five Stages of Grief” to explain how people deal with loss. As a life-long Los Angeles Kings fan, I am used to loss. Granted, loss related to a hockey team is trivial in a time where soldiers are overseas being blown up, oil is spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and Jon Bon Jovi has torn his calf muscle while on stage, etc. However, I could not help but notice the fact that I, and my fellow Kings fans, reacted exactly as Dr. Kübler-Ross described when we found out that left wing Ilya Kovalchuk had re-signed with the New Jersey Devils and not our beloved Kings. With apologies to those who are actual experiencing real loss, here is how it went.

Denial

During the epic 19-day saga that was the Kovalchuk free agency, there were many ups and downs, which will not be detailed here. For that, I recommend watching Waiting for Kovalchuk – a KingsCast Digital Short.

In an effort to stay up-to-date on the daily “will he, won’t he” I signed up for Twitter, following Helene Elliott, Puck Daddy, Pierre LeBrun, Nick Kypreos, the Petros & Money Show, and really anyone who discussed the situation in any way, no matter how far fetched.

When I awoke on Monday morning, I grabbed my phone and checked Twitter. Puck Daddy said that Kovalchuk signed with the Devils.

I didn’t believe it.

It must have been yet another rumor that would prove to be false. Hadn’t Kovalchuk just been here in LA (it was really great weather when he was here too!)? Didn’t Matt “Money” Smith say that a deal had been worked out, that they were just working on a “no trade clause?”

Surely, this was an error.

I checked ESPN, who was also reporting that he had signed with New Jersey. Again, it must have just been a rumor. I think I checked Twitter three more times, refreshing every minute, hoping to see that it was just another false report. I was forced to face reality only when I saw that the Devils official Twitter feed had announced the re-signing.

Anger

Are you kidding me?! How did the Kings manage to lose out on yet another top free agent? The guy obviously wanted to play in Los Angeles since he kept coming back for more negotiations after the Kings told him no several times.

The Kings have the cap space and the young, talented team necessary to make a real push. How could they possibly not get it done? They should have done it no matter what it took we cried! If the team was willing to spend $80 million why not $100 million (it’s really easy to get angry about teams/people being cheap when it’s not your money)!

My fellow Kings fans and I vented, pronouncing the end of the franchise and called for general manager Dean Lombardi’s head. Season tickets were cancelled. Nastygrams were sent to season ticket representatives, all before we even saw the terms of the deal.

We calmed down a bit when it was announced, falsely, that the deal was $150 million over 17 years for an annual cap hit of $8.8 million per year. That seemed excessive, even to us in our anger phase.

Our incredulousness returned when it was announced that the cap hit was $5.8 million whereas the Kings had only offered an annual cap hit of $5.3 million.

The rage turned back on at that point.

After that, the quotes started to come out. First from Kings Governor Tim Leiweke who, doing his best Yogi Berra impression, stated in an interview with Los Angeles Times columnist Helene Elliott, “NJ offered more money. Simple as that.”

“It was not for lack of effort or cash,” Leiweke added.

I refer Mr. Leiweke to the Aflac commercial that featured Berra saying, “They give you cash, which is just as good as money.”

Then came Lombardi’s comments, indicating he felt that they gave their best effort, that the Kings were still on track despite not getting Kovalchuk and that next time, he would be better prepared to go through this kind of situation.

Better prepared? Meaning he wasn’t prepared this time? Oh the rage!

Bargaining

Wait a minute. A 17-year contract for a 27-year-old player? How can they do that? That has to be against the Collective Bargaining Agreement!

It was such an obvious end run around the rules designed to keep contracts under a certain amount. No one believes that Kovalchuk will play until he’s 44. The last years of the contract seem obviously designed to be bought out while Kovalchuk is lounging on his own private island in the south of Florida where he currently resides.

No way the NHL will allow this! Maybe there is still a chance the Kings can sign him if the National Hockey League rejects this contract! Maybe? Possibly? No? OK.

Depression

Last year’s season and playoff run did wonders for the collective psyche of Kings fans. Not only did the team make the playoffs for the first time in forever, they did not get swept in the first round.

Here in Kings-land, fans have learned to accept our small victories, like not getting shut out. So to have a 100+ point season followed by an inspired playoff run against what many considered a vastly superior team was heartening.

As the season closed, we mused philosophically about how the Kings were only a few players away from getting through that first round series against Vancouver. Some better goaltending, a scoring left winger and a solid defenseman and we felt that the Kings would do some real damage. We looked forward to the off-season where we knew Kovalchuk would be available. Maybe we’d get him?

There were also several top two pairing defenseman available including Paul Martin, Dan Hamhuis, Anton Volchenkov, Zbynek Michalek, to name a few, who would fill the vacancy left by the departing Sean O’Donnell and, thankfully, the departing Randy Jones.

Yet here we were, on day 19 of free agency, with not a single new player on the roster.

To be sure, the Kings have a good farm system and a lot of prospects coming up including Brayden Schenn, Thomas Hickey, Vyacheslav Voynov, etc., but not a single addition was made to the team in the first 19 days.

While many will explain that the Kings couldn’t make other signings if they wanted to sign Kovalchuk, that does little to change the fact that as of this writing, the Kings are further away, not closer, to challenging for the Stanley Cup than they were last year—there have been subtractions and no additions.

While fans believe that our young team will improve every year, only a Pollyanna would conclude that losing six NHL players (Alexander Frolov, O’Donnell, Fredrik Modin, Raitis Ivanans, Jeff Halpern and Jones) from a roster and replacing them with youth is an improvement. OK, well maybe losing a few of those guys is an improvement, but still.

So there we sat, again spurned by another free agent, left with nothing to show for it, just like last year when the Kings were unable to get either of the Marian’s, Hossa or Gaborik. Rather, we were left only with excuses from Lombardi about how he needs money to re-sign young players in the future and double talk from Leiweke about how cash is not as good as money.

Will we ever be able to land a free agent after this fiasco? Will the team ever do what it takes to bring a top free agent to Los Angeles? Would the team be better than last year?

The answers to all those questions seemed to be no. There was, as one fan put it, no joy in Kingsville.

Acceptance

OK, so the Kings didn’t get Kovalchuk. They still have $12 million to spend against the cap and even more room next year when some big contracts come off the books. Moreover, the Kings still have assets to make trades.

If we believed they were only three players away from being competitive last year and the core is still coming back (minus, arguably, Frolov, who could still potentially re-sign), how bad could it really be?

After all, everyone is a bit better for having gone through the playoffs. Blue chip goaltending prospect Jonathan Bernier is expected to get his chance to play in the NHL in the upcoming season and perhaps some of the long-heralded rookies like Schenn and Hickey will be able to step in and fill those gaps left by the departed veterans.

Though he seemed to have no plan for a trade or free agent signing in his comments to Rich Hammond of the LAKingsInsider, perhaps Lombardi has something up his sleeve. After all, while Kings fans were licking our wounds last year from being spurned by the Marians, he swooped in and made the trade for Ryan Smyth. Perhaps something like that is in the works.

Looking forward to seeing what the kids can with another year of seasoning, I accept that the Kings did not sign Kovalchuk and remain a fan of the LA Kings even so.

POSTSCRIPT: As this story went to press, Kovalchuk’s contract with the Devils was rejected by the NHL and Lombardi has indicated that he is still interested in signing Kovalchuk at the last deal offered. It seems like an infinitesimal chance that Kovalchuk wouldn’t re-sign with the Devils given what he said at his press conference today...but...

...here we go again?

Dan Goodkin, 35, is one of the rare Southern California natives who was raised as a Kings fan long before Wayne Gretzky arrived here. Along with his family, he attended countless games at the Forum in Inglewood at which his mother proudly sported her hand-sewn Gary Sargent and Rogie Vachon jerseys. He has recently forgiven Marty McSorley and, one day, hopes to be able to forgive Rob Blake. Goodkin writes from Oak Park, California where he lives with his lovely wife (who swears like a sailor at hockey games).


THE FIVE STAGES OF KOVALCHUK by Dan Goodkin July 21, 2010
In her book, On Death and Dying, published in 1969, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the model commonly known as the “Five Stages of Grief” to explain how people deal with loss. As a life-long Los Angeles Kings fan, I am used to loss. Granted, loss related to a hockey team is trivial in a time where soldiers are overseas being blown up, oil is spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and Jon Bon Jovi has torn his calf muscle while on stage, etc. However, I could not help but notice the fact that I, and my fellow Kings fans, reacted exactly as Dr. Kübler-Ross described when we found out that left wing Ilya Kovalchuk had re-signed with the New Jersey Devils and not our beloved Kings. With apologies to those who are actual experiencing real loss, here is how it went. Denial During the epic 19-day saga that was the Kovalchuk free agency, there were many ups and downs, which will not be detailed here. For that, I recommend watching Waiting for Kovalchuk – a KingsCast Digital Short. In an effort to stay up-to-date on the daily “will he, won’t he” I signed up for Twitter, following Helene Elliott, Puck Daddy, Pierre LeBrun, Nick Kypreos, the Petros & Money Show, and really anyone who discussed the situation in any way, no matter how far fetched. When I awoke on Monday morning, I grabbed my phone and checked Twitter. Puck Daddy said that Kovalchuk signed with the Devils. I didn’t believe it. It must have been yet another rumor that would prove to be false. Hadn’t Kovalchuk just been here in LA (it was really great weather when he was here too!)? Didn’t Matt “Money” Smith say that a deal had been worked out, that they were just working on a “no trade clause?” Surely, this was an error. I checked ESPN, who was also reporting that he had signed with New Jersey. Again, it must have just been a rumor. I think I checked Twitter three more times, refreshing every minute, hoping to see that it was just another false report. I was forced to face reality only when I saw that the Devils official Twitter feed had announced the re-signing. Anger Are you kidding me?! How did the Kings manage to lose out on yet another top free agent? The guy obviously wanted to play in Los Angeles since he kept coming back for more negotiations after the Kings told him no several times. The Kings have the cap space and the young, talented team necessary to make a real push. How could they possibly not get it done? They should have done it no matter what it took we cried! If the team was willing to spend $80 million why not $100 million (it’s really easy to get angry about teams/people being cheap when it’s not your money)! My fellow Kings fans and I vented, pronouncing the end of the franchise and called for general manager Dean Lombardi’s head. Season tickets were cancelled. Nastygrams were sent to season ticket representatives, all before we even saw the terms of the deal. We calmed down a bit when it was announced, falsely, that the deal was $150 million over 17 years for an annual cap hit of $8.8 million per year. That seemed excessive, even to us in our anger phase. Our incredulousness returned when it was announced that the cap hit was $5.8 million whereas the Kings had only offered an annual cap hit of $5.3 million. The rage turned back on at that point. After that, the quotes started to come out. First from Kings Governor Tim Leiweke who, doing his best Yogi Berra impression, stated in an interview with Los Angeles Times columnist Helene Elliott, “NJ offered more money. Simple as that.” “It was not for lack of effort or cash,” Leiweke added. I refer Mr. Leiweke to the Aflac commercial that featured Berra saying, “They give you cash, which is just as good as money.” Then came Lombardi’s comments, indicating he felt that they gave their best effort, that the Kings were still on track despite not getting Kovalchuk and that next time, he would be better prepared to go through this kind of situation. Better prepared? Meaning he wasn’t prepared this time? Oh the rage! Bargaining Wait a minute. A 17-year contract for a 27-year-old player? How can they do that? That has to be against the Collective Bargaining Agreement! It was such an obvious end run around the rules designed to keep contracts under a certain amount. No one believes that Kovalchuk will play until he’s 44. The last years of the contract seem obviously designed to be bought out while Kovalchuk is lounging on his own private island in the south of Florida where he currently resides. No way the NHL will allow this! Maybe there is still a chance the Kings can sign him if the National Hockey League rejects this contract! Maybe? Possibly? No? OK. Depression Last year’s season and playoff run did wonders for the collective psyche of Kings fans. Not only did the team make the playoffs for the first time in forever, they did not get swept in the first round. Here in Kings-land, fans have learned to accept our small victories, like not getting shut out. So to have a 100+ point season followed by an inspired playoff run against what many considered a vastly superior team was heartening. As the season closed, we mused philosophically about how the Kings were only a few players away from getting through that first round series against Vancouver. Some better goaltending, a scoring left winger and a solid defenseman and we felt that the Kings would do some real damage. We looked forward to the off-season where we knew Kovalchuk would be available. Maybe we’d get him? There were also several top two pairing defenseman available including Paul Martin, Dan Hamhuis, Anton Volchenkov, Zbynek Michalek, to name a few, who would fill the vacancy left by the departing Sean O’Donnell and, thankfully, the departing Randy Jones. Yet here we were, on day 19 of free agency, with not a single new player on the roster. To be sure, the Kings have a good farm system and a lot of prospects coming up including Brayden Schenn, Thomas Hickey, Vyacheslav Voynov, etc., but not a single addition was made to the team in the first 19 days. While many will explain that the Kings couldn’t make other signings if they wanted to sign Kovalchuk, that does little to change the fact that as of this writing, the Kings are further away, not closer, to challenging for the Stanley Cup than they were last year—there have been subtractions and no additions. While fans believe that our young team will improve every year, only a Pollyanna would conclude that losing six NHL players (Alexander Frolov, O’Donnell, Fredrik Modin, Raitis Ivanans, Jeff Halpern and Jones) from a roster and replacing them with youth is an improvement. OK, well maybe losing a few of those guys is an improvement, but still. So there we sat, again spurned by another free agent, left with nothing to show for it, just like last year when the Kings were unable to get either of the Marian’s, Hossa or Gaborik. Rather, we were left only with excuses from Lombardi about how he needs money to re-sign young players in the future and double talk from Leiweke about how cash is not as good as money. Will we ever be able to land a free agent after this fiasco? Will the team ever do what it takes to bring a top free agent to Los Angeles? Would the team be better than last year? The answers to all those questions seemed to be no. There was, as one fan put it, no joy in Kingsville. Acceptance OK, so the Kings didn’t get Kovalchuk. They still have $12 million to spend against the cap and even more room next year when some big contracts come off the books. Moreover, the Kings still have assets to make trades. If we believed they were only three players away from being competitive last year and the core is still coming back (minus, arguably, Frolov, who could still potentially re-sign), how bad could it really be? After all, everyone is a bit better for having gone through the playoffs. Blue chip goaltending prospect Jonathan Bernier is expected to get his chance to play in the NHL in the upcoming season and perhaps some of the long-heralded rookies like Schenn and Hickey will be able to step in and fill those gaps left by the departed veterans. Though he seemed to have no plan for a trade or free agent signing in his comments to Rich Hammond of the LAKingsInsider, perhaps Lombardi has something up his sleeve. After all, while Kings fans were licking our wounds last year from being spurned by the Marians, he swooped in and made the trade for Ryan Smyth. Perhaps something like that is in the works. Looking forward to seeing what the kids can with another year of seasoning, I accept that the Kings did not sign Kovalchuk and remain a fan of the LA Kings even so. POSTSCRIPT: As this story went to press, Kovalchuk’s contract with the Devils was rejected by the NHL and Lombardi has indicated that he is still interested in signing Kovalchuk at the last deal offered. It seems like an infinitesimal chance that Kovalchuk wouldn’t re-sign with the Devils given what he said at his press conference today...but... ...here we go again? Dan Goodkin, 35, is one of the rare Southern California natives who was raised as a Kings fan long before Wayne Gretzky arrived here. Along with his family, he attended countless games at the Forum in Inglewood at which his mother proudly sported her hand-sewn Gary Sargent and Rogie Vachon jerseys. He has recently forgiven Marty McSorley and, one day, hopes to be able to forgive Rob Blake. Goodkin writes from Oak Park, California where he lives with his lovely wife (who swears like a sailor at hockey games). © 2010 Online Kingdom/Kingshockey.com. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution is prohibited without permission.