No thanks.
From Russia With Love,
Ilya.
I'll be the first to admit- this is a crude photoshop at best, and Dean Lombardi looks eerily similar to ET.
But it's July 4, and about the most American tradition we have is checking the news to see if our local professional ice hockey team has signed the coveted free agent European forward... er.. OK well at least James Bond is Ameri.. what?
OK really the date is of no importance except for the fact that Ilya Kovalchuk has now been in free agency limbo without an NHL team to call his own for four whole days.
Of course, Kovalchuk is not trapped in the same limbo that some other notable free agents are; comrade Evgeni Nabokov, for example, legitimately may not have a team to go to at any point this season, as every single NHL club already has at least one proven starting goalie rostered (or two non-proven starters cough MONTREALcough). A case could be made where Washington's youngster Semyon Varlamov , yet another Ruskie, is a proven starter, and I think think this a viable option for Nabby or fellow free agent netminder Marty Turco.
But I digress.
Those last four days have seemed like an eternity for any fans hoping their team would sign the alluring left-winger.
Now, on the day of our country's independence, Helene Elliot, legendary LA Times journalist, is reporting that Kovalchuk will not be coming to the Kings. This is based on Dean Lombardi apparently telling her, "We took our best shot to meet his needs and the team's," meaning essentially that Kovalchuk's wants more than he can offer.
I hate to say it, but this comes as no surprise.
Unfortunately, we do not know what is really going on behind closed doors, only the tidbits of information given to a very select few, and in the case of this most recent news, one indiv...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
