Of course, everyone is still talking about Alexei Kovalev getting traded to the Rangers. The big issue? How the NHL could let the Rangers buy the Penguin forward. Especially when the league has struck down similar cash-for-player deals in the past (see the then cash-strapped Islanders trying to sell Ziggy Palffy to the New York Rangers back in 1999). The New York Post reports that NHL GM Gary Bettman struck down a deal that would have had the Sabres give the Flyers Miroslav Satan and Alexei Zhitnik for Pavel Brendl (who instead went to Carolina for Sami Kapanen) and defense prospect Jeff Woywitka.
So it seems the NHL is trying to protect the integrity of some teams, but not others.
How come? I mean, even Flyer GM Bobby Clarke thought the Kovalev deal seemed fishy.
Bill Daly, the NHL’s executive VP told the New York Times “The league does have limits. They are not hard and fast limits. Each situation is assessed on a case-by-case basis…The bottom line is the Penguins were determined to move this player. They were going to cut the best deal they could possibly get.”
And the NHL didn’t go crazy with the deal. They set a hard ceiling of $4 million for Kovalev. Not a penny more. So the Rangers gave Pittsburgh $3,999,999.99.
Larry Brooks, from the Post, speculates the NHL knows the Pittsburgh Penguins are not long for this league, which is why they don’t care if the team sells off its assets to make payroll.
Pittsburgh sure isn’t looking like it’ll make it through the week. Aleksey Morozov might miss the rest of the season after having wrist surgery.
And Mario Lemieux isn’t sure he’ll come back to play next year. Attendance is already down for the Penguins this season. Without Lemieux (or Kovalev or Jaromir Jagr, etc), attendance will plummet. But Lemieux is said to be a little disenfranchised with the defensive/trapping system low-payroll-no-superstar teams like the Penguins need to adapt to survive in the NHL.
When the Islanders tried to sell Palffy to the Rangers, the NHL kept an eye on the whole deal. As the Boston Globe reported at the time: “The league wants to avoid the appearance of the Isles essentially cashing out at the poker table, stripping assets, and running what amounts to a minor league franchise while charging major league ticket prices.”
Looks like the league isn’t that worried about that appearance anymore.

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3. Kovalev Kostsalot ...
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