Much like Nelson Muntz (of “The Simpsons” fame), I had to let out a tiny giggle at the NHL bringing down the banhammer on Ilya Kovalchuk’s new contract. I know that there have been a few others like this in the last few season; but I asked the same question of them that I did of this one … Does our pal Kovalchoo really need a deal that would last until his oldest child graduates college and would be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of the Gross National Product of a small African nation? (For more puzzling questions, see fellow Goddess Kaatiya’s piece: Kovy’s Contact Rejected — Why?)

To be honest, I am not a Devils fan in the least. Not only am I a Pens fan and still have a bit of a grudge against Scott Stevens for laying out my boy Paulie K in Game 6 of the 2003 Finals; but the beating of my Ducks in that series make them not too friendly around these parts.

However, Ilya has always fascinated me; and after he was traded to New Jersey, I was actually kind of happy for him. Things in Atlanta have never quite gotten off the ground, so with Los Diablos, Mr. Kovalchoo was finally going to a club that had the same level of talent to match his own. And that is a problem with this contract; they might not be able to keep all of it for as long as they would like and at the price tags that talent would be asking for.

Anyway, I thought I would leave you with a few pictures from today’s press conference in New Jersey.

Photos:  Ilya Kovalchuk by Getty Images and The Associated Press.

Mike Modano had a storybook ending to last season (the Dallas Stars failing to make the playoffs notwithstanding). His final home game saw him get an assist, a goal and the game-winning shootout goal. His last game took place in Minnesota, where his career began. The crowd cheered his shifts (after years of booing), the Stars won, and after the game he came out in an old Minnesota North Stars jersey, once again receiving thunderous applause.

The Stars produced video tributes. People flew from all over North America to be a part of Mike’s final games. Hockey pundits lavished praise upon the career of America’s greatest scorer. The problem is, Mike Modano wasn’t and isn’t ready to retire.

Now, what does an organization do when they are ready to turn a corner, but the face of their franchise isn’t? According to GM Joe Nieuwendyk, you don’t even offer the player a contract.

Legions of Dallas Stars and Mike Modano fans have taken to the talk radio airwaves and the Internet to voice their displeasure about the organization’s decision. You see, in the South, we’ve been brought up with better manners than that. Up North, you can get away with letting a Saku Koivu (or any other player that has spent his entire career with one team) go. But with Modano … this one is going to hurt.

When Mike and the former North Stars came to Dallas, Modano was the one the organization used to sell tickets. His was the face on the billboards. Pretty enough for the big-haired Texas woman to pay attention to, and talented enough to keep even the most diehard Cowboys fan watching in amazement as he weaved his way around defenders with his hair and jersey flapping in his wake.

As for me, I had hoped Mike would retire. Not because he doesn’t still have more hockey in him, but because I felt, in some ways, the Stars needed to move on, both on and off the ice. I’m also someone who hates seeing an athlete’s skill diminish as he struggles to keep up with the game he has played all of his life.

Sadly, few remember how feared Chris Chelios was. New York Rangers fans watched Mark Messier become a shadow of the player he had been. Even beloved Vancouverite Trevor Linden was a healthy scratch many times during his final season.

Mike Modano is my favorite player. He took that position the very first time I saw him skate. (Sorry Neal Broten!) I’ve watched him his entire career, even when he didn’t have his familiar No. 9 on the back of his sweater. As he and I take on different roles for the first time in more than 20 years, I hope he goes somewhere that will make him happy once again. You could see his frustration last season at how he was being utilized; and when Mike isn’t happy, he doesn’t play as well.

So, Mike, as you embark on this new chapter in your career, I wish you nothing but clean, fast ice … and may your jersey forever flap behind you!

(But please … land out East!)

Photos: Mike Modano from mikemodano.com.

“Loco del calor!” as David Lee Roth once sang (and as we in the South are experiencing). Plus, I refuse to use the word “frenzy” today. Here comes a blog-along, like NHL Draft Day. So bear with me as things get crazy!

*  Wow!   Dan Hinote an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Guess he’s retired.  Unless he’s going the player-coach “Slap Shot” route!

*  More once it hits noon!

* Michael Leighton re-signed in Philly. (Two-year deal.)

* Paille re-signs Boston. Savvy can address later!

* It’s noon.  Let the game begin!

*  Sergei Gonchar moves to Ottawa!

* Former Thrasher Braydon Coburn stays with Philly (two year deal, per Craig Custance). Thank you D-Wad for losing him for Alexei Zhitnik! Grrrr…

* COME ON THRASHERS!!!!!

* People who do on-air fonts need to remember the difference between a person who “resigns” and a person who “re-signs.” HUGE difference, loves. /copyeditor rant

* Alex Tanguay (back) to Calgary Flames. Wow.

* Philly VERY busy! They got Andrei Meszaros from Tampa.

* BABCHUCK’S BACK. The ‘Canes pick up their on-again, off-again, sometimes troublesome Slavic baby.

* Wheee! Guillaume Latandresse re-signs with Minnesota Wild. Get WILD!!

* Marty Biron leaves Philly for New York Rangers — will he be the next Kevin Weekes — never able to secure that No. 1 goalie situation. I think he already is the new Kevin Weekes.

* Come on Thrashers — if you can’t get the Moose, get DAN ELLIS! YEAH! Come on!

* Former prime minister Paul Martin to Pittsburgh!? What’s going down with NJ?!

* Does letting Paul Martin go mean a Kovalchuk signing is nigh?!?

* Dying to see where Kovy goes — is he a greedy bastard? Or does he just dislike Atlanta’s direction? Does he go to LA to revive his wife’s singing career?!

* Little Philippe Paradis traded! Awww Mr. Glasses from last year’s draft to Blackhawks. Versteeg going back to Leafs.

* Zybenk Michalek to Pittsburgh. (Five years, 20 mil.)

* COME ON THRASHERS GET SOMEONE GOOD!!!

* Colby Armstrong to Toronto — three years, $9 million. That’s a lot, I think.

* Dan Ellis goes to Atlanta rival Tampa Bay. On the plus side, no more Niitty in Tampa (for those who don’t know, Atlanta has never beaten Niittymaki). On the minus, oh Dan Ellis would have been a fabulous bit of marketing for the Thrashers.

* Olie Jokinen back to the Flames — really? Is that possible? Hard to believe that rumor.

* Jody Shelley to Flyers. Gosh. Excitement today. The Flyers are going wacky today?! No?

* Tough guy-o-rama: Derek Boogaard to New York. Yowza!

* I guess it’s OK to mention here that deep in my heart I still wish for Kovy back in Atlanta.

* Where will Slava Kozlov end up? I am afraid it might be the KHL.

* Surprisingly unsurprising or unsurprisingly surprising. Colby leaving ATL. No surprise. Everyone, myself included, figured he’d go rejoin the Penguins and his bromance-worthy pal Crosby. I wish him all the best in Toronto. He’ll be entertaining to the media if nothing else, because of, you know, who he is. ;-)

* Not all that surprising that Kovy is still unsigned. I am sure he has a million and one options to go through. But, wondering, if at some point he doesn’t start getting into a pickle in which teams keep spending and have less room for him. Therefore, he ends up with fewer choices?

* Chris Viv (@ajcthrashers on Twitter) reports that the Thrashers are “working” on their goaltender situation. Oooooh. I wonder if that just means re-signing The Moose. Or bringing back Michael Garnett?!?! (Whose hockey cards I still collect incidentally, and who has really done well in the KHL.)

* I like the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signing Martin St. Louis. He’s solid. He’s a Thrasher killer, but he just works there. Way to go Tampa on Marty and getting Dan Ellis, whom I coveted for the Thrashers.

* Where will Goddess Sasha fave Paul Kariya go?!?

* So Dan Hamhuis (great last name) to the Canucks. Interesting. I never thought Dan Hamhuis would be an edge-of-your-seat, where-will-he-go?!? kind of guy. No offense to him, but it’s wacky.

* So Thrashers free agents: Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Kubina, Eric Boulton, Evgeny Artyukin, (my dear and beloved) Vyacheslav Kozlov, Chrisoph Schubert, Chris Chelios (LOL), Marc Popovic and Johan Hedberg. NONE of these guys is signed. Yowza! Maybe Goddess Thorkhild has some scoop from Russia about Afinogenov, Kozlov or Artyukin (??).

* D-Men in hot demand today.

* Some of these deals just don’t thrill: Jeff Tambellini to Vancouver. Maybe if it was my team. Hmph.

* Chris Mason signs with Thrash — wow. I am going to need a few seconds/minutes/days to think about this, particularly the loss of fan-fave Hedberg, which this certainly means.

* Yowza — Chicago South for the Thrashers with Andrew Ladd coming to the ATL for a pick. Go Dudley??

* I haven’t mentioned Volchenkov. I guess I am lazy. Volchenkov to New Jersey. Blah, blah, blah.

* So from the Bizarro World Olie Jokinen goes back to the Calgary Flames. Interesting. Anyone have any thoughts?!

* As an aside, the Bizarro World is a place in DC comic book land where the inhabitants do the opposite. Of course anyone who watched “Seinfeld” is somewhat familiar with this world.

* Ivan Vishnevskiy we hardly knew thee. He goes back to Chicago in the Andrew Ladd deal. Weird.

* The dismantling of the Blackhawks begins. The Blackhawks do stock up in so doing. Goddess Savvy foresaw this in a wonderful post just days after the big victory.

* I am a bit sad that Thrashers pretty much ended up with nada for Kari Lehtonen, a former first-round draft choice, going second overall (after Rick Nash!!!).

* Two-year deal for Chris Mason from Atlanta Thrashers. I am not as excited about this as I might have been about Dan Ellis, though, it might turn out better? Thoughts anyone?

* If Olie Jokinen can go back to Calgary, how ’bout the Thrashers bring back Marc Savard! (Just kidding, Goddess Savvy.)

* @benthrashers tweets: “Chris Mason was 13th in the NHL in wins and GAA and finished all 61 games he started.” NICE!

* @craigcustance reports Johan Hedberg is likely headed to New Jersey. I feel a bit sad, despite the post above.

* If you made it this far in the post, thank you for reading. How about giving me a shout out? Leave a comment and say, “I read this post and I didn’t even get a stinking T-shirt.”

* Hey! The Sabres are going to sign brave, brave Jordan Leopold. And there was much rejoicing. (Later, they will eat Sir Robin’s minstrels.)

* Curious about Garnet Exelby — a former Thrasher and huge fan favorite in Atlanta. Also wondering about Manny Legace and Jose Theodore.

* We need some more bloggers — are you reading this? Interested? Message Goddess Kaatiya.

* If “frenzy” didn’t start with an “F” would it always be a “frenzy” on free agent day?

* Now that the Thrashers have raided the Blackhawks’ closet, when are they going to nab John Torchetti?!?

* It’s been uncannily quiet on the Kovalchuk front. KHL rumors — no? Any rumors? Only the tired LA one. Let’s hear something on Kovy!

* Selfishly, I want Kovy either back in ATL (not gonna happen, I know) or in the K. That way I can still cheer for him.

* Turco? Nabokov? Theodore? Toskala? What’s up boys?

* As a Thrasher fan I am thrilled that Thrasher killer Antero Niittymaki is OUT OF THE EASTERN CONFERENCE! Yes! (As I mentioned above, the Thrashers have never beaten Niitty.)

* Awww … the Ducks re-signed Saku Koivu. Now I can continue to never see him anymore (alas).

* Saw that people call Dustin Byfuglien “Buff Daddy.” Now this I love. Perfect for ATL, yo.

* A source is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings are now the only suitors left for Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils are out — he’s too rich for their blood. I still have an inkling that the KHL could be calling. But maybe Kovalchuk’s wife wants to renew (?), rejuvenate (?), or in the eyes of some start a career in L.A. Hmmm…

* Where might a personal favorite of mine — Darcy Tucker — go?

* Gotta give props to @TSNBobMcKenzie — that dude’s got sources and sources and more sources.

* Well, that about wraps this up for me. What are you thoughts on the NHL’s free agent day? Share ‘em with us!

It’s not even July 1 yet the frenzy has already started.  June 15 marked the first day teams could begin to buyout contracts, and indeed no time was wasted with Montreal buying out Georges Laraque.  And that’s not the only frenzy.  Teams are either signing or releasing prospects left and right, trying to make some financial decisions before free agency begins.

One thing none of the goddesses banked on was the potential for some big trades prior to free agency.  Yet that’s exactly what has happened.  I mean, who would have thought Jaroslav Halak of all players would be traded?  Being a restricted free agent, Halak was going to get a raise and playing in the salary cap era I guess Montreal figured he wasn’t worth it with Carey Price waiting in the wings.  In their defense, they got a highly touted Swedish prospect in Lars Eller, so perhaps it will prove to be a shrewd move.

As usual, the Avalanche have continued to offer one-year deals to no-names and mediocre prospects, so I’ll have to continue to live vicariously through other teams that are making real moves.  I can still pretend they’re going to go after Ilya Kovalchuk on July 1.

Speaking of Russians, there has been little news on other UFAs such as Slava Kozlov and Maxim Afinogenov.  Kozlov is rumored to have a KHL deal in the works, while Afinogenov has been mysteriously quiet, apparently refusing the one-year deal the Atlanta Thrashers offered him.  Of course, we have to remember they’re all still under contract and won’t be available until free agency officially starts.

And let’s not forget the NHL draft is now just a week away.  Not only are we looking forward to our teams drafting some hot prospects, but many a big trade has been made on draft day and we are hopeful that there will be some additional excitement.

So maybe it’s not July 1, but we goddesses are enjoying the little bit of foreplay before the main event.

Photo: Jaroslav Halak by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserverd.

According to published reports in Russia, there is an increasing chance that NHL super sniper Ilya Kovalchuk will suit up for the Kontinental Hockey League next year. Kovalchuk is being courted by SKA St. Petersberg and his agent recently told Russian-language newspaper Sport-Express that he is interested in playing in his native country until the next Winter Olympics to be held in 2014 in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, Russia.

Yury Nikolaev confirmed Kovalchuk, who has not come to terms on a new contract with the New Jersey Devils (the team holds exclusive negotiating rights to him until July 1), is now in talks with SKA.

“It is no secret. The SKA bosses and KHL President Alexander Medvedev all expressed their desire to purchase Kovalchuk in their interviews. … Ilya has a desire to play in Russia until the Sochi Olympics [in 2014],” the newspaper quotes him as saying.

Several other KHL teams, including Salavat Yulaev Ufa (now home to former-NHLer Viktor Kozlov) are reportedly interested in Kovalchuk.

Should he choose to sign with SKA St. Petersberg, Kovalchuk will join a virtual who’s who of Russian ex-NHLers such as Sergei Zubov, Sergei Brylin, Oleg Saprykin, Alexander Korolyuk, Andrei Zyuzin and Alexei Yashin. Not to mention former NHL starting goalie Robert Esche of the U.S. and Joel Kwiatkowski of Canada (who had a cup of tea with the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2007-08 season).

July 1 should be interesting!

Photo: Ilya Kovalchuk by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2008-2010.

I try to be kind in my posts. I really do. But I can’t hold back on commenting on the insane decision both Adam Foote and the Colorado Avalanche made. Yesterday, the Avs signed Footer to a one year, $1 million deal.

Nothing too personal Adam, but it’s time to retire. The Avalanche have a plethora over overpaid defenseman and given that this was probably the weakest part of their game this year (oh the ugliness had we not had Anderson in net) it seems like starting fresh might be the way to go — especially with the number of young defensemen in the system.

That extra $500,000 or so would look awful tasty on a talented, skating free agent this summer. Yes, the Avs have plenty of cap room, but to land a couple of high-scoring forwards that extra might just come in handy.

Foote has definitely lost a step the past couple of seasons and his decision making has been questionable. As I said — nothing personal. We sat next to his wife and kids all last season and they were quite nice. I’m just surprised given his declining performance (and his wife’s apparent boredom as she could be seen texting on her BlackBerry throughout the games) that he’d sign for another year.

A friend suggested that perhaps the signing was more about a roof over Matt Duchene’s head (he lived at the Foote residence all last year) and keeping a close eye on the young starling. Given the nature of this signing, it’s as good an explanation as any.

Photo:  Adam Foote by Goddess Sasha. Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.