Free agent forward Ilya Kovalchuk signed a three year deal with the Los Angeles Kings over the weekend, after receiving serious offers from the Boston Bruins.
From all accounts the Bruins were in it until the end, the deciding factor wasn't which team was better, it's which team was willing to offer more years.
According to reports, the Bruins were only willing to offer a two year deal to the Russian sniper, a contract length that general manager Don Sweeney just wasn't willing to extend any further.
"I don't think the term would have been idealistic for us and how we were looking at it," Sweeney said.
With the Bruins out on Kovalchuk, the team is still exploring the option of signing Rick Nash to an extension.
"We've had great communication with Rick and his representative," Sweeney said. "We'll continue to do that, and whenever Rick makes a decision for his own future, we'll probably be open to continuing those."
While it would have been exciting to have Kovalchuk around to boost the B's offense, you can't blame Sweeney for not being willing to offer the 35 year old a third year at $6.25million.
