Kovalchuk might waive his NMC. However, if he does, he's going to specify the team he wants to go to and expect Blake to work out a trade to that team. The Kings won't really get any significant return for him, unless they retain salary or take back some contracts.

I don't think Missouri would be at the top of Kovalchuk's list of places to go. Additionally, you have to remember that if Kovalchuk does waive his NMC, it is voided for the remainder of the contract. That means that whatever team he gets traded to is now free to trade him anywhere. I don't think he takes that risk.

Maybe not to just anywhere, but if he can wait until the trade deadline, and pick a contender he feels he'd fit well with, it seems like he's got a better chance to make one last run at a Stanley Cup at
35-36 than he will the next two Springs. With a potential lockout next year, and the chance that a new CBA comes with more buyouts, the team that trades for him might not get the chance to trade him again before it pays him to become a UFA.

The question is would he be content to finish out his contract in LA, which is the city he chose for himself and his family to live in, and likely not have a realistic chance at a Cup, or does he waive his NMC and potentially end up in a city that he never would have returned from Russia to play in? As this trade proposal suggests, if he waives to go to St. Louis, they would immediately look to flip him, which he now has no protection against. I think he would rather just finish out his contract in LA than take the risk that he ends up in Ottawa or Detroit. At 38, if he still has some gas left in the tank, he could sign a 1-year, low money contract with a Stanley Cup favorite to try to reach the promised land. In the meantime, he and his family get to live in Manhattan Beach.

Done deal for LA. IK is $ but isn't being used properly. Schenn is an upgrade and worth dropping Muzzin.