Ilya Kovalchuk retires, Jeremy Roenick trashes him on Twitter The Nike KD 6 New Shoes of Ilya Kovalchuk's retirement made it open season for Russian players on Twitter. Both Jeremy Roenick and Matthew Barnaby had some choice words for the former New Jersey Devils star, who is leaving the NHL with 12 years and $77-million left on his massive contract. Studiest thing iv heard since Aaron Hernandez .. Kovalchuk retiring !!! Is he out of his mind Something is fishy— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) July 11, 2013 Kovalchuk is as selfish as they come!!!! I'm appalled. I feel bad for all u devils fans. U deserve better than that!!— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) July 11, 2013 Hey Ilya hope u live comfortably in Russia w the money u made from the 23 million u stole from the devils Again I'm right in my analysis— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) July 11, 2013 But Kovalchuk's decision to leave the NHL in favor of the Mercurial Vapor 9 is not new news. Back in January, he his feelings known that he did eventually want to return to Russia, despite signing a 15-year, $100-million contract in 2010. Matthew Barnaby has never been one to mince words, and in the wake of the retirement announcement, he provided an interesting opinion on how organizations view Russian players. Very tough to take a Russian early or make a big trade for them now. Russians were always behind Czechs of players u wanted on ur team— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) July 11, 2013 Only a generalization but a fact. Everyone plays for the money but Russian players sometimes is all they care about.— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) July 11, 2013 It's not shocking to see either player sound off on a topic of public interestor take such a strong stance. Neither leaves much room for the very real possibility that the Devils, faced with serious financial problems and a gigantic cap recapture penalty down the line, had something to gain from Kovalchuk's decision.