Kovalchuk to the Devils
February 4th, 2010 by IanIlya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela and a 2nd round pick were traded to the Devils for Johnny Oduya, Nicklas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick.
i’ve got to think that the Thrashers didn’t get enough and i don’t care that it “technically” could just be a rental for the Devils. it is my belief the Devils will do all they can to sign Kovy for something that makes sense in their salary structure. if they don’t or can’t then they actually didn’t lose all that very much here.
Kovalchuk is one of the best pure goalscorers in the game and i’ve got to think that Travis Zajac is just plain giddy tonight. there’s a chance that the Devils will move Parise over to the right side and then they’ll have to give a plum assignment to someone who’ll get to center two of the best snipers in the world. no Z, it isn’t Christmas and your birthday isn’t til May but still, it’s ok to do a little jig. if the Devils decide not to move Parise to the right side then i would think that Brian Rolston wins the lottery because he’ll get playing time with one of the big guns. at the very least if Parise switches sides then Rolston gets Langenbrunner and that’s not a horrible consolation prize.
the Thrashers get an underrated fantasy D-man in Oduya and a young sniper with loads of upside. Cormier won’t amount to much of anything and the 1st rounder is going to be around 28th overall (ish) so that actually doesn’t amount to much.
the value in the deal is in Bergfors. he can be a 40 goal guy eventually. the offensive vacuum will be filled by Bryan Little and Bergfors primarily. Oduya has always been a shutdown guy who can put up some decent points and i think he may be the perfect complement to young D options like Enstrom and Bogosian. he’ll fit in just fine with the Thrash although i don’t imagine the +/- strength that he’s put up will be a strength for him this year or next (since the defensive play on the Thrash is vastly different than the defensive play on the Devils).
ok, in general i’ve got to think that this deal helps in order: Ilya Kovalchuk, Travis Zajac, Bryan Little, Brian Rolston, and Nicklas Bergfors. i don’t imagine that any of the other names mentioned in the deal get affected too much.
i still say that i don’t think the Thrash got enough. the Devils just might be the team to beat in the East now and yes i realize that there are some pretty monstrous offenses in the East.
Posted in trading
10 Responses to “Kovalchuk to the Devils”
By mthompson on Feb 5, 2010
i’m with bob mckenzie on this one; i think they probably did as well as they could. clearly the popular picks (chicago and LA) weren’t offering legitimate deals.
i like your pick of Little to benefit, ian, but i’m overjoyed that i own Bogosian right now. and i’d bet that Evander Kane thrives under some increased responsibility for the rest of the season.
By BCapp on Feb 5, 2010
My guess would be split Kovy and Parise to make two legit scoring lines.
Since Elias went down again, teams that are shutting down the top line are shutting down the team. I imagine they will play together on the PP though.
Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner
Kovy-Rolston-Zubrus
When Elias and Clarkson get back, Rolston gets pushed to the checking line, and Elias takes his place. And Clarkson fights it out with Zubrus to be that RW. I’d like to see it be Clarkson b/c he has the size and grit to fight for pucks for Kovy.
By BCapp on Feb 5, 2010
And if NJ is looking to resign Kovy AT LEAST one of the following (if not both) will happen:
1) They will trade/buy out Rolston
2) They will not resign Paul Martin
By Ian on Feb 5, 2010
i could see both of those things happening very easily
By BCapp on Feb 5, 2010
I would say they got a decent deal. Its much better than they got for Hossa. The only problem I see is they didn’t wait long eonugh to see what they could get. Also saying that he turned down such a big contract possibly scared suitors.
If that is true he either really wants to be in a winning NHL team OR he is going to the K next year. No GM (besides Sather) will (should) pay more than 70 mil/7 years or 101 mil/12 years.
They are both over paid. He is in that second tier of players (let me explain what I mean by that before you jump on it).
1st Tier: Malkin/Ovechkin/Crosby (they have done everything before 22 literally.
2nd Tier: Kovalchuk/Gaborik/Thorton/Iginla/Parise/Getzlaf/Datsyuk (bad year)/Zetterberg/etc
realistically he should look for something like gabby got 4 years @ 7.5 or a 12 year @ 75 (6.2/year or so).
By BCapp on Feb 5, 2010
But he can go to the K and get 15 easy (hockey players don’t pay tax)… So if he decides he wants the money, well the NHL just can’t compete.
By BCapp on Feb 5, 2010
For sure they can happen. I didn’t mean to say they are unlikely, I just think thats where the cap space would have to come.
My only concern is that NJ is known as a very conservative team ($$ wise) and I would wonder if it could affect team morale/chemistry if he gets crazy money. Like Parise would expect it then (I believe he comes up after next year as an RFA)
By Ian on Feb 5, 2010
yeah Parise is going to expect it and he deserves it too. if they sign Kovy to a mad contract then they’ll need to sign Parise to one too