Ritter's Rant: News from Around the NHL

Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell reportedly offered star player Ilya Kovalchuk a 12-year, $101 million contract. Some quick math tells us that the deal would equate to a little over $8.4 million a year or about $600,000 less than Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby—all of whom are signed to deals that peak at $9 million per season.

My initial reaction to Kovalchuk’s decision to turn down Waddell’s offer is to ask, “Hey Ilya, what are you, stoned?"

Kovalchuk is not nearly the player that Ovechkin, Crosby, or Malkin is and, as such, I believe, even at $8.4 million per, would be overvalued. Waddell made Kovalchuk an exceptional offer, one that would see him make more money than he could spend in his lifetime.

For reasons that are beyond me Kovalchuk does not think Waddell’s offer is good enough. So be it. Sorry Atlanta fans, regardless of how you feel about your franchise player it’s time to let him walk, simply put, Kovalchuk is not worth it.

Meanwhile, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke remains optimistic that he can pull the trigger on a few more trades before the March 3rd trade deadline rolls around.

Numerous players could be one the move from the Leafs roster, including Alexei Ponikarovsky, Lee Stempniak, Tomas Kaberle, Garnet Exelby, and Wayne Primeau.

Clearly, Kaberle (who would have to waive his no-trade clause) would likely bring back a King’s ransom, while the best Burke could hope for in return for the other players would be a B-level prospect or draft picks.

Ponikarovsky could help a team’s offensive depth and would probably benefit from a move to the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, and Phoenix Coyotes would likely benefit most from a Ponikarovsky trade, with Phoenix being a very likely partner IF they can “pony” up the dollars.

It’s no secret that Burke has inquired about Coyote’s forward Peter Mueller; perhaps Burke can convince the Coyote’s to part ways with the young winger? Through 47 games with the Coyotes, Mueller has registered four goals, adding 12 assists, for 16 points.

I have already discussed the Kaberle scenario—check out my other article detailing Burke’s options .

A quick look at the NHL standings reveals that both the Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators a 10-0 in their past 10 games. Close behind them, the Los Angeles Kings have gone 9-1 in their past 10. That’s some pretty awesome hockey, just hope this threesome isn’t peaking at the wrong time.

The announcement of the Columbus Blue Jackets firing Ken Hitchcock in favor of assistant coach Claude Noel hardly came as a shock. The fact is, outside of Barry Trotz in Nashville and Lindy Ruff in Buffalo—who seem to have nine lives—every coach has an expiration date.

Hitchcock is a good coach and, despite his recent dismissal, can now look forward to helping Team Canada prepare for the Olympics and, in the end, should find another coaching position in the NHL, sooner rather than later.

Congratulations go out to David Booth of the Florida Panthers, who returned to action against the New York Islanders on Jan. 31st. Booth has one assist and nine shots in two games. You might want to pick him up in your Fantasy Pool.

The rookie scoring race looks like this:

Matt Duchesne: 17 goals, 37 points, -6

John Tavares: 17 goals, 33 points, -10

James Van Riemsdyk: 12 goals, 31 points, +7

Tyler Mayers: 7 goals, 31 points, +7

Niclas Bergfor: 13 goals, 27 points, -7

From my point of view, as long as he keeps up his current level of play the Calder Trophy race for rookie of the year is over: It’s Buffalo Sabres rookie defenseman Tyler Mayers, end of story…

Can’t wait for the Kovalchuk trade to unfold…God help the team that gets him, whatever the price; it would seem to be too much for a guy who insists on overvaluing himself. Who needs an ego-maniac like that on their team?

Until next time,

Peace!