Ilya Kovalchuk To New Jersey Devils: What's the Dilly?

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

In what may very well spell the demise of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise, Thrashers general manager Don Waddell has traded franchise player (the only player that mattered to Thrasher fans) to the New Jersey Devils.

Details of the trade shake out like this: the Devils will send defenseman Johnny Oduya, forward Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and the Devils 2010 first round draft pick to the Thrashers for Kovalchuk—a former first overall pick of the Thrashers (2001) and defenseman Anssi Salmela.

The two teams will also swap their 2010 second round draft choices.

On the surface, it would appear as if Waddell got very little value in return for Kovalchuk. But at the end of the day, we are talking about a player that will likely be a rental player for the Devils; as such, Waddell can rest assured that he got what he could, albeit a less than impressive return.

Oduya, who signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Devils this summer, suffered from injuries this season, playing in only 40 games, in which he accumulated just two goals and four points.

Through 54 games with the Devils, Bergfors registered 13 goals and 27 points, with a plus 10 rating to boot. A former first round draft pick of the Devils (2005 NHL Entry Draft, 23rd overall), Bergfors has quietly had a good season and by all accounts, should develop into a solid top six forward.

Cormier, who became famous for his vicious elbow hit on Quebec Ramparts defenseman Mikael Tam, and subsequent season ending suspension, is a hard nosed, two-way forward who has a tremendous upside. He was a former second round pick of the Devils (2008 NHL entry draft, 54th overall).

By all accounts New Jersey’s first round draft choice will all but amount to a second round pick and, given the fact the two teams will swap their second rounders and the fact that the Thrashers are expected to miss the playoffs, the Devils are not giving up much there.

A package of Bergfors, Odyua and Cormier gives the Thrashers three decent players to build around, but none of the players in that trio are regarded as game breakers. At least not at this point.

Bergfors will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season, Oduya is scheduled to make $3.5 million in 2010-11 and $4.0 million in 2011-12. Cormier signed a three-year entry-level contract this summer, for an average of $875,000 per season.

What it all means is that the Thrashers will have the cap room to go out and be very aggressive in the free agent market this summer. That said, the pickings are slim this off-season and, given the Thrashers' thin talent, it may be tough to convince UFA’s to come to Atlanta.

In Kovalchuk, a three-time all-star (2004, 2008, 2009), the Devils get one of the NHL’s premier offensive forwards, albeit one that needs to work on his defense. The oft-one-dimensional Kovalchuk should fit in nicely on the Devils' first line and the Devils' defensive system should help Kovalchuk become less of a defensive liability when he's out on the ice.

His presence certainly shakes up the Eastern Conference playoff canvas and serves notice to teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences that, if they weren’t being looked upon as a legitimate threat to win the Stanley Cup, the Devils sure as heck are now.

It’s anybody's guess as to whether or not Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello will opt to try and re-sign Kovalchuk at season's end. Lamoriello is not the type of GM who likes to throw money around; with that in mind, I for one do not expect Lou to shell out the $10 million plus a season that Kovalchuk seemingly is seeking.

No doubt about it, the Devils got themselves a heck of a hockey player; a game breaker, whose best hockey is yet to be played. As the saying goes—the team that gets the best player in a trade usually wins the deal and New Jersey certainly got that in Kovalchuk.

It will be interesting to see how Kovalchuk responds in the playoffs. To date, Kovalchuk has amassed just one goal and one assist in 2005-06, his first and only playoff appearance with the Thrashers.

In the end, Thrashers GM Don Waddell had no choice but to trade Kovalchuk. Waddell offered Kovalchuk an insane $101 million contract, which Kovalchuk turned down.

It remains to be seen what the fallout will be from Thrasher fans, but it is expected many of them, while not impressed they are losing yet another franchise player (Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa were traded before Kovalchuk), will understand that Waddell did everything possible (and then some) to accommodate Kovalchuk.

The teams that “missed out” on acquiring Kovalchuk will now turn their trade aspirations elsewhere with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and others expected to make an aggressive move or two before the March 3rd trade deadline rolls around.

Another big day in the NHL, another big contract moving...who says you can’t make big deals anymore?

Until next time,

Peace!