Kovalchuk To Devils: Complete Power Shift In The East?

When the deal went down, a collective gasp was heard from most of the East Coast. Ilya Kovalchuk is a New Jersey Devil.

This deal overshadows the Capitals huge winning streak (not by much) and the incredible streak Sidney Crosby has been on (by a little more). The Eastern Conference is now a three-horse race.

But how far has the shift of power gone in the East? Consider what Kovalchuk brings to Jersey.

The Devils have the best goals against average in the NHL, which isn't a shock because they also happen to have the best netminder in the league. The only thing keeping them from previously entering the conversation about the elite teams in the league has been their offense which is only scoring 2.55 goals per night.

Enter Kovalchuk, who's personally scored 31 goals in 49 games (.63 per game). The difference between Kovalchuk and Niclas Bergfors and Johnny Oduya is more than .5 goals per game in scoring; 3.05 goals per game puts them right next to Pittsburgh and into the top five in the league in team scoring.

The big question for the Devils will be who picks up Oduya's more than 20 minutes per night on the blue line. New Jersey also received defenceman Anssi Salmela in the deal, but he certainly isn't going to replace Oduya.

However you slice it, the best defensive team in the East just added an elite scorer. New Jersey is now, with Washington and Pittsburgh, the top of the Eastern Conference, and everyone else is looking up.