Ilya Kovalchuk Has Much Left to Prove If He Will Be Worth His Price Tag

The New Jersey Devils have been the center of the NHL universe this summer with contract negotiations for one of the biggest superstars in the game, Ilya Kovalchuk.

Of course, Kovalchuk has been all over the news with rumors sending him anywhere from Los Angeles to New Jersey and even to the dreaded KHL. Yet, after all the drama, the Devils were finally able to claim Kovalchuk from free agency and sign him to a front-loaded 17-year deal worth $102 million.

That deal was stricken by the NHL and forced the Devils to pay a fine of $3 million. The Devils will also lose their first-round draft pick in one of the next four NHL drafts as well as their third-round pick in this year's draft.

Now the Devils have been successful in signing Kovalchuk to a similar overall deal: 15 years worth $100 million. The contract is more evenly spread out and gives the Devils what they sought after in the end and that is that they have been able to secure the prolific scorer for the rest of his NHL career.

Is it worth it?

Alright, let's consider the fact that Kovy has amassed 30 or more goals a season every year except his rookie year in 2001. And he has shown no signs of slowing down as of late, in fact, he looks to be at the height of his production and is joining young stars like Zach Parise and Travis Zajac to add offensive fire power. This spells certain success for the Devils, right?

That may be true, except the Devils aren't just paying fines and giving up draft picks to get him. Last season, New Jersey dealt away two of its building block players in Johnny Oduya and Niklas Bergfors to the Atlanta Thrashers in the hopes of increasing its playoff success.

Now the Devils are faced with another conundrum. Kovalchuk's massive contract gives New Jersey a $6.4 million dent in their cap space for each season. As of right now, the Devils are over the cap limit by $3.428 million, and the first NHL game of the 2010-11 season is this Thursday.

Therefore, New Jersey is now forced to make a move to clear that space. The rumor mill has been flying, but the big names that are being considered for trades are Dainius Zubrus and Jaime Langenbrunner. Zubrus will take up $3.4 million in cap space and Langenbrunner will take up $2.8 million.

Losing either of these players will be devastating on a number of levels. Langenbrunner has been the team's leader for the past couple of seasons and has worn the captain's "C" as well. Zubrus has been a power forward that has brought a physical aspect to a smaller Devils lineup than those of the past. With smaller superstar players like Parise and Patrik Elias, Zubrus can be a real asset.

After $3 million in fines, four first-round draft picks, one third-round pick, Bergfors, Oduya, $6.4 million in cap space, and a whopping $100 million contract, does it still seem worth it?

Ilya Kovalchuk may have proven himself to be a prolific scorer throughout his career so far, but with an organization as successful as the New Jersey Devils, he still has a lot to prove. Anything short of a deep playoff run this season will be a huge loss. New Jersey was on the cusp of making a run for the Stanley Cup last season and it can only be expected that they will have the same goals this year.

Anything short of a Stanley Cup appearance, unfortunately for Ilya, will draw heavy criticism in New Jersey.