Ilya Kovalchuk Benched: Are the New Jersey Devils Stupid?

Mark RitterOct 23, 2010

Through the first seven games of the season, the New Jersey Devils accumulated a disappointing 2-4-1 record, averaged a league-low 1.86 goals per game, sat 22nd overall with a 3.00 goals against average and owned the 21st-ranked power play (9.5 percent)—with just two goals.

Needless to say, with so much going wrong for the Devils in the early going, change was bound to come. In a shocking move, the Devils chose to make a statement by benching their prized free agent signee, Ilya Kovalchuk, in their match against the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night.

Through seven games, Kovalchuk has amassed a total of two goals and five points to go along with a minus-three rating. While not horrible statistically, Kovalchuk has yet to score on the power play, has been questionable at best defensively and is yet to be the impact player the Devils thought they were getting when they acquired him from the Atlanta Thrashers late last season and subsequently signed him as a free agent.

It appears as if the Kovalchuk saga just won’t die. It is well documented that Kovalchuk’s free agency became a consuming topic over the summer. Now, with the Devils struggling and Kovalchuk seemingly not pulling his weight, the saga looks to be rearing its ugly head again.

Over the summer, an all-out war for Kovalchuk’s services erupted between the Devils and Los Angeles Kings, which, due to the Devils' apparent desire for Kovalchuk’s services, eventually led to New Jersey offering Kovalchuk a 17-year, $102 million deal. The NHL subsequently voided the contract because it violated the collective bargaining agreement.

When everything was said and done, the Devils paid a very steep price for Kovalchuk’s services, including forward Nic Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrice Cormier, a first-round draft choice and that insane $100 million salary.

By the time the Devils finally got Kovalchuk under contract, at a cost of $100 million over 15 years, paid the fines doled out by the NHL for the CBA's circumvention and dealt with the loss of talent, the final price tag seemed very steep—a cost that I have long speculated would hurt the Devils organization both in the short and long term.

Kovalchuk’s salary cap hit has already forced the Devils to play a number of games short-handed, as it was all but impossible to dress a full roster without going over the salary cap.

These actions have the attention of the NHL and NHLPA and, while nothing has been done about it thus far, I suspect the NHLPA will have something to say about the Devils' shenanigans during the next CBA negotiations, if not before.

With the team struggling and having little in the way of options, the Devils' choice to bench Kovalchuk seems both desperate and confusing.

Why, with the club in desperate need of scoring, do you bench your most potent offensive player? And if the answer is because of Kovalchuk’s penchant for poor defensive coverage, why not bench a few of the other players who have been equally inept?

Benching a player of Kovalchuk’s ilk this early in the season seems like a cop-out to me. I mean, is it really the players' fault for all the Devils’ troubles or is it management's—specifically, Lou Lamoriello’s—fault?

Seems to me that, despite some questionable play, Kovalchuk has become a scapegoat for all that ails the Devils, which, in itself, sends the wrong message to the players.

Point is, you cannot make the kind of cap oversights that Lou Lamoriello and the Devils management team made, ask your players to continually play short-handed (which tires your players out) and expect anything less than a subpar performance—can you?

If the Devils wanted to bench someone, they should have benched Lou, the owners and the rest of the management team that allowed the Kovalchuk deal to become a reality. Let’s face it, collectively the management team have all been the Devils’ worst “players,” end of story...

Seven games into the season, a total of 13 Devils roster players were sitting with a minus rating, with David Clarkson leading the way with a minus six and Jason Arnott hot on his heals with a minus-five rating.

This is a team in deep trouble right now and, as much as I want to applaud the Devils for having the fortitude to bench a star like Kovalchuk, it was a stupid move—one that will do little to change the fortunes of the team and could cause a player like Kovalchuk to react in a negative way, mainly by continuing to give a piss-poor effort.

Does anyone think for a minute that Kovalchuk—the egomaniac that he is—will learn anything from sitting on the bench? No!

Let’s face it, folks, the Devils are the Forrest Gump of the hockey world right now. After all, stupid is as stupid does...

Oh yeah, and FYI, the Devils lost 6-1 to the Sabres tonight...some message that sent!