The Kovalchuk Trade: Two Days Later

I wanted to wait a little before commenting on everything that's happened with the trade of Ilya Kovalchuk to the Devils, mostly because as I sit here writing this, I still can't believe he's on our team. I don't think there's any question this is the biggest trade in Devils history since acquiring Alexander Mogilny from Vancouver en route to the 2000 Stanley Cup. And aside from acquiring a high-end Russian talent, the two trades are similar in the sense that the 2009-10 version of the New Jersey Devils is one that Lou Lamoriello has officially put his confidence in to make a Cup run.

Alright, at this point we all know the details of the trade, but let's just recap them for posterity's sake. On February 4, the Devils acquired Kovalchuk and former Devil defenseman Anssi Salmela from Atlanta, in exchange for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier, and a 1st round draft pick in 2010. The teams also swapped 2010 2nd round picks.

Prior to the trade, much was made of the fact that Kovalchuk had rejected a number of lucrative offers from the Thrashers, including an absurd 12 year $101 million offer. Though the Devils have publicly stated they're not thinking about anything beyond this season, the question will come up at some point: who but Atlanta is going to offer him that kind of money? Certainly not the Devils...right?

So let's break this deal down. For the Devils, please add to your program lineups one of the top five hockey players in the world. We all know what a prolific goal scorer Kovalchuk is. The fact that we can couple his talents with a very well constructed hockey team makes the entire situation even better for player, team, and fans. Also returning to New Jersey after a year hiatus in Atlanta is Anssi Salmela. We know what he brings, notably a bomb of a point shot. Atlanta is getting a puck-moving defenseman with something to prove in Oduya, as well as a young sniper with a bright future in Bergfors. Cormier will add some depth to Atlanta's cupboard, as will whoever becomes their additional 1st round pick this June.

And in terms of the hit our team depth takes, the answer is not a whole lot. This may be the best offer Don Waddell got, but from a Devils' perspective, it's pretty much a steal. The departure of Oduya likely opens the door a little further for Tyler Eckford, who plays a similar game to Oduya, or possibly Matt Corrente. More importantly, the Devils maintain their wealth of promising forwards. It was rumored at different points that Nick Palmieri or Mattias Tedenby would be thrown into the deal rather than Cormier, but two of the more promising Devils forwards remain in the fold. Bottom line, what we gave up was marginal compared to the level of talent we acquired.

As I said before, a lot of the talk about this deal has been what led up to it, notably the gargantuan contracts Kovalchuk turned down before being traded, and the sense of discontent expressed by Waddell as he watched his franchise player reject unheard of deals and force Atlanta's hand. But maybe Kovalchuk really just wanted out of Atlanta, a team whose only playoff appearance in history resulted in a sweep...and from the Rangers no less! By asking for the league maximum 20% of a team's total salary, Kovalchuk created a win-win situation for himself; he'd either force Atlanta to deal him away, or become ridiculously rich.

As for his debut, I've never seen a player in our sweater with such unbelievable speed and puck handling abilities race up the ice like Kovy did. His passes were nearly perfect every time, and it seemed as if the rest of the team couldn't handle them. Kovalchuk finished the night with two assists, and the Devils' incredible come from behind win over Toronto made it a debut to remember.

Bottom line, even if this turns out to be a rental, it's well worth it. With a full and healthy lineup, I can't help but think we're as much a contender as anyone. Who knows whether Kovalchuk's contractual demands will change now that he is the property of a team he can really win with. That's a debate for another time, because right now with #17 on the roster, our championship chances look a lot better.