With details of the Kovalchuk trade to New Jersey becoming clearer and the initial fervor dying down, SB Nation’s blogs have posted their initial reactions to the biggest trade of the 2010 season.
SB Nation Reacts To Kovalchuk Trade
The New Jersey Devils won the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes, but the return seems to be smaller than what most people expected, especially when the scuttlebutt had a bidding war that would eclipse the Marian Hossa deal (if you recall, that trade included hard working Colby Armstrong, hit-and-miss Erik Christensen, former first founder Angelo Esposito before he blew out his knee, and a 1st round pick).
In this case, the Devils gave up Johnny Oduya -- a reliable defenseman who could munch 18-20 minutes a night but would never be a 40-point guy -- along with rookie Niclas Bergfors, who is having a good, though not spectacular, campaign, prospect Patrice Cormier, and a first round pick..
The a key component to the deal, outside of the 1st-rounder pick, is Patrice Cormier. Even if you don't know prospects, you've probably heard of Cormier as he was involved with an elbow play that led him to a season-long suspension. Outside of that, Cormier was captain of the 2010 Canadian World Junior squad. Gritty and physical, Cormier isn't the most gifted when it comes to his hands, but he can still put the puck in the net.
Devil’s blog In Lou We Trust is a bit giddy:
Oh, man, oh man, oh man oh man. Combined with the fact that Gulitti reported that Patrik Elias was back practicing (no, he won't play tomorrow, according to Lemaire), I'm getting all kinds of crazy ideas on how to use Kovalchuk. Do you pair him on the right side with Parise and Zajac? Do you keep him on the left side and rock Elias at center and Rolston on the other wing? Does the power play now go to five forwards?
Basically, the Devils just traded a talented defenseman who has been underperforming after signing his big contract with the team in the past summer (Oduya), a rookie forward who has hit the wall in the worst way and hasn't been able to get back on track in over a month (Bergfors), a prospect center who's been suspended for elbowing a player in the face and had upside of a two-way center to begin with (Cormier), and a first round pick that will be late anyway. All this for one of the best pure snipers in hockey.
Finally, Bird Watcher's Anonymous looks at the effect of the trade on the Thrashers:
Adding Oduya at defense suggests to me that Kubina will not be re-signed. Thrashers top four next year would be Enstrom-Oduya, Bogosian and Hainsey. Departure of Salmela opens a roster spot for Arturs Kulda who leads the entire AHL in plus/minus. Valabik and Kulda as the 3rd pairing. (Schubert and Popovic are UFA)
Waddell said he expects Cormier to compete for a NHL job next year. Both Slater and Boulton are UFA this summer, perhaps some turnover there.
The departure of UFA Kubina,Afinogenov, Armstrong and Kozlov means that $14 million comes off the books in cap space. The Oduya + Bergfors combo will probably makes $2 million less than Kovy+Salmela. So the Thrashers will have $16 million in cap dollars freed up. The UFA market is rather weak, but Chicago Blackhawks will need to clear $9 million of their books just to squeeze under the cap so there will be some salaries moved via trade.
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