Although the Devils’ acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk from Atlanta came nearly four weeks before the March 3 trading cutoff, the upcoming two-week Olympic break effectively meant it could be considered even more of a “deadline” deal.
It was a steal for the Devils, if . . . and these are big “ifs”:
a) Devils coach Jacques Lemaire is open-minded enough to take advantage of Kovalchuk’s breathtaking talent (see the Marian Gaborik “Spotlight” item that follows); and,
b) Kovalchuk ends up signing with the Devils as an unrestricted free agent during the offseason.
To get Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela, the Devils gave up forward Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, 2008 draft choice Patrice Cormier and a 2010 first-round draft choice. Cormier, by the way, recently was suspended indefinitely by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for a cheap- shot elbow to Quebec Remparts defenseman Mikael Tam, who lost consciousness, went into convulsions and suffered a concussion.
That’s a stiff price for a rental.
It’s a great deal if he re-signs.
Yes, Kovalchuk’s camp rejected a 12-year, $101 million extension from the Thrashers, and some are arguing that is evidence he will be making ridiculous demands for a new deal in the offseason, both from the Devils before July 1 and then potentially on the open market after that.
That might be true. But it seems to me that the primary meaning is that Kovalchuk didn’t want to return to Atlanta, and that as much as he likes playing in a relatively low- key environment, losing isn’t a lot of fun, either.
The Devils have the second-highest point total in the Eastern Conference, and you have to give Lemaire — among others, including general manager Lou Lamoriello and goalie Martin Brodeur — considerable credit for that. The Devils are the best in the league at retooling on the fly. They also were averaging barely two goals a game, and Zach Parise was the only Devil with more than 16 goals, with 25.
As the Devils look ahead to possible playoff collisions with the Capitals or Penguins, Kovalchuk’s presence adds to the possibility of actually winning a key game 4-3 . . . or even 1-0 on the nights Brodeur stands on his head and the Devils play a strong defensive game.
The Devils haven’t thrown around money in the past. But the Prudential Center is a terrific new building within a block of Newark’s downtown train station, and the chance to show up the Rangers — again — on several levels is a motivating factor. I’m assuming Kovalchuk will end up staying with the Devils . . . unless he decides that playing for Lemaire isn’t much fun, either, regardless of the numbers in a contract.
Other dealing.
With Calgary struggling, the Flames’ trade of defenseman Dion Phaneuf to Toronto last week on the surface seemed a sign of desperation. The seven-player deal also sent winger Fredrik Sjostrom and defenseman Keith Aulie to the Maple Leafs. The Flames obtained forwards Jamal Mayers, Nik- las Hagman and Matt Stajan, plus defenseman Ian White.
Yet as aggravating as Phaneuf can be for opponents, the veteran defenseman also can be a divisive force on his own roster. The Flames were disintegrating, and GM Darryl Sutter had to do something.
The Flames and Avalanche play twice more this season, both times in Denver. Those games, involving potential four-point swings, could go a long way toward determining if either team makes the postseason.
Toronto GM Brian Burke’s separate acquisition of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere from Anaheim for well-traveled center Jason Blake and goalie Vesa Toskala was a demonstration of Burke’s faith that Giguere can be elite in the net again — as he was for Burke and Anaheim’s 2007 Stanley Cup champions. The Ducks’ recent signing of Jonas Hiller to an extension amounted to a long-term choice of the Swiss goalie over Giguere, so the deal made sense for both sides.
Quickly.
I’m on record that a case could have been made for the inclusion of Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson on the U.S. Olympic team. He wasn’t picked, and the involvement of Los Angeles GM Dean Lombardi in the selection process probably was the tiebreaker in the choice of the Kings’ Jonathan Quick as the unofficial No. 3 goalie, behind Buffalo’s Ryan Miller and Boston’s Tim Thomas. But to be fair, Quick was the unlikely NHL leader in wins going into the weekend, with 33, one ahead of Brodeur and two ahead of San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov. Anderson’s goals-against and save percentage were better, but not to a major degree.
SPOTLIGHT ON
Rangers winger Marian Gaborik
When Gaborik was with the Minnesota Wild, I talked with him several times for columns and stories, and usually got around to asking something along the lines of whether he wondered what he could accomplish offensively if he wasn’t trapped within the constraints of coach Jacques Lemaire’s system.
For example, here’s what he told me in November 2007: “Overall, I think we’ve been improving as a team since we started in 2000, and no doubt, it’s because of his system. Sometimes, you want to play a looser game, but that way we might not win consistently. We have a better chance to do that this way than in the run-and-gun.”
Gaborik’s top total in eight seasons with the Wild was 42 goals, although it should be noted that he missed a considerable number of games with hip and groin injuries.
Lemaire stepped down in the offseason and eventually returned to the Devils, and Gaborik signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract with the New York Rangers as an unrestricted free agent. If there’s an irony, it’s that they ended up back in the same division, a brief train ride apart.
As we saw in Denver on Jan. 28, though, when the Wild let the air out of the puck in a 1-0 victory over the Avalanche, Minnesota hasn’t opened up its game much — if at all — under new coach Todd Richards.
And then last Sunday, Gaborik came through with the Rangers and had a hat trick in a 3-1 win at the Pepsi Center. Going into this weekend, he had 34 goals, the fourth-highest total in the league, behind only Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Marleau and Sidney Crosby.
After that game in Denver, I took another crack at Gaborik, asking him twice if this season was demonstrating what he could accomplish if allowed to play. Whether intentionally or otherwise, he didn’t address the issue. He first talked about team goals, and then only about his contributions of late with the Rangers.
If I were a Minnesota season-ticket holder, though, I’d feel even stronger now that I wasn’t allowed to get my money’s worth in the first eight seasons of the franchise.
