Reality Glitch

Well shame on me for not getting something out sooner. When I was informed that superstar left wing Illya Kovalchuk became the latest edition of the New Jersey Devils, I was sitting in class watching a movie of all things and places to be at such a time…I nearly had a heart attack when I started reading the barrage of text messages and listening to the voice mails I received over the two hour, forty minute time period I was unable to access my phone. As a fan, the feeling that came with knowing you’ve just acquired one of the best players in the game is indescribable. I’ve been getting up every morning since, convinced the events that transpired that Thursday night were a mere fabrication created by my over reactive imagination in the midst of my nightly slumber. While I know it’s doesn’t guarantee a Stanley Cup, you have to admit this move makes the Devils a whole lot better and has silenced the part of me that has avidly criticized GM Lou Lamoriello over the past few years.

As a blogger, this deal and how Kovalchuk and the team have fared four games into his career with the Devils, leaves a lot to be said. First, let’s look at who the Devils sent the other way. In return for Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela (who, as you may already know, was dealt to Atlanta last year by New Jersey for defenseman Niclas Havelid), the Devils parted ways with defenseman Johnny Oduya, rookie right wing Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier (whose recent notoriety was a resulting outcome of his vicious elbow that earned him a suspension for the remainder of the 2009-2010 QMJHL season), and a first round pick in this year’s draft.

In Johnny Oduya, the Devils lose a proven top four defenseman that’s underachieved this year after tallying career numbers of seven goals and twenty-nine points last year. I think this deal will benefit Oduya because I think the struggles he’s endured this year resulted in his inability to adapt to Lemaire’s system. Hopefully, a change of scenery and playing in Atlanta’s system, where he’ll still maintain a top four role can revive Oduya’s offensive game. I was upset to see Niclas Bergfors go, but like Lou said, you sometimes have to give to get. Bergfors has been with the organization since 2005, and finally got the opportunity to prove himself with the big team. While he was in the midst of a sixteen game goal drought before being dealt and wasn’t necessarily near perfection, Bergfors showed a lot of promise, especially after scoring eight power play goals and remaining top five in rookie scoring throughout the season. He undoubtedly has the assets to become a consistent 25-30 goal scorer down the road and will benefit from playing a constant top six role around players just as or better than him for now. If used appropriately, he’s going to be a spectacle for Thrasher fans to watch as he develops. Despite his newly established reputation, Cormier has potential to be an effective center and is expected to make the Thrasher’s roster next season. I don’t remember who said it, and I won’t take credit for other people’s insights, but I agreed when I read or heard someone say Cormier entering the league on a team such as the Thrashers will put make the adjustment easier, especially with him carrying the reputation he has.

Now, a lot of critics of the trade and Devils say Lou cleared out his prospect pool for what many are calling a rental player. I’ve always been a believer that you should never put up an argument for or against something you know little or nothing about. Lou only dealt one player that’s currently an official prospect in Cormier, since Bergfors has been a roster player all year. This may be news to non-Devils fans, but the Devil’s prospect pool has risen quite nicely, and while it isn’t humming with the talent teams like the LA Kings or Washington Capitals may have, it shouldn’t have its barren reputation. With players like Mattias Tennedby, Jacob Josefson, Tyler Eckford, Matt Corrente, Nick Palmieri, and others, you can say their upcoming youth is promising yet unrealized and overlooked, a result of a treacherous, yet successful rebuild. Along with the likeliness the first round pick Atlanta received will be in the mid-late twenties, the organization’s current prospect depth should make it acceptable to go into this draft without it. Overall, I thought it was a fair trade for both sides. The Devils received one of the league’s top players that will help them in their indicatively declared cup run, while the Thrashers added a trio of young players that will strengthen their building core long term.

So with the deal out of the way, let’s look at how Kovalchuk affects this team. The Devils have undeniably improved, but one player can’t do it all. Kovalchuk solidifies their top six and adds a presence and element to New Jersey’s team and game they may have never experienced before. Kovalchuk was quoted saying he’s excited to be in New Jersey and feels this may be his first real opportunity to play for a team with a chance to make a deep cup run. When this team gets healthy, they’re going to be deep in skill and could arguably have the one of the best offensive lineups we’ve seen in some time. My readers ought to know I’m not one to speculate, but I can see the offensive lines looking like this when the team is 100%…
Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner
Kovalchuk-Elias-Zubrus
Clarkson-Niedermayer-Rolston
Pandolfo-Pelley-PL3/McAmmond
By the looks of it, Lemaire could potentially deploy three scoring lines, especially if he’s willing to sever the cord between the seeming need to have a checking third line and fourth line intended to play a relieving role when their trio of superiors are fatigued.

After acquiring Illya Kovalchuk last Thursday, the Devils have gone 1-2-1, over which Kovalchuk’s averaged about eight shots a game, twenty-three minutes of ice time, and has had only two assists, while going minus two. Despite only playing four games with his new team, this is certainly not the output the fans or Devils were hoping to see from Kovalchuk and while he hasn’t necessarily been lighting the lamp the way he’s reputed to, I wouldn’t show concern for what you might call his “sparing” productivity just yet. I could sit here and make the excuses the critics and non-Devils fans want me to say so they can say they don’t want to hear it such as how the Devils are in a slump and how it’s going to take time for Kovy to adjust to his new team, system, and team mates, but I’ll take a different approach.

From what I’ve seen over these past four games, it seems as if everyone on the ice with Kovalchuk seems to be more worried about setting him up or feeding him the puck too much, whose predictability has been exploited rather quickly. As a result, teams are now putting one, two players on Kovy at all times, who have especially focused on canceling his presence out on the power play, where he’s seen plenty of ice time with this Devils team…perhaps too much ice time on the power play and in general.

What makes me scratch my head is Lemaire’s handling of Kovalchuk thus far. As we all know, Lemaire had the pleasure of coaching Marian Gaborik for nine years, so you’d think Lemaire would know how to handle a superstar of Kovalchuk’s stature. With the ice time and roles Kovalchuk has maintained since his arrival in Jersey and how dependant his team mates have been when he’s on the ice, it contradicts Lamoriello’s statement when he first acquired Kovalchuk in how he would be a great addition to the TEAM. The way his team mates have been revolving around him as of late should make Kovy feel as if he’s back in Atlanta, where he was the No. 1 guy the rest of the team depended on and benefited from, which is a very uncharacteristic trait of the Devils team philosophy…then again, we should consider the fact how this is the first time a player of Kovalchuk’s caliber has played for the organization, which could take some getting used to for both parties (Kovalchuk and the team)…then again, that might be me making more excuses. I guess we’ll have to see how this pans out the rest of the season. My hopes are high in that the Olympic break can provide a momentum change for New Jersey, who can benefit from the two weeks off, recharge, refocus, and reestablish a connection with the sources that powered their winning ways we saw earlier this year.