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Kovalchuk trade creates altered states

February 5, 2010 02:34 AM | Posted by   Elliotte Friedman  

As big as this day is for the New Jersey Devils, it is even bigger for Ilya Kovalchuk.

Hours before he was traded, I asked a former teammate about the Thrashers captain - or ex-captain, I guess. He said, "[Kovalchuk] is a good guy. Hangs out with the rest of the team, fits in. If you can handle the fact that all he cares about is scoring goals, you'll have no problem with him."

Until the day he was traded, no one really had too much of an issue. At the end, obviously, Don Waddell and the Thrashers felt an incredible sense of betrayal.

Led to believe Kovalchuk would stay, they lost leverage and knew they wouldn't be in position to make a great hockey deal. The organization made an almost unprecedented move, publishing an open letter to its fan base, detailing the offers Kovalchuk turned down. (One was worth $10 million US a year and another totalled $101 million US.) The only similar situation I can remember in the NHL was the painful divorce between Pat LaFontaine and the Buffalo Sabres. (In the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Carlos Boozer had a pretty ugly one a couple of years ago.)

I have stated on Twitter, in these blogs and on Hotstove that, ultimately, he would not stay due to the Thrashers' long-term instability. He didn't want to risk being locked in if the team moved where he didn't want to go. (For the record, Waddell disagreed with that theory on the conference call.) It is very, very difficult for a player to win this kind of public relations battle. Publishing those offers made Kovalchuk look bad. But by being traded to New Jersey, he's been handed an incredible opportunity to revive his image.

A few weeks ago, an NHL coach told me the biggest question about Kovalchuk was "fit." He's shown a willingness to shorten his shifts and play a more responsible game internationally. Now it's time to do it in North America, and I'm not talking about the Olympics. This is the best thing that could have happened to him. If he can deliver for the straight-laced Devils and Jacques Lemaire, his value skyrockets. He has a chance to be worth even more on the open market, even though I still don't think he's getting the max.

Two pieces of wisdom from my days covering baseball:

1) "It's so hard to win a championship. If you have a chance, you've got to go for it," Dan Duquette, former Red Sox GM.

Different sport, same rule.

It's been seven years since the Devils last won the Stanley Cup, way too long for a fiercely competitive Lou Lamoriello. Clearly, he sees this as an opportunity, deciding just this week to take a run at Kovalchuk. Washington's terrific, Pittsburgh's formidable, Ottawa's won 11 in a row but, with all the subtlety of a Brent Sutter death stare, Lamoriello just told the rest of the Eastern Conference: "I think we're better."

The other contenders will make their moves, but Lamoriello's got a great hand. Brodeur in goal, discipline all over the ice, two dynamic scorers in Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, a brilliant coach, Paul Martin and David Clarkson to return. The only question was Patrik Elias' health, but the new arrival covers for a worst-case scenario.

I can't wait for the playoffs to begin.

2) "With a great player, free agency starts the year before his contract ends," Gord Ash, former Blue Jays GM.

I've since learned that there is one exception to this rule. If you think you can win it all, you take a chance. (See Jay Feaster and Nikolai Khabibulin.) If you aren't a championship contender, you extend or abandon ship. No one's been hit harder than Waddell, burned now by both Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa.

The easy thing to do is rip him. But, if you look at the big picture, it's not that bad. This is a better deal than the Hossa one and it adds to a group of good, young players. Waddell's wisely given Rick Dudley wide decision-making powers and it will pay off. There is still one more solid trade chip – Kari Lehtonen.

The biggest question is: Will Atlanta care? This is a franchise with ownership issues and an unstable fan base. When you've only reached the playoffs once (a 4-0 wipeout), trading the greatest player in franchise history for four unknowns is a tough sell.

Despite Kovalchuk's contract distraction, the Thrashers begin a new era just three points out of the playoffs. But if they miss, is it a death blow? In a hockey city, you could sell this. In Atlanta, I'm not so sure.

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