NHL Decisions in Hindsight: Kovalchuk A Devil

May 3rd, 2010 by Kyle W. Brown Leave a reply »
Let me preface this by saying that I am a huge Ilya Kovalchuk fan, but I will try to remain as neutral as I can in this article.

Most hockey fans knew that Kovalchuk wanted to win a Stanley Cup, and few believed that he would begin the 2010-11 season in a Thrashers uniform.

Regardless, Atlanta GM Don Waddell repeatedly tried to ink the Russian superstar, finally offering him a deal worth $101 million over 12 years, and $70 million for seven years. After Kovalchuk declined, Waddell sought to put him on the move.

Interest was high for the three-time All-Star and 2004 Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy champion. It was unclear, however, where he would go.

Early rumours indicated many different teams were interested in Kovalchuk, but as the deadline got closer and closer, it appeared just three teams were in the running: the Philadelphia Flyers, the New Jersey Devils, and the Los Angeles Kings.

On February 4th, Waddell finally struck up a deal with the Devils which sent Kovy (along with a prospect and a draft pick) to New Jersey in return for defenseman Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, and two draft picks.< ...

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