It’s a great day for the New Jersey Devils and their fanbase with the signing of Ilya Kovalchuk. I thought for sure he would sign in Los Angeles and would make that team even more exciting to watch. However, it was clear to me from the get-go that there was some hesitance on the part of the Kings to make such a big commitment when they have such a great, young core that is building towards greatness (and will also be building newly-made mansions when they get their first big contracts).
Although it might seem silly to suggest that the Kings will be better off without Kovalchuk, I’ll bite the bullet. I’ve been given some weird looks and have been given a lot of flack for even suggesting it, but we’ve seen numerous examples where free agency seems like the quick-fix answer and it actually turns into more of a problem than a solution.
For one, not signing Kovalchuk allows L.A. to make a couple of lesser impact moves for this season without tying themselves up long-term. That way, they can be assured of signing as many of the big-names they have without any worries. Secondly, we’re talking about a team that made a huge jump last season in their regular season point total. I love looking at that more than just looking at what stage they ended their season.
The person who looks at stage will say the Kings in the last three seasons have gone: Missed playoffs, missed playoffs, out 1st round. Not too promising, but if you look inside the numbers like I do, you’ll see a team that finished with: 71 points, 79 points, 101 points. The 22-point jump has you a little more excited about the Kings without Kovalchuk, doesn’t it?
Some people will say that Kovalchuk did nothing for the Devils last season because he didn’t do anything to elevate them offensively, and thus elevate them to being a serious contender for the Eastern Conference title.
That argument is just not valid to me because he gave them exactly what they paid for in the trade. Looking at it strictly from his point production, Kovalchuk did just as much with the Devils as he did with the Thrashers. He had 58 points in 49 games for the Thrashers and 27 points in 27 games for the Devils in the regular season. He also produced 6 points in 5 games for New Jersey in their opening-round loss to the Flyers. His 6 points led the team in playoff scoring.
The loss in the opening round of the playoffs should not rest on his shoulders and really, with a team that was the number two seed in the Eastern Conference a year ago, the responsibility of being a Stanley Cup contender should not rest solely on Ilya Kovalchuk.
If I’m a Devils fan, I don’t concern myself with what Ilya will bring to the table. My question mark would be solely for Marty Brodeur...but you have a whole summer to stew over that. Celebrate for at least one day. :-)