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When word leaked out that the Blues were the Western Conference team who remained in the mix until the bitter end for Ilya Kovalchuk, I was pleasantly shocked. I never would have thought that the Blues’ front office, headed up by John Davidson, would have even remotely entertained the idea of ponying up assets for a rental.
Luckily, they weren’t. Waddell made it very clear that he would not open up talks with Jay Grossman, Kovalchuk’s agent, to extend a contract to his client. The Blues balked at the idea of giving away prime pieces of their rebuilding puzzle for someone who would be with their club for a month, and who has proven in the past that he cannot lead a team to the playoffs by himself. Waddell wanted a top six forward, a top 4 defenseman, a prospect, and a pick for one month of Kovalchuk, and according to Mike Millbury that top six forward was TJ Oshie.
That gasp you heard was the sound of every girl over the age of 12 in St. Louis, and every hockey loving guy. Oshie brings a tremendous amount to the Blues, and it’s not entirely in the form of scoring. He plays with energy and abandon every night – he’s a veritable pinball out there… and exactly who Waddell would have loved to have gotten. The Thrashers are sorely lacking on gritty scorers, and Oshie has proven himself to be both. This season the Blues have had offensive issues, so Oshie’s +/- isn’t as good as it was last season, but overall he’s a +11 and has shown himself defensively responsible. Again, something that Waddell needs so much on the Thrashers.
But do the Blues need Kovalchuk? No. Yes, the team needs a high profile scorer if Brad Boyes doesn’t start producing, and yes, Paul Kariya is not that man. But other than a rocket shot, what does Kovy bring to the table? There’re already rumblings coming from Jersey fans that he’s overstaying shifts on the ice and taking away time from other people – that they can’t properly roll lines. He floats, and he never joins in the action. Yes, people might say that’s shades of Hull, but I don’t remember seeing Hull purposefully skate away from the puck in his own zone to give it to an opposing player, as Kovalchuk has done multiple games this year for the Thrashers. His defensive play has been so atrocious that the past couple of months he has been heckled and jeered from the stands in Philips Arena, and last Tuesday night (his final game with the Thrashers), he was practically booed off of the ice.
He’s an atrocious liability, and with the loss of Roman Polak – who Waddell probably would have asked for as the defenseman – goals against would probably go up. For every thrilling breakaway or solid one-timer he’s had this season, he’s had two instances of absolutely irresponsible play leading to a goal. Kovalchuk has 31 goals and 29 assists for 60 points so far on the season (far beneath some of his other, faster paces), and is just a +1. Lifetime he’s a −84. I don’t care if that was for the Thrashers. Compare his +/- to former teammate Marion Hossa’s. In the 2005-2006 season, Kovalchuk was a −2, Hossa was a +17. The following season Kovalchuk was a −12, and Hossa was a +18. I’m sorry, but you can see who the more complete player is.
What GM would want to give up important pieces of their team’s future for a one month rental who skates to the beat of his own drum? Losing Oshie, Polak, (presumably) Eller, and our first round pick for Ilya Kovalchuk would have done nothing but set the franchise back. The Thrashers are playing more uptempo, team oriented hockey in the two games since Kovalchuk was traded – it’s not the Kovy Show anymore. The Blues have always been team oriented because of the significant lack of a superstar player, and have probably played better for it. Yes, Kovalchuk would be a scoring threat the likes of which we haven’t seen since Brett Hull. But what good is that when we’re out three players that many presume to be pieces of the puzzle (sorry) for quite some time in the future? We could have had the scoring punch of Kovalchuk, but at what cost?
Apparently for John Davidson and crew, too high of one.
Original link to the photographs was posted on the Atlanta Thrashers Message Boards. They are non copyrighted and free for non-commercial use.
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The Kovalchuk situation vis-a-vis St Louis was simple, had they been able to negotiate an extension with him then the deal would be worth it. Of course, that would have been unlikely if it were not precluded by Waddell.
Waddell limited Kovalchuk’s value to that of a mid-season rental and that would have been a pointless acquisition for the Blues at almost any cost, let alone a player as talented as Oshie. Kovalchuk had to go to a serious contender for the deal to work for any party involved.
“For every thrilling breakaway or solid one-timer he’s had this season, he’s had two instances of absolutely irresponsible play leading to a goal.”
Reminds me of bobby sanguinetti on defense. Watch out for him if he ever sticks with the rangers… Scored quite a bit with the Owen Sound Attack, but seemed to forget he was a d-man. Absolutely brutal.