Kovalchuk dealt to New Jersey in sad, expected ending
Here's Ilya Kovalchuk going against the Devils' Johnny Oduya. Just switch the uniforms now.
This is generally how these things end. A star goes one way. A large package of some undetermined substance and quality goes the other.
This isn’t a new practice with the Thrashers, just an evolving one. The names keep getting bigger. Dealing Ray Ferraro and Jiri Slegr in the early days came with limited blowback. They were late in their careers. But then another impending free agent, Donald Audette, couldn’t come to terms and was traded to Montreal for an obscure prospect named Kamil Piros. (Unfortunate early analysis from then-coach Curt Fraser: “The greatest player in Czechoslovakia.”). Then Marian Hossa wouldn’t re-sign and was dealt to Pittsburgh.
Now it’s Ilya Kovalchuk’s turn.
This isn’t just a trend any more. It’s a disturbing franchise trait, with no sign of change in sight.
Kovalchuk was traded Thursday night to New Jersey. His exit was predictable since last season, when the team struggled (again), failed to amend for past mistakes (again), failed to accurately gauge the market (again) and in the end was forced to desperately deal him for another questionable package of players and prospects. It’s a nice trade-up for Kovalchuk. He goes from a franchise that has never won a playoff game to one that has won three Stanley Cups, four conference championships and nine division titles since 1994-95.
Lou Lamoriello, the Devils’ general manager, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. Don Waddell? He has been the architect of disaster central in Atlanta since Day 1. Anybody want to venture how this one turns out?
“I don’t think it sets us back at all,” Waddell said after the deal. “I think it moves us forward.”
Yes. He really said that.
It’s another quantity-for-quality trade. That’s the way these things work. The Devils get Kovalchuk, Atlanta’s all-time leading scorer (328 goals, 615 points, in 594 games) and defenseman Anssi Salmela. The Thrashers get right wing Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, troubled prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick. The teams also will swap second-round draft picks.
Bergfors? A nice young player, hardly a star (27 points in 54 games). Oduya? A solid puck-moving defenseman. Cormier? A train wreck. He elbowed a player in the Quebec juniors, sending himto the hospital, and has been suspended for the season. The No. 1 pick? Maybe this one works out. And stays.
At least Waddell didn’t slam Kovalchuk going out the door. He was given a chance to say Kovalchuk only cares about money. Instead, he reiterated what Kovalchuk has been saying all along (the screams of short-sighted critics notwithstanding): “I think, Kovy right to the last day, wanted to be a Thrasher. But it’s a business decision.”
Waddell knew he would get slammed for this. Earlier Thursday, in hopes of swaying public opinion, he released a statement including some of the team’s contract offers to Kovalchuk. But the offers — $70 million over seven years ($10 million per year) and $101 million for 12 years ($8.42 average) — already had appeared in Wednesday’s Journal-Constitution. So his intended thunder was muted.
It never should have come to this. Kovalchuk is one of the NHL’s few elite players and has been since he entered the league in 2001. He’s on pace to score 40-plus goals for the sixth consecutive season. That’s a rare commodity in the NHL. But he has been frustrated by the team’s lack of success. The Thrashers have reached the postseason once. Attendance has declined. Concern over the club’s future fed into Kovalchuk’s desire to ask for the maximum salary allowed by the collective bargaining agreement: $11.3 million per season for 10 to 12 years. He asked for the only thing he felt he could control, and he had the leverage of unrestricted free agency. Unless he immediately signs an extension with the Devils, Kovalchuk will become the highest-profile unrestricted free agent in his prime in NHL history.
It’s another ugly ending. Two years ago, it was Hossa. He went to Pittsburgh, and the Thrashers celebrated the package they got back. But look at it now: Colby Armstrong (third-line winger, impending free agent), Erik Christensen (washed out), Angelo Esposito (flawed prospect) a No. 1 pick (Daultan Leveille, Michigan State).
Maybe this deal turns out better. But history tells us otherwise. Another star was just shipped out of town. This is where we came in.
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453 comments Add your comment
Brian
February 4th, 2010
8:55 pm
I AM SICK NOW I AM GLAD I MOVED TO DELRAY BEACH FL NOW I WONDER IF CENTER ICE GIVES REFUNDS. OH AND WHAT I WOULD GIVE TO SEE THE ASG HEADS ROLLIN DOWN THE HALLS OF PHILLIPS ARENA.
gcs
February 4th, 2010
8:55 pm
Why does the Atlanta Spirit hold onto these bums? Don Waddell and Hawks coach Mike Woodson are losers who have achieved nothing yet they stay employed.
.
david from boston
February 4th, 2010
8:56 pm
YOU must I repeat must go to the games. Look this deal stinks I know. You must go to the Phillips Area and hold signs up to get a New GM!
TJ
February 4th, 2010
8:56 pm
This deal was so bad that even Billy Knight wouldnt make it!!
bigdawg
February 4th, 2010
8:56 pm
Donnie W. Blows: Love that (Atlanta Spirit clown posse). Maybe it should be Absolutely Stupid Clown Posse!
Mr. Blank, the Thrashers (and its fans) need you!
Donnie W Blows
February 4th, 2010
8:56 pm
Jimbo – Cormier was recently suspended from Jr Hockey for the balance year for a deliberate head shot to an opposing player. Now if heo goes after Donnie W, props to him!!
Tom Lysiak
February 4th, 2010
8:56 pm
Will Lou make the first round pick for us??? Please???
angry
February 4th, 2010
8:57 pm
i just kicked my dog
boom boom still rules
February 4th, 2010
8:57 pm
Hey PMC, they left the Meadowlands last year for a new, hockey only rink downtown.
Tincup9
February 4th, 2010
8:57 pm
Now Kovy for Lou would have been good trade.
Joe
February 4th, 2010
8:58 pm
Hey Waddell….Do you happen to own a Ferrari? If so….you may want to consider trading it in for a Ford Pinto, Yugo, and broken down Chevy. That would be a better equivalent deal than you just executed. I’m a TRUE Thrasher fan, watch every game on TV, and go to as many games as i can. And this is called LOSING loyal fans. There’s no excitement or winning generated here. thanks
bigdawg
February 4th, 2010
8:58 pm
Tom Cousins and ASG: Killing hockey in Atlanta since Oct. 1972.
Reagan
February 4th, 2010
8:58 pm
Unbelievable!! I’m no GM (but hell neither is Waddles) I am now a Blackhawks fan to hell with the atlanta spirit. Maybe Kolvy will come back to Atlanta he loves it here and have you ever been to Newark? The armpit of the east coast! The one common factor in the Thrashers lack of success is Don Waddles please can him before it really is too late! PLEASE!!!
Bruin/Thrasher fan
February 4th, 2010
8:58 pm
Sad, the Thrashers get one decent forward with 27 points, a defensemen with 4 and a criminal in Cormier. Way to go Thrashers!
Hillbilly Deluxe
February 4th, 2010
9:00 pm
If Dandy Don Meredith were here, he might sing this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsTAUs_h_uY&feature=related
Donnie W Blows
February 4th, 2010
9:01 pm
Will it be the Quebec T’rasher of da National Ockey League, or will it be the Kansas City Scouts, a redux, or the Winnipeg Rubber Band Airplanes? Shood da puck, eh?
Tincup9
February 4th, 2010
9:01 pm
I wonder if they will make this into a “hockey way” video for TV timeouts.
dismantling your franchise – the HOCKEY WAY!
gategirl
February 4th, 2010
9:01 pm
Cormier handed out 2 elbows to the head in less than a month
PMC
February 4th, 2010
9:02 pm
boom boom – ah sorry. Apparently I am the Waddell of team Geography.
Pachoo
February 4th, 2010
9:02 pm
Waddell is an imbecile. The only way this trade works is if Kovalchuk signs back with us this winter.
Tincup9
February 4th, 2010
9:03 pm
or, they couldn’t agree to terms and played “risk it all” – i think we all know who got the smile face
Rogie
February 4th, 2010
9:03 pm
what an awful deal. More players with “potential.” These players aren’t going to replace his scoring or put any fear in the opposing defense. Who are the leaders in the locker room now? We are now, at best, a .500 team if everything goes our way. Forget the playoffs. It’s unbelievable that a team in playoff contention with a month before the trade deadline would become a “seller” and unload their biggest asset — a bonafide superstar. It’s heartbreaking for the loyal fans…
Going....Gone!
February 4th, 2010
9:03 pm
It’s easy to take a negative point of view with this trade. Let’s face it though, Kovy needed to be traded. He was offered allot, really he would not have been worth it. He lacks that “thing” that is needed to lead the team into the next tier of performance or the playoffs for that matter. It does irritate me to no end that Kovy was traded to an eastern conference team. They should have sent him out west. Time will only tell if this was a good thing or not. I just hope another one of the players steps up and LEADS the team the way it needs to be lead.
Missing Spirit
February 4th, 2010
9:03 pm
I guess I was holding out just thinking we were threatening this move to try to get a deal done and get Grossman to act….and I did not think any GM or owner could be this insane. The fact is no fans are going now and it is going to get worse. What a shame. This group is the worst ownership I have seen in all my life following sports.
Thrasher 1
February 4th, 2010
9:03 pm
That’s it… Just bring in the moving van and call it a day… Hockey is has the most energic fan base in Atlanta. It isn’t close… But you can only hold peoples interest for so long. This is a disaster… I’m done with the Thrashers until there is a change in management/ownership.
Donnie W Blows
February 4th, 2010
9:05 pm
Oh, by the way, Colby Armstrong will be gone before season end too. We will trade him for a bag of used (not new) pucks, a few jock straps and an NHL highlights DVD of (pick your team but not ATL) winning the Stanley Cup. Kidding aside, Colby ain’t going to re-sign so he will be gone. Too much grit and skill, gotta go, don’t need him.
Jimmy
February 4th, 2010
9:05 pm
Wadell has proven he cannot judge talent.
After Heatley and Kovy, he has done nothing but bumble and stumble.
He needs to go away.
mickyddawg
February 4th, 2010
9:06 pm
In this case, it’s two strikes and you’re out. Bumbling mismanagement has lost Atlanta’s second , and surely last chance, at an NHL team. Thanks, Atlanta Spirit and Don Wadell.
James Brown
February 4th, 2010
9:06 pm
Agree with GaVaHokie………He will not fit in Lou L`S system………won`t happen……………I like this guy Patrice Cormier…………..He wants to mix it up………..terrible trade…I thought we could get Boston`s #1 by way of Toronto…………………..this should get everybody fired………..time to start over
TheAntiMe
February 4th, 2010
9:06 pm
Another Atlanta NHL franchise shot down in Flames.
GaVaHokie
February 4th, 2010
9:08 pm
James Brown… believe me, if he could have gotten Toronto’s pick from Boston, Kovy would be a Bruin right now.
I’m sure this was the best offer on the table.
Not Blind
February 4th, 2010
9:08 pm
Next big NHL headline – NJ trades Kovalchuk for 5 elite NHL players, 10 draft picks and a pile of cash.
Donnie W Blows
February 4th, 2010
9:09 pm
Hey, while we are at it, let’s trade Pavs and the Moose and go wilth Kari Not-him-again in goal! If you are going to tank, then do it right.
BugKiller
February 4th, 2010
9:09 pm
I hate this.
I hate that this is making me sick to my stomach.
I vowed after yet another Braves face plant in the first round last decade that I would no longer allow pro sports to affect my life in such a way, the way I freely let UGA sports.
But this has cut my heart out with a spoon.
This frakking hurts.
I hate Don Waddell. I know hate is a strong word, but I hate him.
I hate Gearon and all of the other Dis-Spirit group. I hate them with every ounce of my soul.
I hate Gary Bettman for being a spineless, gutless worm in not stepping in and demand that these owners sell the team to an owner who will care for it and refuse to move it.
I hate Ted Turner, that greedy bastard socialist, who SHOULD have left his pro sports franchises out of his Time-Warner merger, but didn’t.
I hate that this is probably the final nail in the coffin of pro hockey in Atlanta.
I hate that I can never root for the Hamilton Thrashers, or whatever or where ever they’ll be.
I hate that my only hockey recourse is to go back to rooting for my dad’s favorite hockey team, a team I’ve grown to “hate” over the last ten years: the Rangers.
I frakking hate this.
Tincup9
February 4th, 2010
9:10 pm
http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=516294
at least don took the time to remember the fans – a letter from the man himself
Brian
February 4th, 2010
9:11 pm
I feel like the animal house clip when we give up a goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PMC
February 4th, 2010
9:11 pm
hey well the good news for this trade is that he’s got nothing left on the deal. If the market tanks, they might still get him back this summer if they want him or they can sell off everyone else of value fire Waddell, Bring in someone who hasn’t screwed up several “plans” already…find some competent hard hitting hockey players and make a run at it.
English Teacher
February 4th, 2010
9:12 pm
Salmela too? Ugh.
Chris
February 4th, 2010
9:12 pm
I’ll still go see the Kansas City Thrashers, er I mean…
Benson N Hedges
February 4th, 2010
9:12 pm
The Thrashers should refund tickets to every season ticket holder … believe in Blueland??? Believe in failure — it’s the Waddell way.
How does that man take a paycheck? He has singlehandledly f’d the Atlanta franchise since the first day they put the gas in the Zamboni. Don’t tell me the prospects are the future of the franchise. Not with that pinhead having anything to do with it. Waddell must go or the Thrashers must go.
d1reality
February 4th, 2010
9:13 pm
Very sad, but the ownership is not committed, and give a year, two, or three and the Thrashers will be gone.
I don’t blame Kovy, but it never should have come to this. Ownership should have been more aggressive setting up the team years ago to keep Kovy in the mix. They are a rinky dink bunch and don’t give a hoot about taking a risk to win. The Thrashers are just a balance sheet item waiting to be sold and moved.
I miss Ted Turner.
Robert
February 4th, 2010
9:13 pm
Bye-bye, Don.
jared
February 4th, 2010
9:13 pm
i think you all are crazy i think we got a great return. Remember that Enstrom is Swedish and likes being paired with Swedish players. Oduya is huge and is a stay at home defender, WE NEED A STAY AT HOME DEFENDER. We now have two great rookies on our team who now have something to prove to each other.
Big L
February 4th, 2010
9:13 pm
This is why noone cares about hockey in Georgia. Why should we give a damn when management doen’nt give a sh*t. Fans concistently get crapped on and they expect us to come back for more. Well to hell with that. Ownership can sod off!!!!!!!!!!
Sugarfoot
February 4th, 2010
9:14 pm
Go Knights! The last good hockey team Atlanta had. And also lost.
Rich from the Sports Buffet
February 4th, 2010
9:14 pm
Waddell Makes a Deal with the Devils
Tincup9
February 4th, 2010
9:15 pm
Don to a fellow GM:
Don: No one will make me a reasonable offer
GM: Look Don, some moron got taken a couple years ago trading away a pile of picks and players and their top defensive prospect only to get swept in round 1
Nobody wants to be that guy and make a bad trade for a rental
Philly Thrasher Fan
February 4th, 2010
9:16 pm
When Illy turned down $101 million over twelve years…..that let me know that he could care less about our franchise
Mark
February 4th, 2010
9:17 pm
How Don Waddell still has a job is beyond me.
Want My Floor Seats?
February 4th, 2010
9:18 pm
Saw somewhere that Cormier has been suspended for the rest of the season. Can this be true? How can one of the players you get in a trade not even be available to play for the rest of the season?!?
I’d say he might get some good fight along with Bolts and Thorburn……But apparently this guy doesn’t “fight”….He just tries to KILL other players.