I realize that I haven't sounded off on the biggest trade of the NHL season, and seeing as there isn't a whole lot to talk about right now in terms of hockey (until the medal rounds, anyway), I think it's time to give my two cents on the trade. So, a couple of weeks ago, the Atlanta Thrashers traded their superstar player Ilya Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils along with another player for a draft pick, a couple of prospects, and a defenseman. Now, given what Atlanta got in return, I don't think it was the best deal for them, but then again, what exactly can you get for a 50 goal scorer that would be the equivalent of such? It was clear a few days prior to the trade that Atlanta wasn't going to be able to resign Kovalchuk and given that the Thrashers are not even close to being a perennial playoff team, Atlanta had to get whatever they could. The flipside of the deal is that now, who exactly are the fans in Atlanta going to pay their money to see? Without the superstar quality player, Atlanta is back to where they were when the first entered the league in 1999. There is also no guarantee that the prospects that they get in return are going to pan out (Remember the Marian Hossa trade in 2008?). So, in short, for Atlanta, it was either trade Kovalchuk now and get some bodies in return or lose him in free agency with nothing to show for it. As for the Devils, they really didn't have to give up a great deal to get him. The only real NHL ready player they gave up was Johnny Oduya, a defenseman who is likely a second pairing type, at best. The prospects given up were Niclas (sp?) Bergfors, the Devils' best prospect that didn't live up to expectations, and Patrice Cormier, who is currently serving a season-ending suspension in his junior league for some thrown elbows.
*On a side note, the Thrashers traded goalie Kari Lehtonen to the Dallas Stars, which makes sense for the Thrashers, since Lehtonen wasn't able to stay healthy, nor was he able to find consistency.
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