Kovalchuk was the biggest unrestricted free agent on the market this summer, and was heavily courted by several teams before the Kings and the Devils took center stage. Kovalchuk finished the 2009-10 season with the Devils after arriving in a blockbuster deal just prior to the Winter Olympics.
Kovalchuk, who has scored 40 or more goals in each of the past six seasons, was obtained in a bold move by Lamoriello, who believed his team had a solid shot at the Stanley Cup after a season that ended with the club winning another Atlantic Division title and finishing No. 2 in the Eastern Conference.
Kovalchuk had 27 points in 27 games with the Devils after his arrival to give him 41 goals and 85 points for the season. New Jersey sent rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrice Cormier and a 2010 first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Kovalchuk.
But the Devils struggled to get started in the postseason and were bounced in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers, who marched all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Chicago. Kovalchuk had 6 points in that five-game ouster.
No details of the contract were announced, but if Kovalchuk makes more than $3.5 million annually -- which seems very likely considering he made $7.5 last season -- New Jersey will have to make additional moves to get under the $59.4 million salary cap before the start of the season. Teams can go as high as 10 percent over the cap until the start of the regular season.
Kovalchuk was the first selection of the 2001 Entry Draft by Atlanta and had played his entire career with the Thrashers before the trade.
In 594 games with the Thrashers from 2002-10, Kovalchuk scored 328 goals and had 287 assists (615 points). More than a third of his goals came on the power play (115). But in Atlanta he played in only four playoff games and lost all of them to the New York Rangers in 2007, managing only 1 goal and 1 assist.
Kovalchuk shared the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2004 (41 goals) with Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla. He set a Thrashers franchise record with 52 goals in 2005-06 and matched it in 2007-08 |
发表于 2008-7-16 10:54 AM
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