People often say regarding trade rumors that where there’s smoke, there’s often a roaring fire. If that’s the case, there ought to be plumes of smoke rising from the hockey hotbed of Atlanta this week as Ilya Kovalchuk readies for the walk year of his five-year contract with the Thrashers.
Kovalchuk’s agent Jay Grossman and Atlanta general manager Don Waddell are actively discussing a potential contract extension for the player who is the NHL’s leading scorer since the beginning of the 2001 season, but it wouldn’t be shocking if the Russian takes a wait-and-see approach before signing on the dotted line.
If the 26-year-old rugged scoring machine isn’t locked up by the Thrashers, then pay close attention to the Bruins' interest level throughout the season after they stockpiled draft picks in the Phil Kessel deal. B’s GM Peter Chiarelli now has eight coveted picks in the first two rounds of the next two drafts, and he owns five of the first 60 picks in next summer's well-stocked draft rife with blue-chip talent.
Provided Kovalchuk doesn’t sign an extension tacking on to his current five-year, $32 million deal — with a cap hit of $6.4 million that would be pro-rated by the time of the March trade deadline — the Atlanta forward becomes the big fish available at the deadline.
The cadre of draft picks and collection of young talent the Bruins have compiled over the last two years bestows the Black and Gold with the biggest, baddest fishing rod to haul in that particular prize. It’s a similar situation to that of the Pittsburgh Penguins two years ago, when they hauled in Marian Hossa from the very same Thrashers team en route to a Stanley Cup finals run. Kovalchuk could become this year’s version of Hossa.
Obviously, it will take more than draft picks to nab the ultimate rental player, and the B’s will have to “give until it hurts” in any deal to acquire the Atlanta sniper. It will be similar to the 2007-08 treasure trove given up by the Penguins.
For those with flickering memories, the Thrashers surrendered Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Pens for a trio of young forwards — Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and Angelo Esposito — along with a first-round pick.
For the Bruins, names such as Zach Hamill, Joe Colborne and Jordan Caron — along with a veteran or two to make the salary cap numbers work — would likely be in the mix along with first-round picks, but that’s the kind of “over the top” deal that even Sylvester Stallone would be proud of.
The Thrashers waited until two minutes prior to the deadline to pull the trigger with a handful of teams in the running for Hossa two years ago, and a potential Kovalchuk fire sale would generate the same kind of frenzied interest.
The Bruins obviously aren’t going to comment on a player under contract with another team as the season opens up, and it could be that the B’s are so good enough offensively that there’s not even a need for Kovalchuk’s services. But the Boston front office also knows that Kovalchuk is the kind of intimidating scorer who does everything Phil Kessel never did during his three years in Boston, and he plays with fearless, physical zeal to go along with his ungodly hockey skills. Kovalchuk has a deadly shot and rare skating speed, plays with a high level of competitiveness and isn’t above scrapping on the ice when he’s been wronged by an opponent. And that’s the kind of player the Boston front office salivates over.
Kovalchuk enjoyed his best season in Atlanta during the winter of 2005-06 when he had playmaking center Marc Savard serving as his trigger man, and that would be another major selling point. Kovalchuk had a career-high 98 points, pushed in 27 power-play goals (topping 20 for the only time in his career) and potted 52 goals riding shotgun with Savard.
Perhaps Kovalchuk would even enjoy Boston so much during a potential run to the Cup that he’d decide to stay in a city that’s regaining its hockey craziness, and Peter Chiarelli would have a new problem attempting to fit the Russian sniper in under the cap along with Boston’s up-and-coming stars set to get paid.
But that’s an issue for another day.
With the trade of Kessel to Toronto for draft picks, the B’s have put themselves in a position to be the rainmaker at the NHL trade deadline, and this is the year that Chiarelli needs to be aggressive if Boston truly is going to make run at the Cup. Mark Recchi and Steve Montador weren’t enough for the Bruins during last year’s playoffs, and the B’s GM needs to be bold with a limited window of opportunity for this set of players.
That means the Bruins need to bag a desired target at the trade deadline, and dreams of Kovalchuk are already spinning in the heads of Bostonians. There’s plenty of smoke and fire already attached to this one, and there will only be more if Kovalchuk starts the season without a shiny new megadeal in Atlanta.
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