Glad it’s over. Not too happy that tomorrow will be an ass-kickin’ but that game was probably a forgone conclusion with or without Kovy.

You have to think Dudley had a huge role in this. I do not think Waddell would ever have wanted Cormier in a deal. We need more guys with a mean streak.

I think the Swedish thing is interesting, do you think a Swedish player is more likely to stay in a non-traditional market than a Canadian or American? Might be part of a push to keep Enstrom in the fold down the road.

Great, I didn’t know one of the guys was on the giving end of the most talked about dirty plays in years, and years.

Geuss Colby will be shipped out soon.

Salmella going back to NJ with Kovy.

Thrashers make the playoffs and beat the Devils in the first round. Puts a smile on my face just thinking about it.

Bergfors – looks like a solid 20-30 goal a year guy.
Oduya – Yawn. elesias is overly optimistic in my opinion. Overpaid for what he can do. Watch the fun as his contract escalates!
Cormer – Meh. Fringe prospect. Marty Reasoner type player most likely with a bad attitude and dirty play. Got suspended for a dirty hit in the Q that all the loser fans will say was “clean”. It was NOT clean.
Two more picks for DW to throw in the trash on guys like Leveille.

As I write this there is an ad for Faceoff Fanatics that is showing all New Jersey Devils merchandise. Why must you mock us?!?!?!? I’m sad. :(

Cormier isn’t dirty because he did it once, he is dirty because he did it three times.

What’s the word on Kubina, Armstrong, and Afinogenov as UFAs? Is there any interest in re-signing them? Kubina has been exceptional in my opinion, why would we not look into resigning him? And if we could get Max for another cheap year of offensive production (although it seems a little slow at the moment) would that not be worth it? Armstrong hasn’t had the best year, but he seems to bring a good emotional and motivating capacity to the team…

Oh boy….that was bad enough the first time around.

Who could afford the 11.2 million price tag for his new contract next year?

he already likes to play in the neutral zone.

Unfortunately, it is when the but is in our defensive zone.

I’m missing the link to the conversation at 10…where is it?

I thought this trade was questionable BEFORE I knew that DonnyWad swapped 2nd picks AND gave up Salmela :-(

Consensus from everyone, even in Canada – DW got ripped off.

Whatever Kovy’s ultimate plan is, please do note one thing. 12 years at the max was NOT his price to play in the NHL. It was his price to stay and play in ATLANTA. BIG DIFFERENCE. So do not be surprised if he signs with another team for less than the final 12 year 8.4 million a season offer he got here. Or he may go to the KHL for 15 million a year.

I have been one of Kovy’s biggest supporters here, but I never said that I would pay him the max for 12 years and I don’t blame the owners for not wanting to either. I’m actually OK with that. But damn, DW got taken. He has to go.

We got nothing for Kovy. Nothing.

I am in shock with this trade even though we all knew it was coming. I cannot believe the Devils. I cannot believe we did not get ONE single player we can get excited about in return. My expectations were so much higher. What is interesting to think is this must have been the best offer Waddell had. At this point, hopefully it will be a fire sale at the trade deadline for us and we can get some better players and picks. Might as well be a complete overhaul and might as well do it all at once. Kubina, Kozlov, Armstrong and Afingenov. They should be coveted by teams in the playoff chase.

Having slept on this trade for a night, I’m not happy with it at all. I was ok with it last night, but now….. I would have preferred to have received fewer bodies in return but more solid players. It seems the Thrashers have received a 2rd-3rd line forward, a 2nd line d-man, a 3rd-4th line prospect, and low 1st round draft pick. Would it have not been more beneficial to receive a solid 2nd line forward and prospect in exchange for only Kovy? I just think “less is more” would have applied here.

Time to buy a Kane Jersey!

I’ll probably wait a couple years for everybody’s future Favorite Player, Carl Klingberg.

Falconer and I are in 100% agreement about this kid.

Just wanted to start by saying I love the blog. I’ve been following religiously the last couple seasons and find the rational, well written analysis a pleasant change from most sports blogs.

As for the trade, I recall a series of articles from the Falconer leading up to free agency last summer that identified Oduya as one of the top potential defensive free agents. Excellent plus/minus with puck handling skills that should fit well in Anderson’s system. I realize Oduya is having a poor year, but he was being touted as a top-2 defenseman.

I’ve noticed a good deal of mixed reaction to Bergfors based on his potential ceiling on the second line. Again, the Falconer wrote an excellent piece comparing the positives and negatives of a 30-goal scorer who is a plus player with Kovalchuk. While Bergfors obviously isn’t a 30-goal scorer (he is a rookie after all), the Falconer’s expectation of 50-60 points probably puts him in the 25-30 goals range.

The one thing that concerns me about the trade, as I don’t believe there was any option left except to trade Kovalchuk as a rental player, is the inclusion of Salmela. It provides a number of benefits to the Thrashers as we can now give Potsma, Kulda and Lewis an opportunity in the 7th slot. It also makes it clear that Boris will be given more time to develop. It hasn’t been discussed much, but his play has dramatically improved since injuring his ankle. The negative, from my perspective, is that this is the 3rd trade where the Thrashers have included a “spare part” to help complete the deal. With the Hossa trade we included Dupuis and with the Kubina deal we included Stuart. While Stuart was immediately shipped off again and hasn’t had an impact for Calgary, Dupuis has been a staple for the Penguins. Salmela appeared to understand our defense and was a capable 3rd liner. I felt that Stuart was a capable 4th liner and Dupuis a capable 3rd/4th liner. My concern is that we’re including in these trades the types of players that can become long-term consistent performers that define the team. While everyone is focused on the big stars, at the end of the day, it seems to be that quality depth makes for playoff contenders (see Nashville Predators).

One last comment/question, since some earlier discussion of concern about Little drastically falling from his 30-goal total last year, are there any thoughts out there on him regaining his scoring touch/becoming the Thrashers 30-goalscoring plus RW?

Sorry for the length of the rant.

The more I think about this trade, the more I do not feel good about it. I guess I feel like we basically got the Devil’s castoffs.

Oduya has been a huge disappointment this year after signing a contract this past offseason. Describing him as a top 2 defenseman is a big stretch. I think Lou Lamoriello regrets his contract, is more interested in resigning Paul Martin and gladly gave him up.

They are saying Patrice Cormier is a 3rd line player in the NHL. He has some upside and plays with grit. However, his past problems have made him a headache for the Devil’s organization and I am sure they were more than happy to get rid of him.

Bergfors appears to be the best player in this deal and probably someone the Devils would have preferred to keep. He is a RFA after this season and he is smallish forward though which the Thrashers have plenty of.

I agree with dj4aces in the fact I do not have a problem sending Salmela to the Devils. However, swapping 2nd round picks takes some away from getting the Devil’s first round pick which will be a late one.

Anyone who thinks this team now without Kovy can compete for a playoff spot is being overly optimistic. This team has lacked consistency all season long and cannot win home games. The players we got in this trade are not going to make up for Kovalchuk, not even close.

As much as I am not happy with this trade, I do believe DW did not get “taken” and this was in fact his best offer. I do not believe any of the teams were willing to give up alot for a rental player. I just hope we are fact sellers at the trade deadline and next season will be a new team and there will be reasons to root for them.