Talented and expensive winger Ilya Kovalchuk is off to the Flyers' division rival New Jersey Devils. The Flyers had a shot at him.
What’s Lost
At one point or another both Claude Giroux and James vanRiemsdyk have been considered in the top 10 prospects in the entire NHL. Could you imagine the Flyers’ future without either of them?
It’s one thing to make claims that Jeff Carter is a lazy, streaky scoring forward. Though that is an incorrect assessment of what Carter brings to the Flyers’ organization, it is still an opinion that many here in Philadelphia have. Some would even give up Carter for high-end winger Ilya Kovalchuk.
Paul Holmgren though, thankfully, has other plans for Carter’s future.
If anyone here believed an acquisition of Kovalchuk was anything more than a move to pick up a talented rental for a playoff run, I suggest you give up on getting a player like him in Philadelphia long-term. It won’t happen. Since we know without question that the Flyers would not be looking to re-sign him long-term at anything over $6.50m a year even if Briere was included in the deal to bring him here, Kovalchuk was never someone the Flyers were looking to give up their most valuable assets for. Kovalchuk is the same player that rejected a 12-year, $101m contract ($8.42m per year) as well as a 7-year, $70m contract ($10.00m per year).
Even with some opinions about Carter here in Philadelphia, would you be willing to part with him, Giroux, or vanRiemsdyk for zero return?
The truth of the rumors was more like a package of Hartnell + Carle + decent prospect or Briere + Coburn + decent prospect was offered to Atlanta. When the Thrashers couldn’t walk away with Giroux or vanRiemsdyk, they turned to New Jersey. The Devils had cap space and could offer a good, young forward in Niclas Bergfors, a veteran defenseman in Johnny Oduya, and a troubled, but talented prospect in Patrice Cormier. Anssi Salmela, a young mediocre defenseman the Devils originally had, was sent back to NJ, and in the end, the Thrashers get the Devils’ first round pick while New Jersey trades their late 2nd rounder to move up to Atlanta’s position in the 2nd round.
It’s not worth getting too deep into. The Devils lost a bit of future to upgrade their offense for the playoff run. It doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable. On top of that, there are some questions as to whether or not Kovalchuk will mesh with Head Coach Lemaire’s system.
If you want to read more on the trade as well as the intricacies of Thrashers’ GM Don Waddell’s rush to move him you can read my article at TheHockeyWriters.com.
Our Next Move
The Flyers are not going after a goalie. In fact, the Flyers are going to start discussing an extension for Ray Emery after the trade deadline. Holmgren mentioned that no deal will be finalized until after the postseason. They want to see how Emery does in the playoffs. Don’t forget that he has already been to a Stanley Cup.
What we are in the hunt for is a cheap ninth winger to move Arron Asham out of the top nine. According to Holmgren the hunt is on for some complementary offensive players. While players like Cullen (CAR), Whitney (CAR), Ponikarovsky (TOR), and Stempniak (TOR) would be a little hefty salary-wise, the Flyers could make an attempt to clear up a tiny bit of room to acquire one of them. If not it’s possible that the team goes after a cheaper, less talented forward to fill in.
Other News
Minor Hockey Moments: James vanRiemsdyk
Our own rookie, James vanRiemsdyk, has been featured at Faceoff.com in a pretty good write-up. It’s worth a read.
Like many talented North American kids, van Riemsdyk played in the famous Quebec Peewee Tournament, but his defining minor hockey moment took place in “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” “My first ever game in travel hockey was at Madison Square Garden,” said van Riemsdyk. “I scored a goal it was really cool because I was a Rangers fan growing up and to play there was incredible.” As a kid he would spend his free time playing street hockey with his brother and some neighbours and if “I was in net I’d be Mike Richter and if I was out I’d be either Brian Leetch or Adam Greaves.” He also chose the numbers he wore based on his favourite players. “I wore the number 16 for most of my life for Brett Hull,” said the van Riemsdyk. “He was a cool guy, outgoing and had a sick shot. Eventually I played on a team where a guy already had 16 so I switched to 21 and did that for Peter Forsberg.”
Though street hockey is not a big part of his free time these days, van Riemsdyk still gets together with his buddies in the summers and not a lot has changed from the days of his youth. “My free time now is a lot different. You don’t really want to waste too much energy running around doing that extra stuff, but in the summers when I get home, I got the same group of buddies pretty much do the same type of stuff we did as kids.
We play a little soccer, a little whiffle ball,” said Van Riemsdyk. “A lot of my buddies are in school now and if I wasn’t in the NHL I’d probably be doing the same thing. Education was a top priority in my household and after hockey I’d love to still be involved in the business side of the game.”
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