Can Ilya Kovalchuk Bring Playoff Success?
The New Jersey Devils were able to retain superstar winger Ilya Kovalchuk on Tuesday. The Kovalchuk signing ends weeks of speculation as to whether or not the sniper would elect to return to the Devils next year, or try his luck with the Los Angeles Kings.
The signing will not do much to change the complexion of the Atlantic Division throughout the regular season, however, the Devils are hoping it will give them the skill to progress past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Atlantic Division
The Atlantic Division is already a very competitive division that promises to get even more competitive in 2010-11.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are always a highly competitive squad, with perhaps the best group of centre-men in the entire league, and arguably the league’s best player.
The talent level in the Atlantic was also raised with the recent run of the Philadelphia Flyers, finishing runner-up in the Stanley Cup final. The Flyers do not look to have gotten any worse, and have made a few additions that could make the team more successful next year. Many would also agree that last year the Flyers underachieved a great deal during the regular season, finishing in seventh.
With the addition of Kovalchuk, the Devils had added a great deal of offensive talent to a forward crop that can already put a lot of points on the board. The Atlantic is helped, however, by the poor line-ups in New York. Both the Islanders and the Rangers do not look poised to put up outstanding seasons, something that will be made even more difficult by a tough division.
Regular Season
The Devils have been a solid regular season squad since the mid-nineties, and next year should be no different. Last season, the Devils finished with 103 points, two more than the Penguins and good enough for second in the east. The addition of Kovalchuk gives the Devils even more scoring power. Kovalchuk led the team in scoring last season with 85 points, followed closely by Zach Parise, who notched 82. These two will once again be the focal points of the Devils offence.
New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello made several smart moves this off-season, bringing back big centre Jason Arnott, signing Henrik Tallinder, and stay-at-home defenceman Anton Volchenkov, and Kovalchuk. These pick-ups make for an even better Devils club to start the campaign in October. On paper, this team should contend with the top teams in the east, including the Washington Capitals and their division rivals in Philadelphia. One can expect the Devils to finish second in the east for the second straight season.
Playoffs
It is never easy to predict how teams with fare in the playoffs, especially in July. Nevertheless, the Devils have not been able to pull it together in the post-season since the return from the lockout in 2005-06.
The biggest problem they have faced in the playoff series has been goaltending. There is thought that Martin Brodeur may have lost his ability to come up in clutch in important games. The loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in game seven in 2008-09 was when questions first arose. The loss to the seventh seeded Flyers in last year’s first round, along with a very average Olympic performance, that saw him lose his starting spot to Roberto Luongo, cemented the fact that the 38 year-old net-minder is losing it. The good news for the Devils, however, was the play of Kovalchuk in the post-season last year, as they tallied six points in their five games.
The addition of Kovalchuk should help New Jersey continue its impressive regular season play, however, Lamoriello will have to wait and see if it pays off when it counts, in the playoffs.
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