Everyone knows that Ilya Kovalchuk was the biggest name coming into the deadline but many expected him to be traded after the Olympic Break. So it was a shock to a lot of us when Don Waddell, general manager of the Atlanta Thrashers told Kovalchuk he would be traded, and then yesterday, sent him packing to the New Jersey Devils along with defensemen Anssi Salmela in exchange for defensemen Johnny Oduya, forwards Nicklas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier along with a 1st round pick. The teams also have swapped second round picks at this years draft.
Something that shocked a few Blues fans is that John Davidson, Blues president let it known today that the Blues were aggressively active at trying to acquire Kovalchuk but stating that the Thrashers were asking for one or two pieces that he didn’t feel comfortable in moving for a rental player. The fact that the Blues were not allowed to negotiate at all with Ilya’s agent, it made it harder to send key pieces to Atlanta knowing that Kovalchuk could be gone on July 1st.
But now, looking at up coming free agents, who could be left for the Blues to look at either at the trade deadline, or the off-season? I’ll list my top five ‘wants’ for the Blues this offseason.
Ilya Kovalchuk tops my list of "wants" this year for the Blues.
1. Ilya Kovalchuk – This is obvious on if the Devils and Kovalchuk cannot work out a deal, which is unlikely looking at New Jerseys cap room. They would have to move a lot of salary, meaning Brian Rolston and Dainius Zubrus would have to go. With Rolston having a NTC, its unlikely that event occurs. With what Kovalchuk could be asking, there is a fine line of signing him to an acceptable deal, or overpaying. If Ilya continues to ask for league maximum ($11.3 million), I would have to say pass. I understand he is a superstar and that he is going to command big money, but he isn’t the best player in this league and he shouldn’t be paid more than three million dollars more than the best players either. For a contract for Ilya, inking him to a deal that is upwards of eight or more years would be likely as he’ll want some comfort in not having to worry about a shorter contract. I would go no higher than $9.5 million in a year for Kovalchuk. Locking up that much money in one player could be a strain on other players, but when you have a franchise talent such as Ilya, its worth every penny.
2. Rene Bourque – Rene is an interesting option to go after because he brings one thing the Blues need desperately, goal scoring. He’s not going to wow you like Kovalchuk and put up 40 goals a year, but you can expect a good 20 out of him for a rather cheap price. Bourque could land a deal with some cash, but I wouldn’t expect to see him sign for anymore than $3.5 million a year and even that would be more than doubling his current contract. If the Blues could hammer out a deal at the deadline to get Bourque in a Blues jersey, I don’t think signing him to a contract extension would be to hard, and it would be a smart idea as well. You could save money on a cheap deal with Rene and still have money available to push for a top end goaltender or more scoring as well.
3. Pekka Rinne – This is going to be a fun situation to follow in Nashville to begin with, and depending on who gets a new deal, Pekka Rinne, Nashville’s star goaltender could become available. Rinne is a soon to be unrestricted free agent and could command a good chunk of change and he’d be worth it. Rinne is a big boy, 6’5″, 207lbs and takes up a lot of the net. He’s got super fast reflexes and has the ability to make the sprawling save if need be. He’s been in the Predators organization since the 2005-2006 season and has turned out to be a nice diamond in the rough, after being selected in the 8th round of the 2004 NHL entry draft.
Rinne would be a huge addition to the Blues goaltending pool.
He’s got a very strong record in his NHL career with Nashville, carrying a 50-26-10 record. Getting a point in 60 of 87 games is an incredible number for a second year goalie. His .912 save-percentage and a 2.52 goals-against-average will make Rinne a highly sought after goaltender this coming off-season and with the Blues inability to truly bring up a goalie in their system, Rinne ranks high on my list of wants this year, and deservedly so, he’s a great young goalie.
4. Jaroslav Halak/Carey Price – Needless to say, one of these goalies are likely on the move. The two young netminders are both battling for a starting position and there are reason’s that either could be moved. They both want to start. This has to be the biggest, and one of the main reason’s they make my list. Carey Price is Montreal’s pride and joy. They expected great things out of him, especially after Bob Gainey dealt veteran goalie Christobal Huet at the trade deadline a few season’s ago and giving Price the full time job and Halak the back up job. But now it proves to be that Halak has been the better goalie of the two this year. So which one gets moved?
My guess would be Halak is the goalie moved because of how high the Habs have been on Price ever since drafting him fifth overall in 2005. He’s been the “franchise’s goalie” for a long time now and though they got a steal in Halak (9th round, 271st overall in 2003) its’ likely that they go the Price route which makes Halak expendable. But that is just my opinion. To me, it doesn’t matter, Jaroslav Halak OR Carey Price would be a great addition to the Blues goaltending pool.
Alex Frolov ranks 5th on my list this year.
5. Alexander Frolov – This speedy Russian has loads of skill. He’s played 510 National Hockey League games, and has recorded 362 points (161 goals, 201 assists) Fact is, Frolov has finishing ability and likes shooting the puck. He’s ranked as the third line left wing on the Kings depth chart, and is rumored to want to test free agency.
This could give the Blues a good chance at snagging up this still fairly young Russian. Maybe it could convince some of our other young Russian prospects (Andronov and Lemtyugov) that if you play up to par, Russian or not, you can play for the St. Louis Blues.
So looking at my list, if you can score or can play goalie well, you could be a good addition to this Blues franchise.
Oh, and before you comment asking about why Patrick Marleau isn’t on my top five wish list, that is because I fully suspect him to have a new deal signed with the Sharks before he even hits free agency.
