Atlantic: Kovalchuk waiting to explode
Phil Coffey NHL.com March 22, 2010
Conventional wisdom is a popular quality because it’s rarely wrong. And conventional wisdom unequivocally says the New Jersey Devils received the best player in the trade that brought Ilya Kovalchuk to New Jersey in exchange for forward Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrice Cormier and a swap of draft picks.
And conventional wisdom also states the Devils made the trade for Kovalchuk in order to navigate a path deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That’s good for the Devils since Kovalchuk hasn’t been the tonic to New Jersey’s offensive woes the way many anticipated. In 16 games with the Devils, Kovalchuk has 5 goals, 7 assists and is a plus-2 with 69 shots. Not too shabby to be sure, but not the offensive powerhouse many were expecting. And the New Jersey power play is converting at just a 17.6-percent clip, resting 17th in the League.
Additional Reading: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=522248&cmpid=rss-coffey