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Swamp things New Jersey jumped into trade deadline with both feetPosted: Thursday March 21, 2002 4:31 PM
Whew. Teams sure stirred the stew at the trade deadline. Even with a lot of big names staying put (Bill Guerin, Tony Amonte, Mike Richter, etc.) there was still plenty of movement that could seriously impact the playoff race and the postseason Cup chase. A few things we now know: The Avalanche, with newly acquired Darius Kasparaitis, are going to be hell to play. The Blues don't think they can challenge for the Cup this year. The Sabres think they can get into the playoffs (and they may be right) and the Rangers are desperate to make the playoffs but will have a hard time doing so. It's going to be a fun stretch run, puckbrains. Now, onto your mailbag ... In reference to your question from last week's
mailbag regarding "miser" Lou Lamoriello, I must say two
names: Claude Lemieux (twice) and Billy Guerin. Admittedly, Guerin was via
trade, but it was after a contract holdout and, yes, I know Jason Arnott won the
Devils a Cup, but on a night-to-night basis, who puts out more effort and whom
would you rather have?
Yes, Lou let Pepe go, and perhaps the team paid for it. But Lemieux was so unpopular in the dressing room, it was a no-brainer. No matter how much of a playoff pepperpot Lemieux is -- and I'd love him on my postseason roster -- I can't blame Lou for not wanting to fold him into the franchise for the long term. As for the Guerin/Arnott swap, that cannot be second-guessed. If you want to make the case that Guerin is a higher-impact player, fine, I agree. But given contract and the team's needs, Arnott was the better fit. And the boy can play, and he was the top center on a Cup-winner, which is as powerful an endorsement as any statistic you can find. In any event, if the worst deal you make as a general manager is bringing in Arnott for Guerin, you're a genius. Speaking of Arnott ... Big Devils fan here, just asking about the trade with Dallas. Do you think
this was a good move by Lou?
Both teams benefit from this trade. Lamoriello was smart to be proactive and make something happen. The Devils will miss Arnott in the middle, but now they have a first-line caliber forward in Joe Nieuwendyk and a young, second- or third-line forward in Jamie Langenbrunner. New Jersey is a deeper team and Lamoriello had to do something in an attempt to invigorate an offense that's had such trouble scoring. The Devils' reliance on the A-line had become endemic; it was time for a move. The loss of Randy McKay is a bit sad. He was a honest and valuable member of the franchise for many years. He didn't figure much in the Devils' current plans, though, and he's clearly nearing the end of his playing days (I bet he'll play one more year). I was a little surprised New Jersey had to give up a first-rounder in the deal. I thought a second- or third-rounder might have made more sense. But they avoid arbitration with Arnott (whose salary will leap up from its current $2.6 million) and, all in all, Lou made a strong multi-dimensional move that will help New Jersey this year and for a few years to come. Why do the Red Wings have so few young stars? Yes, they have Pavel Datsyuk
and Sean Avery contributes every so often, but that is it. Do the Wings not
have that much depth? Or is it that are they just content with giving Scotty
Bowman one or two more rides and then they'll slip back to the cellar in the
division?
When you're running away with the Presidents' Trophy and have so many veterans playing so well, young players have an uphill battle for ice time in the NHL. Detroit doesn't have a lot of young talent, aside from Datsyuk and Jiri Fisher and a few others. The talent they do have simply isn't in a position to exert itself. It's hard to take minutes away from players like Brett Hull and Steve Yzerman and Chris Chelios and Brendan Shanahan (and on and on) who are still so productive even late in their careers. The Wings are very cautiously moving in a couple of young players, as you mentioned, and they'll have to do more phasing in over the next couple of years to avoid a major letdown. For now though, Detroit -- with the game's best goalie and the game's best coach -- can afford to focus on being a Cup contender and make their short term success the priority. Alexei Kovalev is among the top 15 in scoring (having missed 13 games),
plays 25 minutes a game -- including the power play and penalty kill -- on a
team without Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka and Robert Lang. Why
doesn't Kovalev get more credit for being an elite player? Jarome Iginla has a
better supporting cast in Calgary than Kovalev does in Pittsburgh!
Everyone inside the hockey world knows what a spectacular talent Kovalev is. In my estimation, he's one of the top seven forwards in the game and he has been making Jagr-esque moves for years. He's underrated defensively and, as you point out, extremely versatile. The knock on Kovy -- and it's a knock he has earned time and again -- is his inconsistency. After all these years, he has the same problem he had when he broke in with the Rangers: he too often holds onto the puck and makes (or tries to make) another of his sweet jukes rather than shoot or dish off. Kovy is enigmatic in this way because he's a bright guy; he should have adapted his game by now. If he'd simply make a few better decisions with the puck, and if he'd expend his energy a bit more wisely at times, Kovalev could raise himself from being the excellent player he is to being a superstar. In your last mailbag, Pat Frappier asked you if there were any players
under 30 who you would consider for the Hall of Fame if they retired today. Your
answer was "no." I believe that you overlooked one player, Martin
Brodeur. He's only 29, he's won two Cups and a gold medal on a team for which he
was the starting goaltender. Not bad credentials.
I'm still not sold on Brodeur, though he could well be a Hall of Famer by the time he's through. Yes, he's won two Cups. He's also gone to the Cup finals a third time and taken the Devils to the Eastern Conference finals on another occasion. He's led the league in wins four times and once had the league's best goals against average. Now he's won a gold medal with Team Canada. You can make a strong case for Marty. For me, the fact that he's never won a Vezina Trophy and that he played extremely shakily in the playoffs three years running -- while his heavily-favored Devils were bounced out early -- brings him up just short of the Hall. One more long playoff run, though, or that elusive Vezina would quickly change my mind. I'm just wondering why you don't think under-30s Peter Forsberg and Chris
Pronger (arguably the two best players at their positions) could not make the
Hall of Fame?
Forsberg is an interesting case. He's clearly one of the top centers in hockey and can dominate the game. He won an Olympic gold medal with Sweden. But consider: He's only played six full NHL seasons (and the lockout year). He's never scored more than 30 goals. He's never led the league in a major statistical category. Aside from the Calder in 1995 he's never won a major award. While he's played some terrific playoff hockey, he hasn't won a Conn Smythe award, and when he got hurt and missed the closing rounds of the Avalanche's playoff run last year, Colorado won without him. I'd take Forsberg for my team in a nanosecond, but he needs to get his goal total up significantly (he has 169 in his career) in order to be enshrined. Pronger is probably the best defenseman in hockey and he's a perpetual candidate for both the Norris and the Hart Trophies, each of which he has won once. But I need Pronger to maintain his level for a few more years to put him in the Hall. He's only been at that top level for about five and half years. Pronger has also been the leader of a team that has disappointed in the postseason and, individually, he has not distinguished himself with strong playoff performances. Goaltending has been at the root of the Blues' troubles but Pronger and fellow defenseman Al MacInnis have to accept some of the responsibility. By the time Pronger hangs 'em up he'll probably be a shoo-in. For now, he still has a ways to go. Sports Illustrated senior writer Kostya Kennedy covers the NHL for the
magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. To send a question to his
Mailbag, click here.
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