This is part two of my "series" of posts looking at the future of the New Jersey Devils and why it should give you a migraine, not make you feel all happy inside. I'm not trying to be a pessimist with these posts, but rather give people a look at reality. So, in this post, I'd like to look at questionable signings just from the summer of 2010.
2. Bad contracts. I can promise you that after Rolston's, and White's, and maybe even Elias's contracts end, it will not be the end of the bad contracts. Allow me to introduce to you my friends Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder. And that guy Ilya Kovalchuk.
It's okay. You can curse at me for saying that the Volchenkov and Kovalchuk contracts were a mistake. I'm sure most agree with me about Tallinder. But why is everyone so hesitant to see the light about Kovalchuk and Volchenkov?
Yes, Volchenkov is probably the closest thing to Scott Stevens in today's NHL. But he's not Scott Stevens. He's not leading this team anywhere; in my opinion, he's probably not even leading this defense anywhere any time soon. We're talking about a 28-year-old shot-blocking, down-and-dirty defenseman who has averaged 66 games played from the 2007-2008 season to the 2009-2010 season. He's already missed 12 games this season and we're not even at the half-way point.
So, yes, Volchenkov is a guy whose play is obviously starting to wear on him and he's supposed to be in the prime of his career. And he's signed for 6 years, which means it ends when he's 34 years old, which will probably end up being way past his prime. And he has a no-trade clause. How is it that just me and about 1% of other Devils fans are the only ones pissed about that signing?
And Kovalchuk...well, I'll just say the same thing I said when the second contract signing was announced. 15 years is a boatload for a player who comes with a lot of "What if"s, the most notable one being "What if he's not a winner?" A lot of players who aren't winners still win games, playoff series, and championships. But they probably don't win Hart Trophies or Conn Smythe Trophies. In other words, Kovalchuk could win a Stanley Cup with the Devils, but, in my opinion at least, he won't be the one to lead them to one. Because, also in my opinion, he's the worst best player in the world.
That's not to say that the Devils overpaid in terms of cap hit for Kovalchuk. Real dollars in salary for the next 8 or so years might seriously hurt the Devils if they continue to perform as bad as they have this season. But I see the Kovalchuk signing as more of stalling the team on their way up the mountain. For right now it's not going to help them. If they can get the pieces they need in the next couple of years and retain Parise, Kovalchuk will be a really nice addition to the team. But I still think it was more important for the Devils to sign a puck-moving defenseman this past summer.
Do I really have to go over the Tallinder contract? Four years for a 31-year-old defensive defenseman pretty much says it all, I think.
The Devils need to just stop spending for a little bit. Trade as many of these contracts as possible for as many picks or prospects as possible, or just wait them out. But as Lamoriello as said quite a few times this season, it is pointless to do something just for the sake of doing it. It's time to just rebuild. Why hold off the inevitable?
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