You know the New Jersey Devils really want Ilya Kovalchuk back. The New York Islanders have been in the bidding too, and there have been reports the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers tested the waters as well.
New Jersey stocks up on D with Henrik Tallinder. (Getty Images) In fact, the only Atlantic Division team not linked to the superstars free-agent sweepstakes has been the Pittsburgh Penguins. Too bad, it would be fun to watch Kovalchuk set up regularly by Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
Still, the Penguins will be plenty dangerous next season. Theyve made some significant lineup changes since losing a second-round Game 7, but so have the Devils, who bowed out in the opening round after finishing first during the regular season. And the Flyers, the third consecutive Stanley Cup finalists to come from the division, havent been sitting still either.
Heres a snapshot of the Atlantic Division since the season end:
New Jersey Devils: It seemed to take some time for the organization to get over the playoff shell shocker and the coach quitting a few weeks later. New Jersey didnt hurry to hire John MacLean after Jacques Lemaire stepped down, but the Devils have moved quickly since then. They couldnt stop Kovalchuk from testing the market, but New Jersey did step up with a very serious offer when given the chance. In the meantime, the Devils compensated for some of its other free-agent losses by grabbing two sought-after defensemen. Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder wont provide much offense, but they strengthen the back end measurably and that kind of game will make goalie Martin Brodeur more effective. So will the signing of capable backup goalie Johan Hedberg to spell him more often. Heading: Up
Pittsburgh Penguins: The departure of Sergei Gonchar seemed inevitable enough for the Penguins to prepare a couple of fall back plans. The first, getting the rights to Dan Hamhuis before he hit the free-agent market didnt work. But soon after Pittsburghs final attempt with the 36-year-old Gonchar failed, the Penguins picked up a couple of younger prized free agents in Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek. And they came out better in the exchange. Martin and Michalek dont have the offense Gonchar does, but they have puck skills and will strengthen Pittsburghs back end because they are better defensively. Pittsburgh still needs to find a few wingers though. Heading: Up
Philadelphia Flyers: Salary cap issues have tied the Flyers hands to an extent and for the time being, have forced them to hope Michael Leighton can keep doing the job next season in the net. Philadelphia had enough doubt to spend the draft and the opening of free agency looking for another goalie, but it couldnt afford Evgeni Nabokov or Marty Turco. In the meantime, the Flyers spent $4 million a year on a third-unit defenseman in Andrej Meszaros and brought back the talented but lackadaisical Nikolai Zherdev from Russia. Philadelphia got defenseman Braydon Coburn under contract as well, but the Stanley Cup finalists have asked Simon Gagne to waive his no trade and still have a lot of juggling to do. Heading: Sideways
New York Rangers: Maybe they deserved a better fate than missing the playoffs on a shootout, but maybe they were lucky just to have that chance. The Rangers werent really a very good team last season, staying around the playoff bubble only because Marian Gaborik was a one-man offense and Henrik Lundqvist a star in goal. New York will ease Lundqvists burden next year by bringing in Martin Biron, but other than re-signing Vaclav Prospal, the only other move of note by the Rangers was signing bouncer Derek Boogaard. Getting young defenseman Marc Staal under contract is a priority now that Dan Girardi is back in the fold, and college kids Ryan McDonough and Derek Stepan might be ready for the NHL. But right now the Rangers are not keeping up with the pack. Heading: Down
New York Islanders: Its quite possible the New York Islanders will end up with the 2010 Drafts biggest steal by getting Karill Karbanov at No. 65 in third round. Most scouts believe the 18-year-old Russian forward has the talent of a top five draftee, but he had a primadonna reputation back home and a father who tended to meddle too much in his business, so he was still available later than he should have been. The good thing for New York was using the fifth pick they did have to get Nino Niederreiter, a highly-touted big left wing. They both could be part of the talented young core the Islanders are putting together for their future. The present, however, will probably be a bit of a struggle. Still, the Islanders have added some depth with discount free agents, signing defensemen Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina and forwards Zenon Konopka and P.A. Parenteau. Heading: Up
