News came out yesterday that the Thrashers have told Ilya Kovalchuk that we will be traded prior to the NHL Olympic break. Now the question every Bruins fan is asking is “are the Bruins in the mix?”.
After seeing the team lose it’s eighth straight the other night to Washington something needs to be done. But to look at the team as it stands and you wonder if Kovalchuck would really bolster the Bruins to become a Cup contender. The Bruins are a mere eight points ahead of Toronto as it stands and if the season ended today they’d have two of the top six picks in the draft.
I’m really teetering on the fence on this whole thing. Part of me wants to see Kovalchuk come to the Bruins and just ignite the offense. The other part of me wonders if the Bruins don’t make the deal, keep tanking the season and end up with two very high draft picks they’ll be improved for years to come. The guys they’d be drafting wouldn’t be guys sitting in Providence, they’d be instant impact on the NHL roster guys.
As much as I want that win it all now, I really don’t think the rest of the team is that good in order to make the team a cup contender with Kovalchuk’s addition. I guess if you can get him for next year’s Toronto pick or this year’s Bruins’ pick, a guy on the current roster (not Tuukka) and a guy at Providence go for it. But I wouldn’t sacrifice this year’s Toronto pick. Not when you can snag an impact guy for the team next year.
So sure Kovalchuk will end up in LA or New Jersey heck even Detroit (don’t they always make this kind of deal happen?) and the Bruins will build towards next year and the phone lines will be lit at sports radio saying that the Jacobs are cheap and don’t want to invest in the team. That argument would work in 1986, but not so much now. I guess we’ll wait and see.
