Some thoughts, maybe a picture after the jump
Atlanta is welcoming their former captain back, as the New Jersey Devils attempt to lock up the #2 seed going into the playoffs, and Atlanta fights for their playoff lives.
So why am I talking about this when there's plenty of playoff action, and more importantly, Penguins' stuff to talk about? Because I don't like Ilya Kovalchuk. It has nothing to do with his talking crap on Sir Sidney early in his career. It's that he's such a selfish player. His skills are undeniable...offensively, but he can't back-check to save his life.
Here's a diagram that clarifies Kovalchuk's skill set pretty clearly:
He really lucked out that he got to go someplace like New Jersey this season. That team has such solid defense that his inability won't show as badly. Not to mention this Martin Brodeur guy is apparently a decent goalie.
At the beginning of this season, it looked like Ilya might have been willing to swallow his pride and be a true leader for Atlanta, staying with the team that drafted him. But when $10.5 million wasn't enough for him, he wanted out (seriously, what does he think this is? 2003?)
Of course, that means this is likely his last season making a run at Lord Stanley's Cup. No other team in the NHL will give even close to that kind of money. So he'll probably be off to Russia's KHL after this season, which will reignite the NHL/KHL clash probably.
Seriously, is there anywhere this guy goes that he doesn't stir crap up?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to Nik Antropov laying Kovalchuk out shortly into the game. Maybe that'll knock the bad attitude out of Ilya.
But I wouldn't count on it
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