Lou Lamoriello was known for making bold moves during his tenure as general manager of the New Jersey Devils. He was never hesitant to make a decision for the betterment of the team as the "logo is more important than the name on the back". Sure, he would make trades that would surprise people. But he never made "the big one".
Then came February 4th, 2010.
The Atlanta Thrashers had a problem. They had a mega-star forward who needed a new contract but did not know if the player would re-sign. The franchise drafted this player first overall eight years ago, named him captain, and saw him score 328 goals to solidify himself as one of the league's best. Could the Thrashers keep Ilya Kovalchuk?
The Thrashers made the decision to move on from their Russian star, who was on a 51-goal pace at 26 years old. No matter what the trade package they would get for him, the Thrashers would most likely lose that trade. The team made the playoffs once in Kovalchuk's tenure and was not going to make the playoffs in the 2009-10 season.
On February 4th, 2010, the New Jersey Devils acquired Ilya Kovalchuk from the Thrashers. Lou had finally made "the big one."
The full trade was Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela, and a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft going to New Jersey for Nicklas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, Johnny Oduya, a 2010 first-round pick, and a 2010 second-round pick.
The trade is exactly what the Devils needed at the time, as they were 2-7-1 in their last 10 games leading up to the trade. They had problems scoring goals even with Zach Parise being in his prime and were on the verge of letting the season slip away. Kovalchuk's first game as a member of the Devils was a memorable one.
Against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center, the Devils were down 3-1 with about four minutes left to go in the game. Dean McAmmond scored to make it a one-goal game. Kovalchuk, who already had an assist earlier in the game, assisted on the game tying goal with 44 seconds left in the game. Jay Pandolfo scored the game-winning goal with 19 seconds to go, and the vibes shifted with one player in the lineup.
After the 2009-10 season and a first-round exit to the Flyers, the Devils had a choice to make. As Kovalchuk finished with 27 points in 27 games with the team, should they try to retain him or let him walk as a pure rental? We all know what happened next. Kovalchuk signed a 17-year deal worth $102 million. The league vetoed the deal, punishing the team with revoking draft picks, and the Devils were forced to rework the deal to two years less.
With a newly revised 15-year contract, the Devils were poised to compete for the next decade and a half. However, Parise was hurt the next year, John MacLean was not ready to be an NHL coach, and Kovalchuk was back to being "the" guy instead of having a supporting cast. He finished with 60 points in 81 games, his lowest in his career until that point. It turned around in 2011-12, as he was back to a point per game player, scoring 37 goals and helping the Devils get back to the Stanley Cup Finals.
But after the 2012 Finals, the Devils lost Parise in free agency, the supporting cast was only getting older, and a lockout was looming. Kovalchuk went back to Russia during the NHL Lockout. He returned once the lockout ended, but he promptly retired after the shortened 2012-13 season, leaving the Devils and Lamoriello empty-handed and into an abyss of misery that no one knew if they would ever claw out of. In some ways, they are still trying to claw their way out. Kovalchuk finished with 199 points in 222 career games with the Devils.
At the time of the trade, it was exactly what the Devils needed. They gave up Bergfors who was having a solid season and a pure trade chip. Cormier was a highly touted prospect but never panned out to be anything. Johnny Oduya was free money. An undrafted free agent that turned into a steady defenseman that Atlanta flipped to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Any time you trade for a superstar, you are going to have to give up draft picks. The first rounder the Devils gave up became Kevin Hayes, but Hayes never played for the Thrashers. The Thrashers flipped the pick to the Blackhawks in a package that netted them Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien became a household name in Winnipeg after the franchise relocated. The Thrashers also included the Devils' second round pick in the deal that the Blackhawks used to select Justin Holl.
Taking a look at the Ilya Kovalchuk trade 15 years later
Fifteen years later, the Kovalchuk trade tree is gone. Salmela had a cup of coffee in New Jersey before going back to Finland. The second-round pick the Devils got became Jon Merrill, who Vegas selected in their expansion draft. The team got two playoff appearances in four years, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Now, the argument could be made that if the Devils did not trade for Kovalchuk, then Zach Parise might have stayed in 2012. But without Kovalchuk, the Devils would not have made the run they did in 2012 and the memories made would not be there. "Henrique, it's over" does not happen without Ilya Kovalchuk. So while Devils fans may be bitter that Kovalchuk quit on them, he does have a massive part in Devils history.
The trade itself showed that Lamoriello still had a fastball. Something fans had thought he lost as there was not much success since the 2003 Stanley Cup victory. In the same breath, it also signaled that the "logo is more important than the name on the back" school of thought was gone. Something the organization has not gotten back in quite some time. There are flashes of it now, but not as much in the Lamoriello hay-day.
February 4th, 2010 is a day that will live in New Jersey Devils history forever.