Fan In Van

Kovalchuk Sweepstakes Start

I’m going to make this perfectly clear so every Canuck fan (both intelligent and ignorant) can get this right: Ilya Kovalchuk is not going to be traded to the Vancouver Canucks.

Despite what armchair general managers may have read on the most ridiculous trade rumour websites or on late night sports radio shows, there’s no way Mike Gillis can afford the Russian sniper from both a financial and physical standpoint.

Since the Sedin twins and Alex Burrows have set the league on fire with their hot play in the last couple months, it stands that the trio will remain the team’s top line for the distant future. Would Ilya Kovalchuk be content on going from playing 25 minutes a night with the Atlanta Thrashers to 18 minutes with the Canucks?

And if Vancouver has their sights set on retaining the services of Willie Mitchell and Ryan Kesler next season, then the trade for Ilya Kovalchuk would become merely a rental. As it stands, the two Canucks make a combined $5.25 million in salary; Kesler could easily see his $1.75 million stipend double by next fall and Mitchell could make $4 million on the open market. Kovalchuk, meanwhile, makes $6.4 million a season and could bargain for $8 million in the summer, a ridiculous figure too high for the Canucks.

It’s a farfetched dream at best, and perhaps more glaring is the cost to pry the Russian star out of Atlanta. Thrashers general manager Don Waddell, who is clinging to his job after years in the NHL’s cellar, must handle the Kovalchuk situation perfectly. He’ll need to bargain for a high draft selection, top prospect, and a player who can impact the team immediately.

The writing is on the wall for Waddell; if he doesn’t hit a home run with a Kovalchuk trade, he’s toast. Already the team has lost players like Marian Hossa, Dany Heatley, and Marc Savard. And despite the cupboard being replenished with young talent like Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian, the club and its fans need something to show up to games for.

TSN analyst Bob McKenzie recently suggested that the struggling Calgary Flames may actively pursue Kovalchuk in order to shake up their roster, but also hinted that the

dominating Chicago Blackhawks could try to reunite the superstar with Hossa.

Calgary’s most tradeable asset remains to be Dion Phaneuf. Despite stating that he hasn’t requested a trade, Phaneuf has looked out of place with the Flames this season and has been playing steadily worse since his rookie season in 2006. A bruising defender like Phaneuf would go a long ways to appeasing Thrashers fans who want a winning club now. Outside of Phaneuf, there’s little the Flames could offer, as the club likely won’t throw in top prospects like Mikael Backlund or Greg Nemisz.

As for the Blackhawks, it’s hard to believe a team who’s one expensive dinner away from going over the salary cap could possibly be in the mix. But the Blackhawks have talented players who may garner interest from Atlanta. One deficit which has plagued the Thrashers has been the lack of a top centre and the Blackhawks could offer that in Patrick Sharp or Dave Bolland, players who are making $3.7 million and $3 million respectively. Chicago may also be willing to part ways with young defenceman Cam Barker, whose stipend is $3 million. The window for the Hawks to win a Stanley Cup is small and they may go for broke this season.

At this point, the only thing I can guarantee: Ilya Kovalchuk will NOT be in a Canucks uniform in March.