BIG DEAL: The $100 million contract the Devils gave Ilya Kovalchuk, above after his goal in Game 6 against the Rangers, is looking a lot more sensible with the winger atop the playoff scoring chart going into the Stanley Cup finals. (
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If the Devils win four more games, the $100 Million Man will be proved worth every ruble. And imagine someone picking New Jersey over Los Angeles.
The Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk gamble is threatening to pay off with an early and unexpected jackpot. The Stanley Cup finals open tomorrow in Newark when the Kings visit the Devils, and Kovalchuk leads the playoff scoring list with 18 points.
With seven goals, he is tied with teammates Zach Parise and Travis Zajac and Los Angeles’ Dustin Brown, one behind eliminated leaders Claude Giroux and Danny Briere of the Flyers.
Kovalchuk has just completed the $6 million second year — no pay for playoffs — of his 15-year, $100 million deal. Not only is he justifying that paycheck, he can put an advance squelch on salary squawkers next year, when his pay leaps to $11 million.
“It’s the last series. Two weeks to go and we had a lot of rest — there’s nothing to save it for,” Kovalchuk said. “If we play our best, nobody can beat us.
“It looks like this year is my chance.”
The Kings will disagree. They’re 12-2 in the playoffs, compared to 12-6 for the Devils, and have won all eight of their road games this spring.
The finals will be ironic for Kovalchuk, facing the team he spurned as a free agent nearly two years ago, when the Kings reportedly offered $80 million over 15 years.
“I know I made the right decision,” Kovalchuk said. “It’s another challenge. It’s going to be a little extra motivation for me, and we have some other guys who have played there. It’s the Stanley Cup finals. You don’t need any extra motivation.”
Another irony is the winger has not topped 40 goals yet as a Devil, after scoring 52 twice and 40-plus three more times with the Thrashers. Kovalchuk led the Devils with 37 goals and 83 points this season, their only point-per-game player. He stands 7-11-18 in these playoffs.
Former Thrashers and current Devils teammate Eric Boulton, waiting for his playoff debut, said this Kovalchuk is different — and better.
“He’s come a long way as a player,” Boulton said. “He’s always been a good guy and good teammate. He’s one of my close friends. “He’s more responsible on the ice, more of a team player,” Boulton said. “In Atlanta, he would feel the need to do it all himself. But the league’s too good right now for someone to do that. He tried that a lot, carrying the team on his shoulders. Here he has a supporting cast and he uses those guys. It takes pressure off him, so he can be more responsible defensively. “He’s a skilled guy playing with skilled players. His points are going to come. His play away from the puck and his attitude on the ice, putting the team first and doing the little things he might not have done before, are making not only himself successful but the team successful. He realizes now how to win and what it takes to win.”
Kovalchuk, 29, has scored more goals (406) since 2001-02 than anyone, but had only one in four total playoff games in seven seasons with the Thrashers.
“That’s the reason why I left Atlanta,” Kovalchuk said. “I had a good time there, played a lot of minutes, scored a lot of points. But I was done by April every time. I was disappointed to play there [seven] years and never have a chance.”
Kovalchuk says this first chance won’t be his last.
“Not just this year, but I’m pretty sure this team will be good for a long time,” he said.
Eyes rolled at the fortune thrown at a player without a Cup resume. He’s getting one now, in a hurry.
“You always hear that stuff, that he hasn’t won,” Boulton said. “Well, you have to start winning somewhere. You’re seeing it now, right now, in the playoffs. He’s leading the team, and this is when it counts.”
Coach Pete DeBoer and Kovalchuk are riding the newbies’ playoff express together.
“This guy has made a commitment in a lot of different areas,” DeBoer said. “He changed positions. He’s playing a 200-foot game, killing penalties. He’s getting rewards like we told him he would. You see the sacrificing he’s made. You need rewards for that.”
Kovalchuk said this season was easier because his family is with him in New Jersey for the first time. His wife and three kids mostly remained in Florida after he was dealt to the Devils in 2010 and last season.
“This year, with a lot of ups and downs, when your family’s there, they put a smile on your face, your kids, and you can’t get that anywhere,” Kovalchuk said.
He didn’t touch the Prince of Wales Trophy the Devils won by ousting the Rangers for the Eastern Conference title. He says he didn’t touch the Stanley Cup when ex-Devil Oleg Tverdovsky brought it to a Moscow party as a 2003 winner.
Left unsaid was that he would prefer to earn that right, earn the ring he has seen on others’ hands.