If it hasn't happened yet...

For weeks, even months now, the Bruins and NHL writers have kicked around "rumors" of Marc Savard deals and Tim Thomas trades. But what you have to keep in mind, is that they are rumors, and nothing more. I even bought into some of the hype myself when I heard Savard's name mentioned in the rumors mill, but I can't say the same for Thomas. I've said from the beginning that no team out there is going to give up any significant asset for a 36 year old, injury prone, $5 million goaltender. Maybe a deal would have been more likely had he not undergone hip surgery, but even then I would have found it shocking. So, needless to say, it comes as no surprise that Tank will be in a Bruins uniform in October. The Savard situation has come as a surprise, however. Usually, when a team publicly announces that their leading point-getter in 3 of the past 4 season is available on the trade market, people come calling. Yes, Savard has injury problems of his own, but he is a completely different case. He's younger than Thomas, his cap hit is a million less, and he's a top-line centerman with a good amount of versatility. Then you figure in the amount of teams who could use a playmaking center. You have the Flames, Maple Leafs, Blue Jackets, Rangers, Predators, Wild, and Sabres all in need of a player like Savard. What I'm trying to say, is that the market for Savard is far greater than the one for Thomas, yet we haven't seen any "concrete" action.

A few weeks ago, prior to the draft, there were rumors of a Savard for Robyn Regehr trade in the works between Boston and Calgary. Those pieces seem to match-up nicely. Both are valuable assets, both fit the other teams' need, and both carry a similar cap-hit. But it was just a rumor and nothing more. And while it's been denied by Brian Burke and Peter Chiarelli, you can't help but think of how perfect a trade of Savard-for-Kaberle is. That trade makes too much sense. Maybe it's just Brian Burke being weary of ever making a deal with the Bruins again (I don't think B's fans can thank that organization enough these days). But, again, all of these are just rumors with no concrete foundation. So, will we ever see a deal get done? My guess, a change from a few weeks ago, is that Savard, like Thomas, is still in Black and Gold on opening night in Prague.

My theory, is that if the Bruins were serious about trading Savard, they would have taken action prior to the draft. Peter Chiarelli was fairly open about his interest in defensemen Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley, yet on draft day he stood by and watched as those two slipped into the early teens. If he was seriously considering a Savard trade, why not package the center with a prospect or a 2nd round pick to move up to the Wild's slot at #9 or the Rangers' at #10?

If the Bruins were to trade Savard at this point, they must know the amount of added pressure they would be putting on recently drafted Tyler Seguin. Trading Savard would undoubtedly say to Seguin, "Hey, you're the #2 pick in the draft, we think you can already be a 90-point player, you'll be our top center." Yikes. Not that I don't think Seguin will be a 90-point player, but asking that of him in year one is far too much. The organization has brought prospects along very slowly since Chiarelli's arrival (with the exception of Blake Wheeler, and we know how he turned out...so far), and he won't want to throw Seguin to the wolves at this stage of his career. At this point, keeping Savard seems to be the path chosen by the B's, and I don't think any B's fan has reason to complain about that.
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In other news, the league's two highest-scoring unrestricted free agents remain unsigned, Ilya Kovalchuk and Lee Stempniak. I'll start with Stempniak, but I won't be long. He's a mediocre skater with a very good shot and fairly good hands around the goal. He scored 14 goals in 18 games last year after he arrived in Phoenix on deadline-day. By no means is he an elite player, but in the right situation, he's a 25-goal scorer. I think the reason he hasn't signed is because he views himself as a $4 million dollar man instead of a $2.5 million dollar man. He's a good player who will be a good fit for somebody, but if my team signed him...I wouldn't exactly be thrilled.

Now, lets move onto the biggest unrestricted free agent the league has seen in a few years. Kovalchuk is an elite player. He's big, he's fast, he has great hands, a great shot, and is a terrific passer. In the offensive zone, there aren't many better than him. Kovie remains unsigned for much of the same reason that I believe Stempniak hasn't signed...he is overvaluing himself. Now, as I said, he is an elite offensive player, one of the games best. While he's great offensively, he's useless defensively. We saw last year that he is a systematic player. In Atlanta, they played high-tempo offensive hockey, and he excelled in that environment. Move to February, and he's playing in New Jersey's "trap" defense scheme and "no offense hockey." Surprise, surprise...he and New Jersey flopped, bigtime. Prior to making the deal for Kovalchuk, the Devils might have been the favorites in the East with their dominant defensive play and the extreme talent of Zach Parise. Once Kovalchuk arrived, it was all downhill. They played mediocre down the stretch, Kovalchuk dropped-off his point per game pace, and they were quickly bounced by the Flyers in Round 1 of the Playoffs. Last year, people noticed how temperamental he was if not in the perfect situation. With his poor performance in New Jersey, Kovalchuk made a lot of potential suitors bow-out of the running for him this offseason, leaving only a few teams with serious interest in his services.

The most baffling part of this is the fact that New Jersey is one of maybe four suitors for the Russian sniper. His arrival only made them worse last year, and now they want to jeopardize their ability to sign Parise to bring him back? I must be missing something. But now we get to the subject of money. Kovalchuk and his agents have the mindset of $10 million a year, which is an albatross figure that he'll never get in the NHL. He is estimating his worth to be in the Ovechkin/Crosby tier, and he's far off. While he wanted $10 million a year, he's been offered roughly $6.5-$7 million a year by NJ and the Kings, and he's not willing to accept that because of his stubbornness and cockiness.

Now, I think the entire Russian "fear factor" is a bit overstated. If there is one thing about Russian's that sticks out, it's their pride. They want to be a part of the best league, they want to play against the best players. But, with Kovalchuk it seems different. Sure, I bet he ideally wants to be a part of the NHL and remain on the biggest hockey stage in the world. But, I think he values money more than most. It seems to me like Kovalchuk would spurn the NHL and head back to Russia just because he's being offered fair-value instead of his outrageous demands. Do I think he goes back to Russia? In the end, no. I think the Kings will end up making a pitch to him that he finds good enough and he'll stick around. But, more than any other Russian player, I do think the KHL is a definite possibility for Ilya. If he does head for Russia's oil-fields and tax-free dollars, there is no doubt it would be a huge boost for the legitimacy of the KHL, and it would be a huge hit to the NHL. So, lets hope Ilya puts his crazy demands aside and settles down in Hollywood in the coming weeks.