Perhaps this year's biggest offseason news to both casual and diehard NHL fans was the re-signing of New Jersey Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk. The first attempt from the Devils, a deal for $102 million over 17 years, was nixed by the NHL for violating the league's contract rules. Eventually, the Devils completed a contract for $100 million over 15 years that the league approved.
What does New Jersey have to show for this big-ticket signing? The Devils are at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference — 15th place — with just nine points. That puts them on pace to collect 49 points this season, which would be the team's lowest total since 1984.
A major source of this poor showing is Kovalchuk. The Russian phenom has but three goals and five assists in 14 games. His team has a goal differential of -6 with him on the ice. The stats aren't awful, but the goal differential is a particularly worrisome blemish.
The real issue with the left wing isn't just his performance but the fact that his massive contract has severely handicapped the Devils with respect to the salary cap. There was a time early in the season when, due to injuries, the Devils couldn't even put together a full roster of 20 men; instead, only 17 were able to play. The team couldn't afford to bring someone up from the American Hockey League (AHL) because it had less than $80,000 in cap room.
New Jersey's management did eventually figure out a way to fill out its roster, but the team's problems were aggravated by injuries. Three defensemen — Bryce Salvador, Anton Volchenkov and Matt Corrente — are hurt, forcing AHL defensemen to take their spots. Those three players were not All-Stars, but when you lose three defensemen and replace them with inexperienced players, opponents are going to have an easier time scoring goals.
Given those injuries, it might seem surprising that the Devils are third in their conference in goals against. But that's mainly thanks to future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has compensated for the disheveled defense with stellar play between the pipes. The team's offense — of which Kovalchuk is a major part — isn't backing Brodeur up, though, averaging less than two goals per game and keeping New Jersey out of the win column.
The Buffalo Sabres bear a striking similarity to the Devils in a few ways. Both teams came into last year's Stanley Cup playoffs riding a hot streak, Buffalo as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Devils as the No. 2. Both were bounced in the first round by scrappy, low-seeded teams in disappointing upsets. But that's where the similarities end.
Last year, the Sabres were effective because of an extremely tight defense that scored by producing turnovers. They were an opportunistic team that fed off of its opponents' mistakes. They also had last year's Vezina Trophy and U.S. Olympic Team darling goalie, Ryan Miller.
This year it is a truly stark contrast. Ryan Miller has come down to earth, allowing an average of 2.71 goals per night. His save percentage early in the season wasn't awful but is now a lowly .903, ranking 33rd out of the 38 netminders who have played at least five games. Clearly, the Sabres rode their elite goalie to the playoffs last year, and the team is now looking anemic on both sides of the puck.
That begs the question: What has changed?
On the offensive side, the Sabres are scoring 0.5 fewer goals per game this year than last. The power play is less than half as effective, scoring only around 10 percent of the time.
The main problem this year on offense is an inability to keep a lead. Last year, the Sabres were undefeated when they led after two periods. This year, they seldom maintain leads that late, but even when they do, they only win a third of their games.
On the defensive side, beyond an inability to protect the puck and being 25th in the league for penalty killing, the drop-off for the Sabres may be less about the team changing and more about the league changing around them.
The Sabres' offense wasn't stellar last year, and its defense wasn't even the best in the league. But it was fast, and it was opportunistic. If a team committed any mental errors, the Sabres usually made them pay, with a proactive defense that forced turnovers leading to goals.
This year, teams are getting wise to the Sabres' strategies. They now stand in last place in their division with 10 points and have yet to win a game at home.
