Bruins should pass on Kovalchuk

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Bruins 2009-2010 season has been a disappointing bust thus far. With that being said, it doesn't mean Peter Chiarelli should trade away the young foundation of this team to bring in a rental like Ilya Kovalchuk. Yeah, yeah I know the Bruins can't put the puck in the net, but is Kovalchuk really going to take this team to the Stanley Cup, much less the Conference Finals? No, I don't think so. For the longest time, I've been an advocate of Chiarelli trading a draft pick, a young, established player and a prospect for Kovalchuk, but a conversation I had the other night has completely changed my train of thought.

The B's have been completely decimated with injuries this season, and that has been the major reason for the lackluster season so far. They've lost significant time from the likes of Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, & David Krejci. All of whom are major contributors to the Bruins offense. In my mind, Krejci has never recovered from his hip injury. He came back too soon, and it's affected his play all season. If this team is healthy, and that most likely will not happen at all this season, they're still a very good team. In addition to the injuries, they have had several players suffer through underachieving seasons. Blake Wheeler, with the exception of a recent hot streak, has not played up to par. Neither has Michael Ryder. Krejci has looked terrible recently, but I still blame that on his balky hip.

If the Bruins are going to make a move, I think they should still look to the south for a trade partner. Instead, let's take a look at the Hurricanes. Instead of Kovalchuk, why not make a move for Ray Whitney. He's netted 16 goals already, and is pretty much a sure fire 25 goals a year guy. He also will not cost you a good young player like Lucic, Krejci, Bergeron or Wheeler. While we're talking about the Hurricanes, why don't we bring back Aaron Ward. Peter Chiarelli made a major blunder by trading him away and bringing in Derek Morris. Ward would help solidify the defensive corp. Both these moves are low cost moves that would help the team now without mortgaging the team's future. I don't mind the Bruins trading their own first round draft pick, but they need to hold onto the Maple Leaf's pick that could potentially be a lottery pick. Hopefully their recent moves will not drastically improve that team.