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I've followed Kovalchuk's polygonal heroics for quite some time.
So, with Ilya Kovalchuk (somewhat surprisingly) being moved to New Jersey for bits'n'pieces, it might be safe to assume that there won't be any more blockbusters until the Olympic Break. I could be very wrong, but Kovalchuk is the biggest name to be moved since Marian Hossa and considering how important Kovy was to the Thrashers ... it might be the biggest trade since Joe Thornton was shipped to San Jose.
(For the record: I think Jumbo Joe and Hossa are both more valuable players from a "big picture" sense.)
One area in which the Devils TRULY won was the digital realm. Generally speaking, big names get the benefit of the doubt in video games. With Kovalchuk, Phaneuf, Giguere and Jokinen changing teams, there might be a slight shift in the world of NHL '10.
Let's take a look at these teams' digital developments.
New Jersey
Video games (and Glen Sather) always overvalued Bobby "Caveman" Holik
Best digi-players: Kovalchuk (rating: 90), Zach Parise (rating: 86), Patrik Elias (rating: 86) and Martin Brodeur (91)
Strengths: first line offense, goalie
Weaknesses: defense, depth?
Trend: WAY up
Appraisal: It's funny that this was the first year the Devils were no longer a strong team in NHL games. Without John Madden and Bobby Holik, the Devils no longer were ridiculous on faceoffs and generally lacked depth at center and in the forward ranks in general. They still have that flaw, but man-oh-man is Kovalchuk-Parise-Elias an awesome first video game line or what? They're still short of Pittsburgh and San Jose in pixel-land but the Devils are once again a contender for the polygonal throne.
When all you really lose in the video game arena is Johnny Oduya (80) and Niclas Bergfors (79), it's an even bigger steal than in real life.
Toronto
Best digi-players: J.S. Giguere (85), Dion Phaneuf (84), Tomas Kaberle (85) and Phil Kessel (84)
Strengths: defense?
(obviously this was first featured at Puck Daddy)
Weaknesses: offense
Trend: Slightly up
Appraisal: I'm in the "not quite convinced" club when it comes to the real-life effects of Burke's moves, but the Leafs' digital outlook isn't that different. Blake (83), Stajan (82) and Hagman (80) were all pretty solid in NHL '10. The Leafs got a boost in net with Giguere, but overall the team is basically just for Leafs fans to enjoy/be saddled by.
Calgary
Best digi-players: Jarome Iginla (93), Kipper (88), Jay Bouwmeester (85)
Strengths: hmmm ... depth maybe?
Weaknesses: offense outside of Iginla
Trend: Slightly down
Appraisal: With the HUGE amount of movement in Calgary, it will probably require a roster update to truly judge the Flames in video games. However, the Flames have fallen far since being a one-time overrated video game team. Now, they're a lot more like they are in real life; Calgary's a mess of a group that depends on a whole bunch on Iginla and Kipper.
The moves might make Calgary a little deeper, but you're basically going to depend a ton on Iggy.
New York Rangers
Best digi-players: Marian Gaborik (90), Hank (88), Olli Jokinen (85)
Strengths: hmmm ... depth maybe?
Weaknesses: Not much to like beyond Hank and Gaborik.
Trend: Lateral move, although Jokinen becomes New York's second best forward.
Appraisal: The Rangers are another team that will be selected often in online play because they have a large fan base. But really, aside from Gaborik and Lundqvist I can't see why you'd choose this team.
I feel like Hank's been underrated in video games for quite some time. Even though Kipper's had an admirable bounce-back season, there's no doubt in my mind that Lundqvist is a better goalie yet Kipper has always had a better (or at worst equal) rating. Psh.
Atlanta
Best digi-players: LOL
Strengths: If you win with them, you have every right to mock your opponent (unless it's their first time playing the game)
Weaknesses: Plentiful
Trend: WAY down
Appraisal: Kovalchuk was basically the only reason to choose the Thrashers and he's gone now. Is Atlanta now the worst team in the game? You could make a serious case that they are. Plus their jerseys are really dumb looking.
Anaheim
Best digi-players: Ryan Getzlaf (88), Scott Niedermayer (87)
Strengths: hmmm ... depth maybe?
Weaknesses: A lack of elite players beyond Getzlaf and Niedermayer
Trend: Slightly up
Appraisal: Since Hiller (84) and Giguere (85) were nearly identical ratings-wise, the Ducks made out pretty well in the video game world. Actually, with Blake (83) the Ducks have some solid forward depth now. Video games might be the one realm in which Vesa Toskala (79) isn't TOTALLY useless as his rating is more or less on par with other backups.
Still, trading away Pronger robs the Ducks of what made them a unique choice in video games. We may never see two D with 90 ratings on the same (non All-Star) team again considering cap constraints. *sniff*
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