Kovalchuk

Fantasy Analysis: The Devils have re-signed Ilya Kovalchuk, with details to trickle out as Tuesday’s press conference approaches. The move is a shocker, as Kovalchuk was rumored to be quite close with Los Angeles.

The Devils get: One of the four or five greatest offensive talents in the game. They had just over $4 million in cap space before the signing, so unless Kovalchuk is incredibly generous (in which case all 30 teams would have jumped on board), the team will be forced to shed salary. Langenbrunner at $2.8 won’t be enough, and they’ll have to bribe another team if they want to shed Brian Rolston’s $5 million-plus per season cap hit.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Kovalchuk is a 95-point player in Los Angeles, with upside of 105. In New Jersey you can remove 10 points from each of those numbers. Zach Parise will have no impact – he had 29 points in 30 games with Kovalchuk in the lineup, 53 in 51 otherwise. Rolston moving to a new team would probably help him, whereas Langenbrunner on a new squad would likely hurt. David Clarkson may have lost some more power-play time. Travis Zajac gets a mild bump because he’s guaranteed an elite linemate. Jason Arnott skyrockets. Defenseman Andy Greene has another lethal PP option to pass to. Mattias Tedenby may have to wait a year to make the jump. He almost certainly will, actually.

Players this helps, in order:

1. Arnott

2. Greene

3. Zajac

4. Rolston (if moved)

Players this hurts, in order:

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1. Kovalchuk

2. Tedenby

3. Clarkson

4. Langbrunner