You have to love the New Jersey Devils for making this trade.
The New Jersey Devils were not expected to have that great of a season this year. Back in early November, the Devils were +1000 (10/1; Players Only) longshots just to win the Atlantic Division and they have proven that those odds were wrong as the Devils are legitimate contenders.
But with less than 30 games to go in the NHL's regular season, the New Jersey Devils find themselves losing ground to the Pittsburgh Penguins on an almost nightly basis and a neck-and-neck race between the two teams has now developed for the Atlantic Division title.
With the Penguins making their charge, the New Jersey Devils could have easily folded.
The Devils could have just rode the season out, they could have accepted whatever seeding they got heading into the playoffs, and then they could have just gone from there in a haphazard fashion. After all, they share a division with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that boasts Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin, a team who won the Stanley Cup last spring.
Since not much was expected of New Jersey this season, the Devils had every excuse to tap out.
But instead of doing that, New Jersey went out and acquired Ilya Kovalchuk, an impact player that can be expected to make a difference in the Atlantic Division race this year. Kovalchuk is a point per game player this season and not the type that racks up secondary assists: Kovalchuk has 31 goals on the season already and that is 4 more goals than he has helpers on the year.
Kovalchuk is precisely what the Devils need to keep the Penguins at bay and to keep themselves optimistic about their own chances to win the Eastern Conference title.
While we were tipping Pittsburgh as a serious threat to overtake the Atlantic Division, with Kovalchuk now suiting up for the Devils, you can't really take Pittsburgh to do that anymore unless their odds start to lengthen further than +125 (5/4), the Penguins current price with Players Only.
New Jersey only have a 1 point lead over Pittsburgh with 2 games in hand. With such a slim lead, -250 (2/5), their odds with Players Only to win the Atlantic, aren't that enticing. However if New Jersey start putting space between themselves and Pittsburgh again soon, make sure you pound that price quickly, before it shortens any further.
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