Kovalchuk heading back to New Jersey

Hockey Betting Lines

07/19/2010 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk is heading back to New Jersey and will re-sign with the Devils.

According to the team's website, the Devils will hold a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Prudential Center to make it official.

The Devils and the Los Angeles Kings were Kovalchuk's two main pursuers since the free agent signing period began July 1. Terms of the deal for the left wing have been reported as about $60 million over seven years.

Kovalchuk played 27 games last season for the Devils after being acquired from Atlanta in a February 4 trade. He turned down reported offers of $70 million over seven years and $100 million over 12 years from the Thrashers, who finally gave up on re-signing the sniper and sent him to New Jersey in a package that netted Atlanta defenseman Johnny Oduya, right wing Niclas Bergfors, forward Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick.

Selected with the first overall pick of the 2001 draft, Kovalchuk twice reached 52 goals with Atlanta and last season combined to score 41 goals in 76 games. He compiled 10 goals and 17 assists in 27 games for New Jersey, then added two goals and four assists in five playoff games as the Devils were beaten by Philadelphia in the first round.

The 27-year-old Russian native has 338 goals and 304 assists for 642 points in 621 regular-season games. He is Atlanta's all-time leader in virtually every offensive category.

It's been a busy offseason for the Devils, as the club named John MacLean its new head coach and signed defensemen Henrik Tallinder and Anton Volchenkov. New Jersey also re-acquired center Jason Arnott, who scored a double-overtime goal in the clinching Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals against Dallas, in a trade with Nashville.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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