Devils Land Kovalchuk

2/5/2010 – Adam Steevens

Thursday night, the Thrashers finally dealt their star player, Ilya Kovalchuk, to the New Jersey Devils.

The Atlanta Thrashers have parted ways with the most celebrated player in franchise history, trading star winger Ilya Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils. The Thrashers acquired defenceman John Oduya, forwards Niclas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier and the Devils first round pick in 2010. The Devils also receive defenceman Anssi Salmela in the deal. New Jersey traded Salmela to Atlanta last March for Niclas Havelid. In addition, the two teams also swap second round picks in 2010. Kovalchuk, 26, became the subject of trade rumours recently after reports surfaced that he could not come to terms on a multi-year contract with general manager Don Waddell. The Russian sniper is in the final year of his current contract and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. “It’s a bittersweet day,” said Waddell during a Thursday night conference call. “Now we have to move forward and look at the positive side of things.” “[The Devils are] a good team with a great chance to make the playoffs and go far,” said Kovalchuk. “But, it’s sad at the same time… I’ve been a Thrasher for eight years and I appreciated everything.” Kovalchuk was selected first overall by the Thrashers in the 2001 NHL Draft. In 594 career NHL games with Atlanta, he has amassed 328 goals and 278 assists. The high-scoring winger has 31 goals and 27 assists with a plus-1 rating so far this season. {TSN}

It doesn’t seem like a the Devils took a huge hit to take on Kovalchuk – but New Jersey will still have to resign him at years end, and considering that Illya turned down a $101 million offer from Atlanta, it’s clear he won’t come cheap. Next season aside, the Devils snagged a world-class player, and now they’ve got the legitimate scoring threat to keep up with Pittsburgh and Washington in the East.