Thrashers deal Kovalchuk to Devils

HOCKEYTALK NEWS

FEBRUARY 4, 2010 -- ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Thrashers traded Ilya Kovalchuk on Thursday to the New Jersey Devils along with defenseman Anssi Salmela.  In return, the Thrashers receive defenceman John Oduya, forwards Niclas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier and the Devils first round pick in 2010.

Ilya Kovalchuk

The two teams also swapped second round picks in 2010.

Waddell mentioned during a Thursday conference call that Kovalchuk had rejected his $101M, 12-year deal. 

Kovalchuk, 26, is the most famous player in the history of the franchise and has scored 328 goals.

Waddell released this statement:

"...We offered Kovy several lucrative packages in an effort to meet his financial objectives.  One offer that we extended to Ilya would have made him the highest paid NHL player on a per year average with $10 million per year for seven years.   Another offer totaled more than $100 million over 12 years, and it, combined with the previous contractual commitments that were made to Kovy, would have earned him more money than any other NHL player in the history of the league."

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