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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Ilya Kovalchuk has been traded to the New Jersey Devils.

The Atlanta Thrashers sent Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela to the Devils on Thursday night for right winger Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick.

The 26-year-old Kovalchuk, set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, turned down the Thrashers' 12-year, $101 million extension offer.

Since the Thrashers drafted him No. 1 overall in 2001, Kovalchuk leads the NHL with 328 goals, but Atlanta has made just one playoff appearance and has never won a postseason game.

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dont know much about the players the devils are sending back, seems cheap no? Wish Burke woulda got on this.

Burke made it clear that even if Kovalchuk hit FA, we weren't targetting him for his financial demands. That deal isn't all that cheap, but it's reasonable. I think Kovalchuk's demands really hurt his value, but I don't even think Burke would be willing to match that offer.

What do you think we could've offered? We can't give them a 1st rounder, a near pre-requisite in a deal of this calibre, even if Kovalchuk is a rental. Prospect wise, we want to hang on to the majority of our prospects anyways, so we don't have anyone of Cormier or Bergfors quality to send there way (perhaps Keith Aulie who we just picked up could have similar value to Cormier, tough to get someone that's similar to Bergfors trade value wise). Oduya is just a really solid d-man as well (although he's older than I thought, already 28). I don't think this is a very good return for Atlanta, but it's not bad considering the circumstances and something the Leafs shouldn't and I'm sure didn't consider coming near, more because we can't afford to give up assets for a rental if we don't want to keep him. Even if we did plan to keep him, having him, Dion, Phil, and other at such a high % of the cap means scrubs for the rest of the roster.

Of course it's awesome to think about how much pressure Kovy would take off a guy like Kessel, but it's just not feasible with what he's asking for. It's going to be interesting to see where this takes New Jersey and whether they end up keeping him.

yeah i know Burke didnt want to go after him, shame, hes asking for a ton of money though its crazy he isnt worth that. I just think the leafs need more scoring on the Wings, dont know who else is available and i dont know anyhting about the players coming back for the Trashers. So i dont know if we could have matched it but i just wanted him on the Leafs:P

I haven't watched much hockey in recent years, but still kind of follow what the Leafs are doing. Anyway how much cap space do we have this summer? Can we make a run at this guy. We really need a high scoring winger like Kovalchuk to pair up with Kessel. Our D is locked down, but our forwards are pretty hard to watch. He's young too.

anyone see the Devils as a potential buyer?
wow...this one surprised me.

Relentless88 wrote:I haven't watched much hockey in recent years, but still kind of follow what the Leafs are doing. Anyway how much cap space do we have this summer? Can we make a run at this guy. We really need a high scoring winger like Kovalchuk to pair up with Kessel. Our D is locked down, but our forwards are pretty hard to watch. He's young too.

its not going to happen, but i think all the Leafs need to do is get a few atypical NHL players into training camp.
there are LOTS of small, skilled players out there that don't fit the NHL mold. you bring them into camp, get them to play with Kessel and a big winger and voila! you have your playmaker coming at at less than $1mil/year.

We have the cap space to go after him if we make some minor moves, but I dont see it happening. Burke doesnt like the long term contracts and it wouldn't surprise me if he went to the KHL. Hes a great player, but he isnt worth what he is asking. Even Crosby and Ovechkin structured their contracts to give their teams room to make moves. Hes a fool to turn down 100 million + and will not make anything close to that on the market. Edmonton will throw all its cash at him, but he wont come.

Jagr is making 10 million a year and Radulov is making 6 million a year. I could see him making 15 million a year easily in the KHL.