By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

eading into every new NHL season,
Hi always seems like there is a big
name entering into the final year
of his contract with his future up in the
air. The smart money usually leads to said
player departing from his team in favour of
greener, and richer, pastures.

Two years ago it was Ryan Smyth,
who was shipped out of Edmonton for a
brief stay with the New York Islanders
before signing a long term money deal
with the Colorado Avalanche that summer.
Last season it was Marian Hossa, who was
traded from the dismal Atlanta Thrashers
to the Pittsburgh Penguins, also at the trade
deadline. Hossa then inked a one-year
contract with the Detroit Red Wings before
signing the rest of his career to the Chicago
Blackhawks this summer.

This year, the top prospective player to
be moved is Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk. He’s
spent his entire career with the Thrashers
and during his eight seasons with the club
the team has made the playoffs just once,
in 2006-07, and that ended quickly at the
hands of the New York Rangers, who swept
them in four straight games. At the end
of this season, finally, Kovalchuk will be
an unrestricted free agent, and despite the
constant talk from Thrashers management
about how getting him back under contract

g acquisition at the trade deadline

at any price is their top priority, why would
he stay?

After all, Kovalchuk can fetch top
market dollar basically anywhere. During
his eight NHL seasons, Kovalchuk has
proven himself to be one of the most
skilled, dynamic players in the game. He’s
twice scored 50 goals in a season and has
failed to reach 40 just twice. In 2003-04,
he tied for the league lead in goals with
41. Last season he posted a career best in
points with 91 to go with his 43 tallies (that

largely unnoticed and has flown under the
radar for much of his career. Unfortunately,
much of that can be attributed to him toiling
away in Atlanta, which has to go down
as one of the most sad-sack franchises
in sports history. Had Kovalchuk not
been hidden away down south in relative
obscurity, he would be a regular MVP
candidate.

Think of how valuable an asset this
guy would be to a club like Vancouver,
or any team for that matter. Consider

“Kovalchuk goes largely unnoticed and has flown under the
radar for much of his career. Unfortunately, much of that can be
attributed to him toiling away in Atlanta, which has to go down as
one of the most sad-sack franchises in sports history.”

ranked him fourth in the NHL), and that
was with what can charitably be described
as a glorified farm team when you look at
the overall Atlanta roster last year.

At 26, Kovalchuk, who became the
first Russian player ever taken first overall
in the NHL entry draft when he was
selected back in 2001, is only now entering
his prime. While he is easily one of the
most dangerous snipers of the past decade,
Kovalchuk plays a powerful game, aided by
his big 6-foot-2, 235-pound frame.

Despite shining statistics that have
made him a favourite of hockey pool
veterans everywhere, Kovalchuk goes

this, in the last four years playing for
Atlanta—Atlanta!—the only person that
has more NHL goals than Kovalchuk is
Alexander Ovechkin. He’s the only one. In
the past four seasons, or since the lockout,
Kovalchuk has racked up 52, 42, 52 and
43 goals, placing him third, eighth, second
and fourth overall in the NHL. That’s pretty
incredible.

Now put him on a team like San
Jose or Vancouver and think of where
his numbers could be. Imagine a guy like
Kovalchuk taking passes from the Sedin
twins all season long. This season is
basically an audition for Kovalchuk to show

 

off his wares, and he started off strong. In
just three games he scored five times and
added an assist.

Now, the odds of Kovalchuk returning
to the Thrashers are slim. He’s said that
the team will need to show significant
improvement this year in order for him to
even consider re-signing and it’s a long shot
for Atlanta to be much better than their 76
points and 13" place Eastern Conference a
finish last season.

The Thrashers will understandably
want a king’s ransom at the deadline from
any team that wants to acquire Kovalchuk,
so he might not even be dealt at all. He
could just wait the year out and sign
with the highest bidder next summer.

Interestingly, Vancouver could be in the mix
for his services. Trading for him is out of
the question, but they could possibly absorb
his salary in the $8 million range next year
when Roberto Luongo’s new deal kicks in
and his cap hit decreases to $5.3 million.
It’s a long shot, but it’s not impossible.

The real losers in all of this are the few
fans Atlanta actually has. For years now,
Kovalchuk has been the only legitimate
reason to come and see the Thrashers
play and losing him, combined with a
smorgasbord of sports options in the Atlanta
area, could be the death knell for this
franchise.

 

 

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