Kovalchuk traded to Devils

[Forkboy]

Ilya Kovalchuk is a New Jersey Devil.

The Atlanta Thrashers confirmed Thursday that they have dealt their captain, an impending free agent, to the New Jersey Devils. The Thrashers reportedly will receive defenseman Johnny Oduya, rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, junior prospect Patrice Cormier and New Jersey's first-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Defenseman Anssi Salmela, traded by the Devils to the Thrashers last March for Niclas Havelid, will return to New Jersey as part of the deal. The teams will also flip second-round picks.

"This wasn't an easy deal to make," General Manager Don Waddell said Thursday night. "Ilya Kovalchuk has been with us for eight years. He's been the face of our franchise and done so many good things for us, on and off the ice.

"We tried everything we can. I had great support from ownership. We offered him over $100 million in a long-term contract. He had said he wanted to be a Thrasher for life. We tried to make that happen, but unfortunately we couldn't reach a deal.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=516293

[MadBadger]

1. Go Jersey!

[Forkboy]

2. I'd have no problems with the Devils winning.

They've been my second favorite team from the day Scott Stevens arrived there, and I haven't stopped liking them even after he retired.

[KamaAina]

3. Excellent!

I always thought Kovalchuk was good enough to play in the NHL. :P

[Onceuponalife]

4. Great deal for the Devils

Anyone want to see a Devils/Capitals conference final?:bounce:

[Forkboy]

5. Only if the Devils win it.

[TZ]

6. BOOOOO!

Someones mad that their Bruins lost to the Caps...12 in a row.....Woohoo. At least ONE team in this area is awesome...

[Forkboy]

7. As I said above, the Devils have been my second favorite team for almost 20 years.

The Bruins losing to the Caps has nothing to with it. You may recall I was rooting for the Caps over Pittsburgh last year.

[rep the dems]

8. Well, better them than the Capitals.

The thought of all those braindead, bandwagon fans getting a Stanley Cup makes me sick.

[JonLP24]

9. Hey Forkboy

The Coyotes on the road against Chicago went into another shoot-out! It was tied at 1-1 after regulation and overtime won the game in the SO 2-1 in 3 shots by both teams. BTW both teams played great defense and goal tending especially Chicago in the last 10 minutes were the 'Yotes spent most of the time inside their blue line but had a hard time getting clean shots off. Also the Blackhawks were threatening in the last 2 minutes with a PP but we able to hold them off. whew.

They have now won 6 in a row! :) :bounce:

[Forkboy]

10. I watched it.

Well, most of it. I missed some of the first. I was rooting for Chicago though.

:yoiks:

The Coyotes could be for real. We'll find out after the Olympic break when the teams really buckle down and make their final push for the playoffs. It would be great to see Phoenix make it.