Let the Ilya Kovalchuk Sweepstakes Begin!

Game On.

Those are basically the two words that come to mind, now that Atlanta Thrashers General Manager Don Waddell has told his franchise player, Ilya Kovalchuk, that he will indeed be traded before the NHL trade deadline of March 3^rd. To be quite honest, it looks like it will probably be even sooner than that.

(Credit: John Julian/Flickr)

The 26-year-old was told by Waddell after practice today that Atlanta will move him to another club, although a deal was not imminent.  However, the Thrashers don’t play again until Friday, so chances are looking good that perhaps something might happen in the next few days, especially since now Waddell has passed on that message to Kovalchuk and his agent, Jay Grossman.

At this point, nobody knows what the end destination will be for the Thrashers captain. The list of suitors is expected to be long, but in the end, there will probably be only one or two teams that will seriously bid for the sniper’s services. There have been rumblings that Waddell is looking for a package that will provide him with some NHL bodies, as he can’t really sell draft picks and kids to the fan base in Atlanta, especially since the club is still in the thick of the playoff race.

Currently, the Thrashers sit in 11^th place in the Eastern Conference, only two points ahead of the 13^th place Islanders. At the same time, the Philadelphia Flyers are only up by three points, sitting in the sixth slot. Having a couple of players that are established in the league already would go a long way in getting the club into the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history.

Waddell isn’t letting teams negotiate an extension with the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, which doesn’t help his cause in getting a big return for what would amount to be a pure six-week rental. However, if clubs were given an opportunity to discuss a contract, then Waddell would most likely have his hands tied and would be forced to deal with only one specific club, which basically provides the leverage in the hands of Kovalchuk and Grossman.

Ilya Kovalchuk

The next 24-48 hours will be very interesting…for fans, Waddell, and of course Kovalchuk. It will also be the biggest turning point for the franchise, as it’s crucial that Waddell get a fair return on his biggest asset. It could be the determining factor as to whether NHL hockey will survive in Georgia for the long haul.

Posted by Anjul Virk on Feb 4 2010. Filed under Atlanta Thrashers, Southeast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.