Kovalchuk dealt to Devils

It was inveterated last Thursday that the Devils have obtained the former Atlanta captain, a looming gratis agent. The Thrashers had received defenseman in the person of Johnny Oduya, draftee onward Niclas Bergfors, subordinate panorama Patrice Cormier and New Jersey's first-round single out in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Defenseman Anssi Salmela, dealt by the Devils to the Thrashers last March for Niclas Havelid, will back to New Jersey seeing that as part of the pact. The group will also flick second-round picks.

Don Waddell said "This wasn't an easy deal to make," on thursday night. "Ilya Kovalchuk has been with us for eight years. He's been the visage of our charter and done so many excellent things for us, on and off the ice.

Kovalchuk possess almost all the nasty records in Thrashers chronicles and is having another brilliant period with 31 goals and 27 aids for 58 points in 49 games. But he will become a gratis agent on July 1 and had not arrived at conformity on a new indenture with the team.

Furthermore, Thrashers had obtainable manifold deals, including a $101 million, 12-year indenture that Waddell said Thursday which had not been accepted. Kovalchuk apparently had been seeking for an indenture cost with the limit of 20 percent of the remuneration lid on a transaction that would last 10-12 years.

In view of the fact that the Thrashers sketched him with the No. 1 single out in 2001, Kovalchuk escorts the NHL with 328 goals. Nevertheless, Atlanta, an extension lineup that entirely debuted in 1999-2000, has made just one final round facade and has never won a postseason play.

Thus, Kovalchuk, who has 328 goals and 615 points in 594 NHL games, is a two-time 50-goal scorer who has at least 41 goals in each of the last five seasons. He would be a main nasty boost for the Devils, who've drooping badly in the preceding few weeks and are in peril of falling out of first place in the Atlantic Division.

Oduya, a 28-year-old, has 2 goals and 4 points in 40 games this season. Bergfors, New Jersey's first-round pick in 2005, has 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in 54 games, but hasn't scored a goal since Dec. 30 and has gone 13 games devoid of a point.

Cormier was a boss of Canada's world junior championship team. He has been perched for the rest of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season for an elbowing incident.