Letter to Fans from Don Waddell

After several months of negotiations toward a long-term contract with forward Ilya Kovalchuk and his agent, we were unable to reach an agreement and elected to trade Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and a first round draft pick in 2010.

We want you, our fans, to know that throughout the negotiation process, the Thrashers organization remained committed to offering Ilya a contract that exceeded those of the league’s best and highest paid players, and was commensurate to his skill level and performance history.

To that end, we offered Kovy several lucrative packages in an effort to meet his financial objectives. One offer that we extended to Ilya would have made him the highest paid NHL player on a per year average with $10 million per year for seven years. Another offer totaled $101 million over 12 years, and it, combined with the previous contractual commitments that were made to Kovy, would have earned him more money than any other NHL player in the history of the league.

If we had met Kovy’s ultimate demand, we would have jeopardized our ability to build a competitive team around him and retain our other young players as they became eligible for new contracts in the seasons ahead. At the end of the day, we couldn’t close that gap and simply reached a point at which we couldn’t reasonably go any higher.

We’re excited about the addition of all three players and feel that Johnny and Niclas will quickly complement our team of budding young stars, highly-skilled veterans and elite players. We also look forward to having Patrice join us in the near future. Our goals for this season have not changed—to make and advance as deep as possible in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs—and we move ahead with a new sense of purpose that is energized by our continued climb in the standings as we position ourselves to compete with the best in the NHL.

We will maintain the option of bringing in more players, in addition to the ones that we have acquired in the trade, to make sure that we are fully competitive for the remainder of the season and the postseason.

We thank Ilya and Anssi for all they have done for our organization and wish them well. And we thank you, for your continued support, and look forward to your enthusiastic presence in Blueland to help drive us into the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Don Waddell
Executive Vice President and General Manager
Atlanta Thrashers

Editor's note: Should these bolded paragraphs scare Senators fans at all? Jay Grossman is the player representation for both Kovalchuk and Anton Volchenkov. Is it reasonable to assume that Volchenkov may want to test the open market?

Comments (4)

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written by Joshua M , February 05, 2010

Letter from Fans to Don Waddell:

Dear Don,

We only exist in your head.

Regards,
Atlanta's Imaginary Fans

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Volchenkov to test the open market?
written by PvR , February 05, 2010

Maybe but I don't think Anton wants to leave Ottawa. I believe that Kovalchuk wanted to leave Atlanta such that no amount of money would keep him there.

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written by Joshua M , February 05, 2010

In seriousness, I don't believe there is any way Ottawa can retain Volchenkov anyways. I have already resigned myself to the conclusion that he will be allowed to walk away at the end of the year.

Even if it were possible, I am not convinced that signing him to a long term deal is wise in anycase. The way Volchenkov plays, his body will start to break down before long. I would stand opposed to any deal longer than 3 years.

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Agents are assholes!
written by Canucnik , February 05, 2010

We forget Agents are assholes, it's their job. Jay Grossman will get to "screw the pouch!" twice this season...Volchie will watch in horror as #17 goes back to the Russian Elite League and will immediately re-sign with us @ $4 for 4!

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