MCKENZIE: FLAMES, HAWKS COULD ACTIVELY PURSUE KOVALCHUK

There is no question in my mind that the Atlanta Thrashers are going to trade Ilya Kovalchuk and I believe that the sweepstakes for the star sniper is unofficially on.

That being said, Thrashers' general manager Don Waddell is not in a position that he can go out and make a deal for future considerations such as the Toronto Maple Leafs pick that belongs to the Boston Bruins.

He will not be able to go back and sell that idea to his market right now. He won't be able to sell the idea of a bunch of kids from the Los Angeles Kings like Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert as the return that he gets on Kovalchuk. If he is going to make a move, it is going to have to be for bigger name players.

The Calgary Flames are a team that may, and I stress MAY, be interested, however if they are they are going to have to talk about some of the “big boys” like Dion Phaneuf amongst others to be included.

If it's not Phaneuf then there is a good chance that the Chicago Blackhawks will be interested. I'm not saying that talks have been made, but I am saying that guys like Patrick Sharp or Cam Barker or David Bolland will be in the mix. Legitimate, bonafide NHL players are what Waddell is looking for in return and he is looking for a couple of them.

I think that at the end of the day, both Chicago and Calgary will be in that group to pursue Kovalchuk and pursue him hard.

can you imagine if the hawks got kovalchuk? they would be pretty much unbeatable. especially if they could lock him for for a few years too Hossa, kane, toews, barker, kovalchuk, and plus more. man oh man, how can they aford so much. they would definitly have to give up sharp and maybe another player plus prospects and maybe picks?

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"By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of the NHL playoff series."

They'll give up Barker, no way they're keeping Barker. Not too fond of him in Chicago. But even if they acquire Kovalchuk at the deadline, it's strictly a rental. There is no way they could fit Kovalchuk, who will be looking for Ovechkin money, in to their payroll. It's simply impossible unless they plan on having minor leaguers making 500K on their bottom 6, and I can guarantee you that they don't plan on doing that. No team does.

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Just read this, wouldn't be surprised if another team will go for him, not one of the current frontrunners.

I won't say much on top of that, still need to see what the rumour mill has to say on it the next few days.

I'd trade him if I was Atlanta. Don't tie all that money up into him. You've tried building your team around him, and have made the playoffs once. Get a few good players out of the trade, then sign some players and I think they'd do a lot better.

Well, as long as they get more than they got for Hossa, they won't be a lost team.

Is there any reason Ottawa shouldn't make a run for him?

Spezza's value is down, but he and a few others could be enticing.
I know kovy probably wants a cup contending team, but i cant see the hawks willing to give up enough to get him, especially after acquiring Hossa. Ottawa was a cup contender and bing in kovy and you got a monster line.

Aside from Alfie and Atrain, there are very few sens I wouldnt move to get Kovalchuk.

Acquiring Kovalchuk would put the Blackhawks over the top, but it should be interesting to note that after their top six defenseman (Keith, Seabrook, Campbell, Hjalmarsson, Sopel, Barker) there really isn't any other defensive depth for the Blackhawks to work with if one of their top six defenseman goes down with an injury during the playoffs. I think that's what the Chicago Blackhawks would focus on at the trade deadline more than anything else.

Paul Mara to Chicago Blackhawks for a 3rd round pick

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IMO, i wouldnt give up spezza, foligno, winchester, lee, 1st round picks and whatnot for kovalchuk. Most likely by the end of the season, he signs with a different team, we lost spezza who we could have had for the next 4-5 years, foligno, who could be a future top scoring winger, winchester who is going to be great, dont really care about lee, anymore the sens would make for this guy would be stupid because they would be giving up too much for just one guy, and after what murray said "i would rather have 2-3 guys inder contract with a certain amount of moeny then have one guy clogging up the salary cap" i dont see ottawa even putting in the slightest bit of interest, BUT, thats just my opinion

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"By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of the NHL playoff series."

I agree with you.

I damn well hope Ottawa doesn't put in any interest because if they do, that's already a mistake and if they end up winning the sweepsatkes I'll just kill myself.

if they win it and sign him it wont be so bad, but we'll be saying goodbye to spezza, foligno, 1st, 2nd round picks, HELL NO,

I highly doubt he will be signing with the team he's traded to.... and this will leave a much more bitter feeling than Stillman leaving. Not to mention that even with Kovalchuk, we will still not be expected to win and we probably won't.... yes, anything is possible, but we're better off building to contend in the future.... not for one season.

Just so you guys know, Kovalchuk doesn't want to play in Canada. The microscope is on you 24/7 when you play in Canada, and Kovalchuk is a private guy that hates that extra attention when he's off the ice.

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Phew. Don't want him on Ottawa. I'd rather see another team overpay for him. He's a good player, don't get me wrong, but he's not worth the money someone is gonna sign him for.

explains why he fits in Atlanta so much, they dont even konw they have a hockey team

It's also the exact reason Eklund made himself looking like an even bigger clown than he already was with that bullshit interview he had with a 'source' which is actually his toy doll.

Thanks for that post, now I need to clean up all this spilt Pepsi!

Dude, it's his dog. I swear, there's even a video:

Did you have a talk with him?