After all the speculation, around the clock coverage, and constant destination changes, Ilya Kovalchuk has finally been dealt. The New Jersey Devils have acquired the Atlanta sniper. The Devils have reportedly sent Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, a first-round draft pick, and Mattias Tedenby to Atlanta to nab the Russian scoring machine.  There was lots of speculation all week that the Philadelphia Flyers were heavily involved in talks with Thrasher GM Don Waddell about grabbing Kovalchuk. Never really came close. According to CSNPhilly.com’s Flyers beat writer Tim Panaccio and yours truly, GM Paul Holmgren stated a few times that he didn’t want to mortgage the future for Kovalchuk.
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