If you were wondering why the Flyers were so interested in Ilya Kovalchuk, you now know why. They didn’t want to play against him six times a year as a New Jersey Devil. The Atlanta Thrashers dealt their captain to the Devils on Thursday night for defenseman Johnny Oduya, rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, junior prospect Patrice Cormier and New Jersey’s first-round pick in this June’s draft. The Devils also get defenseman Anssi Salmela and the teams will flip their picks in the second round. “This wasn’t an easy deal to make,” General Manager Don Waddell told reporters Thursday night.

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