Kovalchuk trade rumors swirl as captain reportedly turns down contract offer

The rumor mill was churning at Philips Arena on Tuesday after the club’s flagship radio station reported that captain Ilya Kovalchuk turned down a contract offer that would have made the Russian superstar one of the highest paid players in the game.

John Kincade from the 680 the Fan’s “Buck and Kincade Show” reported that the Atlanta Thrashers offered Kovalchuk the biggest contract ever offered to an unrestricted free agent.

Atlanta will explore trade options according to the report.

“Attention NHL fans; I can assure you that Ilya Kovalchuk is leaving the Atlanta Thrashers,” Kincade tweeted. “He will be traded sooner than later.”

The offer, according to multiple sources, was somewhere above the $9.54 million per year average fetched by superstar Alexander Ovechkin, but less than the maximum allowable player salary of $11.36 million per season.

The purported offer was for fewer seasons than Ovechkin's 13-year, $134 million contract extension, which he inked with the Washington Capitals in 2008. 

No player may sign a contract higher with an average value higher than 20% of the league’s salary cap, which is $56.8 million for the 2009-10 season. The salary cap may decrease for the 2010-11 campaign as revenues shrink due to the current economic climate.

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell refused comment on the report, according to the AJC’s Chris Vivlamore. The Atlanta GM did tell Vivlamore that he had not had any talks with Kovalchuk’s agent, Jay Grossman, in more than a week.

Kovalchuk sidestepped reporters after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, getting dressed and slipping out of the Atlanta locker room, leaving his coach answering the questions that his star player would not.

“Quite honestly, Don (Waddell) and Kovalchuk have kept the negotiations behind closed doors,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “Kovalchuk comes out and plays every day. All of the stuff bothers him a little, but he’s a professional and is playing hard for the Atlanta Thrashers right now.”

Any trade would come at a crucial juncture for the Thrashers, who are in the midst of a playoff run in the tightly bunched Eastern Conference. Atlanta finished play on Tuesday tied for 11th place with 56 points.

The 26-year-old Kovalchuk should garner a lot of interest from other teams around the league and Waddell has started kicking the tires a bit, scouting recent contests between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings are one of the few teams that have mix the cap space and young prospects to make a deal for the Atlanta superstar, who is the team’s all-time leader in just about every offensive category.

Other rumored destinations for Kovalchuk include the Flyers, Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks. The Rangers and Calgary Flames also have shed salary of late and could make a bold move for the superstar.

“I’ve seen more trades made by the media than any general manager, by far,” Anderson joked. “It’s fun to speculate.”

Kovalchuk entered play on Tuesday fifth in the league with 31 goals despite missing six games with a broken foot.