By: Corey Abbott

On last Saturday's edition of the Hotstove on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, Pierre LeBrun discussed the possibility of Atlanta superstar Ilya Kovalchuk signing in the Kontinental Hockey League. He mentioned that St. Petersburg will likely throw a huge contract his way if he does not re-sign with the Thrashers. If Russia was able to lure Kovalchuk away from the NHL it would be massive for their league and it would not only serve to legitimize them as a legit competitor, it would also give them their first true star and poster boy.

However, Atlanta is committed to keeping their former first overall pick in the 2001 draft. They do not want these negotiations to linger and expect to have Kovalchuk locked up to a long-term deal in the next couple of weeks. The fact that the team is playing so well and that they have done so much in an attempt to please him (signing Pavel Kubina, Nik Antropov and retaining the services of Rich Peverley) will go a long way to showing him they are committed to winning and improving their club. At this point in his career, the talented Russian simply wants to win. All things considered, it is highly likely that he will remain in the NHL and probably with Atlanta. Stay tuned to see how all this unfolds.

Quick note: I started reading Theo Fleury's book, Playing With Fire, and it is both horrifying and strangely compelling. He has seemingly overcome so much in his life and has worked so hard to clean up his act, which I find to be extremely commendable and inspiring.