THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — The bad times look to be over for Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Russian star has seven goals during the Thrashers’ surprising 4-1-0 start to the season.
And with more depth than ever, a clutch of exciting young players and strong goaltending from Ondrej Pavalec, Atlanta looks like it may finally have arrived as a contending team in its 11th NHL season.
"I think this is the best team the franchise has ever had," Kovalchuk said after practice Monday at the Bell Centre. "We’re all excited and waiting for a big season.
"It’s fun to win. I’ve been waiting for that moment. We made some great moves during the summer. We signed some free agents and I think that was key for the season."
The Thrashers, who end a five-game road trip Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens, have been even more impressive in that they have played only once at home so far this season.
A happy Kovalchuk is a good thing for the Thrashers, who need to sign the high-scoring left-winger or risk losing him as an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Recent talks between Atlanta general manager Don Waddell and agent Jay Grossman suggest the Thrashers are doing all they can to get a contract done as soon as possible for Kovalchuk, who is in the last year of a five-year deal that will pay him US$7.5 million this season.
"My agent is talking and we’ll see," Kovalchuk said. "We’ll figure out something.
"I just want to focus on the game because I think it will be a big season for us."
There is also talk of interest from at least one club in the KHL in Russia, which is not limited by a salary cap and may wish to make a statement signing of one of the top NHL stars.
When asked about the KHL, Kovalchuk only said: "It’s a great league. We’ll see what happens."
The Thrashers got some of the supporting cast Kovalchuk has lacked for most of his career on the market this summer when they acquired winger Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov and defenceman Pavel Kubina.
They also picked up some impressive players in recent drafts, including defenceman Zack Bogosian and forwards Brian Little and Evander Kane, an eye-catching rookie picked fourth overall last June.
They also got lucky with the acquisition last January of centre Rich Peverley, who has four goals and three assists in the first five games this season. Since he joined Atlanta, Peverley has 42 points in 44 games.
And Pavelec has been brilliant replacing oft-injured goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who this time is sidelined after off-season back surgery.
Second-year head coach John Anderson is optimistic that Kovalchuk will choose to sign a new deal.
"I think Ilya’s happy with the way the team’s turned out," said Anderson. "We’ve shown that we’re going to add talent and the young talent is playing well.
"I think Ilya just wants to win. I think everything the organization has done in the off-season has indicated that that’s what we want to do, too. So I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t sign."
The team is certainly in a good mood.
"We’re a pretty balanced team," said centre Todd White. "We’ve got a lot more speed and size, so we’re much improved."
While Kovalchuk may opt to stay in Atlanta, he has joined other stars from his home country like Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin in insisting he will play in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, whether the NHL decides to participate or not.
"I’m sure we’re going to go, so it doesn’t matter what they say," Kovalchuk said. "It’s a joke — you have to play for your country.
"That’s the biggest tournament ever, especially in countries like Canada and Russia. When they talk about not letting the NHL players go it’s kind of stupid. All the best players should play there. It doesn’t matter if it’s NHL or KHL or Switzerland, if you’re good enough to play for your country and they want you, you have to go and play."
Ovechkin has said he will even risk sanctions from the league to play in the 2014 Games.
"I think everybody’s going to do that," added Kovalchuk. "It’s so obvious. It’s an honour to play for your country and it’s in Russia. It may be our last chance to play in our home building in that kind of tournament."
