Will he stay or go? Kovalchuk's future in Atlanta

"It's a great city, my family loves it here. I feel very comfortable in the locker room and with management, trainers, everybody. I don't have any problems. If we're going to play well, I want to stay here. I want to win the Cup and bring it here because I was drafted by this team." -Ilya Kovalchuk, October, 2008The upcoming 2009-10 season is a vital one for the Atlanta Thrashers franchise. Their crown jewel is entering the final year of his contract and while negotiations are underway, there's no predicting when a deal might be struck, if any. Kovalchuk has made it clear that he wants to see progress on the ice if he's to stay in Atlanta. General Manager Don Waddell's quest to prove to his star player that indeed, he is trying, led him to go out and trade for defenseman Pavel Kubina from Toronto and sign Nik Antropov to a four-year, $16.4 million deal. Helping in the recruiting process of Antropov was Kovalchuk, which is an encouraging sign for Thr...