More than meets the eye as Ilya gets booed by Jets fans

In the few games that Ilya Kovalchuk played in Philips Arena as a visitor after the Thrashers traded him in February 2010 to New Jersey, it was common for fans to shower him with boos every time he touched the puck. Who knew that when the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg this past offseason that that tradition would seemingly travel with them. When New Jersey played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Saturday for the first time, Kovalchuk again was booed every time he touched the puck in a 4-2 Jets victory. After the game, Kovalchuk owner of typical Russian sardonic wit offered up this quote, as reported by the Newark Star-Ledger: They should support me. Maybe Im one of the reasons they moved here. Ouch. For Thrashers fans who are still suffering over the loss of their team, that one stings -- especially coming from a player who undoubtedly loved the city and enjoyed making Atlanta his home. When Kovalchuk says he might be one of the reasons why the franchise moved, he obviously is referring to the fact that he refused to sign a 12-year, 101-million contract offer from the Thrashers (or a seven-year, 70-million offer) precisely because he wanted to avoid a situation such as having to relocate to a city not of his choosing. Shortly after the Kovalchuk trade, the deal seemed like the ThrasherJets might have gotten a good return. Niclas Bergfors earned a spot on the all-rookie team and was a 20-goal scorer. Johnny Oduya seemed a top-three defenseman they needed and Patrice Cormier was a sought-after prospect. The organization also received a first-round pick, which it sent along with Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb and prospect Jeremy Morin for Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Sopel. While Kovalchuk hasnt exactly torn it up as a Devil he has 47 goals in 128 games -- the deal doesnt exactly look so rosy for the ThrasherJets, as Kovalchuk alluded. Bergfors and Cormier are both toiling in the AHL (Bergfors is with his second organization since Atlanta traded him at the deadline last season) and Sopel, now in Russia, was traded for Ben Maxwell, who has now been waived twice this season (by Winnipeg and Anaheim). After not the most stellar season in 2010-11 (he was minus-15), Oduya currently is a minus-1 (tied for second to worst among Jets defensemen) and is fifth in average time-on-ice-per-game among Winnipeg defenseman. Byfuglien, whose acquisition was tangential to the Kovalchuk deal, ranks second on the team in points, having proven himself one of the leagues top offensive defensemen over the past two seasons, but is team-worst minus-8. So maybe Kovalchuk has a point. The curious part is that the booing was not necessarily born out of any animus from his long tenure in Atlanta. In addition to Kovalchuk, the fans also booed goalie Johan Hedberg who earned his nickname Moose while playing in the MTS Centre for the AHLs Manitoba Moose, becoming a fan favorite in the process. Evidently, something deeper is at work. It is nothing personal and professional sports players probably dont even really think about it to (sic) much anyways, according to a posting on the Website of TSN.ca under the handle jets-4-life. We have done this to EVERY teams (sic) goalie thus far this season. It is the same reason we were booing Kovy (nothing to do with his history in Atlanta, not to sound like another city basher, but we dont really care about the history of the team to much in ATL. Its (sic) a fresh start here). We have done this to every team over the last few games. I think it really started when people got on (Steve) Stamkos in the TB game a few weeks back. And another poster under the handle The_Blue_Canucks_Bombers explained it this way: Just so everyone knows: Were booing one player, the other teams (sic) star player. And we ride the goalie of the opposing team. Doesnt mean we dont respect the players, they just happen to not be wearing Jets Jerseys. So, in Kovalchuks case, it was just a case of coincidence and odd timing. Winnipeg has a confusing history. It took the name of its former WHA and NHL entry, which now plays in Phoenix. Case in point: When forward Evander Kane, a current ThrasherJet, wanted to wear No. 9, he felt obliged to ask Bobby Hull, who wore it as a CoyoteJet. But this team came from Atlanta. On the Jets Website, if you look up the franchises all-time leader in games played (594), goals (328) and points (615), among numerous other categories, it lists Kovalchuk as the leader with the letters WPG under the franchise category. As mentioned above, its complicated.