Ilya Kovalchuk's agent Jay Grossman is in Atlanta this weekend and the expectation is ongoing negotiations with the Thrashers will resume early next week.
While both sides say they remain committed to getting a deal done, sources say Thrashers general manager Don Waddell has started to feel out teams who may have interest in a trade, if an agreement in Atlanta can't be reached.
When asked via text message if Atlanta has alerted teams of its intent to trade Kovalchuk, Waddell replied, "not yet."
TSN followed up by asking Waddell if he has discussed the possibility with other NHL teams and the veteran general manager responded, "getting closer."
Contractually, there is nothing prohibiting the Thrashers from trading their superstar captain, but it's very unlikely Kovalchuk will forfeit his right to unrestricted free agency on July 1 by signing a contract with a new team, so any blockbuster formula may be impacted by this risk.
