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The hottest topic in NHL now is the contract of Ilya Kovachuk or the possibility of an exchange.
The Russian star of Atlanta averts direct answers and said: "Our negotiations are business. Every player has to live it through. For me it is the first time."
"Potential exchange is not my decision but the decision of the management, and I like it Atlanta and am ready to play here for all my life."
"I have all the answers to your questions," started his press conference Don Waddell. "But I am not sure you will like them."
"The agent of Kovalchuk Jay Grossman was in Atlanta this weekend and we met each other. The negotiations were interesting and we reached some progress."
"Be sure I advocate the terms of the contract due to interests of the team. But I think that our negotiations have hit some obstacle. And now we need some time to review our stance. We will return to negotiations after Christmas holidays."
"First of all we go on asserting that the team is not moving anywhere. We know that our owners who have not only ice hockey team, but also an arena and an NBA team, claimed that the club is not going to change its location."
"One group of the owners is from Boston, another from Washington and the last one from Atlanta. Every group constitutes a third part and all decisions are made by voting."
"But in this case it does not mean a lot for the contract with Kovalchuk is approved by each and every top manager. At the same time the player worried a lot about it, as Ilya wants to stay in the team in Atlanta not moving somewhere else."
"The main questions now are how much we can afford to pay Kovalchuk and how much money will be left for other players. Planning to sign a 10-12 year long contract we must think about the coming 5-6 years."
"We must take note of the interests’ of young players. On the other hand we understand that it is not easy to replace such a player as Kovalchuk. That is why we do our best to reach an agreement."
