Unable to sign Ilya Kovalchuk with an offer of more than $101 million, the Atlanta Thrashers traded him to the New Jersey Devils for a package that included defenseman Johnny Oduya, winger Niclas Bergfors, plus prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick.

The Thrashers also send defensemana Anssi Salmel to New Jersey, where he started his NHL career. New Jersey and Atlanta will swap second-round picks in 2010.Although the Thrashers wanted to re-sign Kovalchuk, he turned down an offer of a 12-year deal worth more than $101 million. He was also offered a seven-year deal at $10 million per season.

“During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to to be a Thrasher for life,” general manager Don Waddell said in a statement released by a team. “We spent several months exploring scenarios … and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we reached an impasse.”

According to the Thrashers, the 12-year deal would have been the “highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent.”The $10 million-per-year offer would have given Kovalchuk the NHL’s highest average salary.”If we went beyond these offers, we would not have been able to retain the young players on our roster,” Waddell said.

The NHL salary cap is $56.7 million, but the Thrashers, ranked 28th in attendance, have a budget several million dollars below that number. Under the salary cap, the Thrashers could have paid Kovalchuk a maximum $11.2 million a season and that was his asking priceWaddell called it a “bittersweet day”, noting that Kovalchuk had served the franchise well for eight seasons.

“(But) I don’t think it sets us back at all,” Waddell said. “We are actually moving forward. We picked up some nice pieces today. Some nice assets. It gives us a nice bank of young players. This wasn’t something we looked forward to do, but we were forced to do and now we move forward.”

Several teams inquired about Kovalchuk, but Waddell said New Jersey separated itself from the pack by offering a package that included prospects and players who could help the team now. One of the holdups in negotiations, according to Waddell, was New Jersey’s reluctance to include Cormier.

“Even to the last day, I think Kovy wanted to be a Thrasher,” Waddell said. “But at the end of the day, it becomes a business decision. … Even if we could come up with the money, in a cap world, you need to make all of the pieces fit. When you have one person take up that much of your cap, it’s hard to fit the other pieces in.”

The Thrashers’ objective in trading Kovalchuk was to land players who could help them get into the playoffs, and Bergfors and Oduya are New Jersey regulars. Oduya, 27, is signed for two more seasons after this one with a salary cap hit of $3.5 million.”He is a very good defenseman who complements our group,” Waddell said.

Bergfors, 22, can play either wing. He has 13 goals this season. “We like his scoring touch,” Waddell said.Cormier was considered a good prospect, but he was suspended for the rest of the season by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for a flagrant elbow to the head of an opponent.

The Devils have one of the NHL’s best defensive teams and now they added a dynamic player who has 328 goals in his first 594 NHL games. It’s unknown whether Kovalchuk would consider signing in New Jersey long-term. Kovalchuk has never been known as a strong defensive player and now he will be playing for one of the league’s most defensive-oriented coaches in Jacques Lemaire. Kovalchuk was Atlanta’s star, and the question about the franchise now is whether attendance will become weaker.”It doesn’t matter who is on our roster, the only way to bring fans back is to win hockey games,” Waddell said.