How the Ilya Kovalchuk trade allowed the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise to acquire Dustin Byfuglien

Steve Dangle takes a look back at one of the biggest trades in New Jersey Devils history, the moment they acquired superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers. Then, Steve breaks down how this trade directly resulted in the Thrashers/Jets franchise acquiring Dustin Byfuglien.

Kovalchuk still owns a bunch of records for the combined Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise after he spent eight seasons with the Thrashers including:

Goals – 328 (next up is Bryan Little at 217)
Even strength goals – 210 (next up is Blake Wheeler at 165)
Power play goals – 115 (next up is Bryan Little with 58)
Game-winning goals – 40 (next up is Bryan Little with 32)
Shots – 2178 (next up is Blake Wheeler with 2056)
Hat tricks – 11 (next up is Patrik Laine with 8)
Goals per game – 0.55 (next up is Patrik Laine with 0.45)