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2010 NHL Free Agency: No news on Ilya Kovalchuk just yet

Ilya Kovalchuk, Tobias Enstrom

FILE - In this April 6, 2010, file photo, New Jersey Devils left wing Ilya Kovalchuk (17) skates against the Atlanta Thrashers during the first period of an NHL hockey game at Philips Arena in Atlanta. NHL free agent shoppers won’t find anyone on the open market to compare to LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. This year’s class doesn’t even stack up to the star quality of last year, but with players such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Nabokov available to the highest bidder, there could be quite a bit of movement around the league. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith, File)

AP

We are now six hours into the 2010 NHL free agency period and still nothing concrete on Ilya Kovalchuk -- the supposed top free agent this summer.

All day long it’s looked like the Los Angeles Kings were the frontrunners on Kovalchuk, but over the past few hours things have slowed down a bit on the Kovalchuk to LA talk. Right now the Kings are working on trading for a defensemen after missing out on the top free agents, and now it seems their focus isn’t completely on Kovalchuk.

While there’s a number of teams in on the Kovalchuk negotiations, including the New Jersey Devils, even now it seems like the Kings are still the favorite destination for the Russian sniper. Yet the rush of rumors and whispers about the contract talks have certainly slowed, as Kovalchuk waits for the perfect deal to come along.

Word is he’s waiting on Los Angeles to make the offer he wants, although as of now their focus is on improving the defense.