 Rather than potentially losing him to free agency in the off-season, the team traded Kovalchuk on February 4, 2010, to the New Jersey Devils.Atlanta received defenseman Johnny Oduya, rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, junior prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela; the teams also traded second-round selections in 2010.The Thrashers finished tenth in the Conference, with 83 points, which would be the most points they had earned in a regular season from the time they won the division title in 2006–07 to the team's eventual relocation in the summer of 2011.