Best season ever for Kovy? Don’t know if you caught the Thrashers recent shootout win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto, but in his six seasons with the franchise, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ilya Kovalchuk play any better than he did in that contest. He was absolutely on a different dimension the entire evening, and it was truly fitting that he scored the shootout game winning goal with an other-worldly move and a soft wrister that floated over the left shoulder and catching glove of goaltender Vesa Toskala. Ilya will be the first to tell you it doesn’t matter what’s on a player’s sweater, it’s the heart underneath that makes the difference. I’m saying from up at press level it looks as though he’s taken on a greater leadership role with the “A” on his sweater. He’s been an absolute force in all zones, and don’t forget, he was the one to drop the gloves in Buffalo earlier this season, when he thought the Sabres were guilty of a cheap hit on Todd White. Ilya looks poised to have a monster year, and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Thrashers.
 
 
Best gauge that Toronto is an over-the-top hockey town? I happened to be the last guy getting off the team bus when we pulled into the Air Canada Centre before the same aforementioned game, and the TV cameras kept rolling. Only in the big T-O do they have so much hockey air to fill that they get “B roll” of the radio guy, just in case. Just in case of what? I have no idea.
 
 
Best (and worst) stat of the road trip? Atlanta went into Nashville having faced the Predators for only the ninth time in the eight-season history of the Thrashers. Never in the history of pro sports have geography and common sense been so blatantly disregarded. OK, maybe I’m waxing a little hyperbolic there, but – geez – nine times in eight seasons, when fans from either team could drive to the game? I just hope the Predators stay in the Music City long enough for a real Nashville-Atlanta rivalry to build. As you can imagine, much of the talk in Nashville focused on the political and business maneuverings surrounding the pending sale of the team to a local group and the commitment of that group to keeping the team in the country music capital.
 
 
Best side trip of the road trip? Taking the 15-minute cab ride to the XM Satellite Radio studios in Toronto. I don’t know about you, but for me the hockey channel (XM 204) is a must-listen for game recaps and general hockey news, and it was great seeing and meeting many of the people who make it happen. The studio is small, but the news and information those fine folks crank out is huge.