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Superstar Ilya Kovalchuk was traded late Thursday from the Thrashers to the Devils. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Ilya Kovalchuk’s exorbitant contract demands left Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell small choice but to deal with the Devils.

Kovalchuk, 26, was traded Thursday evening by the Thrashers to the New Jersey Devils with defenceman Anssi Salmela in return for defenceman Johnny Oduya, rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, junior prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick.

Waddell was forced to ship Kovalchuk elsewhere because he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and the superstar’s asking price to stay place was simply too high.

Kovalchuk spurned Atlanta’s offers of $70 million over seven years and $101 million US over 12 years — pacts that Waddell considered historic in proportion — in the hope of landing a long-term deal worth $11 million annually.

Amid rumours that a trade was imminent, Waddell released a statement Thursday morning confirming the two sides had reached an impasse.

“Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract,” he said. “We’ve spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement and offered many lucrative packages. Unfortunately, we’ve reached an impasse.”

Kovalchuk has racked up 31 goals and 27 assists for 58 points in 49 games this season, his eighth in the NHL since he was drafted first overall by Atlanta in 2001.

A two-time 50-goal scorer and perennial all-star, Kovalchuk has totalled 328 goals and 615 points in 594 NHL games, all with the Thrashers.

Salmela, meantime, is essentially returned to the Devils, who traded him to Atlanta for defenceman Niclas Havelid and forward Myles Stoesz last March 2.

The 25-year-ancient Finn has one goal and five points in 29 games this season.

Oduya, a Swedish Olympian, has two goals and four points in 40 games this season. He was injured for five weeks and missed 15 games.

The 28-year-ancient rearguard ranked second on the Devils in ice time this season, averaging a small over 21 minutes per outing.

Oduya still has two years remaining on his current contract at a salary cap hit of $3.5 million US.

Bergfors, 22, ranks fifth in rookie scoring this season with 27 points, including 13 goals.

The Swedish forward was drafted 23rd overall by the Devils in 2005.

Cormier, a teenage prospect with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, recently garnered headlines for a vicious elbow that earned him a suspension for the remainder of the QMJHL season.

A highly regarded forward, the Moncton native was captain of the Canadian national team that won the silver medal last month at the world junior championship in Saskatoon.

New Jersey drafted him in the second round (54th overall) in 2008.

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean presents Kelsey Roy of Carleton Place, Ont. with a Medal of Bravery during a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Thursday. Roy saved her mother, who fell through the ice on Mississippi Lake. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean gave 47 people bravery decorations Thursday, including an Ontario girl who pulled her mother from a frozen lake and three Regina men who pulled a woman from a burning car seconds before it exploded.

The decorations recognize selfless acts that saved lives and sometimes cost rescuers their own. One U.S. Coast Guard officer received the Star of Courage, while 46 others were given the prestigious Medal of Bravery.

While some of the awards were given posthumously, recipients in attendance at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa included soldiers, police officers, volunteer firefighters, electricians, elevator repairmen and even children.

Kelsey Roy of Carleton Place in eastern Ontario was just eight when she saved her mother’s life.

She and her mother, Karin Roy, were enjoying a winter outing along Mississippi Lake in March 2007 when her mother fell through the ice and into the frigid waters. She yelled at her daughter to leave the scene, fearing she would also fall in. Kelsey instead crawled along the thin ice, grabbed her mother and pulled her to safety.

“I’ve seen what it’s like to lose someone who is close to you, my grandpa died and my fantastic-aunt died, and I just knew I couldn’t let my Mom go under, ” Kelsey said after the ceremony.

She also confessed some of her friends are kind of jealous of all the attention she is receiving for her act of bravery.

Harry Prymak said he could do without the attention. A press operator at the Winnipeg Free Press for 31 years, Prymak is used to printing the headlines, not making them.

Three years ago, Prymak and some friends were icefishing on Lac du Bonnet, Man., when they heard screams on the lake. An inexperienced snowmobiler had fallen through the ice.

Prymak said he got down on his belly and slid over to the hole where the snowmobiler had gone in.

“[I)] grabbed him by the arm and proceeded to pull him up on the ice, but the ice broke away and I also fell in,” he said.

Prymak is not a strong swimmer, but went after the drowning man until Prymak’s friends pulled them both out.

“It all happened too quick, I don’t reckon anything went through my head, I should have sat back and thought about it a small better, but I thought it was urgent to try and get him out, ” Prymak said.

A trio of men from Regina were equally bold when they came across a burning car in a ditch during a road trip in British Columbia.

In July of 2007, Mark Barnard, Andrew Hilderman and Michael Landry were driving from Kelowna to Sicamous when they saw smoke and heard screams in the ditch. The driver of the car was trapped inside by her seatbelt.

“The smoke was unbelievable,” said Hilderman. “You couldn’t see an inch in front of your face. It was just this wall of black smoke pouring out of the inside of the car. The interior of the car was on fire. She was screaming for help. It was an inferno. It was worse than you see in movies.”

The men got a knife from a passerby, cut the driver’s seatbelt and pulled her out of the vehicle. Seconds later, it exploded in a ball of flames.

“The tires were exploding, a lot of people were yelling at us to get out of there, and I just thought, ‘They blow up in the movies, they don’t blow up in real life,” Landry said.

“But no, it certainly did, and that’s when I realized the danger.”

The three men have become friends with the driver, Julie Wharram, who travelled from Toronto to Ottawa with her family to reunite with her rescuers for the first time since the accident.

“They’re awesome and I like them and my family likes them and we reckon about them everyday and we have their picture on our fridge and look at them everyday, ” she said.

In addition to bravery, the three men share another trait: modesty.

“I’m a normal person, who lives a normal life,” said Hilderman. “I wake up and place my pants on one leg at a time. I don’t consider myself a hero but people insist on calling me that.”

But the three men do admit to occasionally using their new honorific after their name, MB, which stands for medal of bravery.

“I’ve already place it on resumes, and filled out forms with MB on it. And every time I do, I just smile to myself, like, ‘That really happened,’ ” Hilderman said.

Canada gives out three bravery decorations: the Medal of Bravery, Cross of Valour and Star of Courage. Anyone can nominate a person who has risked injury or death to save another. The incidents don’t need to have taken place in Canada and the rescuer doesn’t have to be a citizen, but Canadians or Canadian interests must be involved.

Lions owner David Braley, right, wants to buy the Argos, too. (Chuck Stoody/Canadian Press)

The end appears near in the ongoing Toronto Argonauts ownership saga.

For a second straight day, the Argos’ proposed sale to B.C. Lions owner David Braley wasn’t ratified by the CFL’s board of governors at meetings in West Palm Beach, Fla. Again, league officials said that because work continues on the transaction, the matter couldn’t be presented to the governors for ratification.

But on Thursday, Argos co-owner David Cynamon told The Fan 590 — an all-sports radio station in Toronto — that by the end of the week the CFL club will either be sold to Braley or remain with Cynamon and co-owner Howard Sokolowski.

“But one thing we’re committed to is to make sure one way or the other it’s finalized this week,” Cynamon said.

Cynamon and Sokolowski have spent much of the off-season kicking around the thought of selling the franchise they rescued from the jaws of bankruptcy in 2003, or securing additional business partners to help offset their mounting losses. A CFL source requesting anonymity said at least one group has inquired about purchasing the Argos and had a representative meet with Cynamon and Sokolowski.

But, the meeting finished quickly when the asking price for the franchise was unveiled at between $12 million and $15 million.

The Argos owners, with help from the CFL, also attempted to land a new partner but couldn’t formally secure one.

Last June, it was revealed Braley fronted Sokolowski and Cynamon half the $2-million franchise fee to buy the Argos and continued to lend the team money.

If Braley buys the Argos it could present a potentially embarrassing situation for the CFL. Not only would one man own 25 per cent of the league, it would also make an obvious conflict-of-interest situation.

But there are no provisions within the CFL’s constitution preventing one person from owning two different teams. There is also support within the board of governors for Braley having two separate franchises.

And recently constitutional amendments were made so that CFL commissioner Mark Cohon would have to be informed of any financial transactions made between owners, thus making transparency.

Yet to hire a head coach

Resolving the ownership issue would certainly be welcomed by the Argos, who’ve yet to settle on a head coach and are nervously attempting to sell season-ticket packages. Last week, the club offered its head coach’s job to Montreal offensive co-ordinator Scott Milanovich but he opted to remain with the Grey Cup-champion Alouettes.

With that development and Calgary assistant George Cortez joining the Buffalo Bills, the expectation was former Winnipeg head coach Doug Berry had become the top candidate for the Argos’ job. But, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers having hired former Saskatchewan assistant Paul LaPolice as their new head coach, Hamilton defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall could re-enter the picture in Toronto.

The Argos questioned for — and received — permission from Hamilton to speak to Marshall about their head coach’s spot, but that was with the expectation he’d likely be hired in Winnipeg.

Whoever takes over as coach will be the club’s fourth in two seasons and face the task of rebuilding a club that’s 7-29 over that span.