D Day has passed.

"I'm going to Calgary? All they have up there is cattle and Dion Phaneuf... wait. No, those are the same thing..."

At least, the D-day that the media and rumors thought existed Monday. No news has come out regarding Ilya Kovalchuk signing an extension, or Don Waddell admitting that the Thrashers are shopping him. What does this mean?

Holding pattern, of course. There's speculation that he's either re-signed or will, and it will be announced at Casino Night - most of this speculation's from Thrashers fans who would really much rather not lose the franchise player.

Everyone else in the media? Good lord. I have read probably no fewer than 20 "Kovy's going to the Blackhawks!" stories. Two things about that - 1) if that happens, I'll just curl up into a ball and cry - it's bad enough seeing Hossa wear the Indian; 2) cap space. The speculation is, thanks to Pierre LeBrun on the Hot Stove and ESPN.com, that it'll act as a salary dump for the Hawks, since they're still kind of stuck in cap hell - Sharp and Versteeg are the two most commonly named people in the trade. Of course, this'd make Kovy a very high priced rental for Chicago, who probably wouldn't be able to re-sign him.

All of the speculation that Kovy's asking for league max came from a Russian news article that basically copied an AJC article that was speculation. Of course, that's become the gospel right now, and it's been re-picked up by Jeff Schultz of the AJC. Listen - no one knows what's going on other than Waddell, Grossman, and Kovy. Ignore the rumors and speculation, because if you pay attention to every one, they'll give you a heart attack. If you absolutely must read something, read Stu Hackel's breakdown of the situation - it's fair and level, and doesn't make any weird "Kovy to Calgary for Phaneuf!" rumors - which is why I avoid Bleacher Report.com like the plague.

And think about it - what team that's a contender can even OFFER him league max for 10-12 years? We're the best team that can offer him the most money right now. Kovy just has to understand that, as well as the fact that we can't re-sign the young kids and get him talent to play around him when we're giving him $10 million a year. It's just not possible. He's always said it's not money, it's about winning (though I'm sure the opposite is true for Mr. Grossman). I hope he stays true to that statement.

EDIT: I'd just like to say that I posted this about 2 hours before Wysh posted his little thing on Kovy. So, well, nyah.