DULUTH, Ga. --- Ilya Kovalchuk wants to spend the next several seasons as captain of the Atlanta Thrashers.

For Kovalchuk to get his wish, however, the Thrashers must upgrade the roster, then sign him to a new contract before he hits unrestricted free agency in July 2010.

"We'll see," Kovalchuk said Monday. "It's a business. Hopefully they're going to work and get some players and then we're going to talk about a new deal."

Less than 48 hours after the Thrashers finished another disappointing season, Kovalchuk looked ahead with more hope than he had in mid-April last year, when the team was without a head coach and never came close to making the playoffs after trading away Marian Hossa.

Kovalchuk has reason for optimism, despite missing the playoffs in six of his seven seasons with Atlanta. He can take some stock in the promising futures of center Bryan Little, the 12th overall draft pick of 2006, and rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian, selected third overall last June.

Considering that Kovalchuk's 296 goals are the most in the NHL since he was drafted first overall in 2001, the native Russian knows that he remains the most important piece in a winning future for Atlanta.

"I think that's really good for us that we have a lot of young guys who want to play and be the best players in this league," said Kovalchuk, who made a base salary of $7.5 million this season.

Kovalchuk believes forward Colby Armstrong, whom Atlanta acquired in the deal that sent Hossa to Pittsburgh at the 2008 trade deadline, can build on a career-best 22 goals. Kovalchuk insists that Slava Kozlov, 36, again proved his value with 51 assists, the second-highest single season in his 17-year career, and 26 goals. Todd White's 72 points, including a team-best 52 assists, were another asset.

The Thrashers' captain, though, still gave little credibility to Atlanta's winning 12 of the last 18 games when the team had no chance of making the playoffs.

"There is a little better feeling, but it is kind of the same," he said in comparing 2007-08 and 2008-09.

The players needed a long learning curve to understand and believe in first-year coach John Anderson's system, which places a premium on moving the puck quickly and skating fast and smart enough to neutralize an opponent's transition offense.

"We started to really turn things around here," White said. "We were moving in the right direction, and everybody really started playing for each other here. It resulted in a lot better record at the end of the year and a record that could've gotten us in the playoffs if we could've played that way all year."