Updated: Waddell says no coaching change this season
Running behind today but here is the news from Thrashers practice.
I spoke with GM Don Waddell this morning. The full interview is below.
Here are the highlights:
*I asked if there was a chance that a coaching change with John Anderson could be made this season considering the six-game slide and slipping playoff chances. Waddell said no. Asked about the possibility of a change following the season, he said everything would be evaluated at that time – including himself by ownership.
*Waddell has not given up on the playoffs, but wants the focus to be the next game on Tuesday. Don’t look any further nor get caught up in numbers or scenarios.
*He said the poor play of the both special teams has contributed to the current slide. He also said missing a key contributor like Evander Kane has had an effect.
*There has been no real movement on signing potential unrestricted free agents. He said he had conversations with the camp of Pavel Kubina and Colby Armstrong, but such talks have been put on hold due to the packed March schedule.
Other news from practice:
Zach Bogosian’s injury is to his right thumb. He is wearing a splint. He briefly took the ice in a warm-up suit but did not practice. I will update when further results are available but to my knowledge he had not had the MRI before I left practice. I wouldn’t be surprised if the injury was not some kind of fracture.
Nik Antropov, Pavel Kubina and Johnny Oduya were at the facility but did not practice.
Q. What are your thoughts about where this team is right now with a six-game losing streak?
A. Back up 10 days ago after the game with the Islanders and we woke up in the eighth spot. Then you go five losses and an [shootout] loss and you find yourself five points out with the games counting down. You go from feeling pretty good about where you are headed, because you like not only where you are headed but you like the way you are playing, six without a loss. Then you hit a road block and it hit us hard. I like the way we played. We played I thought two pretty good periods Friday night against the Rangers and I thought we played very well [Sunday] night. I thought we deserved a better fate.
We’ve got our backs against the wall. We can’t look at who we play on Thursday. We have to look at who we play on Tuesday. It’s one game at a time and all we can do at this point is chip away. I still believe we can get there [the playoffs], but we don’t control our entire destiny. We can only worry about winning our games and we are not going to give up.
Q. From your GM seat, what has gone wrong between the win against the Islanders and your current situation?
A. It’s interesting because you analyze everything. You look at what changed. The one thing that has changed is we lost Evander Kane. It’s hard to imagine I’m going to put that much on an 18-year-old player, but if you just look at what he was doing prior –and if he is in the lineup we might have lost five in a row – I thought he was playing his best hockey when he got hurt with speed and the intangibles. I think that’s a part. Is that the reason? Absolutely you can’t put it all on an 18 year old. But I think that’s part of the reason.
I also think that we were getting away the last few games with our special teams not being as good as they can be. And then they went fully where we weren’t very good. I’ve said from Day One here, special teams are going to win and lose you hockey games and I think it’s starting to cost us games. We are running a fine line because we are still able to score goals five-on-five, but when we start getting shut out five-on-five then not scoring on the power play, and the other team was scoring every game on the power play, I think that’s a big difference.
Q. Is this season a disappointment now [with your struggle to make the playoffs] or will that come once the season is over?
A. I always believe you take the positive approach. Am I disappointed we went through this stretch? Absolutely. Am I happy the way we looked [Sunday] night? Yes. Now we’ve got to build off that. We are not going to dwell on that right now, these last five games. At the end of the year we will break down the months and weeks [of the season]. We had a couple other five-game losing streaks. Obviously, this is going to gain all the attention because when it happens. That’s why we talk about those points in October and November are just as important as they are in March and April. You’ve got to look at the entire season once you are all done.
Q. Is the fact that you are in a position where lines are still getting juggled part of the issue?
A. Some of it is injury. Part of it is trying to find guys that can click. You’d like to think you can be stabilized and have lines for the entire year, but obviously we’ve made some changes. Particularly when we brought [Niclas] Bergfors in, with [Bryan] Little and [Nik] Antropov they went really good. Now they’ve seemed to hit a little dry spell. Max [Afinogenov] looked pretty good with [Antropov] earlier in the year, so I think the coaches are just trying to find the combinations to give us some spark.
Q. You haven’t been consistent all season with putting a winning streak together and you have had a nine-game losing streak. Is there some reason for that?
A. We’ll have to look at that at the end of the year. If it was that easy and I could pinpoint it, it would happen once and never happen again. We’ll have to take a hard look and see.
Q. Will you make a coaching change between now and the end of the year?
A. No.
Q. Will that be something you would look at as part of the end-of-year evaluation?
A. I think everything has to be evaluated. Obviously, if we don’t get to where we want to be all positions need to be evaluated. It’s part of the business. We all want to win and have success and make the playoffs and if we don’t reach our goals that we feel were attainable you have to look at every avenue in the organization.
Q. How about you and your position?
A. That’s up to the owners. Every year you go through an evaluation and see what happens. I expect the same this year.
Q. With several unrestricted free agents, are you working to re-sign any or will you wait until the season is over?
A. During the Olympic break, I did talk to [Pavel] Kubina and [Colby] Armstrong. There was nothing that was pressing to get a deal done. With the schedule that we have going, I don’t want any distractions for these players. If we get into April and it’s gone one way or another, then maybe we can re-visit it. It’s just another month. They can’t go somewhere else in the next month. Sometimes if the player is more anxious, the agent will be more diligent. In this case I’ve talked to both guys and they are fine.
Q. So, Kubina and Armstrong are two players you’d like to bring back?
A. There are a lot of guys we are going to talk about. … I don’t see anything happening any time soon.
Q. In your opinion, to make the playoffs are you looking at a certain number of wins? How do you look at it?
A. I think we got caught up in that a couple of weeks ago, trying to figure out how many points it’s going to take. Right now, we should worry about Tuesday night. That’s what I’ve stressed around here. We are about Tuesday. When we get through Tuesday, we’ll worry about Thursday. Stop watching the big picture. Last week when we had the eighth spot, everyone was trying to figure out magic points. My line has always been, you don’t have enough points to get in right now, so don’t worry about it. Just keep putting points on the board.
Q. Are you still confident with the home games this month that will be a help?
A. I said all along our schedule was set up that if we were going to have success it was a favorable schedule. We’ve got to take advantage of it. This is a huge week for us. It starts Tuesday. We’ve got to take advantage of it.
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125 comments Add your comment
Falconsforlife
March 15th, 2010
2:37 pm
Waddell has to go. I’m not on the fire Anderson bandwagon yet, but I’ve been on the fire Dwad bandwagon for years now.
Netminder
March 15th, 2010
2:38 pm
ASG better be evaluating DW as well as the coach. We need a change and I got the feeling it will have to start at the top.
Jeremy H
March 15th, 2010
2:39 pm
As much as I like the guy, it’s time to cut bait with John Anderson. He prides himself on a high-flying offensive system, but has a team in capable of scoring over the past 6 game stretch. His PP is terrible, his PK is almost as bad, and his SO decisions are atrocious. This guy is a minor league talent, and nothing more.
Here’s to another failed experiment.
Falconer
March 15th, 2010
2:50 pm
Is this Bogosian thumb injury the same problem he had back in January, or is it different? Has he been playing hurt for a long time?
TheFan79
March 15th, 2010
2:54 pm
I strongly believe that DW will be gone after this season is over.
Let’s pray .
MB
March 15th, 2010
2:55 pm
Hmmm, don’t I remember comments on here shortly after the Kovalchuk trade that a Kubina signing would happen “any day now.” That was almost two months ago.
Jeremy H
March 15th, 2010
2:57 pm
Could you imagine seeing this headline?
STEVE YZERMAN NAMED ATLANTA THRASHERS GENERAL MANAGER!
What, I can’t hallucinate? Close your eyes and imagine that, just for a moment.
How’s that for gaining some respect?
R. Stroz
March 15th, 2010
2:58 pm
Waddell has not given up on the playoffs
Did DW seem really hungry or snacking when he stated his view concerning the playoffs?
Talk about delusional.
Stinker
March 15th, 2010
3:03 pm
Waddell is just enjoying, with amazement, the fact that he doesn’t have to peddle Port-O-Pottys for a living anymore.
(technically, that’s what he’s peddling right now — big, blue, stinky — but the pay is a tad higher)
darn...
March 15th, 2010
3:03 pm
I have lost all faith that JA can rally the troops.
Rich
March 15th, 2010
3:05 pm
MB said: “Hmmm, don’t I remember comments on here shortly after the Kovalchuk trade that a Kubina signing would happen “any day now.” That was almost two months ago.”
He also said he would sign Ilya Kovalchuk “any day now”, for what it’s worth …
If ASG cannot sell this team to someone who wants them, and more importantly who will keep them in Atlanta, at the very least I hope they blow it up and start over, beginning with Waddell.
lord stanley
March 15th, 2010
3:05 pm
Anderson is not the problem its the joke we call wadell and ownerrship. He has fired coaches before and we still get the same results. The coach is not the issue its about getting good players that want to stay in the organization
darn...
March 15th, 2010
3:08 pm
I disagree Lord Stanley, Coaching is a problem. We should be getting more out of our players.
Atlanta Spirit Hater
March 15th, 2010
3:20 pm
Does anyone know if Belkin failed to make his $2-million payment by the deadline?
Can we trade our ownership?
darn...
March 15th, 2010
3:22 pm
He paid it. :/
Greg
March 15th, 2010
3:22 pm
Let’s fire Waddell AND the owners. They run this team like a bunch of baboons then get off on blaming the failures on their coaching and players… um sounds like there might be some need to look in the mirror… MUch more to blame than the coach.
BYE BYE THRASHERS
March 15th, 2010
3:23 pm
does not look good for the thrashers, no wins, no playoffs, no real producers, when they traded kovy, the beginning of complete rebuilding. it seems to be the neverending story with this franchise. sorry guys, i wish we were competing, but you have lost me for a while. maybe one day, the owners will get serious about winning…
darn...
March 15th, 2010
3:25 pm
My point is of course we are not happy with DW and ownership. But that is a broken record. I am saying I no longer have hope in JA.
MASHAPlayer7
March 15th, 2010
3:45 pm
I think the players need also need to accept blame. It’s not just about ownership, GM and coaching. For the first time in franchise history, we actually have NHL pedigree players on our team…it’s up to them to perform and earn their professional status…
Lord Stanley
March 15th, 2010
3:46 pm
Well you need players in order to coach, right now we do not have players, so its hard to coach. Thus its impossible to win the Daytona with a Smart Car.
bugman
March 15th, 2010
3:48 pm
Jeremy,
You can’t lump all this at JA’s feet. Look what D-Wad has left him to work with.
“Crap, we’re having offensive problems and can’t score to save our lives. Let’s bring in an over-the-hill minor league defense-man. That should solve our offensive dilemmas.”
Nobody but the D-Wad could think like this. Especially after he traded a 70 point scoring wing away!
Just imagine what Anderson could do with a roster that reflected his playing philosophy!
Lord Stanley
March 15th, 2010
3:49 pm
Chelios for GM
bugman
March 15th, 2010
3:51 pm
Sorry, that should read “forced a 70 point scoring wing out of Atlanta.”
Lord Stanley
March 15th, 2010
3:55 pm
Either way bug man you are absolutely correct. The old GM for Chicago has visited Waddell multiple times this year maybe DW will retire and he will come to Thrashland
Jeremy H
March 15th, 2010
3:59 pm
Bugman –
I hear ya… but I do think that after almost two solid seasons here, JA has had a hand in picking and choosing the types of players we ice each night. I think proof of that is benching Kozlov; That’s not a DW move by any stretch of the imagination.
Certainly our roster could stand to be improved, but we do have some capable talent on the team that *should* be able to at least play above .500.
rob
March 15th, 2010
4:11 pm
Accountability here is the problem. Top to bottom there is none. We kept people on and off the ice who don’t produce. We didn’t force a 70 point wing out. We never developed him into a complete player. We let him dictate the last 2 years of this team and now have nothing to show. The guys we have CAN play. They now need leadership, REAL leadership, to show them the way (that and a real goalie). Will it happen? Who knows, we shall see what the future holds. I guess we just hold our breathes and wait as the FANS have done year after year. The team is ripe for a sale I think, but again, who knows. Top to bottom a good spring cleaning is needed as soon as the golf clubs come out.
Special Teams Hampering Thrashers | Blueland Blog: The Official Blog Of The Atlanta Thrashers
March 15th, 2010
4:16 pm
[...] no wonder that GM Don Waddell told Chris Vivlamore that special teams are the key to this team’s [...]
Atlanta Spirit Hater
March 15th, 2010
4:25 pm
To what date has that Winnipeg Thrashers press conference been rescheduled?
Midfield
March 15th, 2010
4:27 pm
I feel sorry for Anderson, just as I feel sorry for Bob Hartley. Bob has become a damaged goods after his tenure here; Anderson is following his steps. Whether or not he deserves it, I can’t really tell. The team obviously sucks all the way around, but it sucks for ten+ years now. Players and coaches are not the constant here. Waddell and the owners – for slightly lesser period of time – are. Regulars here are talking about UFAs’ aversion toward Thrashers. Think about qualified coaches and – hopefully – GMs. Who wants to deal with ASG suites?
litz
March 15th, 2010
4:29 pm
I wonder if Chelios is interested in coaching … we could cut him a package deal, so he can open a chili restaurant out near the Ice Forum …
shawn
March 15th, 2010
4:35 pm
For Waddell to keep his job after his horrible records, it is unblievalbe. As they say: ” He has a naked picture of ??” you know the rest
Lee
March 15th, 2010
4:35 pm
There doesn’t need to be a coaching change there need to be a GM change.
Dave
March 15th, 2010
4:39 pm
FIRE ANDERSON! It’s obvious that these guys aren’t motivated by Anderson. I think they’ve tuned him out. It’s also obvious that he is slow to adjust. Last night he finally puts the D-Men on their strong hand on the PP so they can rip the one timer, and mentioned it in his post game press conference. I’ve been saying to switch the D-Men for weeks now, and I am no NHL coach! He’s a little stubborn too, I think. He’s gotta go. Maybe Waddell knows that Anderson will be gone, but is going to wait until after the season. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WAIT? This team needs a spark, obviously.
FIRE ANDERSON!
GSUFan
March 15th, 2010
4:39 pm
How can you not be on the Fire Anderson bandwagon? He’s a TERRIBLE coach. He always has been, and he always will be. I would rather have a good coach and have Rick Dudley be the puppet master behind DW than get rid of DW and KEEP Anderson. What INSANITY.
Alan R.
March 15th, 2010
4:40 pm
so he can open a chili restaurant at the CNN center.
There. Fixed that for you.
Dave
March 15th, 2010
4:43 pm
and btw, this is a decent team on paper, at least a team that should be in top 8 in their conference. This year you can’t put on Waddell. Maybe years past were his fault, but not this year. This year it is on players not producing (Little, Armstrong, Kozlov, White) and Anderson. Those four players had over a hundred goals combined last year. This year I doubt they have over 40 combined.
Coaching and poor performance are to blame this year, not Waddell.
Tom Davis
March 15th, 2010
4:46 pm
Dam it Waddell. For the love of Jesus Christ, please stand down.
d
March 15th, 2010
4:49 pm
Come on Chris, there is no way the ASG can replace JA without first letting go DW. Remember, DW let Hartley go to give him one last chance to save his own rear.
Dickie Dunn
March 15th, 2010
4:53 pm
What we need is a GM change! “Joe McGrath” has got to go !!!
Who Cares?
March 15th, 2010
4:56 pm
Even worse than being upset about the current state of affairs with the Thrashers, is that most people don’t even care anymore. There is no motivation to see a game in person. What’s the point? See you next season in Winnipeg or Hamilton!
Otto
March 15th, 2010
4:59 pm
The fans are asking for GM change not a coaching change.
josebenzaca
March 15th, 2010
5:01 pm
How can you morons want to fire the coach? The one and only constant in all this mess has been Don Waddell. He is the Matt Millen of hockey, and this ownership group keeps him around. Why?
The club will be sold soon. I do not care what agreement you may think there is with this ownership group, team will be sold. Hockey could be great in Atlanta, but we keep getting owners who are cr@p.
darn...
March 15th, 2010
5:07 pm
Guys, the people saying let JA go are not saying KEEP DW but fire JA. We want DW gone as much as the next person.
MB
March 15th, 2010
5:24 pm
Decent, Dave, but I don’t know that you can claim we have talent indicating we should be top 8 in the conference.
After ten years of favorable draft position, we find ourselves with no true top-line talent. The closest we have is probably Antropov. Kane and Bergfors may well end up there, but right now both are 2nd or 3rd liners on most teams and probably don’t make the cut on the better ones.
Peverley’s one of our best players and just last season he was waived by Nashville. Max was wasting away on Buffalo’s 3rd line when he wasn’t sitting in the press box.
Kozlov? Washed up, should have never been given a NTC so we could have gotten a decent return for him last season or three seasons ago. White? Clearly over-achieved last season and should have been dealt. No way he was going to replicate that.
I won’t disagree that a number of players have underachieved, and I admit to being disappointed in Anderson’s inability to motivated and coax better performance from them. And then there are his press conference comments…sigh.
But remember, it all goes back to the architect, Don Waddell. After firing Hartley, he commandeered the bench and took his time deliberating on a head coach. Anderson was his selection. There are always reasons, but the fact is, we’ve been one of the worst teams in the league for 9 of the last 10 seasons, all under Waddell’s watch.
I’m tired of the excuses. It reminds me of John Belushi as Jake in the “Blues Brothers.” Here comes Jake (Don Waddell) trudging through the sewer with Elwood when, all of the sudden, shots ring out. Waddell hits the ground, face down in the sludge (comforting given his background), and there stand the season ticket holders cradling a M-16.
DW: It’s good to see ya, sweethearts!
STH: You contemptible pig. We remained faithful to you. For ourselves, for all Thrashers and hockey fans everywhere, and for the common good, we must get rid of you.
DW: Oh please don’t fire me! You know I love ya! It wasn’t my fault!
STH: You miserable slug! You think you can talk your way out of this? You betrayed us!
DW: No I didn’t. Honest! There was a car crash. I had bad coaches. I didn’t have enough money for free agents. Kari’s back wasn’t healed by the doctors. Hossa left because of Kovy. Kovy left over money. Monkey pucks. There was an earthquake! Terrible floods! Locusts! It wasn’t my fault…I swear to G-d!!!!
DW looks imploringly at the crowd from behind the podium…
STH: Oh Don…sweet, kind Don.
DW shakes hands, pats backs, kisses babies, then tosses STHs down to the sludge. Motions over to Levenson and says, “Let’s get outta here.” Levenson looks down at STHs, shrugs his shoulders and says, “Take it easy,” and both walk off to enjoy surf n’ turf and a nice cabernet at Bone’s.
Jeff
March 15th, 2010
5:58 pm
Firing JA isn’t going to fix anything until Don is gone. If you think that free agents are reluctant to come to Atlanta coaches will avoid this place like the plague.
I am not saying that Anderson should not shoulder some of the responsibility but letting a 9 game losing streak go on with out a trade to wake up the team is the GM’s fault not just the coaches.
In nine out of ten years this team could not make the top 8 out of only 15 teams this organization is not even average and with so many coaches and players coming and going only DW remains how sad is that. Every year we hear that this is not a rebuilding year because we are in the middle of a playoff push so guys like Armstrong who are not going to resign leave and we get nothing in return. It is clear that this organization is unable to make a playoff push no matter who the coach is or who the players are in fact the only time they did it was when Don gave away everything the Thrashers had in trades to just to keep his job.
Sage of Bluesland
March 15th, 2010
6:15 pm
“Q. How about you and your position?”
Finally, a reasonable question to that bumbling, blustering little fraud of a GM. If ownership doesn’t get rid of this laughable clown, then there is simply no hope at all for this organization.
None at all–despite the BullSmoothie shoveled by sects of sheep and the organization’s minions…You all are smarter than that–much smarter.
Stop with the emotion and treat this like the business that it is…Want results? Cut the funds.
It’s just that simple.
Sage of Blueland...
March 15th, 2010
6:22 pm
was right all along.
Sherry Taylor
March 15th, 2010
6:34 pm
Number one: the team needs solid leadership on the ice. Kovalchuk was captain, but he wasn’t a leader. He was all about Kovy and he threw a temper tantrum until they made him captain, but he did NOT embody what captain should do. He did NOT provide leadership, he did NOT rally players when they needed it and I doubt he kicked any butts either. He was lazy the past two seasons because he knew he could be. Hartley tried to grow Kovalchuk into the player he could be, even benched him a couple of times and all of you griped about it, but Kovalchuk threw another tantrum and stopped playing for Hartley and soon his unhappiness oozed through the locker room.
This team has a minor league mentality. It is staffed by as many minor league players as Waddell can possibly get in and he hired a minor league coach. What did we expect?
They need to seriously go goal tending shopping in the off season. I think Moose has done an admirable job this year, he has provided a measure of stability the team has needed but the team needs some one stellar and as much as I love Moose that isn’t him or Pavelec (yet).
Just before and right after the Olympic break they were winning and playing well. What changed? Kane got hurt and instead of just fixing that line, finding someone to step into Kane’s spot, instead they messed with all of the lines trying to fix the one and now it is a HUGE mess. Fix the one that’s broken and leave the others alone. Geez, even I know that.
This team is young, for the most part, and there is talent there. There is, whether you want to admit it or not. But, it’s young and a characteristic of young is the inability to stand under pressure. And this young team, and the ones of the past, have been unable to stand under pressure. That’s what you get when you hang all of your hopes on youth. That’s why the really good parts of life are wasted on the youth, they are too stupid to realize what they have and live up to it.
There’s enough blame for this teams lack of success to go around and it starts at the top and goes right on down to the GM, the coach and yes, the players. I think there is a lot of hope and potential in he clubhouse, but there are definite changes that need to be made. The question now is, does the Atlanta Spirit (makes me gag to us the word spirit in reference to this group of yo-yo’s) have the nerve and fortitude to make the changes that need and should be made. Me thinks not. Oh well.
jake
March 15th, 2010
6:38 pm
Prediction: Waddell resigns after the season. Hockey’s such an old-boy network, he’ll find work somewhere else by blaming the Thrashers’ owners for non-support. Someone else will have to clean up after him.
Jim
March 15th, 2010
7:23 pm
Why do we have this same conversation every f’ing year?!?!?!?!!!!!
Barry
March 15th, 2010
7:27 pm
This is a tough subject. Sure Waddell has made more mistakes than done good over these last 10 seasons but this season I thought he did good in brining in Oduya and Bergfors along with a draft pick for Kovy basically. I’m still not sold that Anderson can take this team to the playoffs. There has just been too many consistent problems like 1) Not having his team ready to play the first drop of the puck. 2) Powerplay and penalty kill struggles for the last 3 months. 3) His team not able to play 60 minutes consistently.
I mean how hard is it for a team to be ready to play start of the first period where you are wanting and trying to win games and make the playoffs. That just blows my mind how most nights this team ISNT ready. I haven’t seen a whole lot change on the power play to make much improvements. They are still not getting enough traffic in front of the net. They run the same plays. The players pretty much skate around a LITTLE bit in the same zone areas. When you are playing ZONE offense it’s REALLY easy for the PK team to play ZONE defense.On the other side we see other teams powerplay streaking towards the goal, going back door, busting towards the slot but…our Thrashers…just don’t.
Seth
March 15th, 2010
7:37 pm
How about a GM change? oh wait that would only help the franchise and we wouldn’t want to do that now would we?
Lord Stanley
March 15th, 2010
7:39 pm
Bring a new GM and let him decide the future of JA. JA has hads success with Chicago, so he know something about coaching young hockey players.
Tom Davis
March 15th, 2010
8:08 pm
The Season Ticket Holders need to applaud DW again like the last town hall meeting.
East Point Bob
March 15th, 2010
8:29 pm
How about a GM change ? that is what this team needs more than anything else, the current GM
has built a house of cards and it is falling down all around him.
Just what does it take to replace this loser as GM ? Can anyone answer that ?
Lew 39
March 15th, 2010
8:30 pm
How many more five year plans will the Thrashers go through before we make the play-offs again, let alone win a game when we get there.
I was at the game Friday and saw a team stop playing after 12 minutes of the first period. What game was Don W watching?
Roscoe P. Coltrane
March 15th, 2010
8:42 pm
Levenson knows the STH’s left because he refuses to release Waddell. He and the other owners have slashed the new season ticket prices to the bones like St.Louis and Dallas did a few years ago. That means they realize they need to get fans back.
DW MUST be let go or at the very least moved out of Hockey Operations if the owners hope to bring the old fan base back. They were hitched to the Playoff horse when Levenson told the STH he wanted to keep DW, but now that the bottom has dropped out, there’s nothing left but to kick his ass out.
Perception is Reality and the Reality is no one is buying DW or tickets.
Tom Davis
March 15th, 2010
8:44 pm
What would it take DW fired you ask?
I don’t even think DW getting caught with 3 hookers, 2 midgets, and a bag of blow would get him fired.
Scotty
March 15th, 2010
8:55 pm
“Why do we have this same conversation every f’ing year?!?!?!?!!!!!”
Ooohh pick me, pick me. I know the answer to that one!
It’s because Don Waddell is still the GM and the Thrashers have once again failed to make the playoffs.
Now give me a gold star.
AUgirl
March 15th, 2010
8:57 pm
Could we not make it a priority to sign free agents at some point this season? It seems like we are always “busy”. How about we work out a deal with Kubina and announce it April 6!?
Lord Stanley
March 15th, 2010
9:17 pm
Sorry Augirl no good free agents want to come here, that is why it costs us double to get any decent person.
Jimbo
March 15th, 2010
10:09 pm
We’re in the midst of a total collapse and Donnie Brilliance claims that we have to “build off Sunday’s game” Gimme a friggin break! After 10 failed years, the best that we can hope for is to build another loss off the previous one. Too bad Edmonton is so bad or we’d have the most ping pong balls in the blender. Throw the bums- Donnie and Johnnie out- NOW
East Point Bob
March 15th, 2010
10:20 pm
We the fans have evaluated Don Waddell, and he is FIRED ! Real real simple, when will the morans who own this mess open their eyes and see Waddell is a complete failure, PERIOD !
But I suppose with all the owners being drunk all the time, what else could you expect ?
Fans say FIRE Waddell NOW !
Wayne stuck in AL
March 15th, 2010
10:31 pm
This being an area where college sports (OK, college football) are king, we can take a tip from wealthy boosters at major college sports programs: When those wealthy boosters get dissatisfied with a coach, they’ll go up to the AD or the school president and threaten to withhold a sizeable donation, or leasing that luxury box, or donating cattle and livestock to the team’s training table (Big 12 people) until said coach is fired. Why can’t STH’s explicitiy tell their season-ticket rep that unless Waddell and Anderson are fired, they’re withholding their money?
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 15th, 2010
10:49 pm
Did you guys all b!tch & moan like this when you were kids? I bet you did. You all probably grew up in the same neighborhood under the powerlines, chewing on lead paint chips on the walk home from school.
“Ooooo! I think we should fire DW and the owners!” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…Sorry…..But I’m laughing so freakin hard it’s literally difficult to type…..
“Oooooo! We need a new coach!”
“Oooooo! We need new players!”
“Oooooo! We need to get a friggin LIFE!”
In case you haven’t noticed, all your b!tchin & moanin for years hasn’t resulted in anything! Go ahead and cash in your season tickets cause someone else will gladly take them. Our NHL team has been drawing some of the best crowds of the season lately, despite the losses. Because real fans know that losing is all part of the game! Sometimes you score, sometimes you hit the pipe 5 times a game. It’s called HOCKEY!!!!!!
So stay at home and cry into your keyboards….You’re all sorry excuses for FANS anyway! You expect every game to be a W! Like the Thrashers are the only Atlanta team that consistently doesn’t make the playoffs…..You must be NEW!
The Braves…..Puh-LEEEZE!
Falcons…..That’s a Laugher!
Hawks…..They’ll go a round or two until JJ walks at the end of the season, then they’re toast too for a few more years.
Why don’t you point your wicked little fingers at the real problem – Unrestricted Free Agency? Players control the game now, not owners, not GMs, not coaches. Seems like some of you doofuses could figure that out on your own. Guess not. They want to walk, then they will. And you cry and scream at the owners & GMs…..unbelievable!
The Thrashers still have some good play left in them this year. Too bad you guys will all be wiping each others tears away instead of supporting your team and enjoying hockey games. So let me know how “firing the GM and the owners” goes for ya, OK? ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Resident Grammarian
March 15th, 2010
11:15 pm
Dude. You’re supposed to be a professional journalist. Take some pride in your work and, umm, proofread.
“In tact” is not the same as “intact.” If I’d written a headline that read “Coaching staff to remain in tact for remainder of season,” I’d be darn embarrassed. Then I’d wonder where “tact” was, how the coaching staff got there (boat? plane? camel?), and when they might be coming back.
Actually, I’d be hoping they’d just say in “tact” and never come back.
Just sayin’.
Tom Davis
March 15th, 2010
11:26 pm
You’re All HILARIOUS! –
you need to be drug tested immediately.
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 15th, 2010
11:43 pm
Oooooo! You gonna fire me too? LOL
Obviously the Thrasher organization should immediately turn over all of their day-to-day operations to you bunch of know-it-alls! I’d like to see one of you blowhards go into one – just one – free agancy negotiation or negotiate a player trade. I wonder if you’d pee your pants or sh!t them first? What a group of lonely whiners who are legends in their own minds!
this thread was more interesting than the article
March 16th, 2010
12:13 am
I think You’re ALL HILARIOUS! is hilarious… and correct.
Sage of Bluesland
March 16th, 2010
1:08 am
“…Go ahead and cash in your season tickets cause someone else will gladly take them….”
I stopped reading this tripe at this point–sure they will, chief, sure they will–they’re just lining up at the gates.
(Are you Don Waddell? If not, are you his precious wittle daughter? That would explain so much, I can assure you…)
Seriously?
March 16th, 2010
1:13 am
Anderson is a proven winner is a great coach. You cant blame him for the lack of defense in every game. It has nothing to do with special teams…it is the crappy defense and terrible puck handling that has cost ATL games.
Lee
March 16th, 2010
6:54 am
Firing JA won’t do anything until DW is fired. Who traded Marc Savard? Who has been known as one of the worst GM’s in history?
The Real Thrash
March 16th, 2010
6:55 am
What we need is a GM change!!
The Real Thrash
March 16th, 2010
6:58 am
The use of the loss of Kane as a reason for the 6 game slide shows either that the GM is an idiot for placing that much on a rookie or the GM is just an idiot.
You choose.
kjfg
March 16th, 2010
7:34 am
just remember that whatever big wad or the asg say, the opposite will happen.
Hope
March 16th, 2010
7:43 am
What the heck Bruce…..do you have any pride?
Seriously, folks...
March 16th, 2010
8:32 am
Don Waddel has the best job in sports. He (suppossedly) ansers to a fractured, half-assesd “owenership” group and is comforted in the knowledge Atlanta features a luke-warm (I’m being kind here) hockey fan base that by all accounts – even his, as in his pompous “I’ll answer for wins and losses” comment – should have torched him long ago. Think he would still be employed in Philly; NYC; Boston, et all, making the rather absurb assumption he would even be considered for a job in one of those organizations?
bugman
March 16th, 2010
8:36 am
“you guys will all be wiping each others tears away instead of supporting your team and enjoying hockey games”
I haven’t cried over this “team” and never will. They stopped being my team @ 8 years ago. This is your “team” D-Wad (backed up toilet is more apropos). Congrats on another “successful” season, a-wipe.
The problem is not UFAs (in case you haven’t noticed none of any real value want to come here), it’s that YOU are still the GM.
I DO support my team. They just happen to be in Gwinnett.
Don’t you have something more important to do than troll on these blogs?
Don Waddell SUCKS
March 16th, 2010
8:59 am
It’s not the coach that needs to go!
IT IT THE IDIOT GENERAL MANAGER! WHY IS HE STILL HERE! PLEASE GO NOW!
Brendan
March 16th, 2010
9:05 am
It’s as simple as this. If you don’t support or want the product, don’t buy it anymore. If there’s someone else who wants your seats, I say, “let them have your seats.” Don’t prevent someone who wants them from having them. But there’s no point to hanging on to something you don’t want. It’s not as if the people abandoning their season tickets are somehow confiscating the seats from the organization. No one is saying, “This is my seat, but if I can’t have it, no one else can.”
If you are abandoning or have abandoned your season tickets, how likely is it that you could not, at some point in the future, find one (1) of the 18,545 possible seats, for any given game? Shoot, you could walk up to the box office on your lunch hour and pick the 10 games you want to attend, using a credit card. No deposits. No commitments. Probably, at a discount, too. It won’t be hard to find seats, later on. And the more expensive the seat, the EASIER it is to find. Go look at the club level seats. Is there a ‘waiting list?’ I repeat, you walk up to the box office … and pick one. There are thousands of them. And chances are, you’re paying LESS than the person sitting next to you, who owns their seat, as an STH.
GOD of Hockey
March 16th, 2010
9:14 am
DON WADDELL ……YOU’RE FIRED !!!
GOD of Hockey
March 16th, 2010
9:23 am
SO IT SHALL BE DONE!
PMC
March 16th, 2010
9:27 am
why would they change coaches at the end of a lost season?
Especially when the entire organization should turn over the staff in the off season.
Get The Puck Out
March 16th, 2010
9:34 am
Kovy was the centerpiece when he was here and i watched the Devils – Bruins last night and Kovy looked like a second or third line player. Fanning on shots, lack of d, (we already knew this), and just not part of the offense shows on a really good team. Zach Parise is much better. This team will never compete with a team of that caliber simply because of poor leadership and a coach that hasn’t caught up to the NHL level of play. The current owners will never push the salary cap, thus any top tier UFA’s will never be here. Gotta have owners that are willing to want a playoff team even if it takes big money to get that player that you need to make it work. Draft picks have come and gone because they see the team isn’t dedicated to making it work to be a playoff caliber team. The current mess is just a continuing mess from the start. Who’s been here since the start- DW. ASG is not going to do what it takes to make us playoff contenders. I know what needs to be done and i’m no expert, but DW needs to gone and i’d probably let JA go also. Scouts, etc, etc. Clean house. Maybe then players will see that an honest effort is being made to send this franchise in the right direction. Hey YAH – you stink.
Badger Bob
March 16th, 2010
9:36 am
Resident Grammarian, I’m surprised you didn’t jump on this part of Chris’ blog regarding Bogo’s thumb: “I wouldn’t be surprised if the injury was not some kind of fracture”. Say what? Does that mean he would be surprised if it was a fracture? Gotta love the double negatives (like DW and Octocluster, the ultimate double negative).
And Sage, to correct your quote, we all are smarter than YOU – much smarter. Try bringing just a morsel of insight rather than pure whining. There are plenty of people who share your opinions, like LAC, but they actually advance their ideas rather than just repeating them mindlessly.
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 16th, 2010
9:41 am
“Sage of Bluesland
March 12th, 2010
7:23 am
“…Does it matter?….What does it take ro get rid of these clowns???”
I’ve preached the VERY answer for years now. Stop going to the games. Period. Force a change–from either ownership or, better yet, the league office. Continuing to subsidize this utter abomination only gives the decision-makers a false-impression, a sheeplike impression…One that does more HARM than good in the long run. Don’t believe me? Pick up a basic Economics book and give it a read.
Most of my ire has been directed at Don Waddell, as he has been the only constant in this mess (and the fact that such a “classy” guy refused to respond to three of my emails circa 2002). However, I have recognized that an even bigger problem exists (ownership).”
Now I get it! You named yourself “Sage” because you’ve been called Loser all your life! The General Manager of a professional sports team didn’t answer your thwee wittle e-mails 8 friggin years ago so you’ve visited the AJC Thrashers Blogs every single day since and told people to stop going to games. That has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve read yet (and there are some pretty stupid things written here).
Is this your “life”? Is this what you do every day? Can’t you get a clue and just stop going to Thrashers games if you’re unhappy with the product and get on with your life like a normal person? Why on earth would someone devote 8 years of their life to hiding behind a PC and posting messages in order to “fire Don Waddell and ownership”? How’s that been working for you?
Why didn’t you get off your unsatisfied @ss and go to the Townhall Meeting and tell Don to his face that you’re “firing him”? Why didn’t you wipe your pathetic tears and ask him to his face why he didn’t respond to your 3 wittle e-mails 8 years ago? He probably remembers them…..The ones “from that raving lunatic.”
Fortunately, real fans ignore your garbage. If everyone stopped going to Thrashers games, then the Thrashers would leave Atlanta. Can’t you connect the dots? You should be thanking the real fans who show up to games for keeping this team (and hockey) here. It’s certainly not because of you. You guys sound like a bunch of old women in a sewing circle. You all know exactly how to “fix” the Thrashers while you can’t even wipe your own butts without getting sh!t all over your fingers!
Hilarious or pathetic? I don’t know. It’s a close call.
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 16th, 2010
9:51 am
“bugman
March 16th, 2010
8:36 am
“you guys will all be wiping each others tears away instead of supporting your team and enjoying hockey games”
I haven’t cried over this “team” and never will. They stopped being my team @ 8 years ago.”
You’re the SAME GUY! The 8 years ago thing again. Sage/bugman, forever psychologically damaged because Don Waddell didn’t answer his 3 e-mails 8 years ago. I’m embarrassed for you.
Coaches Safe in Atlanta for Now | Getzlaf and Selanne Day-to-Day | Wild Sign UMass Center | My NHL Trade Rumors.com
March 16th, 2010
9:54 am
[...] Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Vivlamore interviews Thrashers GM, Don Waddell. When asked if there will a be a coaching change (John Anderson) before the end of the season, Waddell said no. The coaching situation will be re-evaluated after the season though. Waddell talked to Pavel Kubina and Colby Armstrong during Olympic break, both are upcoming UFA’s, and he plans to talk to them again in a month or so. [...]
tatertot
March 16th, 2010
10:02 am
The Thrashers have dumped salary, are not even trying to sign their own free agents and have a coach they got on the cheap besides keeping DW instead of firing him and paying him off. Can you say Hamilton, Ont. Thrashers? The owners group needs money to keep their primary franchise (the Hawks) competitive and they have spent a wad of $ on court costs. It’s been a rumour around the NHL for months that the Thrashers are for sale. If the commish wasn’t against it they’d have left mid season. I’m not going to waste money buying season tickets for a team that isn’t going to be here!
Curious George
March 16th, 2010
10:11 am
Okay Hilarious, I’ll bite.
So the problem is unrestricted free agency. What are the factors that allow some teams to succeed despite unrestricted free agency while others seem to perpetually struggle with it? What can the Thrashers do to become, at the very least, a playoff caliber team?
woody
March 16th, 2010
10:18 am
“You are Hilarious” I like your attacks on this blog. You are right writing crap here is not going to change anything. However these people posting here are the “real fans” of the Thrashers or they wouldnt waste so much time writing their opinions. Truthfully I think a lot of them are Hockey Nerds. As much as I tried, I will never be a “Real Fan” of the Thrashers until they start winning and going to the playoffs. I am not a masochist like these people here. I am not going to waste my money on a team that shows no improvment year after year.
Let me ask you one question. Why do you want to keep DON WADDELL? He has made all the decisions for 11 years now and he hasn’t produced and thats the bottom line. All those years of low drafts picks and nothing to show for it. Other GMs like Ray Shero have been able to build a Stanley Cup winner in much less time than 11 years. So why should he stay?
will
March 16th, 2010
10:24 am
Seriously..The GM has to go..The only constant has been him.,..Pathetic
Badger Bob
March 16th, 2010
10:53 am
DW must go. Octocluster must sell. But HILLARIOUS is exactly right that people like Sage who only ever post “Fire Waddell” add nothing to the conversation. Sage was noticably absent when we went 4-0-2 one game after losing Kovy. It was impressive, but he’s got no comment. He doesn’t reappear until we have an equally unimpressive 0-5-1 streak. Sage does not bring one iota of insight to these discussions and should rightly be ignored.
Badger Bob
March 16th, 2010
10:58 am
tatertot, there’s been no salary dump. I’m not defending anyone – heck, if a salary dump would have left us stronger for next year, then do it! But adding the General and Arty ADDED salary. Keeping Army and Kubes at the trade deadline kept two big paychecks on the team. There’s plenty to criticize about DW/Octocluster, but you lose credibility in those criticisms when you misstate facts. It’s actally a sadder statement that we DIDN’T dump salary and yet are now dwelling with the salary-dumping Canes and Panthers…
Spud Webb
March 16th, 2010
10:59 am
It doesn’t matter if we fire DW (though I’m ALL for it). I do like Anderson, but he’s not getting all of it from our players. So, I think he should go.
As far as DW, he’s got photos of somebody in the asg, doing something they should’nt!!! I want DW to go but more importantly I want the ASG to sell this team. It appears (key word) that the troll (bettman) is commited to keeping the team here. So lets get some investors that live here and know what icing is and run it like the money making machine it could be if we put a winner out there. Pipe dreams….ugh….
Smoothie
March 16th, 2010
11:03 am
“You’re ALL HILARIOUS” has been the most entertaining presence on this blog since the epic fail that was EOB to try to control and steer the conversation on this blog while Vivlamore was busy writing articles.
Badger Bob – at this point, would you re-sign either Army or Kubina? I lean towards bringing back Kubes, but I’m afraid of the price-tag. But such is the state of affairs for the Thrashers, chronically having to overspend for talent. I say let Army walk. I have not been impressed with him very much this year compared to last, especially not at $2.4 M.
alex
March 16th, 2010
11:26 am
but according to donny at least he running clean drug free organization also 18 years boy got hurt (sorry to offend somebody, still not sure if he is future 2 liner) anyway because of this 2 factors asg please give donny life long extensions. this move put to rest forever “FIRE WADDELL” talk by 99.9% people on this blog.
Old Time Hockey
March 16th, 2010
11:31 am
Bottom line is this team has the talent to win and make the playoffs. That is the GM’s job. To get the players that can win. Then they need to be coached properly. Then they need to go out and perform. At what point do you blame the players for their lack of consistent effort. I’m not a Waddell apologist, but what is firing the GM going to do to make these guys start playing with consistent strong EFFORT. You really think Waddell not signing Savard is why they lay an egg on the ice 2 out of every 3 games? I can see them sitting in the locker room pre-game…”What’s the point of me making that effort if they didn’t even sign Savard…” How about: You are a professional…start acting like one! 60 friggin’ minutes of effort…maybe 10-22 minutes per player in 45 second shifts and you can’t maintain a level of tenacity for that time. Is that the coaches job? Most will say so to some extent, but I still put it on the players. We’ve seen them play games where they look like they can beat anyone. Why don’t they play like that every night? You are not going to win them all, but you should still be competing at that level. The first ten minutes tonight will tell the tale.
Badger Bob
March 16th, 2010
11:36 am
Smoothie, I’m right with you. You can get more than Army for $2.4M on the UFA market. Kubes is a tougher choice, especially since he’ll want more years than I’d want to give him. I want to keep him, but I don’t see us having a $3M Dman in our third pairing in the long term, so I expect he’ll be gone.
Free agency this year will be interesting. Assuming we get Bergie, Little, the General and Pavs tied up for less than $10M/yr, we should have more than $12M left to shop for two or three forwards and a goalie. But it is less exciting, knowing we’ve got to overspend… I’d put Finny as a priority, but his departure may already be certain.
Smoothie
March 16th, 2010
12:02 pm
Badger Bob – I agree pretty much on all counts. I’d love to have Kubina back but only for 2 years at $4.5 M (max) per year. He’ll probably be looking for 3 years or more. The Hainsey contract is a tough pill to swallow cuz we’re paying so much for a 2nd pairing D-man. Assuming Bogosian shakes off this mediocre season and comes back with a vengeance, then it may make more sense to try to lure a guy like Dennis Seidenberg for 3 years and $3 M per season. If our PP were clicking because of Kubina, then I could see making him top priority, but it’s a mess and it’s time to go in a different direction.
I’m assuming Finny and Army are probably gone to FA, and I’m okay with that because as exciting as Finny can be, he’s too inconsistent and his freelancing can get you into too much trouble on the def end. But in a different system, Finny might be fine. I’m really starting to hate the positioning of our D-men in Anderson’s system. I understand the idea of rotating a forward and such, but there is too much speed and precision passing in the NHL to exploit one lazy out of position player.
I’d like to see a new system (or a revamped one by JA) with a more conservative defensive approach since we will likely be inexperienced at goalie with Pavelec getting the nod in all likelihood (shudders). But there are enough pieces at forward to make this work if, like you said, we can use the $10 M that used to go to Kovy and Kozlov for 2 quality forwards — one 25 goal scorer and a 3rd line replacement for Army — and a goalie like Dan Ellis or Chris Mason.
Russ
March 16th, 2010
12:05 pm
Old Time Hockey – I would agree with you that this team consistently does not play a full 60 minutes. In fact, I stated a few blogs back that the one “identity” this team has had in its’ history is mentally weak teams. However, I think some of this can be put on DW as I believe part of scouting should be to analyze a players ability to play hard every game, not just to evaluate physical talent alone. If a lot of these players take nights off now, I’m willing to bet they took nights off before they were drafted, that’s just the types of players they are. I just can’t believe these are players that have played hard their entire career, wherever they were, and then suddenly become head cases that rarely play hard when they come to the Thrashers. Just my two cents.
rob
March 16th, 2010
12:06 pm
HILARIOUS….seriously man, how you can actually say all of that with a straight face must be a great act. Teams lose and the real fans just take that and continue to support it?!? Ummmm, no they don’t. They advocate that those in charge make the needed changes in order to win again (or in this case just start winning). As a “real fan” how long do you think we should wait for a meaningful season to come along? No need to win the cup to be meaningful, but gotta get past the 1st round. I don’t think that is too much to ask for after 10 years and as a “real fan”. So my question is who are you and what is your whole reason for being on this blog?
ASG…Another Season Gone obviously does not care about this team, or those who pay good money to support them. DW and JA both need to go. Those who say JA should stay really need to evaluate him honestly. He has at no time stood up or challenged any of the players to play harder or changed things when play has faltered. His only excuse is the bouncing puck. We all know the puck bounces funny ways but true teams find a way to overcome those bounces and a well-coached team will still play hard despite bad luck bounces. The Thrashers have done neither… They have shown flashes of things to come, but they need someone to grab the reins and keep them focused as a team.
Vivs,
Thanks for asking a few tough questions there. I am sure that asking them wasn’t exactly easy but it needs to be put in circulation. Whose idea was the whole thing? Yours or DW’s? And when he answered your question about him, did he seem like maybe he was actually concerned about his status or just entertaining questions he already knows the answers to?
rob
March 16th, 2010
12:25 pm
Smoothie,
If we have $12 mil to play with, does anyone really want Pavs in even a backup spot? I say we need 2 goalies. Pavs time isn’t here yet. He needs a lot of work before he is ready to jump up here. His flashes show promise, but his positioning is just awful on a nightly basis. I think he needs a minimum 2 years yet before he’s ready. I think you let Kubina go if he doesn’t want to stay here at a more affordable rate….we have some guys in Chicago who should be ready next year who aren’t named Chelios. Max should at least consider us as no one else wanted him before, and between Pevs and Antropov he has 2 good centers to play with. And as for Armstrong…..ask him to stay as well at a lesser rate, and if he doesn’t wanna stay…. Goalie(s) has to be priority #1 though, we have the Wolves to bolster or fill gaps in the O and D and it is high time we start using them. If they are such a strong AHL team time after time then there must be some players ready for the bigs.
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 16th, 2010
12:47 pm
Curious G, I don’t have all the answers. Nobody does. Much of it hinges on pure luck or fate or whatever term you prefer. There are a couple of things that are not in Atlanta’s favor. It isn’t a major media market, which often attracts the big-name players. And it’s an expansion team. Some cities overcome those obstacles with a given team/sport, while they fail miserably with another. Since they rarely repeat, chance is a key ingredient.
A team has to have quality base talent that fits into the offensive & defensive schemes. Many teams will often be rich on one side, poor on the other. The players must have chemistry. Likewise, it must be a team effort, although great individual performances can often propel a team to a level once thought unattainable. Along this same line, teams can be cited throughout sports history who have practically willed themselves to win. This is not unusual and this year the Caps are a team that seem to believe they will win every time they take the ice. Quite often they’re correct.
Also in the mix are injuries. The Kane injury was a key injury in that it upset the balance and chemistry of this team. Anderson is obviously trying to find balance and chemistry again. It’s tough. Because another element is effort. Teams usually have some mix of effort level from their players and this is something that’s hard to judge before a player actually joins a team. Some often get burned by FA when they sign a player coming off a career season, only to find out it was because they were going to be FAs that they played as hard as they did. Sign the contract, then ask “so how many days off do we get here each week?”
Obviously the Yankees are the poster team for throwing money at the problem. Sometimes it works, often it doesn’t. It just shows it’s one element, not the sole answer. Fans are another ingredient, but simply selling out a stadium or arena doesn’t guarantee a winner either. But it doesn’t hurt.
Some teams have to be the best (by default). Some teams are in the cellar. The rest are in between. If you were a professional athlete, where would you want to play? That’s one of the problems with UFA. The “best” players want to play for the best teams. It makes it very difficult for lower level teams to ever rise up to the top. Some players even take a pay cut to join or stay with a winner to allow more salary room to acquire even more talent. These are envious situations many teams never get to experience.
Didn’t intend to write a paper on the subject and these are things most sports fans already know. But frustrated fans often think the only solution is to clean house as a last resort. At best, it puts the team right back at square one working on acquiring good base talent, forming chemistry, etc. At worst (for an expansion NHL team), the team is sold and moved to another market. Every fan in every sport wants their team to be the best. Clearly this will never happen. Fans often have to be content with cheering their team on in victory or in defeat. Fans without a team in their city can’t even do that.
Every season, things fall into place for a team that eventually becomes champions in their sport. But so many factors are at play, with luck being the true edge. There are a remarkable number of constraints the owners, front offices and coaches have to work within every day. Some self-imposed, others not so much. This makes consistent winning even more difficult because every team is searching for the right combination from the available pool of resources. When it does happen for a team, they’re simply lucky more than anything else. And it can all fall apart just as quickly as it came together.
And I’m not saying Waddell should be fired or retained. I’m just saying posting messages on blogs for 8 years hasn’t worked yet. Also, firing a GM or coach can produce an even more undesirable result and end in another top to bottom rebuilding effort that may last years and still not produce a winner. When I look on my ticket, it says “Atlanta Thrashers vs _______” not “Don Waddell vs _______” I go to see a team play, not Don Waddell skate out in Goalie gear and be submitted to shots on goal (although that could prove to be a lucrative fund raiser and frustration outlet for fans).
I do believe Rick Dudley is more than capable of contructing a top team here, despite obstacles, should Waddell be “promoted” after this season. Luck will still be the determining factor.
Smoothie
March 16th, 2010
12:48 pm
rob – I agree that we have some depth in Chicago that should be tapped, namely Kulda, Machacek and perhaps even Crabb as a 13th forward. If we re-up Arty, then perhaps Boulton becomes expendable. But Arty really isn’t an enforcer. However, it’s not like Boulton ever fights anymore. Apparently he has stopped caring so perhaps Gratton will reconsider us for camp next season.
As for Pavelec though, I’m not sure I agree with you completely. While I think he needs additional seasoning, I’m not sure playing 2 more years in the AHL will do him any good. He needs to work with someone who will correct his flaws during the off-season. If he can’t prove himself in camp with said flaws corrected, then he should go back down to the AHL to work on fine-tuning his game. If we can get Ellis to sign here for $3.25 or $3.5 M per season, then perhaps you bring back Moose as the back-up for one more year at $1.3 – 1.5 M or so. I don’t know, the goalie situation is a tough one, but I fear they are committed to Pavelec. Otherwise, why did they give up on Lehtonen so soon?
AJ
March 16th, 2010
12:54 pm
WHY CAN’T THE OWNERS SEE THAT WADDELL IS A MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR PART OF THE NON-SUCCESS THAT THE THRASHERS HAVE HAD!!!??? HE’S HAD 10 (FREAKIN) YEARS TO “PROVE” HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING-ITS WAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY PAST TIME TO SHOW HIM THE DOOR!!!!!!
thrashless
March 16th, 2010
1:08 pm
This team will never, never amount to anything but glorified AHL squad as long as the dysfunctional wannabes Atlanta Spirit and their incompetent lackey, Don Waddell, are involved.
the Captain
March 16th, 2010
1:08 pm
Enter your comments here
rob
March 16th, 2010
1:08 pm
Smoothie,
OK I could live with bringing back Moose as a backup. He is capable of that and as such would still be a factor in the locker room as all I ever hear is what a great leader he is. So if he wants to, that would be that for the goalie problem. I just can’t see Pavs here yet though….everyone knows goalies and D-men traditionally take a while to live up to expectations. Let him come to tryouts for the extra work and to push whoever we do get. Like I said he shows flashes of potential but he isn’t ready yet…I just hope those that are in charge see that as well.
R. Stroz
March 16th, 2010
1:12 pm
The Kane injury was a key injury in that it upset the balance and chemistry of this team.
Yep, and shows just how bad Charmin is doesn’t it?
The team sure played well with Charmin in the pressbox.
the Captain
March 16th, 2010
1:14 pm
Sadly as much fun as the “should DW go” conversation is, the simple fact is that he won’t. The coach may change, but DW will still be the nice, but failed GM of a failed team that claims it’s “rebuilding” every year. Why? Well because to do otherwise would require ASG to in some way actually have to think about hockey for a minute. And we all know by now the last thing the ASG want’s to be bothered with is the hockey organization. There is a feeling of institutionalized mediocracy to this team and that starts from the top. But that’s what you get when your owners area all a basketball fans who had to buy a hockey team to realize their dreams of owning a basketball one.
Curious George
March 16th, 2010
2:14 pm
Thanks for your response, Hilarious. Not surprisingly, I agree with some of your thoughts and disagree with others, primarily in the extent to which certain factors affect success.
While luck certainly plays a role in almost any successful enterprise, in most cases I don’t think it plays as large a role as you assert, and in my experience it is frequently the companion of preparation and execution. The effort in those areas often allow one to take advantage of good luck when it is presented and overcome bad luck when it arrives.
I can’t agree that those who win consistently just get lucky more frequently than others. More often, those organizations have well-developed systems with high expectations and accountability for results, along with structure for developing talent.
I do think the smaller markets that lack a history of success have a tougher time of it, which makes it all the more important that you have the right leaders in the organization. Markets like Atlanta, Nashville, Columbus, Raleigh, Phoenix, and the Florida sisters have to have everything going right for them to achieve and sustain success.
And that’s where Don Waddell becomes an issue. While none of us knows everything that goes on behind those office doors at ASG, LLC, we DO know that Don has presided over the Thrashers since day one, and that we have basically been a bottom feeder the whole time. Whatever the reasons, clearly he hasn’t been able to build a competitive NHL team. Whether it’s Dudley or another qualified candidate, I’m more than ready to see if someone else can get this team moving in the “right direction (for real this time, though).”
Oh, and do any of us really think that whining on a blog will have any effect? Maybe a few, but for most of us it’s just a way of blowing off steam with others who share our frustration.
Lee
March 16th, 2010
3:51 pm
HILARIOUS – C’mon man, hockey is actually what people enjoy. The people that are saying “We need a GM change” or “We need a coach change” are just voicing their opinion, that’s how some things change. If you want to give up your tickets then fine, just don’t ruin what other people enjoy.
Lee
March 16th, 2010
3:56 pm
HILARIOUS – Your comment on Don Waddell vs.______ is partly incorrect. Yes, the team is not called the Atlanta Don Waddell’s (thank god) but think about it. How do you think we got the players? Who takes care of draft picks? Don Waddell does, or at least he tries. But anyways, it’s a big role for a team.
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 16th, 2010
4:49 pm
Lee, we’re all hockey fans here (except anyone who spends 8 years posting that DW should be fired and that Thrasher fans are sheep who shouldn’t go to any games just because he didn’t get 3 e-mails answered in 2002).
I have no intention of giving up my tickets. And I know this doesn’t apply to everyone here, but from the Kovalchuk trade up to the Tampa Bay game there were many singing the praises of this team and even Waddell. That’s what a winning streak does. Then they hit a losing streak and it’s all Waddell’s fault. He does have a big role for the team, but he doesn’t play or coach (at least not lately). The winning streak team is the same as the losing streak team (except Kane). Waddell didn’t do anything (this time) to make them start losing again. But he gets most of the blame.
Anyone can choose to buy tickets or not. But to continuously state, sometimes year after year, that someone is not going to go to hockey games and that will cause the owners to fire Don Waddell is counterproductive. It deprives a hockey fan of that which he/she enjoys. And if enough people don’t go to games, then an end result could very well be no more games in this city. If DW or JA get fired, then rejoice! If they don’t, then there’s really not anything you or I can do to make it happen.
Why torture yourself? If you like hockey, buy a ticket and go to a game.
bugman
March 16th, 2010
4:55 pm
Wow Hilarious, your kindergarten logic is stupefying:
“And if enough people don’t go to games, then an end result could very well be no more games in this city”
Dontcha think, that for one eensy beensy moment that if enough people don’t sign up for a bad product (Thrashers) that it might not be so good after all? That if “enough people” can dictate a teams departure, it might not be doing what “enough people” like?
Isn’t it time for your nap or mom to come take you home?
rob
March 16th, 2010
5:04 pm
WOW, so luck is the biggest factor here. I can’t believe all this time we thought it was an organizational idea, which a manager overlooked, a coach and a team, which he, as manager, assembled based on compatibility and talent. Then monitored to see if said pieces worked, and if they didn’t, made changes in an attempt to make it so. All that time wasted practicing when you could have just waited for your luck to come along! Atlanta isn’t a media market? All this time I thought it was such a huge metropolitan city with millions and millions of people in the immediate area!! When does one lose the “expansion team” label? A decade is MORE than enough time to have established a philosophy, an identity, and have at least SOME success with said. So, when you look at all of this, the Thrashers have not emerged from their initial season with anything positive to show for. There is still no identity, no success, no accountability. We have a decent core of players, so tearing apart the top of this monstrosity from the owners to the coach will not be setting us back to square one. There is nothing fresh or imaginative here, it isn’t even stagnant…..it is rotting. Your argument would have maybe held water through about 2005…maybe 2006, but certainly not now in 2010. All we are doing now is wasting 82 games a season, because in reality, those 82 games are nothing but a buildup to the playoffs. No one playing this game will say they go through such a grinding season to play golf while the others are playing playoff hockey. As exciting as any regular season game might be, playoff hockey is what all of those games were meant for. So far in 10 years, the Thrashers have seen exactly 4 of a possible 280 (based on 4 7-game series per year). That isn’t luck, or being unlucky. That is just pathetic management. And based on that, the FANS aren’t “frustrated”, they are disgusted, and rightly so I would say. HILARIOUS?!?!?! no I don’t think anyone is laughing
rob
March 16th, 2010
5:12 pm
Once Kovy was traded, many were singing the praises of the TEAM, and many still support the TEAM, but I don’t recall seeing one person coming out and saying, WOW look at what Waddell has done for this team!!!! He walked into a lucky streak following the trade and rode that for what it was worth, and now that things have soured, I am sure he will say that this season couldn’t be his fault with everything that has happened.
bugman
March 16th, 2010
5:12 pm
“you could have just waited for your luck to come along!”
Rob,
It prolly did, D-Wad just traded it for leftover meatloaf and 2 second round picks.
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 16th, 2010
5:53 pm
Curious G: I also prefer structure in an organization. But I also believe the sports graveyard is filled with talented organizations that produced limited or even no success. For example, most of us remember the Braves from 1991-2004. They were stocked with talent, but finished last in 1990. Then Cox (mid-1990 season) and Schuerholtz took them from worst to first in 91. The Braves were up 3 games to 2 over the Twins in the 6th game of the WS. Puckett hit the homer in the 11th to win. Both teams were in last place in their divisions the year before. Did they all of a sudden become great organizations in the off-season or was luck/fate involved? Did luck/fate have anything to do with Puckett being at bat in the 11th? With the pitch Leibrandt threw? This isn’t to take away from great athletic performances, such as Puckett’s in this series. But if he hadn’t been at bat in the 11th, would the Twins still have won?
Fast forward to the 1995 WS when the Braves received “what they needed, when they needed it” from Dave Justice. Then in May 1996, he tore his shoulder up and never played for Atlanta again. Sometimes things happen. Sometimes they’re good and sometimes they aren’t. Many times a champion is crowned because “something” happened in a certain way. Not necessarily because the owner or GM caused it to happen. They did put their team in a position to win (”chance favors the prepared mind” from Under Seige 2), but they still couldn’t make it happen. Favre’s pass wasn’t caused by the owner or GM…….
The Braves won 14 consecutive Div titles (a feat that may never be repeated) and went to 5 WS in that time. They won it all once. Clearly the organization had put the team in a position to win, but only once did events occur that allowed them to claim the title of Champion. Some call it destiny. It also plays a part in individual games throughout a season.
During their recent winning streak, the Thrashers had everything flowing and clicking plus they got some incredible breaks. During the losing streak, they’ve gotten none of the breaks while the other teams have. I’m not trying to say build your future on fate. Just acknowledging that it plays a part that we often overlook. It isn’t a substitute for talent, effort, great coaching, etc. It’s just that little something extra that makes teams look better than they sometimes are and often worse than they are. It often determines the Champion.
It’s a good discussion over a couple of pitchers of beer!
You're All HILARIOUS!
March 16th, 2010
6:04 pm
rob, don’t go to Thrashers games anymore. Stop watching them on TV. Don’t read about them in the AJC. Don’t visit the blogs. This is not the team for you and you’ve just outlined all the reasons why. Become a Caps or Pens fan.
I go to Thrashers games and have a good time. I don’t expect too much. I don’t get angry about things that are out of my control. When you do, Don Waddell and the ASG own you.
MB
March 16th, 2010
6:38 pm
Hilarious, you bring up a great example in the Braves of the 90s.
A superior manager and general manager molded that collection of talent into a consistent winner. Throughout those years, the Braves were held up as a model organization by the pundits. Thanks to years of failure, they were able to collect talent that finally matured, and those two knew what to do with it. And they kept the farm stocked so that when somebody got too expensive to keep they had a replacement waiting in the wings, or Schuerholtz went out and acquired somebody, more often than not with good results. The team had an identity, they had a system in place to develop talent, and they had, imo, a brilliant GM (or president…can’t remember his title).
Once they got into the playoffs, then yes, luck and/or heroics would play a part in the outcome. But the important thing, and to me the key responsibilities of the GM and even the coach/manager to a large degree, is putting together the team so that it can be in those situations.
Think of players that came up through the Braves organization, guys like Blauser and Treadway and Lemke, etc. They were key cogs, but once they left for more money based on their Braves success, they rarely lived up to their elevated status. It’s my opinion that it’s because the Braves system elevate them to their highest potential because of its strong support structure. When that structure wasn’t in place in their new club, they returned to the reality of their everyday talent.
Given our market, etc., I think most fans would be happy (at least for awhile) if the Thrashers regularly competed at a level similar to the Nashville Predators, usually making the playoffs, challenging the “better” teams, and even winning a series or two here and there. My frustration is not that we’re mediocre, it’s that year in and year out (with one exception) we end up as one of the five worst teams in the entire league…and I would love to see how this town would turn out if, instead, we were one of the five BEST teams in the league.
rob
March 16th, 2010
6:54 pm
Become a Caps or Pens fan? Why? I am from neither, can’t go see them play on a consistent basis, and have no desire to. Did I say something that would have led you to believe that? I won’t stop going to the games, or cheering for them until I’m hoarse. I’ve been watching and playing hockey for 38 years now and ASG/DW, and all their incompetence won’t stop that. I enjoy the games as well. I would however, like to enjoy the excitement that is playoff hockey without having to cheer for someone other than the home team because they didn’t make it ONCE again. So if you want to be a “fan” that doesn’t “expect too much” from the team you watch, that is fine and your choice. I am sure that the LET’S GO THRASHERS chants and cheering for a good hit or goal, booing when the away team does something good, isn’t why you go, and that’s OK, the owners need those kind of fans to fill the seats too. Some of us do that kind of stuff though and would like to do it on a more consistent basis is all. So just don’t come out here and say we are whining or not fans because we would like to see more than a half hearted attempt on the ice. Now as for those who don’t go to any games or put the team down every chance they get, I’m with you, they shouldn’t waste their own time here as far as I am concerned, but……
Lee
March 16th, 2010
7:13 pm
Whooo! 33 seconds into the game Niki scores! See…these are the things that I’m talking about. Hockey is such a great sport, whether you have a good team or bad, It’s always fun to watch. Everyone knows that the Thrashers won’t make the playoffs (90% sure, but I’d love to be wrong), but it’s still great to support the team. Let’s at least have a good finish.
bugman
March 17th, 2010
10:29 am
Hey blog censor guy, howz bout letting my post in…