Big Thrashers news: Waddell moved up, Dudley in, coaches out
The Thrashers named Don Waddell president, promoted Rick Dudley to general manager and dismissed its coaching staff Wednesday, the AJC first reported. They are three significant moves aimed at changing the direction of a franchise that has made the playoffs just once in its 10-season history.
The moves came four days after the end of the Thrashers season and the day the Stanley Cup playoffs were to begin.
Waddell has served as general manager of the Thrashers since its inception, being named to the position in June 1998. Last offseason he was also named executive vice president of the Atlanta Spirit, the parent company of the Thrashers, Hawks and Philips Arena.
Waddell said Sunday, the day after the season ended, he expected to return to the organization next season but would not be specific when asked in what role.
Dudley joined the Thrashers in June of last year and spent his first season with the team as associate general manager. Dudley, with over 40 years of experience in professional hockey as a player, coach and executive, spent the previous five seasons with the Blackhawks. He spent the last three years at assistant general manager.
Head coach John Anderson did not have his contract renewed after two seasons in Atlanta. The Thrashers were 70-75-19 in his two seasons. Assistant coaches Randy Cunneyworth, Todd Nelson and Steve Weeks also did not have their contracts renewed.
“Absolute disappointment,” Anderson told the AJC Wednesday morning. “From last year, I don’t like to use the word rebuilding mode, but that’s what we were in. Two years later, I think we left the house in pretty good order. We almost made the playoffs. I wish we had. It might have been the difference in my job and some other guys’ jobs.
“I’d really like to thank the fans for all their support,” Anderson said. “They’ve been great. I’d also like to that all the people I’ve worked with. And especially the players. They really gave me everything they had.”
The Thrashers finished 35-34-13 (83 points) this season, five points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“One thing I understand about professional sports, is that ultimately if the team doesn’t do well the coach accepts all the responsibility,” Anderson told the AJC on Monday after completing player exit interviews. “And I do rightfully so, no problem. When the team wins, the coach gives the players [the credit]. That’s how it is. … I understand the reality of it. We didn’t make the playoffs. I accept responsibility for that. Whatever happens, happens.”
Perhaps those five points could have been the difference.
“Unfortunately, when a team does not perform as expected, there are going to be changes, usually to the coaching staff,” goaltender Johan Hedberg said. “As a player you feel bad because you had a part in doing it to them. The team has to do what it feels is right. It is performance based. Five more points and we would have made the playoffs and maybe this doesn’t happen.”
Other reaction:
Boris Valabik – “For me, personally, I’ve known Johnny and Nelly a long time. They coached me in [AHL] Chicago. I think they did a great job. They helped me out so much and did a good job. I have nothing bad to say about them. I appreciate everything they’ve done for me. You never know, maybe I’ll see them again. … It’s a new challenge. I’ve never had another coach. It’s going to be a big difference but I’m excited about the new challenge.
Eric Boulton – “Obviously, it’s no fun when you don’t make the playoffs. I have a lot of respect for all four [coaches]. Unfortunately when you don’t make the playoffs, changes are going to be made. Don is very respected and has been here a long time. Everyone has a lot of respect for Rick Dudley. He’s a good hockey mind. He’s going to be great for the city, great for the organization.”
Slava Kozlov: “Unfortunately, it’s too late. If you don’t make the playoffs I can understand ownership’s frustration and they have to do something. I expected after this season there was going to be changes.”
Colby Armstrong: “As far as the coaches, they are really good people, really great guys. It’s definitely a shakeup. Rick Dudley is a really smart hockey guy. He knows what he is doing. It’s a new era coming up for the Thrashers. They are moving in a positive direction.
Ron Hainsey: “I think we are going to see a change in direction. When a team doesn’t get into the playoffs and it’s not seen as a successful season, things change. Those were four quality people that were let go. That’s the toughest part. We were close this year [to making the playoffs], but the next question is what are you going to do when you get in. You have to do something. We are building going forward. Our identity changed some last season and it will change some more. We have some good young players. If they get developed like everyone hopes, we will have a strong group. That’s the challenge, to build a team that makes the playoffs and ultimately competes for the Stanley Cup.”
Bruce Bodreau, Capitals coach: “It’s a sad day for me and John. He’s a very close friend. He phoned me at 9 a.m. this morning. It’s a tough business sometimes because I think he did a great job with what he had to work with all year. He kept them competitive. It’s unfortunate but John is a very good coach and he’ll land on his feet very soon.”
Pavel Kubina: “I know Rick Dudley well. He used to be my GM in Tampa (where Kubina won a Stanley Cup). He’s the best GM out there. He built our team in Tampa. This doesn’t change anything about me wanting to come back.”
Jim Slater: “Players have to ultimately to out there and perform. You see the repercussions of that. Management felt very strongly that we had a good team.”
Letter from ownership to season ticket holders: “As we end the 2009-10 season, we begin the next steps towards achieving our ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup championship. This year ushered in highlights and exhilarating wins, and also delivered a disappointing conclusion when we didn’t achieve a playoff berth. As a result, we have elected to restructure our hockey operations staff to ensure we are maximizing our assets. Today we are promoting Don Waddell to President of the Thrashers and Rick Dudley to the team’s General Manager.
In addition, we, along with Rick and Don, have decided not to retain Head Coach John Anderson and Assistant Coaches Randy Cunneyworth, Todd Nelson and Steve Weeks. We thank each of them for their dedication and contributions to the organization during their tenures.
Rick has been with us for a year, and after his initial tenure of contributing to the hockey operations staff, and assessing the team and organization, we look forward to his guidance over hockey-related activities.
Rick has been pivotal in building highly successful hockey teams, including most recently the Chicago Blackhawks. He has nearly 40 years of experience and is very well-respected in the hockey community for his expertise in evaluating and developing talent. He will immediately begin the search for a new head coach and will oversee all preparations for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. We are extremely confident that he will do an outstanding job of taking us to the next level.
As all of you know, Don has been an important part of this organization since its inception, and in shifting his focus to concentrate primarily on all business aspects of the organization, he will continue to work closely with Rick and play a vital role for our Thrashers franchise. Although we all are disappointed with not participating in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we are excited about our future and will continue to build on the team’s strong core of young players with the goal of creating a competitive and successful squad that will make our fans proud.
We’d like to thank you for your loyal support as a Season Ticket Holder as we enter a new era of Thrashers hockey.”
Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon
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235 comments Add your comment
bugman
April 14th, 2010
6:57 pm
Not only am I not Sage, I am not ignorant of dudleys acumen. I never said anything contrary about his smarts. My inferences were he will still be required to run everything past Waddell. And isn’t that the same as being the AGM?!
Only the titles changed today. The hierchy remains the same.
Rick Dudley received a new title today. He did not receive any new authority.
Brendan
April 14th, 2010
7:13 pm
Eugene, I’ll second your post for MacTavish. But, clearly, that ship just sailed. Uhhh, how do I put this?
Hmmn. Okay. Perhaps this is the best way. I’ll give you two weeks to name all the FIRED GM’s in any sport … who picked their own successor. Figure it out, yet? Someon of you have. Joe Friday, bugman, and more.
Don Waddell is not gone from the organization. And until he is, he’s the guy who the staff knows as “The Man in Charge” for the past eleven years. If the organization really wanted to turn the corner, they’d have fired Waddell. All they did … was switch offices.
Really? Yes, really. Whenever Dudley wants to do something, he knocks on Don’s door to “run it past him.” Does that sound like Dudley’s in charge. Dudley’s as much a “figurehead” GM was Garth Snow under Charles Wang, out on Long Island.
Ya know something, folks. I am just stunned, STUNNED, by how disrespectfully this ownership treats you. They think you to be idiots. They really believe that you’ll buy it, “hook, line and sinker” that it’s some “new day” in Blueland. Waddell brought in Dudley. And now, he’s named Dudley to be the GM.
Well, Waddell hired four coaches (Fraser, Hartley, himself, and Anderson) and it appears he’ll get to hire another, after “consulting” with Dudley. Oy Gavult!! How blind are we supposed to be? It’s sickening that the organization treats you this badly.
By the way, “YungJB from MTL” won the “Guess when Waddell’s contract gets renewed” contest with his guess of April 15th. Well done, sir. You nailed it. I wonder if I’ll ever see the day when Waddell has to turn in his key. This is not Rich McKay. Waddell still has his hands in everything. And believe me … if Dudley wants one guy at the draft and Waddell disagrees, it’ll be Waddell’s choice that gets announced at the podium. And that’s just wrong, if Dudley’s the GM.
ex-STH
April 14th, 2010
7:15 pm
I dropped my season tickets 2 years ago when management (D-Wad) couldn’t keep Hossa. But since bringing in Duds 2 1/2 years ago, I’ve seen some noticable improvement in the type of player brought on to the Thrashers. I have to admit that I’m impressed with Dudley’s ideas. The personel choices in drafts and trades and waiver pickups have gotton better while Duds has been here. D-Wads still has to give the final stamp but Duds knows how to find players with the most potential. Bergfors and Oduya were GREAT players for the self-centered @-hole Kovalsuck (Cormier and the 1st round pick are wild cards). Who did D-Wads get for Hossa?!? Basically just Armstrong who I hope is as good as gone. Duds will be a great GM. With his nose for talent, he will find a great coach to compliment the type of players he is bringing in. His track record has proved this.
Harry Sinden
April 14th, 2010
7:38 pm
Well, the Dr said we didn’t get ALL the cancer…. Waddell is still in town. When you reach a certain level of incompetence, YOU GET PROMOTED… go figure. and his first move as Prez will be to raise ticket prices, and the new head coach will be from GA Youth Hockey Association in a cost saving move.
Hockey Dawg
April 14th, 2010
7:52 pm
To you guys who think the they should’ve fired Waddell (absolutely!) but kept Anderson as coach, that doesn’t make any sense. If you bring in a new GM, you want to give him free reign to bring in his own guys – not handcuff him with a previous coach, who in this case, still has not proven his chops on the NHL level. I personally think JA did a pretty decent job with what he had, but the fact remains that the team was still pretty poor defensively, was prone to long losing streaks (which was ultimately their undoing), and under Anderson did not see progression in young talent like Bogo, Little, & Enstrom.
This is a GREAT day for us hockey fans in Atlanta! The only thing that could’ve been better is if the ASG had sold the team to a local owner who would be FULLY COMMITTED to building a winner here. But let’s celebrate while we can. Dudley should be a HUGE upgrade as a GM, and if he can attract a top-line coach, continue to draft pretty well, and bring in a few key FA’s, then this team is not that far away at all from being pretty darn good. OH, HAPPY DAY!!!
HillMan
April 14th, 2010
8:07 pm
Big day for Thrashers! For those who question how much control Dudley will have, know he would not be here if he couldn’t put his stamp on this team. Make no mistake, he could go anywhere and wouldn’t be here unless this was going to be his team. Aslo, why will he make the difference? He is use to working within a small market budget to build a playoff team.
Sure we won’t probably see the Hossas, Kovys or Heatleys on this team, but we will probably look like and compete like the Preds, Sabres and Coyottes (of 2009-10). Small market budget, not many high priced stars, but good solid hockey players.
Let’s also be careful about who we look for as coach. While JA maybe didn’t work out, I would be careful about looking for a NHL retread. It may be time for this team to start building a coaching staff with ATL connections. Maybe Moose could be signed as a player/coach. He could be the third string. Coach until one of our top 2 get hurt (we all know that will happen). What about Mellenby or Chcken Parm as an assistant?
Bottom line Rick will build us to be a good small market competitor and we should use this opportunity to build some identity and bring back the fans who enjoyed some of our leaders from the past.
Amused
April 14th, 2010
8:14 pm
Waddell gets kicked upstairs. That is a positive. Anderson gets sacked. That is a negative.
Adam Dunn
April 14th, 2010
8:20 pm
Brandon shut the hell up , let people who want to salvage don not being a gm anymore do so. Why do you have to ruin the moment, I believe this is great news for the thrashers. Dudley will do a good job and whoever comes in next to coach the team will be good. Come on people, I liked Anderson as a person but he was not right for motivating that team or any team in the future… Look at Slava’s comments..
Adam Dunn
April 14th, 2010
8:21 pm
oh and brendan, your posts are wayyyyyyy too long, please shorten them up. Its like your trying to audition for the job of the thrashers beat writer, every day! Please, or atleast for my sake just shorten them up like every other day. No one wants to read a book every time you publish something. Sorry guy, Im not picking on you but I think it had to be said.
Sage of Bluesland
April 14th, 2010
8:22 pm
Laughing at the ignorant sheep who think this is actually progress! Some just want to believe so badly!
It is good to see that ‘most’ folks are not delusional and see this for precisely what it is. This is what the ownership thinks of you and your intelligence, folks.
Insulting in a way, isn’t it?
Nope, this isn’t enough ‘change’ to get the dollar out of my pocket. I refuse to have a single penny of my money pay for anything related to Don Waddell (unless it’s his severance package).
This incompetence cannot be subsidized. Don’t let the GaVasheeps and Smoothies of this world try to “waddell” you…
Joe Friday
April 14th, 2010
9:13 pm
“I am just stunned, STUNNED, by how disrespectfully this ownership treats you. They think you to be idiots. They really believe that you’ll buy it, “hook, line and sinker” that it’s some “new day” in Blueland.”
B.I.N.G.O.
close the thread
ThrasherNY
April 14th, 2010
9:52 pm
I am hoping we can break the all time Thrashers blog post record with news that the teflon may be wearing off of Don.
Greatest day in Thrashers history outside of when we drafted Kovy and Heater!
Next greatest day will be when Waddell is fired or retired as that will signal we have real owners. No respectable owners would keep him on for more than three minutes in any capacity. And by real owners I am talking about ones that want to win and understand ultimate profitability comes from bringing a city full of fans success. If you believe in that formula then Waddell is gone.
Once again third greatest day in Thrasher fan history!!!
Bring it on Dudley!
Brendan
April 14th, 2010
10:11 pm
Annnnnd Ilya Kovalchuk has still NOT won a playoff game. It’s a final, Flyers 2, Devils 1. And Ottawa defeated Pittsburgh, 5-4. Now watch! Just you WATCH! Someone who doesn’t understand the dynamics of a “best-of-seven series” will say, “The Devils/Penguins just lost home ice.” Really? So, Game Seven will now be played in Philly and Ottawa, instead? Really? And do we simply ASSUME that the lowered seeded team wins all its home games. That’s pretty large assumption to make.
stendek
April 14th, 2010
10:11 pm
Nice news but…I am a happy man tonight! Cynthia Crosby, Maltedmilkman and the overrated odious Pittsburgh Tuxedos lost ON HOME ICE to the Ottawa Senators. Will be a Sen fan this playoff year if they can knock these pretenders out of the Stanley Cup running! Now for the best part…Ilya Kovalchoke and the New Jersey Pitchforks lost ON HOME ICE to the Philly Flyers. Overrated Northern scum SHOULD HAVE BEEN shut out! One highlight dear to my heart showed the Figure Eight King skating through the entire Flyer defense, faking out the goaltender then shooting the puck wide. TRANSLATION: Missed the wide open net! BY AN ATLANTA MILE. Very familiar sight for all Trasher followers. I actually jumped to my feet in unbridled joy! Hate that traiterous Russian SOB. Wish him nothing but ill will! Got my No Doze ready to watch late game. Hope my other teams win. Man, I have not been this enthusiastic after a hockey game since Johan Moose Hedberg shut out the Tuxedos singlehandedly! Best all. ++STENDEK++
HKYLUV
April 14th, 2010
10:20 pm
I have no idea why in the world Don Waddell is still apart of this franchise at all. He has been the problem mostly all along. So disappointed that he didn’t go too!
scottbravesfan
April 14th, 2010
10:23 pm
I’m glad we finally got a real GM in Dudley. Hopefully we get a real coach as well the team always looked unprepared this season and I can’t believe they were in contention for a playoff spot as long as they were.
Tim
April 15th, 2010
3:42 am
Brendan – While you’re at it, can I get Friday’s Mega Millions numbers?
Here’s what I think…
Don will have no say what so ever in personnel matters. He’s still here because he’s under contract and ownership isn’t going to pay him to sit at home and knit sweaters. No, they’re going to make him come to work; pass, humiliated, by the office of the man making the decisions; sit in his newly irrelevant office and weep over his many lost opportunities while earning his paycheck. They’ve turned the keys to the kingdom over to Dudley.
However, if you do not feel that your lust for Donnie’s blood has been sufficiently satisfied, I believe his dog’s virtue is still intact and his children have not yet been sold into slavery. Have at it.
Bottom line… he’s under contract so they’re making him earn his money but he’ll have nothing to do with running this franchise. He’s like a school principal who gets sent to work at the superintendent’s office until retirement because he can no longer be trusted with the students.
See, I can make up stuff too!
Tim
April 15th, 2010
3:48 am
When I say “he’ll have nothing to do with running this franchise.” Of course, I know he’ll have lots of important things to do. I’m just sure that none of them will involve trades and free agents.
Maybe we can get him to work on that idiotic “no bottle caps” rule. I can literally count on one hand, the number of times I’ve seen fans either throw a full bottle of diet coke onto the ice or beat up a Sabres’ fan with a bottle of Dasani. Maybe of I’ve just had daydreams about the latter.
Lee
April 15th, 2010
6:55 am
The Spirit is trying to make it look like they’re “doing something” when they’re really not. Waddell is “President” and Rick Dudley is the GM. Now, I’ve heardvery good things about dudley, and i’m not quite sure what “president” is…but I think that whenever Dudley suggests something, he’ll have to get it approved by the “President”. So it makes Dudley look bad.
GaVaHokie
April 15th, 2010
8:21 am
What’s done is done… moving on.
Here is what Darren Dreger considers the top NHL Coaching candidates who haven’t had Head Coaching experience.
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=318052
I want someone more proven.
Hockeyman3944
April 15th, 2010
9:21 am
They should have cleaned the whole lot of them out! Teflon Donny must have pictures of someone somewhere!
Anderson had to go…this was a soft team, no snarl, not an intimidating one in the bunch. Worst game? Playing the Bruins at home with 10 days to go, playoff chances on the line…Not one finished check, not one instance of even wanting to be in the game with the playoffs staring at them. After one, Anderson should have put a foot up a few rears and got them going! Oops! I forgot, he’s a “players coach” whatever the hell that is…
Get someone in here who demands accountability and is tough on these overpaid, underacheivers…then I’ll pay good money to trip over the winos and panhandlers downtown to get to Phillips!
John A.
April 15th, 2010
9:30 am
OK…So anyone else figure out Sage is bugman is Joe Friday? He says the same things on all the blogs under these names. He congratulates his alter-egos on their great wisdom and posts. They’re eternally angry at Don Waddell because he didn’t answer his 3 e-mails from 2002. Here’s a thought on someone who “gave up on the Thrashers in 2002″….WHY DON’T YOU JUST GO AWAY?
Do you even realize how MENTAL you appear when you hate the Thrashers so much, but you can’t wait to be the 1st or 2nd to post on every new Thrashers blog? You must be completely devoid of the SHAME gene.
Really now….EIGHT FREAKIN YEARS and you can’t let go???? Bet you still drive your first car from the 50s, even though it leaves you stranded 3 times a week. Bet you had your favorite pets from the past 40 years stuffed and mounted next to your Thrashers Shrine. Bet you really have Thrashers season tix but will never admit it. Do you know what they call your delusional disconnect with reality? Schizophrenia. The first step toward recovery is for you to cash in all of your alternate screen names. So I hereby dub thee:
SCHIZO OF BLUELAND. Until you’re treated and cured, you must use this screen name to remind yourself of just how sick your mind is and how it’s probably not a good idea for you to be in social situations that involve human beings. However, you can still continue your social situations with animals, both dead and alive. But they’ll still probably look at you funny, you know, like your not “normal”…….
Joe Friday
April 15th, 2010
9:33 am
“The Spirit is trying to make it look like they’re “doing something” when they’re really not. Waddell is “President” and Rick Dudley is the GM. Now, I’ve heardvery good things about dudley, and i’m not quite sure what “president” is…but I think that whenever Dudley suggests something, he’ll have to get it approved by the “President”. So it makes Dudley look bad.”
Another B.I.N.G.O. The good news in the GM position happened a year ago when Dudley was brought in, but no further change was made yesterday.
It is rather enlightening to see some naive fans lap up the Spirit’s PR move, in response to the boycott of so many former season ticket holders who demanded that Waddell be removed, as real change. It helps me understand why this ownership group treats it’s season ticket holders like dolts who will believe anything.
Joe Friday
April 15th, 2010
9:35 am
“So anyone else figure out Sage is bugman is Joe Friday?”
lol. Uh, many of we bloggers have met each other, and the writers of these blogs can see our IPs and identities, you just made yourself out to be another paranoid goof (or shill for the Spirit Squad, eh?).
the anti-clutch
April 15th, 2010
9:48 am
Waddell got Rich Mckayed lol
Tim
April 15th, 2010
9:56 am
My last two posts haven’t gone through. Have the thought police decided to delete all positive posts?
testing 1… 2… 3
John A.
April 15th, 2010
9:59 am
Step right up, one and all, and get your seats for THE AMAZING BRENDAN and his (almost) flawless hockey knowledge and insight!! Rick Dudley had been the Thrashers NEW GM for less than one day and The Amazing Brendan already knows the inner workings of Dudley’s new job:
“Whenever Dudley wants to do something, he knocks on Don’s door to “run it past him.” Does that sound like Dudley’s in charge.”
What makes this even so much more amazing is Brendan has never even seen Dudley knock on Don’s door, nor has he even seen Dudley in operation as the Thrashers NEW GM! Just simply amazing! He “knows” what’s happening and he doesn’t even have to be there to witness it! But if Brendan says it, you know it has to be 100% correct, given his incredible hockey knowledge and insight….For example, look how he picked the teams to finish in the East this season. He even KNEW he was right before the season was over and began congratulating himself for being able to see things that the rest of us simply can’t:
“Brendan
April 3rd, 2010, 11:13 pm
After the Olympic break, Smoothie asked me, “beeeeing honest” who I saw at #8. I offered that #6 would be Philly, #7 would be Boston, and #8 would the NY Rangers. And that Montreal would finish 9th and Atlanta 10th. Well, swap Philly with Montreal, and I woulda nailed it.”
Just AMAZING! Look how close The Amazing Brendan was to seeing the future:
6. Boston
7. Philly
8. Montreal
9. Rangers
10. Thrashers
Wait a minute…….Well, The Amazing Brendan got #6 right…No, not that one….OK, so number 7 was correct…No, not that one either…..How about # 8….OOPS, missed that one too….Surely # 9 was right….NOPE….Only the Thrashers at #10 was correct.
Hey, that’s only ONE out of FIVE correct! That’s 20% and even a monkey picking the final standings could do 20% out of random chance…..Maybe the monkey could do even better than The Amazing Brendan! Suddenly that’s not so amazing, is it? Maybe Brendan doesn’t have a friggin CLUE how Dudley will run the Thrashers organization as the NEW GM!!! Maybe Brendan needs to start sticking to FACTS instead of looking into his crystal ball and/or relying on his out of body experiences?
Sounds like a plan……
Joe Friday
April 15th, 2010
10:11 am
Ah, the Spirit squad shill is hard at work today, lol
John A.
April 15th, 2010
10:16 am
Joe Friday
April 15th, 2010, 9:35 am
“So anyone else figure out Sage is bugman is Joe Friday?”
lol. Uh, many of we bloggers have met each other, and the writers of these blogs can see our IPs and identities, you just made yourself out to be another paranoid goof (or shill for the Spirit Squad, eh?).
Sorry, but you made the strategic error. When an innocent is confronted by an accusation, the normal human reaction is to vehemently and immediately DENY the accusation. The guilty simply redirect the discussion without calling the accusation a false one….You know, like YOU just did.
Oh, and save your blogging breath…..To come back now and call the accusation that you’re the SAME PERSON a false one only serves to PROVE IT IS TRUE at this point…..See how that works?
John A.
April 15th, 2010
10:18 am
Spirit shill? Don’t you read the paper? I was fired yesterday and have a good deal of free time on my hands right now….
alex
April 15th, 2010
3:00 pm
after 11 years of miserable failure they promote league laughing-stoke weasel to guard there pocket. no way they improve without proper funding. anyone, dudley, bowman.. you name, going to fail here. lock in the weasel hand and it’s against his interest to open, to show hockey world how stupid he, running the organization for decade with only one consistance – losing. i am very depressed because of that.
Sandy
April 16th, 2010
5:35 pm
Hey – is Al Arbour available (I mean for D)?
Remie
April 17th, 2010
9:54 pm
You are SO right, JOHN A – I figured out Joe Friday and Sage is the same person long ago!
bugman
May 19th, 2010
4:10 pm
Sorry John A. (what’s that stand for anyway? Oh, I know…) I am my own malcontent. Is it possible in your feeble widdle mind that there may actually be more than one disgruntled fan out there that has had it up to here (6′2″) with this franchise?
I have as much right to get on these blogs and voice my displeasure with the perpetual BS dished out by ASG et al as you do to continue to give reach arounds to them.
opinionator
July 27th, 2010
10:47 pm
This team needs a real leader at the helm, and instead Waddell gets to keep a job in an erstwhile promotion. They really needed to put Neil Smith in that spot to give this franchise some credibility in the hockey world. Dudley’s OK as GM, but these days to win, you can’t just depend on the GM. You need someone like Smith who can build a real organization to support the GM.
I don’t like saying anyone should be fired, but John Anderson was an excellent coach and it was Waddell who gave him the players who couldn’t get the job done. Business-wise, the team’s a flop too, and Spirit promotes Waddell? Crazy.
Good luck to John, who deserved a lot better than he got here, and should get a chance in the NHL again. Soon.