Ramsay, coaches wait to hear their future
Craig Ramsay sits and waits.
The Thrashers head coach still doesn’t know if he will be joining his team when it relocates to Winnipeg next season. Other members of the organization have already been told not to pack their bags.
Ramsay finally spoke to a representative of the Winnipeg franchise Thursday evening – 10 days after the deal was announced that the Atlanta Spirit would sell the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment.
Ramsay spoke to new Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, whose hiring was announced Wednesday. Thrashers GM Rick Dudley was told Sunday he would not be retained before the sale is approved later this month and the team relocated to Manitoba.
“It’s very unnerving not knowing what the future holds,” Ramsay told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday.
Ramsay said he was told by Cheveldayoff that a decision has not been made about the coaching staff. The still unnamed Winnipeg organization would meet throughout the weekend before making a final decision, he was told. Associate coach John Torchetti, assistant coach Mike Stothers and video coach Tony Borgford also wait to hear their future.
Several members of the Thrashers support staff have already been told they will not have positions in Winnipeg – including the equipment managers, athletic trainers and strength and conditioning coach. None were considered for positions despite their tenure with the Thrashers. Head equipment manager Bobby Stewart spent all 12 years with the Thrashers and 26 years with the Flames organization in Atlanta and Calgary.
The Thrashers staff was informed of Winnipeg’s decision on Monday by Craig Heisinger, who was named senior vice president and assistant general manager. Heisinger was in Atlanta Monday, two days before being named to his new position, to inventory equipment and other physical assets of the sale.
“It’s awkward,” Ramsay said. “We are hockey people, but we are also people. There are other jobs. … I just asked him to [make a decision] expeditiously.”
Several open positions in hockey, both at the NHL and AHL level, have been filled since the sale and relocation of the Thrashers became imminent.
Ramsay became the fifth head coach in Thrashers history before last season. He concluded his first full season as an NHL head coach with the disappointment of missing the playoffs but was looking forward to continued work in the organization. He may not get that chance.
“I didn’t think it would end like this,” said Ramsay, a long-time assistant who left Boston after the three previous seasons. “I can’t look into the future. I saw what I thought was a good opportunity to work with someone I had known for years (in Dudley). I thought we could improve the team. I’m sorry we didn’t get there.”
Thrashers strength and conditioning coach Barry Brennan said he was told that his position at the NHL level would be filled by the coach who currently holds that position with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. According to the team’s website, Lee Stubbs is listed as Assistant Medical Trainer/Strength and Conditioning for the Moose, which is also owned by True North and play in Winnipeg’s MTS Centre.
“I’m disappointed I won’t be making the transition, but I respect the fact they are being loyal to their guy,” Brennan said.
Brennan has been in Atlanta the past week and has begun work with current players. He worked with Eric Boulton and Chris Thorburn Friday.
“They have to be prepared to play in Winnipeg and I’m happy to help them for as long as I’m here,” Brennan said.
Thrashers vice president and assistant general manager Larry Simmons has yet to be informed of his future. President Don Waddell said last week he will not be a part of the Winnipeg franchise.
On a personal note: In case you folks thought I fell off the face of the earth, I was on vacation the past week and a half. I’m back and will stay on top of any other developments including the Board of Govenors meeting on June 21.
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165 comments Add your comment
thrasherdawg
June 12th, 2011
12:30 am
Here’s the DEAL.
All Bettman had to do was to show his face in Atlanta, call apress conference, and tell the people of Atlanta to buy 13,000 season tickets and the team will stay.
Why wouldn’t he do this? I’ll tell you why because the Atlanta fans would have bought 13,000 season tickets and he would be out 60,000,000 dollars.
Bettman could have wipped his hands clean of the whole deal if he would have just given the Atlanta fans the option. He was just to scared to see what might happen.
He leasder would have gaven the fans the options. Told them the rules to play buy and how to win or lose the game.
No Bettman was in the corner with his hands over his ears with his eyes closed. No one would hire this man to run a popsicle stand…all the while he is ruining the NHL..
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
12:47 am
HookyBob, and I left a ton out! I could three chapters on what happened between 2004 and the Fall of 2006, when play resumed. Do you remember, for instance, how Bruce Levenson and Co. got fined $250,000 by the NHL by suggesting that if play hadn’t resumed by the 2006 season, that “scab” players would be used. Really. They said that. And the Commish smacked ‘em back, for it. Gee, I’d say … hmmn … that a “solid foundation” for relations had been established, EARLY ON, between the Atlanta Spirit, LLC and the league office.
Yet, no ‘red flags’ went up, on the part of Gary Bettman? Can we say, “Asleep at the wheel?”
HookyBob, do you remember what Don Waddell did during the lockout? Answer: He sat on the “Rules Committee” that helped shaped the “new” NHL. You’d think, with that kind of input and insight, that his vantage point would position the Thrashers to be AHEAD of the learning curve when play resumed. Instead, he fielded the 2nd oldest roster in the NHL, in a league that now emphasized YOUTH and SPEED. And what was his very first order of business??
Anyone? Anyone at all? C’mon. You know this one. Wait, let’s back up a moment. The franchise had suffered a tremendous loss in September of 2003, when Dany Heatley wraped his black Ferrari around an iron fence, ultimately resulting in Dan Snyder’s death. Movin’ on. Isn’t it “fair to say” … that a GM’s first priority is to understand the dynamics of his team? (Don’t be bashful, now. The answer is “yes.”)
Wouldn’t any other GM, besides Waddell, figure out that Ilya Kovalchuk, a healthy, non-damaged player, represented priority # 1 for the Thrashers, post-lockout, as a pending RFA???? Alrighteee, then. So, what’s Waddell’s first move? That’s right, the franchise-crippling 3-year/$12.75 million deal for 35-year old, on his last legs, back nine, aging yesteryear star … named Bobby Holik. Remember, the cap coming out of the lockout was $39 million. How do you think Kovalchuk felt? Does his phone ring? Nope. He watches the Draft pass. He watches free agency arrive, without a contract in hand. He watches Bobby Holik get signed. Then Waddell targeted Peter Bondra, another late 30-something year old, yesteryear star. He can’t initially land Bondra, so … he turns his attention to Dany Heatley. Heatley says, “It’s too painful to play in Atlanta, with too many memories of Dan Snyder. Release me.” Not trade me. RELEASE ME!! Waddell refuses the RELEASE, in favor of finding a salary cap-strapped team called the Ottawa Senators. In the exchange, Atlanta get D-man Greg deVries and power forward, Marian Hossa. Does Waddell re-sign Kovalchuk?? Nope. He once again goes after Bondra. And this time, he gets him. But the bonuses in his contract hit the Thrashers next season’s cap, and hurt the team. After being nickel-n-dimed by Waddell’s offers, which probably included a couple of T-shirts and some season tickets, Kovalchuk holds out for the remainder of Atlanta’s salary cap room, utterly offended by the GM’s lack of vision, prioritization, and overall plan for running the Thrashers. Kovalchuk, instead of signing 5-years/$25 million, Kovy gets 5-years/$32.5 million. And because of his ‘holdout,’ Kovalchuk misses training camp, too. Gee, wonder which direction a player’s salary goes, when you don’t lock him up during the year, or at least before July 1? Bygones. Kovalchuk refused to sacrifice any of his UFA years with that contract.
That year, the Thrashers lost Lehtonen, Dunham, Shields, and Michael Garnett to groin injuries. Pasi Nurminen blew out his knee during the offseason, playing for his Finnish National team. As a result, the Thrashers missed the playoffs, and Marc Savard, was lost to free agency, unable to be locked up by Waddell at any point after the lockout ended. The next season, none of the Thrashers training staff was fired, as a result of all those conditioning-related groin injuries. Accountability?? Nope. Not here. Dan Marr, still head of scouting? Yep, and still is, to this very day. It’s unimagineable that this sort of thing could happen in Canada. But this is “friendly” Atlanta, and not really the HOMETOWN team for most hockey fans, so … Waddell is given a perennial pass.
Puck Like A Porn Star
June 12th, 2011
12:59 am
@Hazard: I called my ticket rep, who gave me the option to apply the season ticket funds to Hawks tickets or other Philips Arena events, or have my card credited. I opted for a full refund, and my card was credited the full amount the very next day.
I expect that if you don’t call them, they’ll wait it out until June 21, and then give you the same options.
Of course, if there’s some miracle, at least I know which seats to ask for.
In other news, I wonder if they’ll report how many governors voted for and against relocation. It would be interesting to see how the Sunbelt governors vote on this, especially Nashville, Florida, and, of course, Phoenix.
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
1:37 am
HookyBob, this is the post.
http://blogs.ajc.com/iceman-thrashers-blog/2011/06/03/what-will-you-remember-about-the-thrashers/?cp=all#comment-60184
Les Habitants
June 12th, 2011
2:16 am
thrasherdawg,
Bettman did not need to do anything. He had a buyer waiting, he just needed to get the deal through. The burden was actually on YOU, the fans. You saw the writing on the wall. You knew that someone was interested in buying the team. When the time came, what did you do? Only 200 of you cared to show up. Had the fans really wanted the team to stay, they would have purchased all the available season tickets when they knew that there was a chance that the team would go.
Bottom line, the business owner may or may not run his business properly. But once he sees that his clients no longer support his business, why would he not sell it to whoever interested and ready to pay?
Les Habitants
June 12th, 2011
2:29 am
Thrashered/Relocationist,
“That’s it, Dutch Harbor with a NHL franchise. If all it takes is a rich owner to get a NHL team for a backwater town, I’m surprised the Walton family didn’t get one for Bentonville, Arkansas.”
“So, what are the Thrasher (Jet) players going tp say ? I hate all of those world class golf courses where we can play year round?”
With your kind of logic, do you care enough to explain why a player of Aaron Rodgers’s caliber chooses to play in Green Bay, Wisconsin? That city is even smaller than Winnipeg, you know. As well, how is it that the team of that city is much more successful than many other teams like, let us say, Atlanta Falcons?
cadreamin24
June 12th, 2011
2:31 am
Les habitants, as you say, “the writing was on the wall” It wouldn’t have mattered whether 200 or 20000 fans showed up. This deal was in the making long before it hit the mainstream, and no amount of fan pressure or interested local buyers was going to stop it and everybody here knew it due to previous experience w/ an ownership group whose priorities didn’t include the team or fans. Sometimes you just get tired of bashing your head against a wall.
Jimbo
June 12th, 2011
8:49 am
Forget all this baloney about another suitor with an offer on the table. Contracts have been signed, people laid off and hired, etc. The owners will of course vote to let the deal go through. They want the same option should things go south with their franchise. In addition to the lying ASG and totally incompetent DW, Gary Bettman has done a horse—t job of developing hockey in the US in major markets. He has let them slip away and now a major US TV deal takes another hit with the loss of another major market. He is a worthless figure head.
John Cantcade
June 12th, 2011
9:00 am
Enter your comments here
John Cantcade
June 12th, 2011
9:01 am
“because the Atlanta fans would have bought 13,000 season tickets”
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Red Light
June 12th, 2011
9:33 am
“I’m surprised the Walton family didn’t get one for Bentonville, Arkansas.”
Well, two from the Walton family (Bill and Nancy Walton Laurie) did own the Blues from 1999 to 2006 before deciding that hockey ownership wasn’t for them.
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
10:07 am
I think there’s a misperception about the “Fan Club Event,” arranged within 24 hours, for members to voice their displeasure at the situation, and to say “goodbye” to the Thrashers. I attended that event. My photos adorned the AJC.com Fan Blogger site, from that event.
Had it been a (pay close attention) “Rally to Save the Thrashers,” it would have been planned weeks in advance, and put on by the City, on the steps of the Capital Building, on Martin Luther King Blvd. But alas, our city Mayor and Governor saw no problem with the loss of $30 million in Georgia State income tax revenue, brought in by the other 29 NHL clubs, visiting Philips Arena. They saw no problem with the job losses that created, and they certainly gave no regard to the image of the City of Atlanta as a major U.S. city losing its standing as a city housing all four major pro sports: MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL.
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
10:17 am
I think most rational people knew … that the deal was DONE. Had 20,000 fans showed up, how is that going to persuade a buyer of a franchise that loses $20 to $30 million annually to buy the franchise, when, again, and I can’t stress this enough, the prospective buyer won’t be able to tap into the proceeds generated from the venue called Philips Arena? Unless your thought is … well, if this entity bought the team, and raised ticket prices by 40%, and 13,000 fans in Atlanta agreed to pay that increase, maybe that could work.
Who … in their right mind … would buy a team … without proceeds from the venue and having the lease situation squared away? Hockey teams bleed money. Successful arenas, like Philips, 4th best in the nation, tend to make money. That money offsets the travel budget, admin staffers, marketing, advertising, program and other give-a-way costs, not to mention the PAYROLL!! I don’t know anyone, who isn’t drunk at the time, that would agree to take on an asset like an NHL franchise, without other assets to offset those financial liabilities. Even the revenue-sharing dollars won’t be enough to break-even, UNLESS the team payroll is set at the FLOOR of the salary cap.
Gee, that kinda sounds familiar! Doesn’t it?
Wienerpeg Trolls
June 12th, 2011
10:39 am
Wow, Thrashered/Relocationist might have some schizo issues going on. This is the same guy who for months has been advocating moving the team to Canada and constantly dogging Thrasher fans, all the while claiming to live here. Go back and read the blogs.
letsnotgetexcited71
June 12th, 2011
10:39 am
Brenden, you’re right without a owner who owns the whole infrastructure of the team etc… arena, practice facility, parking and concessions in todays NHL it is a non starter. In Winnipeg TNSE owns everything including everything around the MTS centre which is the 9th busiest building in North American and that was without hockey. Buildings, Restaurants, they own a plane for the team which they lease and get money from private charters, all this revenue will help the team spend to the cap when they need to. You’re right Brenden they were not planning to sell the Thrashers locally, they wanted to keep everything else and they knew no one would buy the one entity.
Uncle Milty
June 12th, 2011
1:00 pm
@Thrashered/Relocationist,
you still sound bitter given your continued shots at Winnipeg. You claim Winnipeg won’t garner any name free agents yet you fail to acknowledge that the vast majority of NHL players were born and raised in the exact sort of cold weather environment that you claim they’ll now shun. Regarding the free agency advantages that you seem to feel Atlanta possesses over Winnipeg as an NHL market, please share with us the wealth of big name free agents that the Thrashers signed over their history as a franchise. It shouldn’t take long.
Thrashered/Relocationist
June 12th, 2011
1:16 pm
I have no problem with moving the team to Winnipeg. None what so ever. But comparing Winnipeg to the tradition of football in Green Bay is rather ignorant. Green Bay is a one of a kind situation. The Winnipeg/NHL situation has already proven more like the Jacksonville/NHL story. Small town, massive enthusiasm up front but can’t support a major league team in the long run. As for me, I’m happy that someone was dumb enough to send $110,000,000 to Georgia for a franchise with a track record of over a decade of failure. Sure, the Thrasher players must be just ecstatic about relocating from Atlanta to Winnipeg. Like they would say anything other than they are happy to be in that god forsaken one horse prairie town. Name one NHL city that anyone in their right mind would least like to play in than Winnipeg? That’s what I thought. There isn’t one. By the way, there’s enough money in Atlanta that if we really wanted the team back, we could buy the team and the entire metropolis of 750,000 and still have money left over. One last thing. There’s been a noticeable increase in the difficulty in going to any Canadian internet forum and saying anything bad about Winnipeg or the Thrashers move. I guess in a third world country you control thought a little more closely than we do here in the USA. So, feel free to take time from celebrating in the streets your $170 mill purchase of an AHL caliber team and post here as ofter as you like. Maybe we can discuss how the hotbed of hockey, the world capital of hockey, has already lost 2 NHL teams. But I’m sure all is well in the Peg this time and things will be different. Ditto for Quebec City. But don’t worry, we’ll have enough money to take the NHL back in a few years when it shows up at our door again looking for an American market after the Jets fail again in your little prairie town.
Thrashered/Relocationist
June 12th, 2011
1:20 pm
By the way, the Thrasher fans who think an NHL team can survive at the Phillips arena location are as wrong as the Winnipeg fans who think a team can survive long term in that town. Both situations are losers.
Sage of Bluesland
June 12th, 2011
2:30 pm
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/12/sports/sp-jock-tax12/3
Brendan, I don’t think the tax revenues based on players is as much as y
“…Then there are the tax credits players receive if they’re required to pay taxes to two or more states for the same game — for example: their state of residence, the state where their team is based and the state where the game was played….In many cases it’s a wash. You don’t end up paying all that much more,” says William Ahern, communications director for the Tax Foundation. But you just file a lot more paperwork….”
Sage of Bluesland
June 12th, 2011
2:42 pm
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/12/sports/sp-jock-tax12/3
“…Then there are the tax credits players receive if they’re required to pay taxes to two or more states for the same game — for example: their state of residence, the state where their team is based and the state where the game was played….In many cases it’s a wash. You don’t end up paying all that much more,” says William Ahern, communications director for the Tax Foundation. “But you just file a lot more paperwork….”
Brendan–I don’t think the tax revenues “lost” are based on players’ salaries (as the state of Georgia will have to credit the Thrashers’ players for the taxes they have to pay to other states, thus generally lowering whatever Georgia gained by taxing visiting teams/players). Now, as far as employees or those whose jobs are lost as a result, absolutely.
I would have thought that taxes were only paid in the state of either residence or in the state of the organization–and these road trips being considered mere “business trips”.
Oh well, learn something new every day…It will be interesting to see if studies will be put out showing how much economic impact is felt with the red-headed stepchild (hockey) leaving.
As with the showing of 300 +/- fans, I don’t think it will be all that much, in the big picture (as with the anemic television ratings for the sport both nationally and locally). If it were, I’m sure the politicians would have clamored tooth-and-nail….
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
2:59 pm
Thrashered, at least Philips Arena was centrally located to the 22 county metropolitan area. That’s a fact. Now, I’ll listen to your argument that 75% of the hockey fans of Atlanta live above I-20, which cuts the city in half. In that regard, putting an arena in Alpharetta, or Sandy Springs, or Marietta, or Duluth … makes some sense. But the idea is … to energize the whole region about hockey, and draw from that southern crescent of the city, as well. I personally know several Thrasher fans in Coweta, Henry, Fayette, Newton, Butts, and Spalding counties. For them, the drive up to Alpharetta, Woodstock, Acworth, Marietta, Sandy Springs, Duluth, or wherever up north, reflects a long trip for a game. I, personally, would make it. But a casual fan, on the south side, probably thinks, “I’d go, but it’s so far away.”
I know can hear the Canadian hockey fans snickering up in Canada, all the way down in Georgia. You guys would make a 2 hour trip for a Flames, Oilers, Canucks game, and not think twice about it. Hockey is definitely 4th, 5th or 6th in the pecking order of sports in Atlanta. But, that shouldn’t be where it is/was, had somebody competent run this show, from Day One.
Atlanta did set an NHL attendance record in 1999-2000, for an expansion team. That didn’t happen because no one was interested in hockey, in Atlanta. But, until your father grew up here, you grew up here, and your kids grew up here, it’s still to transient of a city for most folks. Many people come to Atlanta for promotion, then leave for another. There’s plenty of evidence to show that northerners come to Atlanta and decide to stay. That’s been the trend since about 1990. Folks realize that they can triple the size of their house at half the cost, at a huuuuuuge tax savings. Folks from NY and Pennsylvania move here and say, “I tripled my house, and I pay one-third of the taxes I did back home. And now, I don’t have to shovel.” That’s the trend, in Atlanta. And Greenville, SC. And Charlotte, NC. And Raleigh, NC. And Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA, etc.
Now, as for hockey, I think Commissioner Bettman had to know … HAD to KNOW … that the product here would have to be a success. Instead, what happened … was the equivalent to allowing MEEEEE, an anonymous poster on a blog, to run the team. For I offer you to consider the following. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that I’m an idiot.
Still with me? I’m some random moron on a blog. The owners put meeee, an idiot, a moron, with no experience, in charge. What do you think will happen? Raise your hand … if you said that I’d take Patrick Stefan, 1st overall, and that he’d never leave the 3rd line as a Center. And that, ultimately, I’d give him away in a trade to Dallas, for another 3rd line player (Niko Kapanen). Check. Suppose, that I opened the morning paper on Draft Day 2000, and came up with Dany Heatley as the best possible choice, assuming the NY Islanders pass on him. Check. Am I brilliant for the Heatley selection? Or can I merely READ a scouting report, to take a CONSENSUS pick? On Draft Day 2001, am I genius to come up with Ilya Kovalchuk, at 1st overall? Not really, no. Pretty obvious stuff, there. How ’bout 2002, with a 2nd overall pick? What do you think I do, as a moron, as an idiot, as someone easily fleeced? Don’t I just take whomever Florida doesn’t between Bouwmeester and Rick Nash, with that 2nd overall pick? Probably. That’d be some “basic, common” thinking. Waddell agrees to letting his pal Rick Dudley (Florida GM) talk him into passing on Bouwmeester, for the 30th overall pick (Jim Slater) as inducement. The Thrashers take Lehtonen, a Finnish goalie. Let’s forget about that, for the moment, and assume, as a moron on a blog, that I actually wanted Lehtonen, all along. And that he’d take 5 years to develop, they way that goaltenders normally do. Pretty weak move, huh? Even for a moron poster, on a blog. By the 2003 Draft, I still haven’t put my team into the playoffs, despite owning two 1st overall picks and two 2nd overalls. But, what’d'ya expect? I’m an idiot on a blog. I pass on Dion Phaneuf at 8th overall in 2003, in favor of Braydon Coburn. But instead of developing Coburn, my coach plays him 6 minutes a game, and I’m ultimately forced to trade him, in a FLEECING by the Flyers, for 35-year old Alexei Zhitnik, to attempt to salvage the 1st ever playoff berth, in 2007. Not surprising, for an idiot on a blog. In 2004, knowing a lockout is looming, and rule changes are forthcoming, I maintain my “dinosaur” way of thinking … to select Boris Valabik, 6′7″, at 10th overall, thinking him to be the “Second coming of Chara.” Six years later, Valabik can’t qualify as the 7th ranked blueliner in the depth chart of one of the worst franchises in the league.
Moving right along. Now, it’s 2005. I’m still a dufous on a blog, and still in charge of the Thrashers, still without a playoff berth. I luck my way into an 8th overall pick, but for some reason, I don’t like Devin Setoguchi, Anze Kopitar, or Marc Staal at that spot, and decide to move back to # 12 overall, to pick up selection # 41, which I’d use to select D-man Chad Denny, who has never set foot in the NHL. Okay, but I don’t stop there. I decide that I don’t like the view at # 12, or Marc Staal, and decide to move back to # 16 to select Alex Bourret, to pick up selection # 49, to go land Czech Republic goaltender Ondrej Pavelec. Fiiine. Goood. Except that Alex Bourret has likewise … never set foot in the NHL, aside from some preseason games. Now 2006 rolls around. I’m still not in the playoffs, as a random poster on a blog, in charge of the Thrashers. And my team is completely outdated for the needs and system of the “new” NHL. With pick # 12, I select Bryan Little. I’m actually starting to learn, as Little is the right pick, for that spot in the draft. By the trade deadline of 2007, my team is tanking fast, and I cannot hide that I am, in fact, a moron who doesn’t know what he’s doing. I decide to give up a 1st and 3rd pick in the 2007 draft, along with a “conditional” 1st rounder in 2008, plus a 2nd rounder in 2008, ANNNNNNNND Center Glen Metropolit, to the St. Louis Blues for the services of the aging Keith Tkachuk. But I’m not done. I also trade my prized 8th overall pick from 2003, Braydon Coburn, for 35-year old Alexei Zhitnik, to stabilize my blueline and quarterback my powerplay. I trade D-man Ivan Vishnevsky, whom I sacrificed a 2nd round pick in 2007 to obtain in the first place, to Nashville, for forward Eric Belanger, formerly of the division rival Carolina Hurricanes. Belanger isn’t exactly thrilled to be in Atlanta, and walks as a UFA in the offseason. But I’ve got yet another trade deadline move. After selecting Alex Bourret at # 16, back in 2005, I decide to trade him for 3rd line forward Pascal Dupuis, along with the NY Rangers’ 3rd round pick. I use that 3rd round pick to trade for 4th line forward, Chris Thorburn, from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dupuis is traded away, along with Hossa, at the 2008 trade deadline, because Hossa, Savard, Kaberle, and Kovalchuk all see the SS Titanic for what it is, a ship about to sink.
So, these four (4) trade deadline moves better result in something tangible, huh? I’ve already lost my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks for 2007, and conditionally promised my 1st rounder, depending on if I re-sign Keith Tkachuk, and 2nd rounder to the Blues. The results? Well, when you put a random idiot from a blog in charge of the Thrashers, you don’t get success. The Thrashers are swept by the Rangers in their only playoff appearance. Changes made???? Nope!!!! Not gonna make any changes!!!!!!!!! I’m sooooo respected in NHL circles, that I simply CANNOT be fired. I’m the “chosen” fan poster on a blog!! Look at my fabulous track record!! Zero playoff wins, after 5 Top 10 overall picks with which to build the franchise.
In the end, I wind up with nine (9) top 10 overall picks to get my Thrashers deep into the playoffs. Two 1st overalls, two second overalls, a 3rd overall, a 4th overall, a pair of 8th overalls, and a 10th overall. I don’t so much as win a playoff game. But hockey fans in Atlanta claim … I’m hamstrung by the owners, with no budget. And that, really, nothing is my fault. I shouldn’t be fired. And am, in fact, a great hockey mind. I run the team so well … that interest in hockey actually DECREASES within the region, and I ultimately run the franchise into the ground, resulting in a relocation to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
So, let me ask you something … how do you all feel about being TIED WITH WADDELL for playoff victories?? That’s a fact, you know. What’s the difference … if the ownership picked some random idiot on a blog … or kept Don Waddell? Answer: There isn’t one. There is … no … difference. The results are the same, and equally PATHETIC.
But you lousy fans in Atlanta … should have showed up to support your idiot fan blogger, in running the ship into the rocky shoreline, putting all the crew on board … out of a job. Oh wait, Ramsay hasn’t been fired yet, right? Sorry. I jumped the gun on that one. Sorry.
NHL in Atlanta
June 12th, 2011
3:04 pm
Thrashered/Relocationist
Honestly I think your the only looser on this board.
You know what your from Phoniex…that would explain why you are being such a friiggggin turd. Be happy
NHL in Atlanta
June 12th, 2011
3:08 pm
@Thrashed…..oh I think I’ll kill a few minutes and find your location, should be funny when WE all find out where your from…HAHAHAH.. Stay tuned.
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
3:16 pm
Sage of Bluesland, our city, our state, and our owners … sold us down the river. Plain and simple.
Sage of Bluesland
June 12th, 2011
7:53 pm
I think Brendan brings up a great point–in that any one of us “ignorant” bloggers could have amassed the same number of playoff wins, at worst, as Don Waddell has.
It’s why I always laughed at the sheep who kept defending the indefensible–and especially those who kept wanting “specifics” (i.e., who would you sign; who would you trade; and all of the other pipe-dreams from such faux-intelligentsia clowns like Ranallo, GaVa, and Smoothie). I can assure you that I would field a team–and that team could have had just as many playoff wins.
Interesting thought, isn’t it? There was real “magic” in the drafting of Heatley and Kovalchuk, wasn’t there? I’ve never complained about Stefan as the Sedin twins would only play with each other–and it’s not like we passed on a Heatley-calibre player to take Stefan.
However, from such projects as Lehtonen is where the streak of bad high-first round picks began….and I wanted Rick Nash or Bouwmeester with that 2nd pick. Florida only moved out of the top spot when given assurance by brilliant Donny that we wouldn’t take Bouwmeester. Of course, Donny would rather be liked among the group as opposed to doing what’s in the best interest of the Atlanta Thrashers….thus, we were stuck with a glass-groined wunderkind who dyed his hair blue and flamed out….after providing YEARS of excuses of “Just wait until this guy makes it to the parent club!”.
(The key word there being “wait”….Sheep, will you ever learn? I learned on draft-day 2002 that it was all a fantasy…and subsequently stopped subsidizing the incompetence…)
Not Blind
June 12th, 2011
8:12 pm
Here is your assignment for the night: Come up with a slogan based off Winston Churchill’s Battle of Britain speech “…so much owed…. so few.”
I’ll do the first.
Never have so many been taken for granted by so few
Not Blind
June 12th, 2011
8:13 pm
We also need some”‘Boycott Phillips Arena” bumper stickers.
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
8:14 pm
Sage, thank you for “getting it” these many years. Budgets only hamstring the GM so much. No Spirit Group owner ever said, “Draft Devin Setoguchi over my DEAD BODY!,” back in 2005. No Spirit Group owner ever said, “If you don’t move back to #16 from # 8 in the 2005, to stockpile 2nd rounders, you’re fired!!!” No member of Time-Warner said to Waddell, back in 2002, “Pick Lehtonen or pack your bags.” None of those things happened. I’ll agree that budget, or a lack thereof, makes it difficult to retain players. Certainly, I’ll agree with that. But the way the NHL works is … you draft a player … and unless they’re going to holdout or opt to play in Europe instead, you own their rights for 8 long years before the player can escaped to unrestricted free agency. And if, during that time, an RFA offersheet appears, you have the option of matching it, which is IDEAL, since the player wouldn’t otherwise re-sign here for UFA years, or you accept the draft pick compensation for that player’s loss, as an RFA. Plus, the league mandates a FLOOR for spending. So, like it or not, you must spend within $16 million of the cap limit.
In short, there’s only so much ownership can truly hamper a GM who knows what he’s doing. Owners don’t meddle in trades, either. Especially in a sport they know nothing about. And on and on it goes. Yet, the willingness for some to defend Don Waddell, through these years, is astonishing. Just astonishing. It’s indefensible.
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
8:19 pm
Not Blind, I’ll take my slogan from “Saving Private Ryan.” Thrasher fans: “Never before has such a tremendous sacrifice been put before the altar of futility. Don Waddell thanks for your donations.”
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
8:22 pm
That should read, “Don Waddell thanks you for your donations” (towards the futility).
Thrashered/Relocationist
June 12th, 2011
8:40 pm
Okay, I’ve had fun the past several weeks poking holes in about every premise used in arguements put forth by the Thrasher fan base and the fine citizens of Winnipeg to justify why their respective locations should have an NHL franchise. It’s like this, there’s probably only two markets in North America that currently could support an NHL franchise (or an additional franchise). One is the Hamilton and/or Toronto market(s)and the other is the north metro Atlanta market. Others have tried to explain why an NHL franchise won’t work when it’s based at Phillips arena in downtown Atlanta. The comments from those in Winnipeg demonstrate they don’t understand the dempgraphics/geography of a large metro area like Atlanta (population over 5,000,000) where a team could thrive on the north side of the area while failing miserably in the downtown area. Their paradigm is based on living in small town of 750,000. Fine. As for Winnipeg, they failed once with an NHL franchise and will fail again once the novelty wears off. Bottom line: There simply aren’t enough martkets in North America to support 30 NHL teams. NY has one too many teams, Florida is a failure, Phoenix is a failure. And the jury is probably still out on the long term viability of the NHL in places like Dallas, Nashville and Columbus. Winnipeg, enjoy your team while you have it. The NHL, in trying to keep 30 franchises, is doomed to a future with 4 or 5 franchises being nothing more than transients in temporary markets.
Thrashered/Relocationist
June 12th, 2011
8:54 pm
One clarification, I think there is currently only one market without a franchise that could support one (north ATL) and one current market with a franchise (Toronto or Hamilton) that could support another team or give up part of its current market area. I gorup the last two together because any move to Hamilton would infringe on the Leaf’s fan base.
Secondly, forget hockey fans south of I-20 in ATL. For every one you lose south of I-20 when you put the arena on or north of I-285,
you gain 5 or 6 with higher incomes in Gwinnett, North Fulton and Cobb counties. Sorry, that’s just the way it is. ATL south of I-20 already has what meets the needs of its residents–the NASCAR track.
letsnotgetexcited71
June 12th, 2011
9:23 pm
first of all thrasher/relocationist it is not about understanding the demographics/geography of a city of 5 million, we get the idea, travel, areas of demographics, what type of people watch hockey. You like to throw the 750,000 number around like that is the number, but in the capital region there is 1 million people, number 2 people will drive to Winnipeg to watch hockey from 3 hours away meaning we would draw from another 250,000 people including the states of North Dakota and Minnesota. We lost the Jets not because of fan base but because the old owners owned just the jets not the arena or anything else. these owners expect to make at least 110 to 120 mil a year because they own everything and the team is just a part of the business. So please this team will be here for the long run we do not get tired of hockey it is our sport. But I do agree with you we will see more non traditional markets fall and that sucks. Buy the way last time I checked 21 billion dollars is alot of money which our owner has.
jen
June 12th, 2011
10:31 pm
Good posts Brendan….
I just got back on here, not because I carry any false hope nor do I feel I can continue to relive the inane awfulness that was the giant cluster created by the schmucks in the offices. I do however feel that as a native of this city and a hockey fan we are entitled to the truth about the situation, not “crazy rumors” and not mouthpieces of lying thug loving businessmen and certainly not borderline dwarfs who make “covenents with fans” they have no intention of keeping. The whole deal smells like two day old bait that’s been left out in the sun. Personally, and I’ve said this elsewhere, if this deal doesn’t go down, the NHL would have been running 2 teams and not just one and one where the city had no intention (and rightly so) of bankrolling it. Chris, Jeff, Mark, someone, there is a story here, there is truth here somewhere, and Atlanta needs to hear it.
I want one of those boycott phillips areana/ASG bumber stickers btw…
Brendan
June 12th, 2011
11:22 pm
Jen, welcome back. And thank you. And I agree … there’s a story in here. Will it ever get told? Craig Custance, a former beat writer here, knows our story. Maybe one day, a book will come out. At a minimum, the Atlanta Spirit, LLC, laid out a ‘blueprint’ for what NOT to do with an expansion franchise.
letsnotgetexcited71
June 12th, 2011
11:35 pm
brendan, well i am extremely happy we are getting a team, the one thing that has always bothered me is this, in my opinion pheonix was always in worse shape so i wonder was gary bettmans ego involved with them staying in glendale, because he put there. Were you guys used as a out because yes crowds were bad, or was it a issue between the league and the ASG that may never be found out. Tell you what they will be successful in Winnipeg and one day i hope you get another team, but i think 2 strikes and your out, and in Atlanta’s case that is to bad.
Brendan
June 13th, 2011
12:28 am
Oh well, I tried twice, letsnotgetexcited71, but my post got eaten by SPAM filters. Basically, the poor relations between the Atlanta Spirit, LLC and the Commissioner’s office had longreaching tentacles, all the way back to 2004-05. And things never really got repaired.
Stan Drulia
June 13th, 2011
8:56 am
Signing off Thrashers’ fans… been nice reading and commenting on all of your posts. Sage – keep on hatin’. Brendan – dude, go outside and take a walk or something… the length of your posts is just retarded! You gotta get up from your computer and go live a life man.
I have officially become a Predators fan now and hope to see some of you there! Thanks a lot ASG!!! You are the worst!
Dwayne
June 13th, 2011
10:09 am
Go Flyers!!!! My original home team. After that, It’s the Bolts!!!!
Not Blind
June 13th, 2011
10:12 am
Here is my question – What did the season tickets sell for in Whinipeg and what did a comparable Phillips seat sell for ? What I am wanting to know is did Mr. Deeppockets sell the season ticket packages real cheap ?
I am laughing at you
June 13th, 2011
10:25 am
I love how all you delusional idiots think that there is a chance that the Thrashers aren’t going to move. Wow I knew people in Atlanta were stupid but not this stupid. Its done the team is gone and now get over it, you didn’t support them and now they are in a place where they will play in front of sold out crowds every night and be followed by people with actual hockey knowledge. The BOG will unanimously agree on the move, Bettman and Daly have already said as much, but you morons can hold on to your fruitless dreams and still think they will be staying. Of course the majority of the city won’t even notice they are gone anyways, so you can always just pretend they are still there because nobody would be going to the games anyways, so things will be almost the same for you losers.
I am laughing at you
June 13th, 2011
10:30 am
@notblind actually dumbass the season ticket prices in Winnipeg are 3rd highest average in the league and we as a city had no problem buying them all up in a matter of minutes and with multiple year commitments. Not to mention the thousands and thousands of others who have already place a deposit to be on the waiting list to purchase season tickets.
letsnotgetexcited71
June 13th, 2011
10:39 am
Not blind, FYI the ticket prices in Winnipeg on average is 82.00/seat making them the fifth highest in the league , $129.00-39.00 dollars for season ticket holders. guarantee of 54mil a season just on tickets does not include boxes. single seats on game day will be sold as high as 30% higher as per what team comes in. Is that close to what Atlanta was doing?
letsnotgetexcited71
June 13th, 2011
10:42 am
Not Blind I,m Sorry it is third highest in league I am Laughing at you is Right,
Not Blind
June 13th, 2011
10:45 am
Here is what I want to know now – How much are whinipeg game day seats down on the lower level ? I know that my wife and I paid app $220 EACH back in the pre ASG years.
@I am laughing at you – didn’t I see you on a bait car episode ???
letsnotgetexcited71
June 13th, 2011
10:53 am
Not blind you and your wife got ripped off the people in Toronto on a front end seat go for about 175.00 a piece and that is the highend in winnipeg it is 129.00 season ticket holder, game day buy on average would be about 150.00. Toronto game day would be 200 or more
I am laughing at you
June 13th, 2011
11:00 am
@ Not Blind – Yes you did see me on that show, it was the episode where you were getting arrested and I was the guy on the sidewalk pointing and laughing at you. I can’t believe that in all the commotion of you getting arrested you took the time to notice me, well done! Also with the demand being so high for tickets in Winnipeg you’ll be lucky to get an upper level seat for the price you paid because with all the season tickets being sold they only kept a few hundred for each game for walkups. So to clear this up we will be paying far more than you guys ever did in Atlanta and will be sold out every night, which clearly shows this was not only a smart move putting this team in a actual hockey market but it will also be making money every year unlike in Atlanta where they lost over 20 million a season each and every single year they were there. Now go back to watching your nascar and smacking your wife around.
I am laughing at you
June 13th, 2011
11:04 am
@ Letsnotgetexcited – Actually the mark up is a minimum of 40% so p1 seats will be a minimum of 180 for walkups and you also forgot to mention that True North said the walkup tickets will be subjected to dynamic pricing, so when Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, Pittsburgh, or any other popular team comes they will be even higher and no doubt we in Winnipeg will gladly pay whatever they charge.
letsnotgetexcited71
June 13th, 2011
11:31 am
you are correct, and yes we will have no problem paying these prices
DWTOO
June 13th, 2011
11:42 am
We’re laughing at you – willing pay anything they charge. Then you’re the fool and deserve to pay the 3rd highest prices. And working at McDonald’s how can you afford a ticket? Now go away and retreat to your local paper. We’ve had enough jerks like you on our blog.