Considering Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson

I like Bulin, Clemmenson and Biron but the others are not much better than Moose IMHO. If Kari is the bait then we should use it. I know Pavs had a rough time up here this year but people still seem to think he is a natural in the net, and if DW had the amount of interest he previously indicated he received in March, that shouldn’t have changed since then.

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Smoothie, no way we should trade either goalie if we can’t get a top 6 forward or top 4 d-man. Keep in mind that trading Pavs is nothing like trading Huet. Huet was a 32 year old goalie who would be a UFA the next year. That is much different than trading a 21 year old who has 4 years before being a UFA. As for Kari, you can probably lock him up for a couple of years at below market value due to his injuries.

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I don’t think he is a good fit for where, at least I think, this team is going.

Is MSP a decent two-way guy? Is he capable of playing a bit of D in his own end? Does he have a little sandpaper in his play?

I think Kane or Schenn are the more likely options at #4.

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I know this is a cliche response, but I would be happy seeing Duchene, Kane, Schenn, Paajarvi-Svensson, or even Cowen on this roster. Though he’s a bit undersized, I’m also interested to see who drafts Schroeder, as I think he’ll be a fine second line player at the NHL level.

Based on the scouting reports there are a lot of fine options in the top part of this draft..the combine might weed out some of the kids and solidify their standing in the top 5/10 (like it did for Bogosian), but for the most part it seems that any decision is a fine one, in my opinion.

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Glovesave, I don’t really know if “player-coach” is allowed or not. But Moose would be a fool to give up his salary this year to take a coaching position that paid him less. I also completely agree with Glovesave29 that … the goalie market isn’t high right now. This is something Ranallo has also beeen discussing. Pavelec is unproven at the NHL level. He’s 21 or 22 now. He’s just a prospect. How much does that really fetch? Teams want proven commodities in net, especially. What’s the most important position on the ice? Okay, which smart alec just said, “The zamboni driver.” Quiet, you! As for Kari, well the pedigree is there. But he’s injury prone. And like it or not, Jeff Schultz once described him as “just this side of a drool cup.” That really resonated with me. So, what’s Kari’s trade value? Is it really that good? Okay, that leaves Moose. We’re talking about a 6th or 7th round pick.

People say, “we’ve got strength in goal. We must deal from there.” Uhh, I won’t argue that we have strength in goal. We NEED TO KEEP IT. Especially when the trade value for it isn’t high. If someone, anyone … could explain a realistic trade scenario for Pavelec, Lethonen or Moose, that actually benefits the Thrashers more than retaining these players, I’d love to hear it. The closest thing I’ve ever heard was James vanRiemsdyk for Lehtonen.

Okay, on paper, that’s swapping the #2 pick from 2002 for the #2 pick from 2007. It makes us younger. But is Kari Lehtonen a member of the geriatrics ward? What is he, 26?? 27?? His prime years are ahead of him. The organization invested HEAVILY in him. I’d sure be disappointed that Kari “developed” in Atlanta, but FLOURISHED elsewhere. Why did we have to endure these years, only to lose him when he finally reaches his potential? I admit, I wouldn’t have drafted Kari in 2002. But we can’t undo that. And swapping him for vanRiemsdyk won’t necessarily do it, either.

Folks. Are there ANY playoff ultimatums on Don Waddell’s head? Shaking my head, “no.” So? So, it means the organization has plenty of time … to go develop Pavelec. Nobody’s head is on the chopping block. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a Lehtonen-Pavelec rotation, moving forward. Pick #4 in the draft will bring forth a good forward, or defender. There may even be something there in the 2nd round, too. Don’t we have an extra pick coming from Monteal, in the Schneider deal? Okay. Let’s see what brings. And then there’s free agency, too. I won’t hold my breath. But ya never know. Every year, there seems to be a Recchi, Guerin, Weight, Roenick “yesteryear All-Star” still hanging around in his late 30’s, early 40’s, willing to take an NHL paycheck, somewhere, ANYWHERE in the league. A player like that would even come to Atlanta, probably hoping to be moved at the trade deadline to a contender.

Hokie, sorry I forgot your Avalanche/Duchene comments from last month. I do recall you mentioned it. Hey, we regulars make a lot of posts. It’s easy to miss one, here and there.

Last, I recall that DW told the STH’s that Pittsburgh wanted Eric Perrin in the Hossa trade. Instead, Waddell offered Dupuis. Everyone cheered at Waddell’s decision, allegedly. Who knew Perrin’s ice time would be so cut and/or that he’d underperform so much from the previous year. I don’t know if Eric Perrin is coming back. I don’t know if Eric Perrin WANTS to come back. But I never minded Dupuis. I liked him, for what his role was. As for Jim Slater, I’d dump him, for sure, if we were actually talking about being a Stanley Cup contender. But we’re nowhere near that point. So, for a 3rd or 4th line player, on the 27th-best team in the NHL, at $800K, or thereabouts, I’m not crying a river of sorrow and woe. So what if he only pots 10 goals a year, at best. We’re not contending right now. We’re building right now. Might as well stay the course. Slater is an RFA this summer. To retain his rights, Waddell must tender a qualifying offer. He may. Or he may not. Even if Slater becomes unrestricted, without the tender, he’s apt to re-sign with Atlanta, first.

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FYI-Blake Wheeler had a good rookie season, but he lost his job in the Carolina series to Bitz. Bitz and Wheeler are about the same size-real big. We could use some size like that.

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GaVa – Hedberg would not get his player salary if he were to retire and coach. It’s been said he’d be nuts to do so and take the cut…but would he? This is his final year, he’s not going to get another contract at 37 for the 2010-2011 season. If he takes a coaches salary at say $350K, he can earn that over many years and recoup what he lost in players by retiring. Coaches are also not taxed by both the USA and Canada as players are. Most states and provinces have income taxes on athletes when they play games in their state in ADDITION to those pay to Georgia as a member of the Thrashers. Also take agent fees out too. No union dues either. Not saying he isn’t going to take a hit, he would…but in the long term he may be better off. Moose is a vet and a great guy, the team needs to pay him respect and let him make the decision. He’s earned that right. But after the DW not contacting Toby incedent, I am not so sure that ol Donnie boy will do the right thing.

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Detroi 2, Chicag 1, the 3rd period just started. It’s on Versus. So no excuses for not watching. Wonder what the Stanley Cup playoffs do, TV-ratings-wise, in Atlanta? I bet somebody has this stat.

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Hokie, sorry I forgot your Avalanche/Duchene comments from last month. I do recall you mentioned it. Hey, we regulars make a lot of posts. It’s easy to miss one, here and there.

No skin off my teeth… I wasn’t trying to take credit. Just backing up what you said.

It’s on Versus. So no excuses for not watching.

How about I have Dish Network and they only carry it on their “Everything Pak”… bastards.

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It’s really hard for me to ignore these numbers.

How did Kane amass 45PIM in 17 playoff games?! Pretty interesting.

Also, nice to see the Wings pull out that victory in OT. They’re going to need the momentum heading into unfriendly territory.

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As usual a good informative piece, Rawhide. You continue to keep our interest high during this down time. Where is Tomi Kallio when we need him most? Agree with others that letting Dupuis go was a HUGE MISTAKE.

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It’s important to remember that Kane is also playing on a line with a 100+ point scorer in the WHL, Casey Pierro-Zabotel (who lead the WHL in points during the regular season).

I’m guessing that will help pad anybody’s stats. Kane had 23 PPGs, and Pierro-Zabotel led the league in assists. Perhaps it’s more of a chemistry thing than Kane’s raw talent.

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This is great stuff….but we will have to reassess after next week’s combines in Toronto. The NHL Network’s online schedule doesn’t have listings past Sunday and the combines start on Monday but they will probably have lots of coverage.

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ranallo-OK. so he is more of a triggerman than a playmaker… COOL. I’m ok with that-I think we have enough guys who think pass first.

Also, check your boy’s (P-Z) stats the year before he & Kane were on the same line-his numbers drop percipitously.

But it’s snippets like this that sell me on Kane (link: http://national-hockey-league-nhl.suite101.com/article.cfm/evander_kane_2009_nhl_draft_profile):

Unlike the flashy Tavares, Kane is not just about points. Sure, he has a great shot and super puck handling, but what NHL teams are coveting in the upcoming ‘09 draft are his two other assets. He is a very solid two way player, and is a tough presence to play against on the ice. And at 6”1’ and 180 lbs at just 17 years of age, scouts are eager to see how much bigger he will get.

According to NHL scout Bruce Haralson, “What’s impressive to me is that he doesn’t necessarily dominate with the puck. He’s not a highly skilled guy who hangs onto the puck forever. He just has that innate sense of timing and gets to the holes. He has pure goal-scoring instincts.”

Also this (link: http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/evander_kane ):

A superb skater with excellent acceleration. With his quick release, Kane is a threat to score every time he steps on the ice. NHL scouts say he has pure goal scoring instincts, evidenced by his 48-goal campaign. He handles the physical rigors well, in part because he is a difficult target to lock on to. Kane has benefited from the play of 20-year-old linemate Casey Pierro-Zabotel (PIT), the WHL regular season scoring champion. Could use some additional weight, but has plenty of time to build strength. Skill set is reminiscent of a young Mike Modano, a former WHLer who played his junior hockey with the Prince Albert Raiders.

Sounds OK to me. Although, I would bet that it about that line equaling greater than the sum of it’s parts- I just like his pedigree, guy’s been a winneer wherever he goes-plus that Vancouver Giants team has just been NASTY the past few seasons-I lost a good bet on them when they were upset in the playoffs. Vancouver Giants alumni include:
Gilbert Brulé
Triston Grant
Brett Festerling
Mark Fistric
Andrew Ladd
Milan Lucic
Spencer Machacek
Kenndal McArdle
Andrej Meszaros
Brendan Mikkelson
Marek Schwarz
Michal Repik
Nick Tarnasky

So I’m pretty ok with products of this team-they’ve been a contender for the past several seasons-even as they loose talented guys like Lucic-Arguably their team this year was better than the club that won the Memorial Cup.

One thing that bothers me is the last paragraph of that HFboards profile:

Kane has also acknowledged he is ready to assume the responsibilities of a role model if he is chosen by a NHL team located in a largely African-American market.

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One thing that bothers me is the last paragraph of that HFboards profile:

Doesn’t bother me a bit, so long as he’s a good role model.

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Oglethorpe showed up to the Championship game, though. If there’s on3 game you don’t want to miss, it’s that one. Unfortunately, it ended in a striptease. By a guy. It would have been much better with the “twins.”

So, the Red Wings hold serve at home. Now all Chicago has to do is … win four out of the next five games, to take the series, and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Piece o’cake. D’oh. The Blackhawks really needed that OT winner. It’s not over yet. But a loss in Game Three … and it will be. Everyone knows what 0-3 means.

The NHL Network was giving Brian Campbell some heat about the overtime decision-making. It got me to thinking, “whose fault is it when a player gets overpaid?” Actually, don’t answer. Where I’m headed with this is the level of expectation on the player. When former Lightning GM, Jay Feaster, presented Brad Richards, the 2004 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, with a then “league maximum” contract, $7.8 million-a-year, for five years, it put a burden of expectation on that player that he never really achieved. When Brian Campbell hit the market, several of us, and even his former team, Buffalo, suggested $5 million “felt about right.” Campbell, due to a competitive marketplace, got $2 million more than that. What I’m asking here is … do we excuse performance a bit more for a lesser salaried player? When Zdeno Chara whiffs on a pass from behind his net that is intercepted and converted into a scoring chance for the other team, do we yell, “Way to go, Chara!! $7.5 million for THAAAT!!”

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Hokie — To my recollection he played on the same line with P-Z the year before, and they both attributed that chance to adjust to eachother as to why they excelled (points wise) this year more than last.

You’re right though, which is why I say it’s evidence of good chemistry and not simply his ability to score. I don’t know if I agree that this team has good enough playmakers. They’ve struggled mightily to find one for Kovalchuk on a consistent basis, and adding another player who depends on good feeds might not benefit Kovalchuk directly, nor the other lines missing passers.

But as I said previously, I’d be fine with almost any of the draft candidates. Kovalchuk-Little-Kane looks just as good to me as Kovalchuk-Schenn-Little or Kovalchuk-Duchene-Little. Paajarvi-Svensson-Peverley-RW could also be a fine combination, if Kozlov retires in one year. Or even Bogosian-Enstrom, Hainsey-Cowen in two year’s time could be a good sign.

There aren’t many knocks on these players, in my opinion, so we’re picking based on perceived strenghts and weaknesses. I think it’s unwise to pick based on immediate need, which is why I think Paajarvi-Svensson is still in the running for that #4 pick for the Thrashers. He might be log jammed at LW for the first year, but perhaps he wants to stay in Sweden and get some good conditioning in the 5th best league in the World (per IIHF in 2008). If Kozlov and/or Kovalchuk are gone next year, Paajarvi-Svensson fills their hole in the lineup.

Tony C. — I agree, that’s giving away quite a lot of information prior to being drafted. I think it’s pretty obvious that “largely African-American market” is focused on the city of Atlanta, and likely came directly from Waddell or Marr’s mouth. But, it’s good that he acknowledges what type of role he might play, and seems to embrace it.

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SHHHH…Sara, information pending.

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Ranallo… just nit-picking… but it might be easier to set up a guy like Kane who prefers to take his shots around the net, versus Kovalchuk who likes to blast from the point and the top of the circle.

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*Everyone cheered at Waddell’s decision, allegedly.*

I think it was the right decision. I also don’t think Eric Perrin can be said to have underperformed until late in the season. He spent most of the early season being bounced around both in position and line. Yet as far as I can tell he showed up in better condition and applied the same work ethic. In other words, I think DW was right to keep him and I think he was right that he was misdeployed. Of course, the end result is that he didn’t produce the numbers we needed from him.

*I don’t know if Eric Perrin is coming back. I don’t know if Eric Perrin WANTS to come back.*

Has that ever happened? Have we ever resigned someone we waived? I would bet Perrin can be picked up by someone else, and I’d imagine he will be. If he has to, I imagine he might take the Kwiatkowski route.

*But I never minded Dupuis.*

Ugh. I did. Dupuis had great speed, but horrible hands and a bad attitude. Good riddance to Captain Monobrow.

*As for Jim Slater, I’d dump him, for sure, if we were actually talking about being a Stanley Cup contender. But we’re nowhere near that point.*

I like Slater, but I think if we need room he’s going to have to go. The checking line worked pretty well together, but both Slater and Thorburn performed relatively badly. The differences are age and special teams performance — and special teams performance is very important, since it is a major identifiable factor of our non-success. Slater’s PK performance was very weak. And also, I think Slater might need to go for his own sake — for whatever reason none of the coaches he’s worked under have been able to bring him to the full use of his potential. Thorburn could also go, but I don’t think the coaches intend to let him.

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So, is this flying under the radar around here or did I already miss the discussion?

Holy Cow!… thanks for the link! Boy did LAC get called out or what?

On Levenson’s issue of “no credibility with anonymity”… I use a screenname to protect my private life from the insane trolls that frequent this blog. I’m not trying to keep my comments anonymous to the AJC. I don’t care if the AJC and Atlanta Spirit Group know who I am… I’m more than happy to share my opinions with them openly.

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I would love for a grinder with a nose for the net who cashes in on rebounds (ala Holmstrom and Franzen) to play in Atlanta, with Kovalchuk.

Franzen is quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the league, along with Getzlaf.

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LAC-feel better? Looks like ol’ Bruce does read the blogs…at least sometimes.

I have to admit I just made my co-workers all think I’m loony for the hysterical laughing that paragraph caused.

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Just to play devil’s advocate, but Tampa has a large African-American population. But we all know they will either take Hedman or Tavares if the Isles go defense. How is HFBoards analysis tipping DWad’s hand? Perhaps they are doing what every other mock drafter is doing and putting Kane in the 4 slot after JT, VH and Duchene?

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Smoothie- no I’m saying that basically, by going ahead and having the guy come out and make statements that “ Kane has also acknowledged he is ready to assume the responsibilities of a role model if he is chosen by a NHL team located in a largely African-American market. “… know of any Largely African-American cities picking in the top 10 in the draft (where Kane projects to go)???

I’m a huge proponent of the Corleone maxim: Never let ‘em know what you’re REALLY thinking, Michael. So if I am looking to draft Kane, I’m singing the praises of Cowen, MPS, cookie monster-anybody but who my target actually is.

However knowing ol’ Donni, he’s probably made some sort of deal with his opposite numbers in Denver, Toronto & Long Island… Idk, it just goes against what I’d do-but Donni’s been making that into an artform since he didn’t re-sign Savard…

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