Slava Kozlov an overpaid,aging vet? Yeah,Kozzies alittle long in the tooth now….. but what is Modin? Peca,wasn’t he signed to a big deal coming out of the lockout by the Jackets coming out of the lock-out? Pretty sure he was,as was Adam Foote. He calls Hainsey “serviceable but overpaid”(which I agree), so what is Mike Commodore? Just because you made a postseason berth doesn’t give you freelance to act like your the 2nd coming of the Oilers dynasty teams.

Here’s his 1st LIE- ” Coach John Anderson is an underwhelming presence on the bench and in the dressing room,not nearly a strong enough personality to get Kovalchuk to play in a team concept”. Those wre his EXACT words, if his lazy ass would’ve done some homework he’d found out that WE was one of the HOTTEST teams in the entire league coming down the stretch the last 2-3 months of the season,only being trumped by the Pens.

Kovalchuk had his best “all around” stat season probably EVER under his coaching,all the while being captain and kicking Bryan Macabes butt for a questionable hit on one of “his” players. NOW,does his statement make ANY sense? ASK ANY FAN here,over at any other site for the Thrashers this same very question….. you’ll get the same answer,Kovy is the spirit of this team. The guys could’ve mailed it in easily…… BUT THANKS TO ANDERSON AND KOVY THEY DIDNT!

Ok,so he then goes on to say “we don’t deserve to win some nites because we can outscore the other team?” LMFAO,what an idiot your defending…… that’s the WHOLE CONCEPT. We are NO different than any other team in the league, they are nites when we “could’ve,should’ve won” but lose and there are nites when we win and maybe shouldn’t have. It’s called “part of the game”.

Yeah, our franchise is at a crossroads you could say….. but wasn’t the Jackets in the same very boat 2 seasons ago as U pointed out earlier? What is it, cause we are in the south we aren’t capable? That’s not a lie though,that’s being a hypocrite.

Kovy has put to rest all the malcontent rep stuff Portline is trying to slam him with. And don’t forget,he has scored more goals than anyone else in the NHL since his rookie season…including your Nash. He(Kovy) has publicly stated “he wants more help”. My guess is he’ll get it,hopefully the right help…… that and how we do in the w/l column will decide his fate with us. How Portzline knows this already is beyond any of us human beings.

LIE#2- Atlanta may find it difficult to resign Marty Reasoner. OK, that was too easy… he had a career year here and it’s not like we didn’t have the cap space. A 2 year,2.3 million deal is a very good deal for him. He might’ve gotten offered double that by a team desperate for help like the Jackets….. but I guess we’ll never know forsure.

YOU say Nash resigns before Christmas….. who says Kovy doesn’t do the same here? Yes, I seen him rewarded for his work and it should be rewarded,but c’mon man he can do charity work like that in ANY NHL city and still get noticed for it.

As for the rumor spreading, Portzline is guilty of the very same thing your slamming Maclean for. Does Portzline have a crystal ball that has told him Kovy’s not coming back? We know all to well how the great white north views us and our markets down south.They hate us so much as to go and start rumors of team after team in the sunbelt moving here and there because of attendance issues,but when these same teams are compared tit for tat in the attendance stats,many are surprised that some sun belt teams have OUTDRAWN many teams from up north,even some original 6 franchises.

I do follow hockey pretty well, I did say you have had better GMs than us. MacLean is another Waddell,but so far Howson HAS DONE A BETTER JOB THAN BOTH. Hitchcock compared to Fraser,Waddell and Hartley(debateable) has a better record in the NHL. Anderson is going to keep getting better,that you can bet on.

So you need to take that last paragraph in your last entry up above and take it to heart FOR YOUR OWN SELF. SeemsMr. Portzline has you all trained up on trying your best to kill yourself by throwing stones in glass houses after 1 winning season,up there in the “almighty,monopoly” known as columbus,ohio.

Seems like you folks would’ve learned a lesson by now that your hometown teams can’t compete with the southern teams. Well, atleast Buckeye fans know this forsure or are they Portzline readers also?

I was in Norway last winter, turned on the sports channel and saw Pavel Brendl playing for a 2nd level Swedish team. This was the “star” that was drafted behind the Sedins in 99.

Regarding Nash, he’ll be re-signed before Xmas, probably before the season even starts. He actually likes playing in Columbus and is very heavily involved in the community here. He actually just won the NHL Foundation Award tonight in Las Vegas for his work in the Central Ohio community. He has repeatedly and publicly stated his preference to stay in Columbus. The only reason he wouldn’t stay is if they tried to screw him on the salary (which they won’t).

Don’t believe the rumors coming out of Toronto. As everyone knows, any player with a genealogical line that even briefly passes through Ontario is “rumored” to want to play for the Leafs. Rarely is it ever true. Look who’s spreading that rumor anyway (hint…Doug MacLean).

On the subject of management, we have had exactly two GMs. One of them was Doug MacLean, which barely counts. It was his mismanagement and meddling (trying to play coach and GM at the same time when there was already a coach) that contributed heavily to the Jackets not making the playoffs until this season. If you don’t believe me, just look at how many teams have interviewed him since he left Columbus. None. HIs one shot was that cluster of a deal that almost went down in Tampa Bay. It has taken two years for Scott Howson and Ken Hitchcock to undo most of the damage that MacLean did while he was here, especially in the form of overpaid players/bad contracts. The Jackets turned the corner last year, and 09/10 looks to be even better.

I know that it’s easy to look at a couple statistics and facts about a particular team and THINK that you know what is going on or what has happened in the past, but I assure you that it takes a lot more effort than that to truly understand any team, or their position. Anyone who thinks otherwise (like you) is lazy and a liar.

As for the Columbus writer- His opinion is of no care to me,it’s obvious the man didn’t do ANY homework before making the piece. Most of his “opinions” are pretty much common sense any real fan can see/understand.

But, slamming on us when his hometown Jackets finally just made the postseason for the first time ever AFTER we did? His Jackets have had MORE GMs than ours,better ownership,practically a monopoly on the market there seeing they are the only PRO team in town, finally hiring a more CREDIBLE coach than we’ve had, obtaining MORE freeagents(sign,trade,whatever needed). They SHOULD’VE beaten us to the punch in that regard IMHO.

They was swept out in the 1st round just as we was. But we will always NOT be the LAST NHL TEAM TO MAKE THE POSTSEASON until some franchise gets moved or expansion comes about.And if it wasn’t for Mason, I highly doubt they would’ve even made it then.

Overpaid? Slava overpayed? What about Peca,Modin,Huselius,Foote,Commodore? I’m sure Nash isn’t going to hang around as easily as he thinks. Nash is pretty much in the same boat as Kovy,does anyone really think that if the Jackets fail to make the postseason next year again he won’t bolt -just as if the same can be said for Kovy?

Yes, it is his opinion….. but it only proves 2 things to me,he’s lazy and a liar.

2002: 22-44-10-6, 60-points, 4th place, Southeast Division.
2003: 24-36-13-9, 70-points, 4th place, Southeast Division
2004: 28-35-15-4, 75-points, 4th place, Southeast Division.

Can we say, “incremental progress?” Sorry. Couldn’t resist. “Incremental progress” is blog CODEWORD for “sucking, while being outside of the playoffs, usually with disgraceful ownership.”

Panthers Draft History, under Rick Dudley: Most significant picks listed.

2002: Jay Bouwmeester, 3rd overall, Petr Taticek, 9th overall, Rob Globke, 40th overall, Gregory Campbell, 47th overall.

2003: Nathan Horton, 3rd overall, Anthony Stewart, 25th overall, Kamil Kreps, 38th overall, Stefan Meyer, 55th overall, Martin Lojek, 105th overall, James Pemberton, 124th overall, Tanner Glass, 265th overall.

2004: Rostislav Olesz, 7th overall, David Shantz, 37th overall, David Booth, 53rd overall, Evan Schafer, 105th overall.

Okay, clearly he didn’t mess up lotery draft and “consensus” picks. Landing David Booth at 53rd overall strikes me as impressive.

Coaches under the Dudley Administration: Mike Keenan, John Torchetti, and Dudley himself. Just like Waddell had to come down to coach it. I think Dudley was gone by the time Jacques Martin was hired to coach. Perhaps Mike Keenan hired him. But I’m not sure about it.

Panther Facts: Last playoff appearance: 2000, a sweep by the New Jersey Devils. Outscored, 12-6. Last playoff win: April 17, 1997, over NY Rangers, 3-0, in Game One of the opening round. Deepest Playoff run: 1993, lost Stanley Cup Finals to Colorado, 4-0.

Does this mean, “Dudley’s a dud?” No, I wouldn’t say so. I think he’s well-regarded, in general. (Note: Per the Spirit, LLC, ‘Don Waddell is well-respected in NHL circles.’) Things weren’t exactly ideal in Florida. They’re not exactly IDEAL, here, either. This team needs a magician for a GM. I like Dudley. I’d welcome him, as I would anyone, as a “fresh, new opportunity” if he actually became the GM one day. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope for better. And, speaking truthfully, I’m not encouraged by Waddell choosing his successor, conceptually. I think the next GM of this team … should have ‘no ties whatsoever’ to the Waddell Administration. From this moment forward, Dudley was a “Waddell project.”

Would it have been better to announce Dudley’s arrival at the Draft, for maximum publicity? Shrugs. I don’t know. What does it really matter? I don’t think there was anything wrong with announcing the hire of John Anderson prior to the 2008 Draft. But what do I know?

Dudley to the Thrashers? Picture me doing backflips. No, wait. Picture me looking like (Brad Pitt; Tom Cruze or Daniel Craig) doing backflips. But it’s still me.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282256

I wonder if Don knows he hired someone yet? Kind of like when Don didn’t realize Anderson had been hired until the next day.

Waddell, you’ve been Rich McKayed…FINALLY, of course there would have been one better option…FIRED.