Looks Like Kiwi Will Be Russia-Bound After All
According to Ben Wright…Joel Kwiatkowski will be playing in Russia after all.
Regarding the Great Kiwi/KHL Conflict, Thrashers’ Executive Vice President and GM Don Waddell said, “After agreeing to terms on a contract with Joel Kwiatkowski, we learned that he had already committed to a team in the KHL. Therefore we have rescinded our offer and have been told that Joel will honor his agreement with St. Petersburg.”
So…that puts an end to that little situation.
Prospect Camp Opens Today
Also going on today…the start of Prospect Development Camp. Here is the schedule of events that will take place between now and Wednesday.
In advance of this, Thrashers first-round draft pick Evander Kane made the media rounds yesterday. If you missed them, here is is the interview on 680 The Fan…and the one on Fox 5’s Good Day Atlanta.
I’ll be making the trek over to Duluthland tomorrow afternoon to check out the young-un. I hope to see many of you there as well.
Show Me The Money
According to hockeybuzz.com, the Thrashers’ current cap hit is about $42.3 million. However, that figure will climb higher once we come to know the salaries of Kari Lehtonen, Colby Armsrong, Boris Valabik and Chris Thorburn.
If Kari gets a contract somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.5 mil per year and Armstrong…who opted for salary arbitration last weekend…gets about $2 million per year, that alone would bring Atlanta’s cap hit to about $47.8 mil. Add in Valabik’s and Thorney’s and it’ll just get that much closer to the $50 million mark.
Did you ever think you’d see the day?
EDIT: As Toby points out…those numbers still reflect Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart’s salaries. They now belong to the Toronto Mable Leafs. That would knock about $2 million off the projected numbers.
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102 comments Add your comment
Randy
July 10th, 2009
2:00 pm
At least Brashear knows how to score a damn goal. And he doesn’t lose every fight like our 2 featherweights do.
Boulton OR Thor, not both
July 10th, 2009
2:00 pm
Whatever happened to Mike Hoffman? If he is on another team forgive me for not talking about the Thrashers
Spud Webb
July 10th, 2009
2:06 pm
World you’re correct. The Sabres window CLOSED…SUCKS. They have no leadership, Miller has failed us in that department. There is some good talent, young, so we/they will be middle of the road.
Trying to research Anthony Stewart now…
kracker
July 10th, 2009
2:07 pm
Check the batteries in your calculator, Rawhide. Stuart and Exelby total $1.875 million for this year’s salary on NHLSCAP (which is HB.)
Spud Webb
July 10th, 2009
2:13 pm
I think we just let Hoffman walk. I thought he was supposed to be in the big team last year, broke his hand and never came back, played in chicago for the season.
Russian
July 10th, 2009
2:13 pm
Anthony Stewart played in Florida Panthers. He is Center. He has RFA status. I think he will be 3-4 liner or in Chicago
Brendan
July 10th, 2009
2:15 pm
I think Waddell has specific orders to shop at K-Mart. That’s why the owners kept him. He finds that discarded item at the bottom of the bargain barrel, that the other GM’s passed over, and gets that guy to 10 goals and 25-points. Somebody like a Jon Sim, a Glen Metropolit, a Todd White, etc. I, personally, think there’s a multi-year building project underway. I can’t get anyone (in the organization) to admit it. Precisely, I think, because THEY THINK such a declaration kills ticket sales. They run the Thrashers like a politician in an election year. “I promise ya victory! I promise ya GOOD TIMES!” That sells a whole lot better than, “Watch our prospects develop! See who we get in the lottery draft!” Those headlines aren’t nearly as good. If ya follow.
Boulton OR Thor, not both
July 10th, 2009
2:16 pm
Spud the Sabres have a huge defensman coming up who just beat Evander Kane in the junior championships and was the MVP over Kane. Drafted a year or two ago so he will probably come up now. Read about him while trying to find out things about Kane. He is everything that Valabik is supposed to be but better, may even be a Chara.
h
July 10th, 2009
2:23 pm
Brashear? A worthless piece of garbage. And now an overpaid worthless piece of garbage. Randy, go write on the Hawks Blog…..
Hockey Biltong
July 10th, 2009
2:25 pm
I think Hoffman walked as well. Now about that Nittymaki Roll. Let’s see how many goals Arthropod will get by him. And does anyone think Philly has gone down a notch thru trades and the draft, or are they keeping level???
Spud Webb
July 10th, 2009
2:34 pm
Boults, yea, I believe that was the kid they took in the 1st last year. I’m hopefull!!!!!!
Bilton, I say the Flyers are about the same. Inconsistant goal tending is going to be the downfall again, my opinion. They have a major gap back there and seem determined to NEVER fix it!!!!
ranallo10 (in AT)
July 10th, 2009
2:35 pm
Funny…why shop at Nordstrom’s when you only have a bank account that can support K-Mart specials?
Billtong — Adding Pronger made them better by far. Subtracting Lupul gives them a chance to play Giroux more often. They attempted to replace Knuble with Lapierre, which I consider a downgrade. The goalie rotation seems to be a wash, though Emery has the skill to get them to a Stanley Cup final. Overall though, I’d say they got better.
Joshgekko
July 10th, 2009
2:52 pm
Randy – According to hockeyfights Boulton won 5 fights while fighting to a draw in 4. Brashear won 6 and had 4 draws. I agree that Boulton is undersized in a lot of his fights, but the guy has held his own for the most part. Thorburn on the other hand is pretty bad when it comes to fighting.
Randy
July 10th, 2009
2:59 pm
Joshgekko how many goals did Bolton contribute? What about Thornburn?
Randy
July 10th, 2009
3:01 pm
Brendan you are one of the best bloggers on here. thank you for not letting them fool you. you have been on their back from the get-go, and i appreciate it. dont ever stop probing for answers.
Randy
July 10th, 2009
3:02 pm
Ranallo10 you are correct our owners are cheap pieces of s*** but would you not agree our GM is in over his head ?
Rawhide
July 10th, 2009
3:05 pm
Kracker – Actually, it has less to do with the batteries in my calculator and more with the lack of my glasses being on my face. That’s normally where I get myself into trouble.
%$#@!…what a drag it is getting old!
So…let me take another stab at this. The Hockeybuzz numbers I referenced shows the Thrashers with a payroll of $41,231,667 and a cap hit of $42,300,094. Take away XLB’s $1,391,667 ans Stuart’s $483,333 and that leaves the team with a cap hit at $40,425,094.
So…if Kari signs at $3.5 mil and Army at $2 mil, then the cap hit is at $45,925,094. Then when Valabik and Thorburn get their contracts signed…the cap hit could be at about $47 – $48 mil.
Thrashers27
July 10th, 2009
3:13 pm
According to the list that Smoothie posted a link to earlier about Anthony Stewart, it seems that Clay Wilson has moved on. Says he signed with Florida.
Smoothie
July 10th, 2009
3:30 pm
Yeah, that’s why I wrote that we did a “tit for tat” with Fla. Perhaps they will get to play against each other again quite soon.
Randy, you are quite an annoyance aren’t you? I don’t think a lot of the regulars on here are as pollyannish as you seem to think. You really need to inject some realism into your perspective and arguments.
Brendan’s right, we are in a rebuilding phase because it would be assinine not to re-tool and re-stock in the event Ilya (shudders) were to defect next year. Having said that, we now have a shot at the playoffs with the moves we made and having competitive depth in the system in the form of AHL’ers with potential is a good thing when they are competing with hungry prospects who are chomping at the bit to crack the line-up.
We are on a budget folks, get over it! Let’s hope we continue to improve and the team that came into its own over the last 35 games is the team that will develop into a playoff contender. If they do and we flirt with the playoffs, I have a feeling the ASG will loosen the purs-strings even more.
R. Stroz
July 10th, 2009
3:55 pm
Anthony Stewart was a first round, 25th overall, pick in the 2003 draft by the Florida Panthers. He only had 34 penalty minutes last season, so he’s not a pure goon.
Brendan
July 10th, 2009
4:18 pm
Oh, if the Thrashers get close, and not say the way Don Waddell and Darren Eliot assess “close,” codeword for let’s try to sell more tickets, then I do think the Spirit will try to be buyers at the trade deadline. Let’s face it, if #17 is still un-signed at that time (Feb/Mar 2010), and they’re CLOSE, they’ve pretty much got no choice but to spend and to make the playoffs.
Now, I want to be clear about something. I wish Kovalchuk to be re-signed tomorrow. Just like you all do. Even if it’s a 2-year deal. I’d take it! Put the “bandaid” on the wound. By then, if the organization continues on this slowww build, it ought to be fairly decent. For real. Next year’s lottery draft, even Top Ten, stands to be worth owning the pick. As in, “Don’t give up the 1st rounder in a trade.” Here’s when I advocate surrendering a 1st round pick. If I think I’m going to the CF, can’t miss, then my 1st round pick is #27, #28, #29, or #30. Is that such a horrible pick to sacrifice??? I wouldn’t think so. But is pick #7 or #8 or #9 worth “throwing away?” I’d say, “No, let’s keep the pick.” With some rather obvious exceptions. Which won’t happen. Colorado’s keep Stastny. Pittsburgh’s keeping Crosby and Malkin. Chicago will elect to keep Toewz and Kane. So, forget it. Couple that with, “Well gee, is the player we’re getting WANTING to play here?” If not, then … FOR SURE … keep the pick. That guy won’t re-sign with us. Avoid the “rentals.” I’d rent … if I thought, like I said, I was headed straight for the CF, Finals, or winning the Stanley Cup. I wouldn’t throw away a top 10 overall pick b/c I’m some “bubble team” trying to sneak-in. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place.
Not to harp on things, but had Atlanta stood pat, in 2007, and didn’t make it in, probably Hartley and Waddell get fired. Which is fine. But they rolled the dice, Vegas-style. Tkachuk ultimately cost a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick, plus Metropolit. Zhitnik cost Coburn. Vitaly Vishnevski, whom Atlanta sacrificed a 2nd round pick to obtain, got us Eric Belanger, who was lost to free agency. And Pascal Dupuis cost us “the player Don wanted all along,” Alex Bourret. Atlanta also picked up a 3rd round pick from the Rangers in the Dupuis deal, that brought us Chris Thorburn, via 3rd round pick trade with Pittsburgh. I suppose it’s a “silver lining” that Chris Thorburn agreed to re-sign his RFA contract and play in Atlanta. Dupuis was packaged with Hossa, for … let’s just say Erik Christensen, who is now prospect Eric O’Dell, via trade with Anaheim.
The point? Don’t take wild gambles with the future of this team. Atlanta’s draft picks are its BEST OPTION out of this mess. That, and the waiver wire. See Rich Peverley. And this year’s waiver wire may also bring forth blessings. Plural. We’ve got the cap room to claim some guys. And we do have the ability to TRADE OUT some players, if cap is the concern. It’s possible to package Boulton or Thorburn or Slater or whomever, to make room for the waiver claim player. Remember how nicely Mark Recchi fit in, when we got him off waivers? That could happen again this year, if Don can convince ownership to spring for a guy either at pro-rated FULL PRICE or HALF-PRICE, off re-entry waivers. The problem with waiting for Re-Entry waivers is that the Islanders, Bolts, and Aves get 1st crack at that player at HALF-PRICE. We might not have the luxury of waiting for Re-Entry waivers.
Thrashers27
July 10th, 2009
4:28 pm
The thought makes me a bit uneasy, but should the Thrashers be out of the playoff race come next Feb., what does everyone think about the possibility of using Kovy as a rental to get some more pieces and then re-signing him in the off-season. I think that’s something that would have to be considered if that scenario were to play out.
Brendan
July 10th, 2009
4:31 pm
I totally support that idea, Thrashers27. But I’d at least ask for a “handshake agreement” that Kovalchuk would return as a UFA. Though, Waddell’s been clear. Just like Captain Smith, of the SS Titanic, he intends to go down with the shipment, with Kovalchuk onboard, in April 2010. That’d be a missed opportunity. If Kovalchuk won’t re-sign, he must be traded. But, that’s the S.O.S. beacon, “We’re going down by the HEAD, need assistance,” to the SS Carpathia.
Sage of Blueland
July 10th, 2009
6:36 pm
If Kovalchuk re-signs, will all you sheep be happy? Really? Welcome to ice puckey.
Tony C.
July 10th, 2009
7:01 pm
Stewart’s got good wheels… nice shot but needs a lot of room and time to get it off…although something tells me that he’s gonna blossom if he makes it to the A
Rawhide
July 10th, 2009
7:51 pm
Erin Andrews was struck by a foul ball in Shea Stadium last night!!!
This MUST get coverage from the Atlanta media…so I will fly up there right NOW and see to it that she gets covered!
Poor lady…I hope she’s gonna be OK.
R. Stroz
July 10th, 2009
8:11 pm
That’s nice of Rawhide to provide foul ball coverage of Erin Andrews.
Alan
July 10th, 2009
8:56 pm
From Bill’s link:
Super hot sportscaster Erin Andrews shouldn’t participate in any activities where balls fly at her face
I’m going to have to withhold comment on that. Ahem.
Bob
July 10th, 2009
9:49 pm
“What are you going to say if the team that Waddell assembled through his own draft picks, trades and free agent signings does well this year?”
yee ha!
“Bob your argument has always been completely illogical, even by Atlanta Spirit standards. If they were actually upset at the job Waddell did, they’d fire him, not cut back payroll.”
No, it’s not. Your myopic view says they’re cheap, they’re the problem. Ok, let’s run with that. Word is that they extended his contract right after that 10 game run after he fired Hartley and he took the bench. You see how cheap they were to replace Hartley’s contract, which finally fell off at the end of last year, right? Now, do these cheapskates want to pay Waddell to watch the GM they had to pay double what Waddell takes fix his problems? In your world, no, they don’t, they pull in the reins, ride out their lawsuit, let him “play out” his contract, and then replace him when his contract is up (please let it be this year).
Bob
July 10th, 2009
9:57 pm
“but would you not agree our GM is in over his head ?”
No, that would mean he’d have to admit that the novel he’s written over the years defending the indefensible, was, well, just plain wrong.
Hockey Biltong
July 11th, 2009
12:53 am
ahhh ,I’m thinking it’s burger time!!!
MB
July 11th, 2009
12:52 pm
Erin Andrews…meh. Yeah, she’s attractive, but “super hot?” Not quite. Plus, I’ve never been able to get over how absolutely clueless she was when here providing in-game updates on the Thrashers. To me she’s just another nice looking poster child of everything that’s wrong with broadcasting.
Tony C.
July 11th, 2009
2:31 pm
MB-if you thought Erin was clueless, NEVER watch an in-game segment with her replacement from last year.
ever
It’s painful
Thrashers27
July 11th, 2009
2:41 pm
Tony C….AGREED!!!!! The woman they had doing intermission interviews last year was A-W-F-U-L!!! That big, fake smile…the deer in the headlights look on her face. She was clueless. I really hope they don’t bring her back for the upcoming season. If they’re looking for a good lookin’ man who knows hockey I’d be happy to take that gig.
Brendan
July 11th, 2009
3:13 pm
If it isn’t league policy yet, it soon will be, that all 30 teams have an “Intermission Babe” for the telecast. Eh. It doesn’t really bother me. It probably SHOULD. But I’ve grown so very tolerant of everything.
Thrashers27
July 11th, 2009
3:16 pm
Doesn’t bother me either, Brendan, but they could at least find one who is knowledgable and sincere.
Hockey Biltong
July 11th, 2009
3:35 pm
Holy Cr&p Batman, was that reporting ever poor. Of course Fox S.S. probably paid her $50.00 a game. The pa system in the arena needs a voice with some timbre to it. Too high pitched and the words become unintelligible. Now if some one had a voice like Kathleen Turner, you would be able to hear everything quite well imho…..
Sharon
July 11th, 2009
3:50 pm
Natalie, the “Intermission Babe”, makes female reporters look idiotic. I work in tv (behind the scenes), and this type of hiring just irks me. There are qualified female sportscasters out there, but she’s not one of them. She’s plastic.
Tom
July 11th, 2009
6:28 pm
Sharon. Amen on Natalie. The first game of the season I was flabbergasted that she got the job. She is not comfortable with hockey and it shows. I would prefer a much less attractive female sportscaster who is passionate about the sport. See the NY channels on how they do it.
Brendan
July 11th, 2009
6:51 pm
Boston has two “Intermission Babes.” Hazel Mae and Kathryn Tappan. Google ‘em yet? I’ll wait.
See. Told ya. Did ya read Kathryn Tappan’s “bio” yet? Ever see the movie “Weird Science,” where a couple of adolescents try to create a perfect female? It was kind of an 80’s hommage to the “Stepford Wives,” from a teenager’s perspective. Not quite literally. You have to read between the lines. Anywho … her bio reads like that. It stops just short of, “And after watching hockey, drinking beer, and modeling my new bikini, my boyfriend and I enjoy watching Skinamax together.
MB
July 11th, 2009
7:26 pm
Agreed on Natalie…just more of the same. Apparently the clowns who can’t get out of going to focus groups tell the marketing and programming wizards that they’d rather see an attractive dingbat instead a less attractive person with incredible subject matter knowledge.
All across the country, there are thousands of Natalies in sports and weather with network dreams clogging up the hiring pipeline for those who, I would argue, are far more qualified for the positions. To me, EA represents them all as she is currently the most visible and most successful…good for her. In less than a decade, her looks will start to fade, she’ll put on a few pounds, and then she’ll wonder why the networks don’t respect her “reporting” skills and experience when they hire they next young cutie in her stead. Eh, as Brendan might say, it is what it is.
Back to hockey, interesting experiment going on in Montreal. A little reminiscent of Tampa Bay last year…just throw in a bunch of parts and see what happens. Also, Muir on CNN/SI has a fairly interesting piece about the salary cap, making a somewhat strained correlation to what’s happening with the NBA’s cap this season.
kracker
July 11th, 2009
10:09 pm
Hmmm…is Erin Andrews connected with EA Sports?
Darkhorse
July 12th, 2009
12:54 am
Natalie is quite horrible as the intermission reporter. I always hold out hope a pissed off player having to come out and talk with her at intermission will just take a puck and shove it in her big plastic mouth as the camera rolls.
The Joker
July 12th, 2009
2:25 am
“…will just take a puck and shove it in her big plastic mouth”
And I was hoping for something else.
Alan
July 12th, 2009
2:37 am
Didn’t you read my last post, Joker??
Alan
July 12th, 2009
2:45 am
Ohhh, we’re talking about Natalie now.
Well then, I’m sure that’s an activity she could engage in, seeing as how there’s dramatically fewer fouls flying towards her.
Sara
July 12th, 2009
12:49 pm
I don’t like Natalie’s performance..and I absolutely detest the “Become One with a Blue Crew Member” schtick. Could these jerks be any more degrading toward women? That said, the behind the scenes explanation that I was given (twice) re Erin (whom I loathed) was that she was intentionally dumbed-down by the powers that be. That fits, given that I think she has displayed her competence since moving on to ESPN. However, I still have to question any female willing to dumb herself down for a job – especially since it sets a bad precedent in an industry already un-female friendly.
Stroz are you also going to pony up for any and all damages incurred? :p Perhaps an extended round of paintball would be more appropriate.
Sara
July 12th, 2009
1:04 pm
Bob I don’t see this as myopic at all. The two unforgivable sins for Atlanta Spirit seem to be unwillingness to toe the company line and mismanagement of funds. The bottomline is way too important to them to stand for any GM or employee who throws it away.
I personally believe that the big push by ownership to get into the playoffs at all costs in 2007 was ultimately all about $$. As in, they were running out of it. Making up for Belkin’s 30% depleted the available assets of the remaining members. Playoffs are the biggest pure revenue generators in this sport. I think they thought that if they could get into the playoffs and make a run of it (run meaning more than two home games), they could generate enough revenue to cover the Belkin shortfall. Unfortunately they didn’t get that run nor the subsequent revenue and everything had to be scaled back.
I’ve been willing to adjust my opinion of things as new information presents itself. I once firmly believed these owners were a bunch of tightwads on purpose who didn’t care a whit about this franchise. As more information became public from the trial, I’ve changed my view in that regard. I no longer believe they are unwilling to spend, just simply unable. It’s completely understandable from a business perspective.
It would be nice, however, to see more people willing to temper their judgements of Waddell as new evidence presents itself as well. Nothing ridiculous has happened for the past two off-seasons. Granted not every signing worked out as hoped (ie Jason Williams) but that is part of the business in general. Not every player fits into every system. And at least he didn’t get signed to a 4 year contract that still hangs on this club.
I’ve always believed Waddell was moving this club in the right direction, a few bumps notwithstanding, until essentially forced to make some bad trades by an ownership group desperate for both immediate on-ice success and more revenue. It wasn’t happening as fast as some of you prefer, but I think there were some unreasonable expectations set forth given the market, the financial constraints under previous ownership, and how an expansion franchise is developed from the ground up. Waddell has now been allowed to get back on track and things appear to be progressing nicely.
Brendan
July 12th, 2009
2:32 pm
Too true, MB. But the whole thing seems to boil down to … <strong it’s a VISUAL medium. As such, what stops a remote flipping around the channels faster: “intellectual discussion/good journalism
” or “Hot Babe! Hot Babe! Hot Babe!! Gimme dat remote, and put it BACK on the HOT BAAAABE!!” See, that’s what networks realized. Ever watch news & weather on Univision (TM) or Telemundo (TM)? (They’re Spanish language channels.) I’ll just stop right there. Other than to add, “If you’re ever in France, or can get Canal +, her name is Melissa Theuriau.” And she just might be the best-looking newsbabe in the entire world.
Who have been the Intermission Gals in Thrashers History? I remember Amanda Jahn in the beginning. Then Erin Andrews. Then there was some brunette who did the 2007 season preview. We didn’t see a lot of her. Then Natalie Taylor. I don’t know if she’ll be back, or what? The L.A. Kings have Heidi Androl. NHL Network has Carrie Milbank doing various promos. Let’s see what they do.
As we enter the 10th season, I am hopeful that further progress will be made. But it’s tempered with the usual, “It is what it is” sentiment. I mean, I could show up to this blog hoppin’ mad about how things have been run for the past decade. Inject me with Sodium Pentathol (truth serum), and I’ll tell you how I thought, back in 1999, that the Thrashers would make the playoffs in Year Four, make the CSF in Year Five, Advance to a 1st ever CF in Year Six, and be in a Stanley Cup Finals by Year Seven, while trying for a repeat trip to the Finals in Year Eight. I should have realized, back then, that Ted Turner’s role and interest in the Thrashers would be “un-Braves-like.” At this point, I consider a season successful if prospects are developed and proactively re-signed.
R. Stroz
July 12th, 2009
2:46 pm
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