For Thrashers, what will be the lasting legacy of letting Manny go?

Will we ever learn the real reason as to why Manny was released?
Certainly cannot be the overwhelming confidence of the current set of goaltenders.

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The answer is found in the sounds emitted from a bird, maybe even a brown thrasher, the ASG is cheap, cheap, cheap.

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Makes you wonder why he was invited to camp, he did well Opie didn’t so bye bye Legace? Why waste everyone’s time?

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7th and we are utterly powerless to know why.

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Baldhead-I have been the same thing about Max. Why waste everyone’s time?

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Let’s see a worst scenario. We will start Pavs and Moose and we will be loosing 10 games. Can we send Pavs back to Chicago? Can we call to Lagacy back? Once again, I think we will be OK until Karik come back.

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Thanks Rawhide for saying what I’ve been thinking and trying to say all along. Opie gets all the playing time in world during camp and swims in the sea of mediocrity and yet we let go of a goaltender who has been for the most part a winner all of his career as a starter and back-up. And why? We’ll never know. But that’s Don Waddell for you. Be careful John Anderson, if you loose the first 6 games you’ll go the way of Bob Hartley. There again is another example of how stupid the mgmt of the Thrashers are. Was Manny the answer, no. But I believe he would have been the best option to give us the chance at starting the season off strongly.

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My biggest fear is that Pavs lets in two goals in the 1st Period on Saturday and the arena erupts in “Boos!”

That will be a really nice way to start the season. (sarcasm)

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>>And what about Waddell’s comment from sunday that he would be talking >>to Legace’s agent?

You’d have to believe that there may have been unreasonable demands – i.e. not accepting a two way – that played into this.

You also have to think that Rick Dudley is discussing every move with Don. So it’s not just a single person making these decisions. Maybe they saw something with Manny that prevented them from wanting to him a shot.

I’m puzzled, like everyone else. Maybe will try to plunk a proven back up off the waiver wire tomorrow as a stop gap. Maybe a trade is in the works?

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I wonder if Manny’s chirping in practice wore thin? Personally, I think chemistry is important in hockey, more than any other sport.

In any event, Kovy & Krew better be ready to score 6 goals a game, because I think we’re gonna need it.

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Enter your comments here
First, let me say that I live in the St. Louis area. Second, I’ve watched Manny play in both Detroit and St. Louis. Third, I’ve been a goalie for 35 years, so I kinda know what I’m talking about.

I think it was a shame the way the Blues organization treated Manny. After they assigned him to Peoria in the AHL last year, he only posted a 2.0 GAA and a .940 save percentage. I don’t know about you all, but I sure wouldn’t mind having him on my Tuesday night team. I was shocked that he was released by St. Louis, but with the goalies that we have in our system, it was easier to understand why, although I didn’t necessarily agree with it. But no one from the front office called me to get my opinion either.

It’s been said that Manny has “issues.” Well, duh! What goalie doesn’t. I know I certainly a few. We netminders have a mentality that we need to stop every puck, and I DO mean every, that comes our way. If we harbor a belief that we don’t need to stop them all, then we have no business occupying the blue real estate. But when we give up a bad goal or two, or other things just don’t seem to go right, that can really get into our feeble, little brains and mess us up bad. So maybe Manny has a bad day at the office and everybody is ready to lynch him. People like to do that to goalies. That’s why I carry a gun, to ward off the crazies. But I always tell ‘em, if they think it’s so easy to stop pucks, please feel free to strap on the forty pounds of equipment that I have in my bag and get your sorry ass out on the ice and let those guys shoot a five ounce piece of rubber at you 90 MPH through a forest of legs, THEN tell me how easy my job is. Same holds true for Manny.

He has a record. A long record, and a damn good one, I might add. Maybe the issue was money. Maybe the issue was a two-way contract. Maybe the issue was motivation for the other guys. Regardless, the Trashers organization have done a disservice to their fans. The ultimate goal is to put a product on the ice that entertains as well as wins. If the other guys step up to the plate, great. BUT, if they don’t, don’t go crying to Manny. He did his job.

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This was a bad move on Waddell’s part. Ya Pavelec’s first two games were great, but the Tampa game brought back memories of his inconsistent play last season during Kari Down 08. He would have a couple of great games only to follow it up with a couple of games where he looked completely lost and couldn’t see and track the puck even if it was the size of a basketball. I don’t think the coaches gave Legace enough due time in the nets this preseason to make the team. They really didn’t give him a fair shot. I think Moose should start most of the games until Kari comes back ready to play. They should only let Pavelec play on back to back nights or when Moose needs a game off. Right now though Anderson better let Moose start Saturday night. He’s definately earned that honor.

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I know there have been comments that Legace wasn’t given a fair shot (40 minutes during the preseason). What about MacIntyre? Can anyone tell me how much time he got in the preseason? I was glad when the Thrashers brought him in to add some competition. I looked up his career stats at the AHL level and they are slightly better than Pavelec across the board. I thought the point of adding competition at every position in camp was to bring out the best in each player and let the best man win. I agree with most regarding Legace and also am wondering if MacIntyre was given any chance. It seems as if Ondrej was handed the #1 job on a silver platter and therefore it was pointless bringing in the others to “compete”.

I was actually somewhat optimistic about possibly challenging for a playoff spot this season until the news broke of Kari’s surgery. This episode continues my hopes for this season heading in a downward spiral. It has reaffirmed that this organization (and I use the term loosely) can’t distinguish its’ a$$ from a hole in the ground.

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Rawhide – Thanks for the info.

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There really wasn’t any goalie competition as russ stated. The BRAINTRUST knew who would be starting and backup before training camp even started. The only reason drew and manny were there was to make opie and moose work a little harder, mostly opie. How can anyone put there hopes in kari? He is a liablity and not the one to put your hopes in. If the BRAINTRUST doesn’t have a trade or really get lucky on the wavier wire, this season could push my blood pressure where it don’t need to go.

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Updates from Ben’s Twitter about today’s golf outing –

Both Popovic and Afinogenov are playing.
So are former Flames Tim Ecclestone and Dan Bouchard.

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I would be shocked if Don Waddell were permitted to fire John Anderson. That’d be 3 coaches, four if you count himself, who had tried to make this team a winner. If anybody winds up getting fired, it should be Waddell. Of course, I doubt anyone would be getting fired for quite some time. (How soon is April 2010?) I don’t know how long John Anderson’s contract is, but Forbes says Waddell’s is up at season’s end. Maybe Anderson’s is, as well. I cannot say. Contracts are kept “internal” by team policy. Only the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Director of the National Security Agency, and Leon Panetta really know. And good for them!

About 15 days ago, or so, Don Waddell came on 680TheFan to discuss the upcoming season. His point #4 … was that “Kari’s doing well after surgery.” Well, that’s what he said. I can only go by what he said. How did we go from “Kari’s doing well after surgery” to … no definitive return date? Shrugs. I don’t know. Maybe Waddell should explain it.

But here’s something to consider. If Kari does come back, ready and able to go, with Moose as the backup, what would Atlanta do with Manny Legace’s “one-way” deal hitting their cap? Stop. I’m assuming Legace was unwilling to sign a “two-way” deal, and that’s why he’s gone. Well, in this respect, I’m not surprised to see Manny released. Pavelec may not be ready. No argument. My ‘Go By’ notebook says, “Goalies take 5 years to develop,” as the general rule. With Pavelec being a 2005 draft pick, that means he should be NHL-ready in the Fall of 2010 (2011 season). Fine. I’m GREAT with that. So, we’ve got Moose under contract for this year, but not BEYOND this year. I’m also “fine with that.” Kari was the organization’s 1st round pick in 2002, selected 2nd overall, the TOP-RATED goaltender prospect of his draft year. While I never thought that was the ‘right’ decision, if I were to draft a goalie in the 1st round, in 2002, I probably would have taken Kari Lehtonen. Needless to say, the organization is heavily vested in Lehtonen. While the “P.R.” aspect of claims by Waddell … that Kari CANNOT assume he’s the #1 goalie here … have manifested themselves, they do not CORRESPOND with the reality of the situation. The reality is … Kari is our #1 goalie.

Digest that one, yet?

Kari … is our #1 goalie. We can try to pretend he isn’t. Let’s try that for a while. Okay, let’s pretend MOOSE is our #1 goalie. Ummmn. Well. On second thought, “No.” Okay, let’s pretend our #1 goalie is Pavelec. “Yeah, well … ya see … the thing is ….” Okay, let’s try another one. Let’s pretend Drew McIntyre is our #1 goalie. “PFFT!” Allrightee then!!

Okay. So … what have we learned? Ostensibly, we’ve learned Waddell is angry at Kari. Okay, that’s not fair, or necessarily accurate. Let’s just say that Waddell is “concerned” about Kari. That seems fair. But who is the #1 goalie for the Atlanta Thrashers? Who just screamed, “Olaf Kolzig!” Allright, someone show the Capitals fans the door to nostalgia. No, it’s not Olaf Kolzig, who is RETIRED by the way.

Kari Lehtonen, no matter how much it potentially “irks” people … is our #1 goalie. Period. The end.

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Let’s hope people don’t start booing on opening night!

I’d almost bet money on it.

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You could argue that at 36, Manny was on the downside of his career, except if his last 3 years, his record was 63-49-15, 2.73 GAA, .901 SV% and 10 shutouts (courtesy of Rawhide above). Those are pretty darn good numbers for a team that’s been really bad the last few years (Sorry Blues fans, it’s true).

If given a choice of Manny or Moose, I’d have kept Manny.

In reality, I’d have kept all 3 (the Lehtonen situation to be resolved). I’d still like to give Opie a chance to start the season & prove himself. If, after several weeks, Pavelic plays up to the #1 goalie title, we could have let Manny go then.

After all (and this really hurts me to say), “it’s only money”.

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I’m having a hard time understanding why DW signs Kari to a contract knowing that he hasn’t had surgery and not having a medical opinion. And then he’s surprised when Kari spends more time on his motor boat terrorizing Georgians rather than rehabbing his injury. All the punishment he gets is a your not the #1, all the while not having a true competition for a goalie. I’ve been a long time DW supporter but this stinks. Do enough to stir a bit of excitement, maybe pick-up some additional ticket sales and then viola’ (pronounced waa-laa for Chuck Oliver), dump a tried and tested goalie who is better than Moose. Moose is a good guy but its win now time or bye-bye to Kovy.

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Oystrick on waivers… can someone find a reliable source besides this?

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/The-Fan-Blog/New-Players-on-Waivers-Joey-McDonald-Hollwig-Guenin/32/23286

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Scratching my head on that one. Oystrick looked stronger than Valabik by a long shot. Guess he’ll due better playing in Chicago, than watching in Atlanta.

That leaves 1 spot to go, since Kane doesn’t have to clear waivers, that could have already happened and not get picked up in the news for a bit.

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Eklund saying that Max has made the team.

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Saturday night will be very interesting. If DW is wrong about the goalie situation it will be the end for him and Ilya in Atlanta….

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http://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/status/4475099823

A much more reliable source…did Eklund get one right??

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Rawhide, I think my expository essay got hung up in blog purgatory due to the heavy traffic of waiver wire activity and tweet-beat reporting.

Thanks to Trixie in advance!!

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Believe Oystick owns a condo. We both have the same bug guy.

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Hey Rawhide, I got a real chuckle out of this post today. The hang nail/split ends comment is great.
Check out the new video on the Thrashers website (if you haven’t already). It is pretty cool.
Also, J.B. (from the previous post), you are right about the Kovy line. I think with so much penalty killing going on, I did not see that line together much!

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Alright, amateur GMs. We have 3 decisons here from our brain trust, Donny the Wad. Do you agree with any of these 3? 1? 2? All 3? I’m 0 for 3, I wouldn’t take Max “Skate around all pretty and do nothing” Afinogenov, and I think he’ll upset team chemistry big time. That move just reeks of a panicky Waddell hoping and praying that another Russian will make Kovy re-sign.

I wouldn’t cut Oystrick over Valabik. Valabik does not fit Coach’s system and I see no progression in the guy. Big ogre move slow, get angry, hit someone, fall down.

I wouldn’t have cut Legace and kept Pavelec and Moose to carry the club for what, 2 months? until Kari is ready. Legace would have been a great insurance policy.

So, I guess I shouldn’t be suprised, I have never agreed with Waddell’s boneheaded moves, I don’t understand why ownership hadn’t canned him long ago, so I guess I shouldn’t be suprised that I don’t understand any of these moves. Welcome to another year of the same ol same ol, Thrasher fans.

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Bob, I’m with you on the 0 for 3 assertion. If we didn’t have Peverley, I’d be okay with Maxim. I tried to write up a Brendan-esque essay expressing my concerns in a coherent fashion, but it got swallowed up by the Blog Monster.

Does anyone know if Colin Stuart cleared waivers? Randy Jones already did per HockeyBuzz, but he was released on Saturday I think.

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So Oysterick would have to clear waivers before he’s re-claimed right? Would you re-claim him? Don’t you feel McCarthy is better?

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Well – I’m 1 for 3 with the moves. Think Max will add some more speed and offense. Also think we have a really dynamic third line with Pevs, Reasoner, and Armstrong.

Unfortunately the goalie situation just sucks. Neither Moose or Pavs makes me think we’re set. Still hoping for a trade, waiver move, or re-sign Manny.

And I will never understand the facination with Boris – he’s just not fast enough. Constantly playing from behind. Would have kept Oystrick. Not even a hard decision.

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I’m with you on 2-of-3. If Afinigov’s knee is OK, he adds a real dimenstion of speed to the team, and is capable of 25-30 goals. Yes, defensively, he sucks. That seems to be the same problem with most of the Thrasher forwards. So what’s the difference?

Really good point by Smoothie re: penalty killing.

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i think thrashers are crazy letting manny legace go he is awesome player and lets not forget the guy had some pretty awesome years with red wings. so he knows how win games the thrashers are going be kicking there selfs for this

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Oystrick being cut is disappointing, but I guess not a surprise. When Popovic was invited for a tryout it seemed apparent that it was for a chance at the #6/7 competition between the other two puck movers, Salmella and Oystrick. I imagine Valabik doesn’t play into the equation because he’s a different type of player…but he has looked pretty bad from the clips I saw so I can assume he was more deserving.

Anyways, I hope Oystrick clears waivers and has a chance to fill in again. I feel he played admirably last year and was even willing to drop the gloves if he had to, something most of the current crop of defenders wouldn’t or shouldn’t do.

Legace doesn’t disappoint me because there’s no room for three goalies. This is a coach’s decision in my opinion, thus I assume it means Anderson is happier with Pavelec. Long term (when thinking on the macro level for goalies) it makes more sense to keep Pavelec at the NHL level for more NHL conditioning, and the hopeful Varlamov/Mason/Rask/Rinne performance. It doesn’t help this club to have two 35+ goalies, in my opinion. Short term (winning immediately and getting a “hot start” to “woo Kovalchuk” [like that's all it would take...]) it would make more sense to hold on to Legace by signing him to a one-year contract and waive him when it’s apparent Lehtonen is healthy enough to return or Pavelec is the better goalie.

I’d rather the club go the honorable route and say “thanks for your time but you don’t fit our needs” than sign him to a pity contract and let him rot on the bench or in the minors. It wasn’t a waste of Legace’s time because he could have signed a contract with any other NHL team that wanted him even while trying out with Atlanta. Perhaps it was a waste of another goalie’s time.

Funny though, people are railing on Waddell for making a bad decision by choosing youth over a marginally better veteran player. Had this been a different position (let’s say defender, ala Klee) how would the reaction be then?

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Well, if worse comes to worse, Manny Fernandez and Cujo are still on the market…

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Wow, only $800,000 for Maxim… never thought it would be THAT cheap.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=293075

Gotta think we showed similar numbers to Legace and he laughed.

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I’m lovin’ the Afinigenov signing, but wouldn’t put him on Kovy’s line. I’m thinkin’ 2nd line with Koslov, who could cover for him defensively. That moves either Peverley or White to the 3rd line. I like Pev’s better, but White is the natural center.

I think a checking line of Peverley, Reasoner & Army should be pretty darn good.

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I’m probably slow on this – forgive me for this – but where’d Manny go for more money, if the money was the issue?

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Midfield… more like “not worth the money” to stay, is what I’m guessing… he hasn’t signed anywhere.

Brendan… I was just posting on Rawhide’s Hockeybuzz blog, with Max, Peverley and Little, we could have 3 players with 50 pt (plus) potential making chump change.

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Afinogenov, at the very least, should be quite motivated to prove all of his nay-sayers (e.g. Lindy Ruff) wrong and that he is back to 100% and ready to roll like 2005-06. And at a price-tag of $800 K, I can live with that for now. However, I would feel better if he were playing on a line with Peverley who I think is a better two-way forward than White. But perhaps the Obama-fied (distribution of wealth) line-up will work with flying (we will certainly see some flying up and down the ice!) colors.

But so much of this smacks of cost-saving and “bang-for-your-buck” kind of stuff in the wild hope and gamble that a) Kovy will be happy as a lark and b) the exciting line-up will put butts in the seats. But can this line-up be a winner??

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Smoothie… I’m hoping Coach has some tricks up his sleeve that he didn’t reveal in pre-season.
Anderson did point out that when Peverley and Afinogenov are on the ice, they “fly”. I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but I’d still like to see…

Kovy Antro Little
Kane Pevs Max
Kozy White Army
Boults Marty Slates

Thorsy sits out the 9 game audition for Kane.

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No way Legace asked for a NM clause. That’s just not realistic, he’s on a tryout. I guarantee you if they offered him $800k, he would’ve jumped at it. The only realistic sticking point is that the Thrashers (cheap cheap, Stroz) only wanted to sign him to a 2way contract so they could hide him in Chicago to bring up if/when Pavelec chokes, and Legace said screw that, I’m not riding a bus for $150k or whatever.

I don’t care what they got Afinogenov for (remember my dumpster diving prediction to fill out that line?), the point is that he’s all figure skating, no finish, and I think he’ll be bad for team chemistry, which is something they actually had a lot of at the end of next year (speaking of which, any of the usual suspects still think there’s carryover from last year’s finish that is going to amount to a hill of beans, much less equate to being enough to compensate for missing out on Hedman/Tavares? yep, thought so) Peverly would work much better on a top 2 line and then keep Fritsch as a checker.

So, my moves would’ve been, sign Legace for $800k, send Valabik down and keep Oystrick, and skate Peverly on the 2nd line and keep Fritsch and tell Afinoskatearound thanks but no thanks. Drop the puck and get it on. But no…thanks, Donny!

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I see that Petr Sykora just got inked by Minnesota recently, at a fair price. That might have been a nice option.

Bob, there’s no doubt that landing Hedman or Matt Duchene would have been tremendous for Atlanta. But like you said, people just want their WINS and they WANT THEM NOW!! I don’t think anyone can argue that Atlanta was playing meaningful games last March, in any capacity other than trying to convince Kovalchuk that the organization is still moving in the right direction. The jury is still out on that, gazing at the cap figure, at roughly $8 million below the limit for Opening Night.

If I were Manny Legace, and I were offered $800,000, I would only take it with a no movement clause. Why ride the bus AT ALL? Atlanta’s in a tough situation. They need immediate help. Advantage: Legace. Legace says, “I’ll sign, but I’m not going to the minors. Ever. I’ll retire, first. You want me, you sign me on my terms.” Hypothetically. Legace is still free to pursue other options, including retirement, if riding the AHL bus isn’t his cup o’tea. Posters keep listing nice stats for the man. Someone will bite. I suppose.

World Be Free, at least Max could be picked up by another team on waivers, at that price. Even if it’s “re-entry waivers. But, you never know. This might work out. And I think the only reason Max got an invitation was because Kovy asked for it. Wonder if Kovy now wants Miroslav Satan. I don’t think he’s signed anywhere. Unless it was the KHL.

Can you imagine the headlines? “Don Waddell and the Thrashers were so desperate to ice a winning team and to please Kovalchuk … that they went out and got SATAN!” Only try to imagine the spoken word as being uttered by “The Church Lady,” the way only Dana Carvey can do.

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99th then! Damn you Bill.

Wow, that’s not exactly a rousing endorsement for the Pavster!

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Afinogenov at $800,0000 is cheaper than Kane.

Do you know what that means? Kane goes to the WHL.

Could we please bring Stuart back and I’ll be happy.

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Here I thought everybody would be excited. Do or die time for Pavs. He’s gotta come through until a well rested Kari gets back, hopefully before Thanksgiving. If he does well and that is a big if, maybe then we can dump Kari for a 4th rounder.

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Ok. They got Max. Just make the best of it. At least I get to enjoy saying one of my favorite hockey names all season. And if he pans out, it will inflict mental anguish on my Dad and my friends back in Buffalo. Always fun.

Has Gratton been sent down yet?

I was hoping they’d sign Manny, but a friend just mentioned he was a great short-term solution, but perhaps bad long-term. Even if he was signed 2-way, would we want him taking the prime spot in Chicago and possibly holding back Pavs further development? Would he play backup in Chicago after being our #1 for a couple months here? It does all sound rather awkward.

Surprised at Oystrick. He’s simply a better player than Boris. I would rather have Oystrick/Salmela/Pops by a long shot. Boris is so out of position, he’s almost in position for the NEXT play.

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Glad that we have Popo and Max, wished we could have sighned Legace!
Team seems about 10-12 points better than last year..Opie doesn’t have to be great for this team to win..he just can’t sux!

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I know someone posted something similar earlier, but the thought of this kind of line-up is really intriguing to me. Now that things are falling into place it’s making me more anxious for Saturday.

Tell me this group won’t put the biscuit in the basket in bunches. What remains to be seen is whether they can keep the biscuit out of the basket at the other end of the ice.

Kovy Antro Little

Kozzie White Max

Kane Pever Army

Boults Reasy Gratton/Slates/Thorby

Woooooohoo!!!!

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Bob,…I’m in lock step agreement with your comments above. I went to sleep Sunday concerned about our defence,…and it seems to have gone downhill with each of these three moves. Nuff said (BTW: Where’s NASCAR?).

Brendan, I know you are compiling point predictions for the season. I’d be interested in knowing how many are submitting second entries this week that are lower than the intitial guess.

Time to take my emotion control meds.

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Popovic – 1 year @ $600,000 per capgeek.com

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DWad is full of crap (as if you needed me to tell you). But I don’t see how they can follow through on his assertion that the ASG will be spending over $50 M this season.

Smoothie – Waddell full of crap? Same $hit, Different Day. The only way to reach 50 million is for both Bogo and Kane to hit ALL their bonus clauses.

If I was playing cards, I’d call BS.

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Stroz-Max is a good dude, just like Jimmy. I don’t like cheering against a player, so I hope he does well too. My philosophy has always been to give a shot to a young player that would benefit from the ice time. Or sign a guy like Fritsche who plays hard at both ends of the rink. Max won’t protect a 3-2 lead for you, something we have needed for sometime.

Folks in Buffalo feel Duds must have had a hand in this move. Just speculation, but it makes sense. Duds’ fingerprints on anything is a good thing.

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HookyBob, I’ve only had one poster change his vote to something lower. But it wasn’t this week. It was Lee, who went with 89-points, 3rd in SE, and 9th in Conference.

Viking, cross your thumbs … you’re registered at 88-points, 3rd in SE Division, and 10th in the Conference.

12345, is your OFFICIAL Entry: 60-points, 5th in SE Division, and 15th in the Conference? Please confirm. If so, 60-points is the lowest guess and R.Stroz’s 100-points, is the highest.

I just checked, and I don’t have a vote from JLH, either. Darkhorse and Toby also haven’t registered a vote yet. Glovesave29 is still waiting. He knows what he’s doing. He guessed 76-points last year.

In regards to the “Budget Contest,” sometime between April and June, I read somewhere, (and I wish I could find it now,) where Waddell said the budget would be right between $45-$46 million. That’s why we nearly didn’t run the contest this year, since presummably all the guesses would be in that $1 million range. Why bother? But then, Zherdev entered the rumor mill, and there was talk, from Zherdev, himself, (not Kovy,) that Kovy wanted him to play in Atlanta this season, and that Zherdev said Kovalchuk said this upcoming season would be a test about his future there. Or words very similar to this. That’s when, on or about August 29, 2009, we opened up the contest. (IT HAS CLOSED–NO MORE VOTES!!) We had to, after those Zherdev comments. The budget SPEAKS TO INTENT, in a “test year” for Kovalchuk, who back on April 11, 2009, said he wanted the Thrashers to spend money on Free Agents so that Atlanta could compete for the Stanley Cup in 2010, and not just to compete for a playoff spot. Kovy added that he thought the City of Atlanta DESERVED it. I think the very UN-Official cap for Atlanta is right around $48 million now. Depends on the site. NHLNumbers is far less than that. CapGeek has it at about $48 million.

From my wishful thinking Department comes this idea: Some teams still have cap troubles. Every team must get under the Cap by Opening Night. I’m wondering if anything that gets jettisoned by teams in cap trouble might wind up here. I won’t do “for instances.” It’s just a global concept.

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Several questionable moves this week but there is at least some rationale for each one … except … keeping Boris over Oystrick? I would love to hear someone defend that one.

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Smoothie, Diaz hit a 3-run HR to get it tied up, 4-4. But the Marlins got a run. It’s 5-4, headed to the bottom of the 9th. Go Bravos!!

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It’s a final, 5-4. Braves lose.

JLH, I’m not sure that Boris can be claimed off waivers. I don’t think he’s played enough NHL games to be claimed. But I could be wrong. If he is subject to a waiver claim, I’d agree with you that more GM’s would be tempted by Boris than by Oystrick. Boris is a former 1st round, 10th overall selection.

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Yeah, I know. I used that analogy to illustrate my point, not to reflect reality.

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Well, Brendan i think i’m going with 88 points, 2nd in the division,and 8th in the confrence. But mannnnnn this goalie situation has reall got me gunshy.

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Get The Puck Out, you’re registered at 88-points, 2nd in SE Division, and 8th in the conference. So that you know, five_hole has 88-points, 3rd in SE Division, and 8th in Conference. Viking also has 88-points, tied to 3rd in SE Division, and 10th in the Conference. Good luck. Are you also known as “Pucks Deep?”

JLH, I’ve been toying with the idea of bestowing a “title” for the winner. For example, if you won, you could be known henceforth as “AJC Award-winning blogger, JLH.” Or, perhaps, the winner gets the option of being called, “AJC Nostradamus.” Officially. Or “Swammy.” Or “Truth Projector.” The official soothsayer of the blog. The winner should get some sort of moniker bestowed on them. If the winner is female, she might be known henceforth as “Madam X, the AJC Soothsayer.” To be used how, when, and in whatever manner she wishes.

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This just in; Lehtonen was flicked behind the ear and immediately put on the disabled list. The ear flicking is not considered career ending, but may cause Kari to miss the entire season.

In a side note, the disabled list will be renamed the Kari list, as he has made enough trips there to earn the honor. Hereafter, anyone becoming injured will be considered “pulling a Kari”.

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Watching the Braves, I think about their attempt to sign Furcal last winter. Had we signed Furcal, we would never have found out how good Martin Prado is (Escobar too).

Let’s hope not signing Manny enables us to see how good Pavs can be, knowing this may be his last chance at a starting job.

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So where does Reasoner fit in, fourth line?

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He’s back!

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Excerpt from Mats Sundin’s “Letter of Resignation” translated;

“Ice Hockey is like a Drama without a script. A battle in an emotional chaos where each change has its own life. The script is written during the game and when everybody are doing a good job, the ending is still always uncertain.

To me, that is the charm of Hockey”

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Cam Ward just re-upped with the Canes for 6 years $37.8M

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Gloevsave-I believe you are more qualified than most to judge Pav’s shortcomings as a goalie. I never got past street hockey when it comes to playing goalie.

I still think the biggest issue here is team defense. Rebounds not being cleared, points not be covered and centers playing way too high in the defensive zone. That’s why I favored Fritsche over #61, the Human Turnover Machine.

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SH&*…why did we release Oystrick??? Legace should be on this roster. Good lord…I will be there saturday night, not sure which section. Look for me, I’ll be the guy chucking a battery at MAX the first time he turns the puck over for a goal. UGH. Scared, optimistic, and READY FOR SOME HOCKEY.
Why are slater and boulton still on this team??

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Why couldn’t Little center Kovy & Andropov? He was originally a center who was shifted to wing because we needed someone to play there last year.

/strong> I wouldn’t want to put a rookie like Kane with a turnover specialist like Afinigenov. I do like the potential speed of that line, however.

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Adam – I am totally confused on where the forwards are going play Saturday night. It will be interesting. I agree with your defensive pairings.

Viking-I would like to watch the game, but it’s end of month and my boss would not be very happy.

Spud-Boulton, because he’s the protector until Boris “grows” into the role.
Slater-can’t answer than one. I thought he and Max would be off to Hollywood to make “Blades of Glory – II”

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Sergei Kostitsyn was not happy about getting demoted and now wants a trade out of Montreal. How about working a deal with Gainey? Get on the horn Don and see about getting Halak.

MTL gets: Pavelec, Valabik & Thorburn ($2.818 M)

ATL gets: Halak, Kostitsyn & Hal Gill ($3.810 M)

Then we can flip Sergei K and Hal Gill along with Todd White to BOS for Savard & Andrew Ferrence! Now that is some serious GM’ing!

Kovy — Savard — Little

Kozzy — Peverley — Antro

Army (Kane) — Reasy — Max

Boults — Slater — Gratton

Bogey & Tobey

Hainsey & Pasha

Salmsy & Ferrence

Pops

Halak, Hedber & Lehts (IR)e

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I am surprised how well my old “Homies” playing against Detroit. They have started really strong. But guess who just scored for Redwings with a real bullet? Jason Williams!!!

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Brendan, are you sure about Stuart having to clear waivers if recalled?

To wit, I found this on the NHLSCAP.com website w/r/t waivers: “If a player cleared waivers and is subsequently recalled during the same year, he does not have to clear waivers again unless he has either played 10 or more NHL games or has spent 30 or more days on an NHL roster since last clearing. Otherwise, he will have to re-clear waivers to be assigned.”

Indeed, the waiver wire rules are some of the most confusing and maddening in the collective bargaining agreement. At any rate, I don’t think we’ll make any more moves unless it involves trading someone currently on the roster…White, Thorburn perhaps??

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Hey Buddy!

Thrashers will televise 20 games in BRILLIANT HD this season starting with the Oct 8th game at St. Louis, per Ben’s tweet treats.

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Do we know who the last two off the island are? Wasn’t 3pm today the deadline? I figured someone would’ve posted by now.

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Adam- After Oystrick, Fritsche, and Legace, it only took moving Kari to the IR to get us down to 23.

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Okay Tony, to simplify things, here’s what we do to “help” BOS out with their cap issues. If they have any hope of re-signing Savard (will be difficult when Lucic is due a BIG raise), then they will need to dump a little salary. Offer them Valabik, Thorburn and the rights to Jeremy Morin ($1.4 M or so) for Kobasew & Mark Stuart ($3.633 M). That will free up some cap room and allow them to get some younger players they like into the Top 9 for a look-see. Pipe dream? Stranger things have happened, but now that Chiarelli has all those draft picks from the Kessel deal, he might be willing to roll the dice.

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Very true about Savard ranallo…that’s why I posted that scenario under the handle Dreamer Smoothie…tis nice to dream sometimes.

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Sorry, I must have skipped over the different handle.

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If Kane is ready to play a full season, based on his 9 games. Will a trade happen? Who will he replace? Are the Trasher Management going to package a combination of 2 or 3 bodies??, say, Army, White, Pevs or a draft pick for a goalie, Would broke up KL be worth a chance for another team?

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Tom, I’d be delighted for an Opening Night contract extension announcement for Kovalchuk. But I won’t hold my breathe for it. The things that sticks out in my mind is … that Waddell has stated that there have been counter-offers, and that fact, alone, makes this situation different from that of Marian Hossa.

Okayyyyy. But as Sara suggested, “whattaya mean, ‘counter-offer?’” In essence, just AGREE to whatever Kovy’s camp demands. And be done with it. If Waddell submitted years and dollars, and Jay Grossman responded with years and dollars, then the contract negotiations should be OVERRRRRRRRR. In this respect, I completely agree with Sara.

But in my way of thinking, the counter-proposal was not years and dollars. It was list of names who should be signed to play in Atlanta. Can I PROVE that? Of course not. I don’t have wire tap authority. But what if I was right? And what if Nikki Zherdev’s name was on the list? I sure hope I’m wrong. Because if I’m right, then the opportunity to PROVE to Kovalchuk that the Thrashers had turned the corner and become committed to winning the Stanley Cup … failed when Zherdev signed with Atlant, in the KHL. Maybe Kovy didn’t want him. Did Kovy want Max more than Nikki? Shrugs. I have no EARTHLY IDEA. I know Waddell got Antropov for Kovy. And Kovy liked it. And I’m guessing that Kovy liked the Kubina acquisition, too. That’s something, at least.

I sure hope there’s some BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that’s being hushed up for the Opening Night game. A Kovalchuk contract would make losing that game, 8-0, stomachable. Of course, if this contract drags on … and on … and on … and ultimately results in him walking for nothing … or traded at the deadline, I’m going to harp on my belief that April 2007 was the perfect time to clean house. Fire Hartley, Fire Waddell, Fire the Scouting Staff, and conduct an exhaustive search for a replacement … or ask the NHL to step in and run the team. Ask yourself this question, would a different GM have passed on Bogosian? Would a different GM have passed on Kane? If the answer is no, then it really wouldn’t have hurt the organization to fire Waddell, other than to eat his salary until 2009, and Harley’s until 2008. Hartley was fired six games into a fresh, new 2-year deal. Waddell got that contract extension right after the team went 11-4-1 after Hartley was fired. But let’s not talk about that, since a Kovy re-signing would supercede all of it.

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Im no hockey man but since day 1 the Thrashers have had goalie issues and waiting for the guy….Moose has been the only consistent goalie the Thrash have had…

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