Thrasherville 2009 reflections and looking ahead to 2010’s possibilities
Well Thrasherville, calendar year 2009 is all but a memory now and CY2010 is upon us. When the Thrashers take to the ice in Boston’s TD Garden tonight…the second time during this seven-game road trip…it will be the 80th and last game played by the team in CY2009.
Rich Peveley found a home in Atlanta in 2009 (AP/Gregory Smith)
As you may recall, it all began with a thrilling 4-3 shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks on January 2 in front of a raucous and rowdy Friday night crowd in Philips Arena. Unfortunately, that was then followed up two days later by an abysmal 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay.
Since that time, Ilya Kovalchuk was named team captain… we parted ways with the likes of Jason Williams, Nic Havelid, Erik Christensen, Mathieu Schnider…we stole Rich Peverley off the waiver wire from Nashville…played to a winning record in the second half of last season…watched the Penguins hoist the Cup…brought in Rick Dudley to be associate GM…had a very good draft in June, highlighted by the 4th overall selection of Evander Kane…traded Garnet Exelby to Toronto for Pavel Kubina…signed free agents Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov…seen “Kari Down ‘09″ begin early after his back surgery in July, and only recently has he even taken to the ice…survived the flooding rains of late summer…watched the team get off to a tremendous start this past fall…and most recently seen them slump to 0-4-1 in the past five games and 4-9-1 in the month of December going into tonight’s game in Beantown.
It’s been quite a year, eh?
The Thrashers used their 4th overall draft pick on Evander Kane. He earned a spot on the squad and has 9 goals, 6 assists and is a +7(AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
Regardless of the outcome against the Bruins, Atlanta will end the year with a winning record, as they are currently 40-34-5 in the 79 games played so far in CY2009. That would equate to 85 points earned out of a possible 158…a .538 points winning percentage. Even if they lose their fourth straight in regulation tonight, a 40-35-5 record still amounts to a .531 PW%.
Yes, I know, some will say any overtime loss is still a loss and therefore losing tonight amounts to a break-even record of 40 wins and 40 defeats. But in the NHL, points are what matters in the current scheme of things, so if one wins more that 50% of the possible points available…that amounts to a “winning” record. Maybe one of these years the league will move to simplify matters and go with just Ws and Ls.
Anywahooo…the current year’s record, whichever way you slice it, is better than what we were looking at 12 months ago. A 3-1 loss in Carolina last New Years Eve finished off 2008 on a losing note…which wasn’t much different than most games played in that calendar year as they went 27-41-12 in 80 games played during CY2008…a .421 PW%. That year included the crash-and-burn second half of the disastrous 2007-08 campaign as well as the 13-23-5 beginning of last season.
The year prior to that, CY2007… which straddled the back end of the 2006-07 season and first part of the 2007-08 season…saw the Thrashers play to a record of 39-37-5 over 81 games, which is a .512PW%. 2006, the first full calendar year after the lockout, had the Thrashers playing 92 total games. That was a very good year as they went 48-27-17, earning 113 of a possible 184 points, which is a .614 PW%.
As for predictions for 2010…here are a few for ya to chew on over the next couple of days.
Ilya Kovalchuk's contract status is the big story from 2009 that will carry over into 2010 (AP photo)
First off… and this is really the biggie… I do believe that Ilya Kovalchuk will re-sign with the Thrashers. However, I won’t predict when. Don Waddell did himself no favors last September when he indicated that we wouldn’t be talking about the Kovy contract come Christmas time…so I won’t make the same mistake.
But needless to say, it needs to be soon.
Personally, I think it’ll come down to one night, while sitting with his family over dinner, Nicole Kovalchuk… belly swollen with child and helping the two other little tax exemptions with their meals…is gonna look over the table at her husband and say something like, “Ilya…honey…I love you. And I love our family. And I love our home. And I know the kids love it here, too. Our life is pretty good here and I think we can raise our kids on about 9 or 9 and a half million a year”.
Wiping little Carolina’s mouth she continues, “Now, you do what you think is best, hon. But I just thought you might like to hear that”.
Wives can be pretty persuasive with that calm, reassuring, gentle, loving voice.
Secondly…I will predict that Todd White will indeed score a goal in CY2010. Yes…I’m serious…stop laughing.
Also, just prior to the beginning of the season I predicted that the Thrashers would finish this season with a record of 39-33-10 for 88 points, third in the Southeast Division and tenth in the Eastern Conference. I see no reason to change that forecast.
With "Kari Down '09" coming around early this year, it's been Opie and the Moose manning the nets since the beginning of the season (AP/Gregory Smith)
I think they’ll tease us with some good play…even flirt with a playoff position…but fall short in the end.
I hope I’m wrong… that they’ll earn a half-dozen or so more points to make the post-season dance…but look at the five games to be played in April. Two dates with Washington, two against Pittsburgh and another one versus New Jersey. Not the kind of teams you wanna be facing if you’re on the outside trying to get in going down the stretch.
To earn a spot in this spring’s great hunt for Lord Stanley’s Cup, I would suspect that the Thrashers need to be north of 90 points by the end of March. My guess is…they won’t be.
One last prediction…John Anderson will sign a contract extension to remain behind the Thrashers’ bench beyond the 2010-11 season. This is something that general manager Rick Dudley will announce sometime in the fall.
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103 comments Add your comment
Dwayne
December 30th, 2009
7:59 am
first
Riceowls8891
December 30th, 2009
8:03 am
“pretty persuasive”, “calm, gentle, voice.” You are almost British in your understatement.
I told a friend at the start of the season Atlanta would be 6th in the East, but December has made me doubt that prediction. Putting April on my work calendar made me doubt it more.
I think now that the playoff run dies on the shores of Jersey and Pittsburgh in April.
Kovy signing announced at Casino Night. (PLEASE)
Dwayne
December 30th, 2009
8:09 am
I’m still optomistic that we will make the playoffs, we have stunk the past couple of weeks, but are still in 8th. Thank goodness the East’s bottom 8 are somewhat stinking too. Thanks for the CY2009 numbers, marked improvement, I hope DW is showing those numbers to Grossman. I feel at some point we will be talking about AK2010, (After Kovy), that will be sad, but hockey life goes on. Lets hope Boston has there mind on Philly and the winter classic, we get us two points and move on.
Russian
December 30th, 2009
8:19 am
Oh, man I like this one:
“Ilya…honey…I love you. And I love our family. And I love our home. And I know the kids love it here, too. Our life is pretty good here and I think we can raise our kids on about 9 or 9 and a half million a year”
It might be big point, Russian man always listen their wives. I am not saying follow wives wishes, but just listen. I read Kovy interview in Sport-Express (russian newspaper). He said that His Family and he like hot and warm weather. Also he said that it will his last contract as Professional Hockey player. I know we went down in December so badly, but things can be changed. IF:
1. Kovy sign contract with Atlanta
2. Kovy did not sign contract with Atlanta and we get good players
3. Kari will be back
4. White and Slava will play good.
January 2010 will be very important month for Kovy. I hope he will stay here as Capitan and then Thrashers can make a push to Play OFF.
Toby
December 30th, 2009
8:22 am
It’s tough now because of the current funk, but we’ll turn it around the second half. I still think we’ll be playoff bound.
Not Blind
December 30th, 2009
8:34 am
14th by Saturday night.
HonkyTonkHero
December 30th, 2009
8:44 am
I predict that Kari will come back and be on fire. Kovy signs for 10 years. White & Pavs get traded and we get a top 6 forward plus pick/prospect. Thrashers start clicking like they did last year in February. Only this time they didn’t screw up the first part of the season so bad that they steadily maintain a playoff spot. Coach Anderson grows more of a temper and starts putting the fear of baby Jesus in the players (descriptive words used in post pressers like “fragile” are replaced with “pansies and nancys”).
R. Stroz
December 30th, 2009
8:49 am
I will predict that Todd White will indeed score a goal in CY2010.
Air Hockey doesn’t count.
Miami Screaming Eagle
December 30th, 2009
9:26 am
I am so tired to hearing and talking about Kovy’s contract. What the heck is taking so long in determining if he will or will not sign?
Don’t the idiots that run this team see what the distraction is doing to the club?
Alan R.
December 30th, 2009
9:38 am
Secondly…I will predict that Todd White will indeed score a goal in CY2010. Yes…I’m serious…stop laughing.
I predict Ondrej Pavelec will score a goal before Todd White in CY2010.
Stan Drulia
December 30th, 2009
9:43 am
I do find it kind of interesting that pretty much around the time Waddell announced the infamous “SNAG” in negotiations with Kovy – We started losing every game and looking pretty scattered overall. Brings back painful memories of Hossa leaving and basically killing the season.
Alan R.
December 30th, 2009
9:47 am
Stan, we also started playing harder and putting in a more complete (albeit still not a full sixty minutes) effort. Correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation, in this case. Our big problem has been defense, especially these last five or so games, where we have a few brain farts and the puck ends up in our net.
Goalies can only do so much, as the last line of defense. Those players in front of him must do all they can to prevent the opposition from having chances.
Not Blind
December 30th, 2009
10:05 am
As I said in the other blog, there is no chance of seeing sustained physical play from Kotton Kandy until after the Olympics [ and probably no sustained physical play even after the Olympics ]. The question is will he still be a Thrasher by then ? Personally I hope not. I hope Atlanta doesn’t become a destination for players that want to live in a nice [ warm ] area and get paid lots of money for playing soft hockey. Right now at least half the team fits that description.
Miami Screaming Eagle
December 30th, 2009
10:29 am
$10M / years need to dominate every shift, every game.
They also need to be able to take the heat, like #8 does in Washington.
Chris
December 30th, 2009
11:17 am
Nobody’s even noticed the very last sentence of your article, Bill.
Well done.
Rawhide
December 30th, 2009
11:38 am
Chris – Looks like you win the prize for noticing it! Well done on your part for catching that little ditty.
Miami Screaming Eagle
December 30th, 2009
11:55 am
Chris-I did not becuase I believe this is a forgone conclusion.
D-Wad will be moving to the TSA.
StateBird
December 30th, 2009
12:03 pm
Unfortunately Kovy will listen to Grossman more than Nicole. Grossman’s only goal is maximizing his 10%. He will be gone.
I also believe that the franchise will be on the move in 2010. Probably not during the season and perhaps not by the start of the 2010/11 season but an announcement will be made before the end of the calendar year.
Playoffs? Where is Jim Mora when you need him. Can someone please indicate if there has ever been a playoff team that failed to win a game in regulation for an entire month? (Unless there is a miracle in Boston tonight the Thrahsers will be 0 for December.)
Riceowls8891
December 30th, 2009
12:35 pm
According to Ben Wright, White sits tonite. Looks like you get your wish, Bill.
And the Thrashers get to face Rask.
LAC
December 30th, 2009
12:37 pm
I tend to agree with Statebird, I do NOT believe the team will be here after next season. Why, these owners can only blame THEMSELVES, they think they are so damn smart, but they are a collection of misfits from Hell itself…
When the team returns 1/9 I believe, I bet maybe 5,000 show up.
Just think what “could have been”. Look at Nashville and their sucess !
Look at Phoenix this season, all the mess they have been through and they are one of the TOP western teams, 10 game HOME WINNING STREAK,
that would NEVER happen here, and just think… THEY MADE CHANGES, yes they ushered out the Greatest NHL player ever as coach and look at the results ! Like I have said CHANGE IS GOOD, this Atlanta bunch NEEDS MUCH Change… I question WHY will they NOT make changes ASAP ?
Reason they are stupid, dumb, idiots when it comes to sports, they believe others who BS them like waddell and it only gets WORSE.
Las Vegas ? Kansas City ? Saskatoon ? Houston ? I bet $100 right now at the start of the 2011-2012 season the Thrashers will have a new home and new name.
Hockey has not died because of we the fans, it has died because of mismanagement, hiring the WRONG people, and NOT changing things so the team could improve. It all will fall at the feet of these inmature owners, sure they will get millions, and we the FANS, will, like the Flames, get the SHAFT ! I just look at all the other teams who made changes and cannot figure out WHY this team will do nothing and sink to the bottom of the standings once again.
Just a sad outlook, but what can we all do ? Nothing !
Rawhide
December 30th, 2009
12:40 pm
According to Ben Wright, White sits tonite. Looks like you get your wish, Bill.
Riceowls8891 – It’s about damn time!
Russian
December 30th, 2009
12:46 pm
OK. This is a first step that we were asking for. White took a break. Boston wants to rest Thomas or they just think that Atlanta is easy going team. We will see it tonight.
I hope Anderson make lines:
Kovy-Antro-Max
Kane-Pever-Little
Slava-Rizon-Armi
Bolts-Slater-Trambon
Please do that and we can win.
Wayne stuck in AL
December 30th, 2009
1:02 pm
1. Eel-ya will not be here next season.
2. Another reason hockey is dying here is because blacks and white Southerners cannot and will not root for a team whose stars are European/Russian.
Hockey Biltong
December 30th, 2009
1:35 pm
uuuuuuuuurp!
lilibeter
December 30th, 2009
2:25 pm
I predict the Thrashers will discover that there are a whole 40 minutes of hockey that take place prior to the third period and that they will begin injecting some measure of their last-20-minute intensity into those first 40 minutes of hockey too. I also predict that, once they start doing so, they will suddenly find themselves in the role of serious playoff contenders. Moreover, I truly hope that these predictions aren’t just wishful thinking!
I hope more than anything that those predictions of the franchise leaving Atlanta in 2010 (or ever!) are wrong. As Brendan said in the other blog, “…BAD hockey is better than NO hockey.”
Paminski
December 30th, 2009
2:26 pm
Predictions
Kovalchuk: NOT resigning here. Maybe it’s just a defense mechanism kicking in to keep my psyche undamaged, but my expectations on this are low. If we are not at least 8th in the East three quarters of the way through January, he will be traded. Then he will sign elsewhere. It seems to me if he were thrilled to be here, he’d put a little more effort into playing for the team. If I could apply only one word to his play of late, it would be “petulant.”
Location: The team is not moving anytime soon. Economic concerns and contractual obligations make moving or selling unlikely for the near future. Unfortunately, ownership instability, the mediocre size of the fan base and the fact that this is a non-traditional hockey market will keep this a constant issue. If the team is in Atlanta for another decade or another century, this will be discussed every one of those years.
Goalies: Kari returns. He plays his naturally-talented butt off. It’s a difficult choice, but Pavs gets traded. We finish the year outside the playoffs and Kari is injured early next season.
Coach: I can’t see Anderson getting an extension unless there is some radically improved play coming up quickly here. No idea about the players, but fans are losing faith in his system. Essentially, it’s not a bad system. It just needs tweaks. Also, I’m not sure Anderson is very good for individual player development. He has a good conception of team development, however, individual skills also need to be honed. We’re not currently seeing results here with Bogosian, Kane and Little.
Playoffs: I don’t think so. There is still a chance, but it requires fixing the Kovalchuk situation and the aforementioned tweaking.
Dudley as GM: Sure, I’ll buy that.
Rawhide: He will continue to provide a fine blog product and promote hockey in the Atlanta area. Also, he will buy me a pitcher of Newcastle next time at TJ’s.
Jimbo
December 30th, 2009
3:05 pm
With this five game losing streak, “negativity” is running rampant. But, JA and DW seem oblivious to it and also the need to make some changes. White sits. Big deal. The streak reaches six tonight, 4-1.
Alan R.
December 30th, 2009
3:17 pm
Bill, for what it’s worth, Mathieu Schneider cleared waivers.
That’s right, guys. You are free to exhale now.
NorthStarsDave
December 30th, 2009
3:21 pm
OK…a few predictions from THE State of Hockey…..
1) Kovy re-signs….he isn’t going anywhere…the NHL can not afford to have him leave the 9th largest media market…he is the only marquee player we have at this point…and you will see why below….
2) Todd White will only score on February 14th….and the Thrashers do not have a game…chicks love hockey players….ask Carrie Underwood…
3) Playoffs…I want to know if anyone predicted that the Thrashers would be 8th in the East at the 1st of the year….I know I did not…but because they are, the WILL make the Playoffs….as the 8th seed…beating out Tampa Bay, Philly and the Rangers…
4) Coach…take a look at the results…since the 1st of 2009 he has a winning record…no Coach that has been in Blueland can say that…so he re-signs…
5) Dudley will be GM because….
Waddell will be a minority partner with New Owners…who will build a hockey arena where the GM Plant used to be in Doraville….the crowds will turn out because the new Arena (known as The Kontinental Hockey Locale or KHL for short) will be on the North side of town…where, naturally, most of Atlanta’s finest hockey fans live!
And the Thrashers will live long and prosper!
Russian
December 30th, 2009
3:28 pm
**to NorthStarsDave**
BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO
You are a BEST Optimistic Person. I like your way.
Lee
December 30th, 2009
3:29 pm
I just put in a long comment and it didn’t show up!!!!
Lee
December 30th, 2009
3:36 pm
I’ll write it over again:
-I know this sounds crazy, but I really think Kovy will be signed. Now, I can tell you right now, It won’t be a smooth ride getting there. We may have to release some players that we don’t want to, but we got to do what we got to do. Everyone blames Don Waddell for no signing kovy, but really folks, it’s a hard desicion. He could either sign Kovy and release some players, cough cough Todd White, OR he could let kovy go and sign some players. It’s not any easy choice. Let the man think.
-Kari will return in Mid February, will be hot, then injure himself in the begining of next season.
-As for moving, maybe. If Kovy is signed, probably not, if he isn’t, maybe. It’s though ignorant fans that think Kovy is the whole team……Anywayz, we have only had this team for 10 years, NOT LONG FOLKS! Our team is almost all young players. We need to let them develop and gain experience. In another 10 years, we’ll be pretty good.
Smoothie
December 30th, 2009
3:46 pm
Paminski – I pretty much agree with everything you wrote in your post. Thanks for summarizing my predictions. Here are a couple more:
Todd White develops some mysterious lower body injury and does not play again until after Casino Night, 2010. Machacek gets the call and Salmela gets sent down to keep the roster at 23. Lehtonen comes back by the ides of January and helps the Thrashers win 6 in a row starting with Toronto and Carolina on 1/19 and 1/21. Kovy stays but White, Pavelec and Valabik get traded to Philly for Briere, Coburn and a prospect. Thrashers’ Kovy and Max lose gold medal to Toby Enstrom and the Swedes in a 2 OT final whereby Nabakov is bested by King Henry. Russians take down Canada in their semi-final in which Kovy knocks out Dany Heatley’s top two teeth. Czechs led by Pavel Kubina and a resurgent Ondrej Pavelec stun the Americans in their pool, but get knocked off by the Swedes on their way to gold. Canada wins the bronze. A rejuvenated Kovy comes back with a glint of determination in his eyes the likes of which we’ve never seen. He scores 29 goals in the month of March and the Thrashers win 13 of 17 games on their way to the # 6 seed. From there, we take down Ryan Miller, still reeling from the Olympics, and the Sabres in an epic 7-game series. The city of Buffalo riots and a certain infamous blog poster is seen breaking windows on Chippewa Street out of frustration. Kovy signs the most lucrative contract in the history of hockey, but Waddudley manage to tack on 5 extra years to the end of the deal to make the cap hit $9.5 M / year. But despite this, the Thrashers go on to lose in 6 games at the hands of the New Jersey Devils who then go on to upset the Washington Capitals in 6 games after they take down Pitsburgh in 7. Marty Brodeur wins one last Cup before riding off into the sunset of retirement. Jacques Lemaires retires also and asks that the trap be outlawed so nobody ever coaches it better than him. Bettman gives in and removes a defenseman from the game and makes the goalies shave an inch off of each pad. The average goals scored goes up in 2010 by 3 goals per game and Kovy, Ovechkin and Gaborik all score 70+ goals. Thornton, Savard and Backstrom all record 140+ assists and an all-out assault begins on Gretzky and Lemieux in the record books. Kovalchuk finishes his career as a Thrasher at the age of 41 and he still manages to pot 23 goals to go over 800 for his career. In 2013-14, the Thrashers led by Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, Kari Lehtonen and Ilya Kovachuk’s 78 goals lift Lord Stanley’s Cup in front of a raucous SRO crowd at Philips setting an attendance record with 19, 234 squeezed into the Bulb.
Oh yeah, and I predict that I will buy a new car sometime in 2010.
NorthStarsDave
December 30th, 2009
4:08 pm
Thanks Russian….BTW….Rask beat the Thrashers in OTL in late November….
Glovesave29
December 30th, 2009
4:20 pm
I felt a lot more confident that Kovy would stay prior to reading Jay Feaster’s blog on THN. He has first hand experience in dealing with Grossman, and his “its all about the money” negotiating style. He was not willing to work with the Lightning when Khabibulin was up for a new contract coming off of a SC winning season. All I can hope for is for Ilya to step in and tell Grossman to find a way to work out a deal, or he will find someone else who will. If it is truly all about the money, he should want to stay in a market like Atlanta where your money goes a lot further. Let’s face it, we all live on a fraction of what Kovy brings home, but we appreciate the fact that a home here that costs $500K would be triple that in NYC, LA or SJ.
I cannot see Bettman letting Atlanta lose a second team. He fought tooth and nail to heep the Yotes in Phoenix, and their situation is far worse than ours. I could see teams leaving NSH, TB and FLA before the Thrashers give up and move away. This market is just too big. Let us recall the death knell was sounded for the Canes and Pens in the past few years too. Both seem to be just fine now.
If our wingers don’t start forechecking to slow the opponent rush and force it up the boards, and then come back in the defensive zone to help the D with weak side support, the slot will remain wide open and goals will fill the nets behind Opie and Moose.
Red Light
December 30th, 2009
4:45 pm
Beware, it’s a long one.
Does the fact that the Thrashers roster, currently with five (possibly six if Hainsey or Bogo were chosen) Olympians (including Pavelec who isn’t playing well according to some posters on this blog), say more about the coaching during the last month, or does it say more about the organization’s lack of depth when no one can be summoned from the AHL to provide a spark for the listless ones, such as White, Kozy, Bogo, et al?
Or, does the fact that given the right circumstances, the current roster could include six more Olympians, if you include former Thrashers such as Heatley, Hossa, Hnat Domenichelli, Herberts Vasiljevs, Lubos Bartecko, and Ilya Nikulin, all of whom were named to 2010 squads. Of course, I’m not being totally serious, so before you start piling on, keep it to yourself.
NS Dave: Unless Grossman and Kovy buy the team, Waddell won’t be an owner nor a GM, and the only thing certain to prosper near Doraville is cockfighting!
The Serious Commentary:
Why would anyone want to own an NHL team in a non-traditional NHL market? You get less from the league’s national TV contract per year than what whipping boy Todd White’s makes this season. It’s easy to credit Arthur Blank when he opens the doors every season with $80 million from TV revenues, or even the NBA, whose TV contract is $7.5 billion over the next eight years, which means the Hawks get about $30 million per year (if my math is correct).
Now, at 13,000 paying fans per game shelling out $100 each for tickets and food (if we’re tee-totalling that night) for 41 games means the Thrashers “generate” $1.3 million per game, or $53.3 million for the season. Not taking into consideration non-skating personnel, and with the current cap hit of $52.565 million, that gives you a whopping total of $735,000 plus the approximate $2.5 million in national TV revenues and you’re left with $3.235 million to offset all other expenses.
If your team doesn’t make the playoffs, where you can jack up ticket prices by twos and threes, and can actually help offset the losses, your goose is cooked. There are no fewer than 500 posters to this and other hockey blogs during the past 10 years serving Thrashers fans who recognized the shortcomings of both GM and ownership groups of this team. That being the case, the revenues generated by the Thrashers for 41 nights at Philips Arena is obviously better than having no tenant at all during those 41 nights. I can assure you that if the Atlanta Spirit could replace the Thrashers on those nights with the same type of revenues, they would. Unfortunately, concert goers want able to smoke their unfiltered doobs indoors and the smoking laws at Philips prohibit that somewhat. The point being, the Thrashers aren’t the worst tenant for a very profitable part of Atlanta Spirit’s business, that being the Arena itself. That means the Thrashers aren’t going anywhere just yet, unless the group finds some other entity to take its place.
The best we can hope for is a change in personnel management, a proactive manager rather than a reactionary, which has always been the case, with a full-time professional, knowledgeable scouting staff. I’ve said it before, as have many others, and the proof is in the pudding. This franchise is in no better shape going forward on the ice than it has been for much of the current regime’s tenure. The last time we had a high-priced, soon to be free agent entering the free agent market we got a forward faster than the speed of wet sand (Army), a center who couldn’t break a pair of fresh eggs in his pants if he went into the corners with them, a former #1 draft pick who peaked at the age of 16 (Esposito) and Daultan Leveille (13 goals and 18 assists in 59 career games at Mich. State).
To paraphrase what they used to write on bathroom stalls: “The joke’s not up here, it’s in Waddell’s hands!”
Smoothie
December 30th, 2009
4:47 pm
I know Pavelec has been playing better of late (and congrats to him on making the Czech Olympic team), but he is still giving up 5 goals / gm. If you look at his last 7 games played, his SV% is a woeful 86.6% and his GAA for his 5 full games plus 2 partials is a whopping 5.03!! In his last 4 games, he has given up 17 goals on 131 shots for a very pedestrian, no make that weak, .870 SV%. Let’s hope the announcement to play in the Olympics sparks him tonite. We need to win 3 – 2 or 4 – 3 at worst. Let’s go boys! Make it happen!
Larry
December 30th, 2009
4:57 pm
Ah predictions…. Long time lurker and first time poster – the topic was irresistible. So here are my 2010 predictions for the Thrashers and the NHL.
Kovy does not sign with us and is traded before the Olympics for a youngish roster player with upside top-6 potential, a top prospect, and first round pick. to a Western conference team. He is traded as a rental, not a sign and trade. Thrashers unsuccessfully try to include Todd White in the deal but no takers. In FA in the Summer Kovy signs a 10 year, $9.0M cap hit contract with someone other than Atlanta.
Thrashers narrowly miss the playoffs (by 3-4 points) because they only win 1 of those April games against tough opponents.
Kari comes back in late January after a rehab stint in Chicago, looks sharp. He gets injured again in March. Thrashers finally cut bait with him over the summer – trade his rights at the draft for a second or third round pick.
Max signs a 3 year contract with Atlanta for $2-2.5M per year.
Kubina is offered a multi-year contract by Atlanta for $4.5M or so but he signs instead with a team he feels is closer to Cup contention.
John Anderson is kept on board for the 2010-2011 season (though I’ve lost faith in his ability to coach a defensibly responsible scheme/system). Defense wins championships, and right now the team has no clue what it’s doing defensively. But he’s given one more chance.
DW keeps his job for at least another year. Utterly Amazing.
Pittsburgh gets knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by whomever – Pens have played a LOT of hockey over the past three years and that eventually catches up with a team. NJ wins the East, defeating the Caps in the CF.
In the West San Jose loses in the first or second round, again. To their long history of early exits, they now have bad, bad Karma due to bringing on board number 15. Chicago wins the West, and advances to play NJ in the Finals where….
They lose in 7 games to the Devils. MaryAnn Hossa is on the ice at the end (again), and sites dejectedly looking at the Devils celebration. Hossa afterwards demands a trade to a contender.
Colby Armstrong goes UFA in July and re-signs with Pittsburgh or if not, then one of the Canadian teams. Good Canadian boy and all that. Don Cherry will love it.
Thrashers off season moves (other than those above) include…
Overpay for a Kubina replacement – a strong shut down defenseman…. something in the $4.5-5.0M range for 5 years. Hopefully at least he’s young.
Trade Todd White at the draft for whatever they can get for him – the proverbial bag of pucks.
Slava retires. Kane is penciled in as the 1st or 2nd line LW. Thrashers take Kovy’s money and Slava’s and go after a 35-40 goal scoring winger in FA. Not sure who. Whoever it is, he must be at least 6 feet 200 pounds…. no more smurfs.
Little gets a new contract for 3-4 years – substantially less than what we would have gotten after last year… maybe $2.5-$3.0M per year. Thrashers wise up that Little is a natural center and move him back to that position. Little gets 15-20 goals and 30-40 assists next season.
Thashers keep Pavs and ask Moose to play one more year, with a promise of a coaching position the following year. Moose agrees.
On year from today we are still talking about when the AS, LLC will settle the Belkin matter. (Sigh….).
Happy New Year everyone!
Red Light
December 30th, 2009
5:13 pm
Blasts from the Thrashers’ past make Olympic rosters: Hnat Domenchelli (Swiss), Herberts Vasiljevs (Latvia), Lubos Bartecko (Slovakia), Niko Kapanen (Finland) and Ilya Nikulin (Russia).
Brendan
December 30th, 2009
7:03 pm
My prediction over the summer for the 2010 Thrashers seasons was 85-points, 3rd in SE Division, and 10th in the Conference. I am sticking with that. Hands on hips. “Oh c’mon. That’s incremental progess, I thought you people LOVED that.”
If Rick Dudley assumes the GM position, I’m reluctantly fine with that. But hear me out, okay? Rick Dudley would NOT have been my personal choice to fill the GM chair. And that Waddell, effectively, got to name his own replacement, should stir some concerns. He’s already named 3 head coaches, plus given it a shot, himself, not once, but twice, and then, *gasp*, gets to name his own successor as GM? Who ELSE does business like this? I want an example. Perhaps, it has happened before. And if it has, I’d love to know the results of it. I wish Rick Dudley the very best, if he does become our next GM. He has horrible ownership with which to endure. And, I suppose, he also has to answer to Don Waddell, who I suppose will have some oversight role over the Hawks and Thrashers, budget-wise. That is, if any of this is even remotely true.
Beeee honest. Are those the things that make a person do cartwheels?
Okay Brendan, what would make YOU do cartwheels? Aside from 17 shots of Tequila, try these on for size: AS, LLC sells the team, and some of the rights to Philips Arena, to a local investor interest, that has a robust hockey interest, and who keeps the team in town. The new ownership installs a new GM, after a long, thorough, and very careful review of candidates in May, giving the new GM time to hire scouts and Coach, if need be, etc. The GM then ANNOUNCES what the IDENTITY and STRATEGY of the team will be, moving forward. Then they go draft players to fit that mold at the end of June. Then it’s on to Free Agency to get more of those “types” of players, etc. And then, there’s the waiver wire in the Fall to see what can be found there, as well.
Those aren’t predictions, I do realize. That’s a “wish list.” If the Thrashers can make the playoffs this season, that’d be a bonus. But they’re not really built for any sustained playoff success. For me, it’s more important NOT to make any stupid trade deadline moves, especially moves made in DESPERATION, that cripple the franchise for the coming years. Nobody makes good moves in a panicky mindset. If Kovy re-signs with us, I think it will not be before June 30, 2010. Waddell has said, “Kovy won’t be traded, no matter what.” Kovalchuk may not sign with anybody until July 5th or 6th. This way, he has a better idea of what the team he ISSS signing with is doing, roster-wise. If it’s just about the money, he’ll take all GROSSMAN can finagle on July 1, from the stupidest GM that offers it. If Kovy gets more than a $10 million cap hit, that team BADLY overpaid for a player with as many defensive lapses as Ilya has. Crosby’s cap hit is $8.7M. Ovechkin’s is $9.5M. Kovalchuk is neither of those players. And I love Kovalchuk and dearly want him to stay. If Kovy would take 10-years/$80-85 million, I think we could all live with that. And so could he, frankly. He’s already made $37 million from the Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL. Before we tack on another $80-something million. What’s left for him to buy? Don’t say, “a pet dinosaur.” Because he just can’t have that. Kovalchuk could charter his own private rocket to the moon, establish a summer home there, and still have enough moolah left over to buy his own private island somewhere, while declaring himself, “King, Czar, CEO, CFO, and Executive VP of Island Operations.” Kovy says “I want to play for the Stanley Cup.” He says, “I want to play my whole career in one city.” Well Ilya … here’s your chance to prove those lovely quotes are more than political posturing. Take an $8.0 to $8.5 million cap hit for us, forsake the league max non-sense, and let Atlanta try to build a cup winner around you. If not, then … I’m terribly sorry you’ve chosen to leave, but I don’t begrudge you that decision. And I wish you the very best. And let’s take that $8.0 to $9.0 million cap hit to go get three 22 goal scorers, replacing Ilya with an entire line.
Smoothie
December 30th, 2009
7:41 pm
WE EFFIN SUCK!!!!!!!!!! I GIVE UP.
Lee
December 30th, 2009
7:42 pm
Ya and the way they’re playing tonight, ugh, just awful.
Russian
December 30th, 2009
8:03 pm
FIRE ANDERSON!!!
It will be late. Don, Do it now.
Tom
December 30th, 2009
8:06 pm
Tonight reminds me of the immortal line, “It is deja vu all over again.”
I also figured out that if the Thrashers don’t give a crap about showing up for a full game, why should I worry about watching them for a full game. I am thinking that NHL on the Fly covers about the same amount of time that “our boys” put into play hard per game.
See ya’ll next year, maybe…
stendec
December 30th, 2009
8:37 pm
Predictions? Atlanta is home to the WORST National Hockey League team. F#ck records! The Yardbirds suck with a capital S and are completely worthless oxygen wastes. PERIOD! Will say more later. Only player I respect at all is Moose Hedberg. Trade sieve Pavs Lehtonen and uncaring bestard Russian Ilya “Maryann Hossa” Kovalchuk for whatever the Hell they will fetch! Total bullshet! ++STENDEC++
LAC
December 30th, 2009
8:49 pm
I have officially had it whit this pavlac HE simply STINKS, another pull job, stops nothing and talk about nothing in the tank at ALL, this kid is awful.
If ANYONE out there can say anderson still has any control over this team, PLEASE SPEAK UP !
If ANYONE out there thinks #17 will resign here, PLEASE SPEAK UP !
If ANYONE out there thinks the team will REMAIN in Atlanta after next season, PLEASE SPEAK UP !
Why is bryan little still here, a one season wonder, nothing more.
zach b. WORST defenseman on team, TRADE HIM NOW, PLEASE, who cares if he is 19, he $UCKS.
Waive white, trade #17 while we can get “some” decent return.
Like I said, we will have a 9 game losing streak when we return home,
and one last season of NHL hockey will be played here next season, then it is OVER, all thanks to Stupid sprit and don waddell the liar with NO brain, I’d love to go a round with waddell, he’d turtle in an instant the LYING COWARD !!!!!!
Where are all you people who say we will win NOW ?
Cornbread
December 30th, 2009
8:59 pm
4-0, Simply Putrid. This is the worst game I’ve seen all year. After the decent enough game they lost in NJ, I expected a much better effort. The only one that looks good is Moose. Boston is looking like a good team that has come together at the halfway point like all good teams do. The Thrashers look like a bad team that have yet to figure it out. They look like the Canes! They suck on the breakout, they suck going through the neutral zone, they suck sustaining any offensive pressure, they suck going to the net, and they suck on the forecheck.
It all starts down in their own end. Since they can’t get the puck out, they run around, get tired, turn the puck over, dump it softly into the neutral zone, and get shots and goals against. When they do get in the other end, they are too tired to do sustain any pressure and easily get shut down.
Early in the season they got great goaltending to make up for their lapses. That is very hard to keep-up when you are continually being bombarded. The Thrashers run and gun offense took advantage early on when teams were not as tight as they are now. They did not tighten-up like other teams did and we are witnessing the ugly results.
Boston looks like a very good solid hockey team. They are where I expected the Thrashers to be right now. But reality has set in. My predictions, No playoffs, an early draft pick, No Hedberg, No Kubina, No Kozlov, No Kovalchuk, and No fans in the stands.
Smoothie
December 30th, 2009
9:00 pm
How did this team ever manage to win more games than it lost in this calendar year??
Lee
December 30th, 2009
9:09 pm
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
UGH!!!!!!! THIS TEAM SUCKS SOOOOOOO BAD!!!!!! MOOSE DESERVES TO PLAY ON A BETTER TEAM THAN THE TRASHERS ( YEP, TRASHERS) THIS IS ALL TRASH!!!!! I CAN’T TAKE IT!!!!! PAVELEC, YOU SUCK!!!!!!! IS THERE A SUCH THING AS A PLAYBOOK??!! REALLY??!!! THERE IS??!!! MAYBE THE TRASHERS SHOULD USE IT! OH, WAIT, I DON’T THINK JOHN ANDERSON HAS ONE IN THE LOCKER ROOM!
Lee
December 30th, 2009
9:10 pm
Cornbread-After this game, there’ll already be no fans in the stands
stendec
December 30th, 2009
9:18 pm
GO BRUINS! Do let let these hosebag quitters score. Feel bad for you Mr Moose Hedberg sir. Way to hang tough big fellow. The rest of the losers can go straight to Hell. Especially Ilya “I Certainly Am Worth Millions” Kovalchuk! The Maryann Hossa clone heartless bestard. Captain? Captain my a$$! ++STENDEC++
12345
December 30th, 2009
9:21 pm
I give up, I will not attend another game until owners change or at the very least Don Waddell is fired for his failed leadership, I have had
enough of this stuff, no NHL fan in Atlanta should have to endure this mis-management from any pro sports team and the Thrashers are the worst
example I have ever seen. Where is the NHL and Gary Bettman ? They need to come in here take control of the team and do what they did in Phoenix, BTW, I heard Phoenix canned the greatest player in the history of the NHL as coach, and they just won their 10th straight game and the arena was packed, something that will never happen here with the owners we have and this Waddell. Gee firing people is not so bad, so why will that not work here ?
LAC
December 30th, 2009
9:25 pm
4-0, 18 SOG, absolute gutless preformance by this team.
Where IS STUPID LIAR waddell now ?
Russian
December 30th, 2009
9:36 pm
FIRE COACH!!!!
stendec
December 30th, 2009
9:38 pm
Will an apologist please post to tell all of us how this heartless giveup shutout loss to the Boston Bruins actually has a silver lining? Feel free to use all the slide rules and statistics you can get your hands on. Pavs Lehtonen gave up three goals on two shots. Not that bad? My error. Just seemed that way! Captain Ilya “Pay Me Millions Now” Kovachuk was challenged to be a true captain with on ice leadership before the debacle. Like how overrated Russian responded? Swell huh? I say $100 per game plus a few free concessions are all this Maryann Hossa quitter is worth! Notice my rates continue to dwindle per game? Wonder why? True professionals would be hurt and embarrassed by this total collapse. Moose Hedberg is the only one who gives a f#ck! Anyone notice big grin on face of IK when leaving ice? Given up? What the Hell do you think! ++STENDEC++ Sorry Moose. I feel bad for you big guy. As for other Yardbirds, Hell ain’t nearly full!
Doug
December 30th, 2009
9:41 pm
This team is a joke ! Fire Don Waddell,,, NOW!!!!!!!!!! He created this MESS !!!!!! ABSOLUTELY EMBARRASSING. I thought he said Kovy would be signed by Christmas. Obviously he can’t get it done, so lets fire him and let the Dudley guy try to sign him ?????????
stendec
December 30th, 2009
9:49 pm
Have an idea. Since Ilya “I Am Worth Zillions” Kovalchuk is so damn proud of being named to Russian hockey team then let his sorry uncaring Maryann Hossa a$$ STAY in the Fatherland! This captain is a liability! Captain my a$$! Present captain C to Moose Hedberg. Only player that gives a damn when team loses! Wonder if El Kapitan will dog it at third speed while skating for Russians? Did not think so! Pay his a$$ in rubles. Untalented bestard quitter! ++STENDEC++
Doug
December 30th, 2009
9:49 pm
Not sure this is a coaching issue either. Anderson can only work with who Waddell gives him. This is not an NHL roster. We have 1 “star” (Kovy), a couple of “prospects” (Bogo,Little,Kane), and the rest of the team is 3rd and 4th liners…….how would they expect to be an offensive team when we really only have a couple of offensive threats???? Sorry, i just call it as I see it. Been watching the game for 35+ years, and this team Waddell constructed is an absolute mess.
R. Stroz
December 30th, 2009
9:52 pm
Well, Anderson got sixty minutes of consistent hockey.
There is one word to describe the effort tonight: FUGLY!
stendec
December 30th, 2009
9:52 pm
Hey Doug. What the Hell has the captain done to DESERVE to be signed for millions of buckaroos? Given up? Dogged it? Skated at third speed? Skated fab figure eights while awaiting breakout passes as goals are being scored? He sure looked super tonight did he not? SHEESH! Are all Yardbird fans such dimwitted dunderheads? ++STENDEC++
Matt
December 30th, 2009
9:54 pm
Holy Mother of God, do we ever SUCK!!!!
Let’s bring up the ENTIRE Wolves roster, how much worse could it be than the team we have right now? Zero effort again. 6 freaking losses in a row and plummeting right to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
I am so frustrated right now it’s hard to find the words to describe it at this point.
R. Stroz
December 30th, 2009
9:55 pm
If I were Anderson, I’d request extra ice time from arena operations, take the team back out on the ice in full gear, and pull a Herb Brooks on them.
stendec
December 30th, 2009
9:56 pm
BTW Doug. I have been watching THE GAME seriously for over 40 years. So I am not a novice either. ++STENDEC Do agree team is mess. Without heart or any desire!
Doug
December 30th, 2009
9:56 pm
Stendec, Kovy is definitely not putting up evidence he deserves the $$$ he is asking for, but what about guys like Hainsey and Kubina? Do you really think they are worth what we are paying them? I don’t. Point the figer at Kovy all you want, thats fine. But there are other top dollar guys on this roster who have been dogging it since October (Hainsey, Hainsey, Hainsey, Hainsey)
Maybe we should just dump all the overpaid players Wadeell signed, cut payroll, and start over?? After Waddell is gone, of course. His ship has returned to port. Back where he started. Sorry pal, trips over. Times up. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.
Get The Puck Out
December 30th, 2009
9:58 pm
If the Thrashers are not going to put any effort in to play hockey i think i’m not going to put any effort in to blog. When they start to play somebody let me know.
Alan
December 30th, 2009
9:59 pm
I agree with the posters above. Waddell should definitely be fired. There is no doubt in my mind that is the answer.
stendec
December 30th, 2009
10:00 pm
Do not think any Yardbird outside of Moose Hedberg has NHL caliber talent. All except for him are overpaid. Moose cares. Hard to do when surrounded by untalented quitters who simply do not give a damn. El kapitan included. No disrespect to you. Just hate and am nauseated by giveup jobs by paid so called professionals. Tonight was a giveup job by every player except Mr Hedberg. ++STENDEC++
Thrashers27
December 30th, 2009
10:03 pm
PA-THETIC!
Dunwoody Kevin
December 30th, 2009
10:07 pm
Bill, please tell the idiotic/incompetent “beat” writer we don’t need any more STUPID stories about STUPID WADDELL’S STUPID daughter !!!!!!!!! Really, is that all you got Chris???? Don can’t give you any info on Kovalchuk talks or why the team SUCKS A++, but he can tell you about his daughter? WHO CARES!!!!!! Do YOUR JOB!!!!!!!!!
Matt
December 30th, 2009
10:14 pm
Ya know, I’m finding that 12 year old MacCallan (sp?)helps ease the pain. New drinking game, every time the “Trash” fail to hustle, you have to do a shot. I think that would rival playing “Newhart”.
BTW, ASG your basketball team blows as well and no one is coming out to see their games either.
Sage of Bluesland
December 30th, 2009
10:20 pm
Now where is that little child Sara and her wittle spweadsheet to ‘prove’ to us that the bumbling, blustering little fraud of a GM is actually an above-average GM?!
What a sad, pathetic joke. Now we finally know who lisping Don’s daughter was all along!
I gave you all the answer years ago–but you didn’t listen. It’s too late now. The former port-a-potty salesman will ride this franchise into the ground, laughing all the way to the bank at you–the SHEEP who subsidized his incompetence.
Ownership would have been FORCED to do something if more did the right thing for the good of the franchise: boycott the product; let it be known that the product/service was completely unacceptable as is.
But, no, there are too many wittle Bwuewand fwag-wavers around–and they have become just as much of a problem. Pat yourselves on the back, those who continued to subsidize. Ownership never got the message clear enough–there were still enough of you around to live in your fantasyland….Poor ignorant, delusional sheep.
P.T. Barnum was indeed correct. You get what you deserve, folks–and you’re getting what you so foolishly paid for. Enjoy it–you bought it.
StateBird
December 30th, 2009
10:28 pm
Don’t think I’ve ever seen the blog so negative but hard to argue with the comments.
A question that I would like to see as a poll or answered by long-time ATL hockey fans:
- After the Thrashers move to another city who would you rather support:
A. Flames
B. Thrashers
Brett
December 30th, 2009
10:33 pm
Wow, some of you pay money to watch this stuff? I’m really sorry, that’s gotta hurt.
alex
December 30th, 2009
10:37 pm
it crystal clear the problem not kovy or other on the roster but ownership+dw. it’s fanny stendec some times understand this, but still blamed kovy and lehtonen. ok fire everybody bur asg+dw hire ovy, crotchby, malkin, heatley, JESUS,.. anybody-with this ownership and gm team will be suck, because they are cheap and stupid. end of story. ok stendec go ahead and send kovy in siberia prison like stalin did with all soccer team in 1952 after they lost game in OLIMPICK.
FalconFan
December 30th, 2009
10:49 pm
You know, I used to always hate reading posts by Sage and Stendec, but “believe” it or not, I think I agree with them now. They were right all along about this team. Sorry guys for ever doubting you. You were correct all along.
LAC
December 30th, 2009
11:18 pm
I 1000% with Dunwoodykevin, that artical was a COMPLET JOKE and Waste of time… Sorry chris do your job. ask waddell when he will RESIGN, do it, we demand it, quit being a creampuff reporter and ask the tough questions, if waddell does not like it F Him ! And if you don’t ask it F YOU ! chris !
Glad I quit going three years ago… These clowns are AWFUL !
HookyBob
December 30th, 2009
11:37 pm
White sits and we lose 4-0,..go figure. We’ve gone from “one goal losses” to being shutout,…and down 3 after the 1st period. The trend is “ungood.”
We know (and have witnessed) these guys can play much better,…it’s the mental aspect that is failing them now. I’m starting to worry about psyche (aka fragile state) of this team.
Team leadership is MIA. Someone needs to step and get these guys fired up. Who? I liked Kane and Peverly tonight. Maybe Bolts,..or Max, can get the guys going in Buffalo. Gotta get the old spark back.
Go Blue.
stendec
December 31st, 2009
12:11 am
Just posted Hubpage on Yardbird year end losing streak (Stendek). Since HubPages censored me due to NASA interference it might not be on there just yet. Just thought a few might be interested. Is one on about Dawg bowl win. These damn heartless quitters not worth saying anything else about. Except do not let them return to Atlanta after wonderful road trip. Good night all. ++STENDEC++ Happy New Year!
stendec
December 31st, 2009
1:03 am
Hi Alex. Do not know why I am so offended by your post. But I am. Just noticed it.
To wit:
it crystal clear the problem not kovy (he is the team captain for the love of God and highest paid player on alleged team) or other on the roster but ownership+dw (ownership does suck like a giant Hoover vacuum cleaner and Don Waddell does have mentality of newly formed single cell omeba). it’s fanny (funny?) stendec (me) some times understand this (compliment?), but still blamed kovy (fair assessment since team CAPTAIN dogs, rarely exerts himself, never plays defense, continually skates third speed and always seems disinterested) and lehtonen (overrated Finn fraud cancer who will never be worth a damn). ok fire everybody (all for it) bur (but?) asg+dw (those bestards too) hire ovy (nah), crotchby (nah), malkin (nah), heatley (Hell nah), JESUS (He would help but has His sights set higher than sports),.. anybody (amen)-with this ownership and gm team will be suck (cannot agrue with that factual statement), because they are cheap (yep) and stupid (everybody with a fraction of a brain already knows that). end of story (please tell us more). ok stendec (me) go ahead and send kovy in siberia prison (rather send him to Hamilton along with all other members of heartless club) like stalin (Joseph?) did with all soccer team in 1952 (slightly before my time) after they lost game in OLIMPICK (Olympics?). Spared USSR hockey team of 1980? Fancy that! At least Soviets cared about winning at one time!
++STENDEC++
Brendan
December 31st, 2009
1:10 am
Tonight’s game was an embarrassment. How many puck battles did we win? What was the final tally on “scoring chances?” Moose Hedberg is the guy who putting forth the maximum effort. This team … is just infected with “malaise.” At one point, I saw our D back up to the faceoff circles. What the ???
Where is the grit? Where is the tenacity? Where’s that GIVE-A-SPIT meter? Where’s the hustle? This team looks lost. I think this is six straight losses and eight out of nine (8/9) games as some form of loss. Wow. Okay, folks. New Year’s Day is coming. In October, and November, bad teams can beat GOOD teams. But after January 1, it’s rare. Why? Because the PRETENDERS get separated from the CONTENDERS.
Lee, the defining moment of this game actually WASN’T a play of any kind. In the middle of the second period, there was an advertisement that the first 10 callers to buy a ticket to an upcoming Thrashers game … get some free tickets along the glass. And I thought to myself, “Has it come to that? How much do seats along the GLASS normally cost?”
But, oh noooooo! That wasn’t even the defining moment of patheticness. It was that … at the 10-minute mark of the 3rd period, they RE-RAN the ad!!! I’m not kidding. I’m not. They seriously re-ran it. Ya know what that means? Yep, they didn’t get ten (10) callers! They couldn’t find ten people to buy tickets, to take advantage of the generous FREE tickets along the glass ad campaign.
Wanna check it out, to prove I’m right? There’s 14:16 left in the 3rd period, on the replay of tonight’s game. At the 9:59 mark, they’ll re-run the ad. What the heck? Call ‘em! Maybe they’re still not at 10 people yet! You may YET get those FREE SEATS along the glass. It’s Channel 53 on Comcast, for FoxSportsSouth. It’s on RIGHT NOW.
Brendan
December 31st, 2009
1:17 am
Well, it’s past now. We’re at 8:00 left in the 3rd period, on the replay. Something else occurs to me. If Darren Eliot were not a Thrashers employee, he would be ripping this team to shreds over this kind of play. Instead, he and Matt O’Connell are just trying to call and comment on the game, as best they can. Eliot is talking about what the Bruins need to do to just bring home this win. An objective announcer would be saying, uhh … what Chico Resch says!
Brendan
December 31st, 2009
1:28 am
Statebird, if the Thrashers ever leave Atlanta, which would be in 2019, that they’d change the name of the team to something else. If you were the city gaining the Thrashers, would you keep the name?
When the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix, they renamed the team to Coyotes. When the Whalers moved from Hartford to Raleigh, they became the Hurricanes. When the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver, they became the Avalanche. When the Oakland Seals/California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, they became the Cleveland Barons. When the North Stars moved from Minneapolis/St. Paul, they became the Dallas Stars. I’m pleased that Calgary kept the name Flames, and the stylized “A” for Assistant Captain on their jerseys. But I cannot really answer the question.
If the Thrashers really left, and kept the name in their new city, and I liked that city, I might continue to root for them. I like Calgary. I like the Flames. I rarely root against them. If there were a gun pointed at my head, I’d answer “Flames,” Choice A.
Brendan
December 31st, 2009
1:48 am
I think I have a possible candidate for a Thrashers theme song. It’s called, “Girl from Ipanema.”
Stop laughing. Every time I hear this song in a movie, the very world around the characters is crashing down. And it’s just such a sweet, lovely little song to be playing, as society crumbles. Maybe, the most famous occurrence of it in Cinema is found within “The Blues Brothers” as Jake and Elwood attempt to bring the $50,000 to the Cook County, Illinois Tax Assessors office, to save the Penguin’s orphanage.
In the elevator, as the SWAT team outside prepares to apprehend Jake and Elwood, it’s “Girl from Ipanema” playing in the background. Which gets me to thinking, when WAS the last time you got into an elevator and actually HEARD “elevator music?” Is it entirely gone, now?? I haven’t heard any in YEARS.
NorthStarsDave
December 31st, 2009
7:05 am
Someone asked…so here it goes….
Sure…it is a bad time in Blueland….very blue….however, almost EVERY team in goes through this during the season….remember, we still have 3+ months left…
Let’s take a look at one particular team…1-4 in their last 5…shutout twice…2 of those losses at home….
If this were the Thrashers…and some of you that been serious followers for centuries would state…the second coming of the Apolocalypse was about to occur! Fire everyone…start over…
OK…another team…lost 4 in a row just two weeks ago…averaged less than 2 goals per game…looked hapless at home against a team in total disarray….
Granted…this was B-A-D bad…OP looked…to use a redneck term…skar’d…especially when Savard was allowed…never challenged…to fire at will from point blank…do NOT give me the d-men had to cover their man and you always let to goalie see the shot…he hit the post…and the rebound was swatted in by Sturm…oh, who was being marked (ha, soccer term!). It was downhill from there.
Next game Buffalo (5-4 in last 3 weeks) and then the Isles (4-5 in last 3 weeks)….
BTW…those teams mentioned above…the Pittsburgh Penguins (the one and the same that had a losing record at this time last year)…and the Boston Bruins…
Enjoy the Winter Classic…if it doesn’t rain!!!
Putting On The Foil
December 31st, 2009
7:19 am
I’ve tried to be patient with this team and this so called system, but now I’m in agreement with Russian. Fire Anderson immediately and hopefully stop the bleeding. We can sit around and point fingers at different players not doing this or that, but you obviously cannot overhaul the team right now, so firing Anderson is only potential solution at the moment. Where’s Pat Quinn? If the son of a guns ain’t gonna play hockey, maybe they will at least stand up for themselves and hit or fight somebody. Last night was truly low point of the season so far. I shall go now before I become STENDECKIAN.
NYC
December 31st, 2009
8:02 am
I find it utterly amusing when we happen to hit the skids for a period of time, all of you cry “relocation!” Seriously?? I would think Carolina has to have been mentioned moving to at least 30 different locations with the season they’re having. They’re fan base must be losing their collective minds (insert sarcasm).
I for one will make my New Years resolution to remain optimistic in regards to the Thrash – and why not! We’re 11 points ahead of last year’s turn of the calendar – currently 1 point out of the dance. This year’s rough patch happened to occur, well, now! Anyone remember how we finished the second half of last season?? We happen to mirror last year’s 2nd half output, and guess what – yes, playoffs!
Folks – we’re in the hunt. Despite the play of late…we’re in the hunt. To me, that makes the new year of hockey even more reason to be excited. I’m not jumping ship. I believe it will be a Happy New Year in Blueland!
So everyone pledge their New Year’s resolution will be to stop playing the “moving franchise” card every time we lose. Pledge to stay behind the boys and trust that this might be the year that the giant elephant in the room leaves it’s inhabitancy at the Bulb!
Cleanse the negativity, enjoy your NY’sE, enjoy the Winter Classic, and trust the Thrashers will turn on the jets in 2010 and do something special!
Happy New Year everyone!
five_hole
December 31st, 2009
8:24 am
It’s hard to blame the defense, or even the goalie, IF YOU CAN’T SCORE! Sorry for yelling. I had to get that off my chest.
It was just a pathetic, anemic game we played. How is it that we have so many Olympians, yet we play so abysmally?
Is it lack of confidence in the goaltending? Is it Kovy’s contract distracting from the game? Or is it just Anderson’s system sucks. The only reason I don’t want Anderson fired now is that I’m afraid that Waddell will take over the bench again. He goes first, then Anderson. The sequence is important. First Waddell, then Anderson.
five_hole
December 31st, 2009
8:24 am
Oh, Happy New Year, everyone.
Bob
December 31st, 2009
8:30 am
All those lucky early season wins where we were outshot, yet still won the games dues to stellar goaltending, are coming back to bite us. these things even out over the long haul of the season.
2010 predictions: We’ll fight for the 8 spot all year but fall short. Kovy will be traded. Sara won’t come back and admit she was dead wrong. New ownership will take over the club under the agreement that they stay in Phillips and Waddell will finally be fired, Anderson along with him. Fall 2010 will mark the beginning of the Thrashers finally on the way to building something respectable.
J-man
December 31st, 2009
8:39 am
Russian is quite right in that Russian men do listen to their wives. But that sword cuts both ways. If Nicole wants out of Atlanta, then so does Ilya. I have never met either of them nor do I know anyone who has (except for a quick autograph), but based on some things I have read about Nicole, I suspect that she is letting Ilya make the decision. I think she is indifferent to staying here in Atlanta and neither hates it nor loves it. Unlike the Hossa situation where Hossa never responded to the offer he was given, Ilya and his agent have responded. It’s within the owner’s ability to make a deal happen. It’s just a question of whether they want to or not. I think they are playing a dangerous game of chicken and trying to get a hometown discount out of Ilya. I don’t see that happening.
Most of the teams in non-traditional markets get hit with relocation talk and nothing stops it. However, there is basically no way to make money on a hockey team if you don’t own the arena, so it makes little sense for someone to buy the Thrashers and keep them here and lose money on them. If you can find some billionaire who is civic minded and willing to lose money on the team, then let the Atlanta Spirit know who they are. I don’t see the Thrashers being sold for years, if ever.
Rockem Sockem Thrasher
December 31st, 2009
8:46 am
NYC – I think you’ve got a point. The losing streak has brought out the doom and gloom in all of us. I’d like to see the same team that started out the year.
I don’t understand why something hasn’t been done yet.
R. Stroz
December 31st, 2009
9:01 am
How is it that we have so many Olympians, yet we play so abysmally?
Because they don’t play as a team. If I were Anderson, and they performed again like they did last night, I’d take them out in full gear after the pathetic effort and make them skate until they realized who they represent and who cuts their paycheck. Right now, we have too many Olympians looking out for themselves and forward to February.
I say pull a Herb Brooks on them and let them know who the boss is, as is, the inmates are running the asylum.
NorthStarsDave
December 31st, 2009
9:05 am
NYC and Rockem Sockem….thank you…I am not the only one!!!
Dwayne
December 31st, 2009
9:24 am
Fire JA now, can not fire players first. Look at Philly, tied for 8th after being so bad early in the year. Hey wait a minute, we are still tied for 8th!!!! All is not lost. Where is Kari?? I repeat. Fire JA, Don can get behind the bench, and make everyone play “D”. Dudley can then make an intelligent decision on what yo do with Kovy. I didn’t see the game last night, thank goodness.
LAC
December 31st, 2009
9:34 am
This system anderson employs, does not play defense from what I can see.
It is too wide open and we are being burned game after game.
Now, I am sorry, but this zach b. STINKS to high heaven, there is NO defensman on the team worst than this guy. He is ALWAYS out of position, he NEVER hits anyone, always making mistakes that end up in OUR net, not their’s. I know he is young, but he has shown me NO ability to learn, change his game or get better, he is NOT going to be a
“franchise” player everyone thinks, time to dump him too, he is a complete waste…
The “On The Fly” guys had Darren Drager on, He says #17 will NOT resign here, it’s over and why would waddell be in Saskatoon ? He needs to be fixing the team, but then that simply shows what kind of person he really is, he could give a $hit about the team, he WANTS to destroy hockey in Atlanta. waddell if I catch you out I will WHIP YOUR A$$
you are a disgrace to the entire world of Hockey, all leagues and all ranks, you show us everything that is wrong with being involved
with the great game at any level. You need to be terminated at once,
and then at least the Thrashers will start to have a chance, and
I must say, you must $UCK at dealing with agents etc… You have NEVER
made it happen, Go away waddell for the sake & future of the team, you have killed us for years and we will NEVER win under a Career LOSER &
LIAR like you !
StateBird
December 31st, 2009
9:52 am
Too many people confuse logic with reality. Logic dictates that Atlanta is a market that the NHL would defend over lesser markets such as Nashville, Tampa and Raleigh. Logic also dictates that the Philips lease agreement (9 mil a year) will keep the team here through 2019. Unfortunately the reality is that the ASG, now the worst and perhaps the poorest ownership group in professional sports after the transfer of the Coyotes, will be forced to sell the team. Reality is that the NHL has spent their political and financial capital saving the Phoenix market. Despite best wishes there is nothing left in the tank to save Atlanta. Reality is that the lease agreement is chump change for a new ownership group to absorb in order to relocate the franchise.
This franchise and the Atlanta hockey market are faced with a number of Hobsons choices. Sign Kovy at max price and not be able to afford decent surrounding pieces or let him go and alienate the fan base. For fans should we support bad hockey at all costs to keep a franchise or boycott and see the franchise leave.
Dwayne
December 31st, 2009
10:16 am
I think the fan base has been declining for some time now. If Kovy leaves, hopefully by trade, and JA and his system is gone, Thrashers might win. Fans come back. Zach B. a bad player, I do not think so, its JA’s system, JA keeps telling the him to pinch, attack, attack, defense be damned, maybe Hainsey can cover an area usually covered by 2 d-men. haha. Why is Kubina a plus player? Because he tells JA to kiss his A$$, he is out of Atlanta after this year and he is playing his game to secure another good salary!!!! You don’t believe me?? I have a friend who works on escalators at the mall, and just happened to be fixing the one that Kubina and his agent was stranded on. Since the two of them could not figure out how to get off the escalator while it was being fixed, they had a lengthy conversation on the state of Thrasher hockey.
Hanson Brothers
December 31st, 2009
10:51 am
StateBird, I have to disagree with your remark that trading Kovy will alienate the fan base. There is no bigger Kovy fan than me. I bought his jersey the day after he was drafted and have worn it proudly to games ever since. Kovy is a great offensive player and I would be sad to see him go. But as a nine year STH, I think I have a pretty good grasp of the overall pulse of the fans, not just those who comment here. There is a strong core of hockey fans in Atlanta who, more than any one player, want to see a winning team. The core fans will come to games win or lose. The sometimes fans will come to games when the team is average, and you will have attendance that mirrors most of the games of late. The new and occasional fans will come when the team wins, no matter who is playings. The 5,000 fans that are needed to fill up the arena don’t know who Kovy is, or only heard his name and don’t know much about him. But when the team wins, they will come. To borrow a worn out phrase, if you build it (a winning team) they (fans) will come. Rebuilding a franchise by trading a superstar has worked for other teams in other sports, and while it could easily not work here, especially is Waddell is behind the trade, if it improves the team and makes for a better product on the ice, I could deal with losing Kovy, and I think most hockey fans could too.
Smoothie
December 31st, 2009
10:53 am
Last year this team struggled mightily early in the season due to erratic goaltending, players who did not buy into JA’s system (Perrin, EC, Williams, KOVY and Kozlov), and players who were either too young and inexperienced(Bogosian, Valabik, Pavelec) or too confident in themselves as veterans (Havelid & Schneider…perhaps Hainsey but he played well in the first couple of months IIRC).
This year, early on, the players seemed to be buying in to what JA was selling as a collective unti…not all the time mind you, but when the system broke down, the goalies bailed us out countless times. Now, through December, our goalies (especially Pavelec) have started to break-down and confidence is waning in our netminders as a result. But that isn’t the real problem. Certain players who were already struggling are really going through the motions due to a lack of commitment by a certain Kaptain Kotton Kandy. When is the last time Kovy hit someone? Can anyone remember? The team feeds off him. And when you’re the highest paid player, it really sucks the life out of a young team when the leader is not giving 100%. Remember when Kovy would start fights to defend his and the team’s honor? Hasn’t happened since Vancouver but that was more of a frustration-induced hissy fit. Where is the Kovy of last March??
As for who is buying in and who isn’t:
Buyers: Antropov, Kaner, Thorburn, Reasoner, Army (but for how much longer?), Kubina, Schubert (but he’s prone to knuckle-headed mistakes), Enstrom, Hedberg, Pavelec (but he’s had to face too many shots too often) and Peverley (starting to hit a wall since this is the most ice-time in a calendar year at this level he’s ever had)
In-betweeners: White, Little, Slater (all three had bad starts or reduced ice-time and it shook their confidence; now they aren’t bouncing back due to lack of leadership / commitment), Finny for awhile but he is just too spontaneous when things are going badly
Questionable: Hainsey (who is too soft for being an ‘A’), Bogosian (sophomore slump or too good too soon leading to overconfidence?), Kozlov (too often in conservation mode and won’t be aggressive enough to set the tone), Finny (I am wondering about his commitment to the system as he seems to get the same latitude Kovy does without the results…especially now) and lastly, KOVY!
I left off Salmela, Popovic, Valabik, Slater, Boulton and Lehtonen either because they haven’t played enough or it’s too hard to tell because they don’t play consistently enough. Well, with Boultsy we know he does what he’s expected of fairly well, but he has to let his knuckles heal before he can fight again…we don’t have enough toughness to round things out. Bogosian seems to have lost his edge, Thorburn knows he can’t get too crazy due to his responsibility as a PK’er and Slater tries to play with an edge, but it often seems wasted.
Send a message Waddell: send down White and Kozzie on waivers and see what happens. Worse case scenario is that somebody claims one of them, but c’mon, who? Perhaps a team that needs a QB on the PP, but we need grit and toughness (see Sobotka, Bitz and Wheeler) to compete. Machacek, Crabb and Grattan might just be the cure in the short-term.
R. Stroz
December 31st, 2009
11:27 am
100th
stendec
December 31st, 2009
11:49 am
I might be willing to take over the GM position. I would guarantee one thing. Efforts (if it can be categorized as such) like the one against the Boston Bruins would be a thing of the past! Players who fail to compete for 60 minutes would be benched for a game. Salary would not be a consideration! If two of three goals are marshmallows then netminder is pulled (sorry Moose). If minimum number of players not available then young hungry Wolves would be provided opportunity to showcase wares. Only players with fire in their guts and hearts of lions would be allowed to skate for team. Most of these guys are celebrating Olympic selections. Whoop dee do! Do the Olympics sign their paychecks? Not since former USSR once got away with it! Not one Thrasher (except Mr Moose Hedberg sir) gives a flying f#ck about winning. Do not have tiniest iota of respect for any one of them! Laughingstocks? They could care less! Bank accounts matter. No Thrasher forced to wait in soup line! Apologists can kiss my a$$! ++STENDEC++
Lee
December 31st, 2009
12:07 pm
If we win against Buffalo, I’ll be really suprised. Hopefull Moose will be in net, they look a lot more confident with him in net.
NorthStarsDave
December 31st, 2009
12:13 pm
OK Mr. GM…who is going to play for you?
Since most of the Thrashers…and most of the NHL for that matter since it is an 82 game season….do not always play 60 minutes…
So….after last night…you would have one player for tomorrow…and a minor league team…that would win a lot of games Mr. GM….
BTW…which superstar are you going to sign? Who would want to?