Thrashers loss to Bruins was as bad as it sounded

They were unwatchable. I turned over to Bowling Green vs. Idaho.

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I watched/listened to the whole game as I was preparing the 2009 tax records and new file folders for 2010.

I used the game as background noise.

Next time, I’ll listen to Barry Manilow, as he would probably put up a better fight than the Thrashers did.

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Anybody check the plus/minus figures lately? I know that JA doesn’t want to stop Kozzy’s team leading games played in a row mark, but his -12 leads the team too (followed by Bogo, Hainsey and the Invisible Todd White at -10). At least 2 of those need to sit for a game. Pick one of the forwards and one of the defenders. Let Slater and Pops or Salmonella play.

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This is ridiculous….yes Boston is a good team but we totally rolled over. I quit watching shortly after Opie was pulled. I saw that Hedberg would do fine but the rest of the team was in a fog. Made me mad that I had just bought tickets to the Thrashers\Rangers game. Turned that off and watch the Swedish junior team beat up on Russia. Now that was good hockey.

I think coach needs to invite a few irate fans to sit in the locker room before and after the game. These guys need to be uncomfortable.

It sucks worse knowing that we have the talent to be winning these games and they just don’t pull together to make it happen. This just sucks.

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I have avoided really “thrashing” management, but somebody on top (DW) need to pay for this situation. And the situation goers back to Kovy’s contract and the fact that this thing is STILL lingering.

The entire team is preoccupied with what the captain will be doing in the coming weeks. Why these idiots don’t see it is beyond me, totally. Sign him or trade him today and move forward. This team will drop out of playoff contention BECAUSE of Kovy.

What the heck are they waiting for?

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Sure Bill, just rub in the fact you’re in Fla while we’re all here left to suffer not onlyl this crappy weather, but also this crappy, spirit-less effort by the Thrashers. Enjoy your lake time though!

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.

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Change of subject-can you believe how Mike Leach got hosed at Texes Tech? TT was a non-player in football until Leach arrived, both on and off the field. Craig James’ (see demise of SMU) little boy gets his feelings hurt and all heck breaks loose.

ESPN circle the wagons around their boy, then turns around and glorifies the gangsters and thugs at Univ. of Miami in their “30-30″ segment. That network is a total joke. Only Lou Holtz has the guts to question the decision at TT.

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It was just a matter of time before the Birds of old came back. I do have a question though, last night was our 6 loss in a row correct? Wasn’t Hartley fired after loosing six in a row? Again, yet another decision made by our uber suave and smart GM that I will never understand. Kovy needs to be traded now…now as in when the Olympics are over, he catches a plane back to a city other than Atlanta. Two glaring positions we need to trade for: Defense & goaltending. The Pavs/Moose combo isn’t getting the job done…well let me be more specific, Pavs isn’t getting the job done. Two games he’s started and two games he’s been yanked before the final buzzer. Yeah, tell-tell signs of a #1 goalie. And please don’t give me “He’s young” or “He’s not getting help up front” lines. I’ll never be able to figure out why this franchise can never get a true #1. Think about it. Detroit=Osgood, Vancouver=Luongo, New Jersey= Broduer, Dallas=Turco, Calgary=Kirprusoff, Pittsburgh= Fluery. Defense is a whole nother issue. Heck, I’d be willing even at 45 Chelios could skate circles around our present defense. C’mon Don, make the man a legit offer and see if he bites. We are a young team that lacks leadership on the ice b/c our leader is younger than me (30)and is sandbagging & trying to sweat out the organization all while the organization is tanking. Yeah, true leader to me. This team needs a vertern presence on the ice badly. One that will get after the young guys for blowing plays…will get after them during intermissions in the locker room, will get after them at practice. I doubt we’ll win a game before the break and by then we’ll be so far out of the playoff picture it won’t matter. I’m going to Columbus tomorrow night to watch the Cottonmouths. At least there I’ll get to see players put in 60 minutes of effort. Y’all be safe tonight!!

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LAC, I think you need to grow up just a bit instead of making a fool of yourself on a blog.

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LAC, your rant about college football made me laugh out loud! Priceless.

Don’t agree with you about Bogosian though…you’re being way too impetuous on that topic. He’s only 19 for crap’s sake and he’s already scored 17 goals in roughly 82 games played. He needs more seasoning and a vet like Chelios might just kick him in the pants. 19 y/o can be way too easily distracted or perhaps you don’t remember what it was like to be a college-age student or kid and not give your best all the time.

Waive a veteran (White preferably) to send a message that medicority or “softness” will not be tolerated. Chances are, no one will bite on White (ha that rhymes) when he’s on waivers. But who cares?! He’s not gonna suddenly start scoring in bushels. We don’t need him on the PP anymore either. Let Kane play the PP 2nd unit in his stead.

Call up Macho-check and Kulda and send down Salmsy and Bogo while they still have AHL options waiver-free. See how Bogey responds to a) the demotion and b) playing with Chelios. Let Kulda play 3rd pair minutes with Schubie and see how it goes. Valabik can play with Hainsey for a while just like last year or put Hainsey with Enstrom and Boris with his “country”-man for some on-the-job training of his own.

Let Macho take Kaner’s spot on the 3rd line and make that line a true knock-your-block-off, forecheck-you-into-next-week third line with Reasy at C and Slater at RW. Put Little at his natural position, CENTER!, on the 4th line with Boults and Thorbs and keep their time down to 7-8 mins / game. It will be good conditioning for Bryan to get his feel back at C.

Kovy gets dropped to the “2nd line” playing LW with Peverley at C and Kozzy at RW. Kozzy said he’d be willing so let him flip pucks down the wing to Kovy all night a la Hoslov circa 2006. New top line is Kane at LW, Antro at C and Finny at RW. That line showed some serious potential at the end of games during the latter part of November. Tell Kovy if he doesn’t get his ass in gear, he’ll be traded to a midling team out West (think Edmonton) and perhaps that will get his attention. If he doesn’t play like his “give-a-crap” meter is set on “superstar” all the time and begin using his size to forecheck once in awhile, then screw him.

Kane – Antro – Finny

Kovy – Pevs – Kozzy

Macho – Reasey – Slater

Boults – Little – Thorbs

Oh yeah, lastly, move Kovy off the point on the first unit PP. Use Kubina to shore up the left point while the PP operates THROUGH Kovy at the LEFT CIRCLE with Pevs and Antro doing the dirty work in the corners. Enstrom and Kubes should know what to do at the blueline. Second unit becomes Kovy at the LP, Hainsey at the RP, Kozlov on the right circle with Little and Colby to do the dirty work.

That should just about do it! Oh yeah, after a 4 game winning streak and post-Casino Night, sign Chelios to a deal for the remainder of the year and bring back Bogo at the same time. If Kovy is still loafing too much or hasn’t signed a deal, then strip hiim of the ‘C’ and give it to Peverley. Take Hainsey’s ‘A’ off if he doesn’t start hitting and give it to Chelios or Kubina. If we still don’t have any leadership and consistency, then blow the whole thing up and start from scratch with Kane, Bogey, Antro, Enstrom, Pevs, Little and hopefully Kubina as your core. Drastic measures we need and SOONER THAN LATER!!

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Hi Bill. Do not recall earlier USA upset of USSR hockey squad at Squaw Valley but remember 1980 gold at Lake Placid as if it were yesterday. 1980? Sigh. Oh well. True hockey highlight for all true Americans! Here goes…Legend Herb Brooks had an edge Coach John Petrino does not. The Olympic coach could require players to do Herbies until they puked because he possessed power of the cut. A player could be sliced from team at sole discretion of coach. Do not want to be a team player? Unable to put team first? Bye bye. No Olympics for you! Heartless Russian Kapitan Ilya “Pay Me Millions Now” Kovalchuk is blackmailing the Yardbirds. He can coast, dog it, never play defense, skate at third speed, make fancy figure eights while awaiting a breakout pass or remain in full Maryann Hossa mode without consequence. Why? Uninformed persons perceive the Russian as a premiere athlete. Premiere? Premiere my a$$! This captain is a total team liability. Lazy, uncaring, disinterested and a complete slacker! More enthusiastic at being selected to Olympics than mad as Hell angry over fact that group of which he is the damn captain (supposed leader) has become laughingstock of NHL. Anybody else see anything wrong with this scenario? A long term contract? Hell no! I do not even want to see IK in a Yardbird uniform in 2010-2011. Give me three guys who can score 20 plus goal. I would trade the bum in a second. If that long! Happy New Year! ++STENDEC++

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EVERY SEASON THE BIRDS GO ONE ONE OF THEIR INFAMOUS 10- 12 GAME LOSING OR NON-WINING STREAKS THAT DOOMES THEM FROM MAKING THE PLAYOFFS. HERE WE GO AGAIN. ALSO, WHY IS WADDELL IS HERE?HE’LL BE GONE WHEN KOVY DEPARTS.

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When you find yourself down 3-0 in the 1st period (like that game and others similar), it kind of takes the fun out of it. It also causes fans to turn the channel or leave the game.

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Happy New Year Rawhide-hope the people that hijacked our team brings back our boys real soon.

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So, I just gotta ask. “Did the Thrashers ever give away those FREE SEATS along the glass?” They were advertising them to the first ten (10) callers to buy a seat to an upcoming home game. Considering that that had to re-run the offer in the 3rd period that they initially ran in the 2nd period, I’m guessing that had trouble drumming up some business.

How much are seats along the glass worth? I’m just curious. If they’re valued at $200, is that something an organization strapped for cash should be handing away as a FREEBIE? I’m just asking a question.

Last night, the NHL Network had the “On the Fly” show with a special guest name Darren Dreger. Darren Dreger said, and I quote, “negotiations are a LONG WAY from being finalized. I very much doubt that a contract will materialize after the next tournament. In fact, no OFFER has been FORMALLY TABLED yet between Kovalchuk’s agent and Don Waddell.”

Well, excuse me, but “What the FREAK?” We were TOLD that an OFFER was made to Kovalchuk. And that, quote, “A counter-offer was presented from the Kovalchuk camp.” Anyone ELSE remember that? As I recall, we all thought, “Why isn’t the contract announced and finalized, then? If Kovy’s camp has made a counter-offer, then we just agree to it and announce the deal.” But now we hear Darren Dreger announce, “No offer has been formally tabled yet.” My GOSH! We’re not even THERE, yet? And to hear Waddell actually publicly say things like, “They want years at a fixed rate,” just amplifies how much in the infancy stage of the contract process they really are. If true. Again, things we hear in the media, like Darren Dreger, or Waddell, or Grossman, or Kovalchuk, we must take with a grain of salt. But if anybody’s actually telling the truth, God forbid, this entire situation is utterly unacceptable from a January 2010 calendar date perspective. These things should be talked about in July 2009. And what’s “left open to evaluate” … is how well or poorly the team is doing by Thanksgiving. Christmas at the latest. Honestly now. What HAVE they been discussing? What restaurant to PRETEND they’re having contractual negotiations, while billing their clients?” I hope Grossman is SOAKING Ilya blind. I hope Grossman ordered the LOBSTER, with the most expensive bottle of Dom Perignon that the eatery had to offer. I hope he had caviar as an appetizer. On second thought, I hope it got billed DIRECTLY to Bruce Levenson. For HE, above all, should have to pay for every nickel that it costs to operate this franchise. I hope Grossman billed the 1st class flight, ice cream sundae, any and all onflight booze and entertainment … to Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta, GA. Shoot, I hope Grossman, on top of dinner, had ROOM SERVICE in the Penthouse Suite, while billing massages, tee times, adult movies, and more booze, to #17’s home address. I hope he stayed at Chateau Elan and took a taxi to meet Waddell in Atlanta. And that THAT, too, got billed to Kovalchuk.

And if Ilya sits there, UNAWARE of how contract negotiations are going, he DESERVES to pay for all that, and MORE. Raise your hand if you honestly believe Kovalchuk has not given his agent INSTRUCTIONS about what he wants? And that, “Well, it’s all whatever his agent wants. That’s why he pays him. So he doesn’t have to do any thinking.” Pfft. Ovechkin got a 13-year/$124 million deal, which he negotiated all by himself. He didn’t pay an agent one PENNY of that deal. And he got EXACTLY what he wanted. And he negotiated the contract … with the OWNER, Ted Leonsis, not with George McPhee, the GM.

Bruce, are any bells and whistles going off in your head? What are you paying Don Waddell for? Mr. Levenson, if you cannot see what Ilya means to this franchise, then you deserve to face the consequences. You have put Don Waddell in charge of negotiations with Kovalchuk’s agent. And clearly, you SEE where they are now. Why did you stand IDLY by? Fine, if your answer is, “Because we wanted Ilya to help us sell tickets all year, up to the trade deadline.” But if that’s NOT honestly your answer, you have a lot of explaining to do. And fans ARE going to hold you accountable, irrespective of whether you hold anyone ELSE on your staff accountable. Hockey fans in Atlanta don’t appreciate being bamboozled, flimflammed, hoodwinked and hornswoggled. They’ll vote with their wallets. Fans have the power to fire you.

Chew on that for a while.

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You guys are all way off base. Don Waddell is a wonderful GM and we are lucky to have him. He’s right on track with his 15 year plan. Kovy will sign it here, I heard it from the Nosey Nest, he loves it here and will never leave (never mind that he doesn’t even speak English in his own home).

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LAC, the point I was really trying to make about Leach was more about ESPN than anything. ESPN is sticking it to Leach the same way they stuck it to the NHL.

For 25 years the NHL was a main part of ESPN’s programming. Then one day they decided they were too good for the NHL. Theu have been badmouthing hockey ever since. How much time does Sportscenter give to hockey highlights?

My issue is with ESPN, not Texas tech. This is relavent to hockey.

Happy New Year

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, R.Stroz. “Bring back the Aliens!” I love it!

Right now, I’d sure welcome them back.

R.Stroz, I think Ovechkin secretly laughs at Kovalchuk. I can’t prove that, of course. On the other hand, had Atlanta drafted 1st overall, and Ovechkin were picked by the Thrashers, I think Ovechkin would flat out say, “I will not play here beyond my capped rookie contract. I will sign the first RFA offersheet that I know the Thrashers cannot match. And if none comes, I’ll play in Russia.” That, of course, after PRIVATELY telling the Thrashers, “You would do well to trade me for a quality return. Here, let me help you by telling you which deeply talented team I want to play for, so you can at least get something decent back in the exchange. And don’t say I never did anything nice for you.” Ovechkin is DIRECT like that.

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Look folks, before it slides too far out of our memories, I want to remind everyone what a BEAUTIFUL hockey game was played last night in Calgary, between the Flames and L.A. Kings. To briefly recap, Dion Phaneuf drove Anze Kopitar into the boards. This ERUPTED into a melee, in which even the Head Coaches, Terry Murray and Brent Sutter, threatened to have a knock-down, drag out, slobberknocker-fest. The game was hotly contested all night long, filled with physicality, grit, tenacity, and utter determination to win. By both clubs. It finished in a 2-1 win for Calgary.

And believe you me, that exchange between Coaches FIRED UP their players. On both teams. It was a BONDING moment. Some things do that. Family, friends, love and WAR will do tend to do achieve that result.

Now look, I’m not exactly saying that what John Anderson needs to do is challenge Lindy Ruff to a fist fight. But it wouldn’t hurt any, if the two managed to exchange menacing glances and heated words, in an effort to breathe LIFE into his troops. Let’s face it. There needs to be SOMETHING like that going on. This team needs to bond better than it has. And sadly, I look to the Captain as the instigator for it. So long as he is un-signed, it’s sending a message that he doesn’t have faith in the organization. Or the coaches. Or the scouts. Or his fellow players. They cannot help but notice that, gazing at the calendar.

Now, I can hardly blame Kovalchuk there. This ownership doesn’t fill me with confidence, either. Their league-minimum payrolls, one GM through how many failing seasons? Same scouts. I’m even fine with Randy Cunneyworth being given a shot, if they want to cleanhouse with an interim Head Coach. I think that’s a bit drastic, however. Every team experiences losing streaks throughout the year.

What separates this from other losing streaks, however, is the lack of effort, heart and grit. There have been other times when the team plays very well, but just didn’t get the results. It’s at moments like that … then Stendec raises the word, “apologist.” For in his world, a team that scores 7 goals is a bunch of gutless wonders, if the final score happens to be 8-7. It’s on to goalie-sieve rants.

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Cunney will be an NHL coach someday, you can bank on that.

WBF – That could be real soon, if you catch my drift.

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Now that December has just about gone and, thankfully, the Thrashers do not play any more games in 12/09, let’s take a look at some numbers and who stunk it up the most. I know White is not a fan of anybodys here but he was far from the worst. I could care less whether he stays or goes. I guess that makes me indifferent but I felt with the stats and thoughts on team play I’ve been posting lately that I’ve been defending him. Maybe I have because there are others who really have played worse. Much worse.

The Thrashers started the month with a record of 14-7-3. They ended it 18-17-4 going 4-10-1 and not winning a single game in regulation. They gave points to every team they faced. Twelve of those fifteen games were against conference opponents. In Oct/Nov they scored 84 goals and a 3.38 GFA while giving up 68 and a 2.83 GAA. In Dec they gave up 57 with a 3.8 GAA and only scored 35 for a 2.3 GFA. What was a +.55 goal differential saw them go -1.5 differential in the month.

They have fallen to 9th on the PP at 21% Fallen to 20th on the PK at 79.7% and saw there SF slip to 26th at 28.5 for and shots against an unacceptable 34.1 and dead last in the league. What’s worse is they sat solidly in 5th place in the Conference and have fallen to a shakey 9th place.

Who stunk it up the most? I’ll list the player stats and list them from top to bottom based on those stats and their individual play that I observed:

Fowards# G A Pts +/- PIM SOG PPP,SHP
1. 80 8G 3A 11Pts E 6PIM 30S 4,0
2. 20 4G 2A 6Pts +6 13PIM 16S 0,2
3. 17 8G 9A 17Pts -3 16PIM 51S 6,0
4. 19 3G 1A 4Pts -3 6PIM 22S 0,0
4. 12 0G 4A 4Pts -2 2PIM 14S 1,0
6. 27 0G 1A 1Pts E 17PIM 14S 0,0
7. 9 1G 1A 2Pts -3 12PIM 18S 0,0
8. 47 2G 5A 7Pts -7 8PIM 31S 2,2
9. 36 0G 1A 1Pts -2 16PIM 8S 0,0
10. 23 1G 0A 1Pts -1 2PIM 11S 0,0
11. 13 4G 2A 6Pts -8 2PIM 29S 4,0
12. 10 2G 3A 5Pts -8 2PIM 29S 2,0
13. 61 2G 8A 10Pts -10 6PIM 31S 2,0

Armstrong looked terrible at the beginning of the month then he turned it around with 4 goals in consecutive games and played solid two way hockey finishing with the team’s best +/-. Kapitan Kovy, despite his unacceptable lack of effort at times and maddening irresponsible D all the time, put up good and respectable numbers. If he really did phone it in as has been suggested where would theis team be? White? It’s hard to argue that he has performed any worse than most of his fellow forwards. Peverly? Disappointing. Boulton should have dropped ‘em more but maybe he figured why bother if the rest of team lacks heart. Afinogenov was on fire in Oct/Nov and was named fan player of the month. Complete reversal in Dec and looked like his reputation caught up with him.

Defense# G A Pts +/- PIM SOG PPP,SHP
1. 39 0G 11A 11Pts -3 4PIM 20S 5,0
2. 77 1G 8A 9Pts -4 10PIM 26S 1,0
3. 16 1G 2A 3Pts -1 12PIM 23S 0,0
4. 5 0G 2A 2Pts -1 18PIM 12S 0,0
5. 6 1G 4A 5Pts -8 4PIM 10S 0,2
6. 4 0G 4A 4Pts -8 9PIM 22S 0,0

The most pleasant surprise was the solid play of Valabik in his Dec return. He and Shubert look good paired together. Bogosian simply stunk. What’s worse is he drug Hainsey down with him. Bogo may have been the worst on the team, certainly worse than White.

Goaltending. What needs to be said? Moose played great and Pavs stunk it up big time. Go look at his stats(I need a drink). They ain’t pretty.

That’s it folks. Let’s hope for a Happy Thrashers New Year.

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keep talking stendec. i remember on my pro soccer carreer, during the games, when we are in the lead and opposing players began talking thrash my answer been: “keep talking, but better check scoreboard”. ok stendec, on my last check kovy #12 in point (696 total plyers fo qualifications) with only one-ovy played less games, all rest 10 in front with much more games played. plus minus-even. not to bad. should be 90+ for season even on this contract distraction pace. this is premier players numbers for all hockey experts in the world. so i am assume you are kovy and lehtonen hater (lehtonen argument below). with all do respect stendec, i am intend to belive about kovy personality not to you, but mother later thrasher player SNYDER, saying that kovy most admired man like her late son to her, one of the best person she ever met. i see no reason her to spin this. stendec, sometimes you very close remind me of f..g communist burocrats any time ready to piss on good person. second person you hate picking on is lehtonen, applaied for nhl job via draft and been choosen by gm atlanta thrashers dw. he did’t force this cloyn to draft him and nobody should blame his bad luck because of his bad health like nobody blame you for unfortunatly your weak hearth. anyway keep talking but don’t forget check scoreboard and happy NEW YEAR for everybody.

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The Thrashers should watch the USA – Canada Jr, Game (live on TSN). US up 3-2 after 2 periods. (2 short handed goals against the vaunted Canada power play). These guys give 100%, 100% of the time.

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Canada wins in a shoot-out (3-2). Jeremy Morin (Thrashers prospect) scores a shoot-out goal.

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Very exciting World Juniors! It’s a shame the USA couldn’t hold that 4-2 lead over Canada in the 3rd period.

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LAC, Phoenix better not fold its tent like it did last year. At or about this time in 2009, Phoenix held down the #5 seed in the West. They finished the year by drafting 6th overall. D’oh! But yes, they are to be commended for holding it together, through all they’ve had to endure, ownership-wise, coaching-wise, financially … and they’re doing it all … in the middle of the desert.

I have to say … if the NHL is trying so hard to keep that team in Phoenix … with all the money it loses … it had better start to see some postseason action. I seriously doubt that hockey will leave Atlanta. Our market is very big, and is only growing. And for hockey to flourish, it only needs 18,545 out of a population of over 5,000,000 to consistently come to the arena. We’re talking about less than 1% of the city’s population that is needed to consistently come to Philips Arena. As Sage of Bluesland often says, “There are too many sheep who subsidize this product.” Let me clean that up a bit, the utter incompetence of the ownership is overcome by the sheer volume of population in Atlanta. And remember something else, six thousand fans of the OTHER TEAM show up on any given night. That means, if six thousand Thrasher fans show up, that’s 12,000 fans. Or, said another way, that’s’ two-thirds of the Arena’s seating capacity. In short, it’s enough to qualify for revenue-sharing dollars, to keep ownership solvent. Sage’s quest to FORCE the ownership to change … is likely to fall short. To FORCE the change that Sage wishes, it would take a total attendance of six thousand or fewer fans, nightly, to cause that change.

But Sage is right about something. If the 6,000 fans of the other team decide that Atlanta is so lame, that they don’t even want to watch their beloved … uhh, Flyers, for example, play … then the ownership really is backed into that corner where they simply must make personnel changes. It’s utterly ridiculous that the hockey-going public has to resort to such drastic measures to bring about changes that would naturally occur in cities like NY, Boston, Detroit, DC, Denver, etc. There is just not this pressure to win, like in other cities. If there was, changes would have occurred by now. They haven’t. Normally, ownership throughout the NHL is DESPERATE to recoup losses by the pure PROFIT of playoff revenue. My guess is, that isn’t so in Atlanta. For Atlanta’s game plan is, most years, to spend to the league minimum floor, then recoup any of its financial losses via the spill-over profits from successful markets, like Detroit, Toronto and Boston. In short, Atlanta ownership, essentially, breaks even with the revenue-sharing dollars.

Is this what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had in mind for Atlanta? Uhh, hard to say. But probably not, is my answer. I think Mr. Bettman had it in his cabeza that Atlanta would actually try to gain a legitimate foothold on the NHL’s ladder of teams. That hasn’t happened. Stop. It hasn’t. There has NEVER BEEN a time in this franchise’s history where ownership was committed to winning the Stanley Cup. Actions speak louder than “drunken words” spoken on a banner raising ceremony for Opening Night. Okay, then. So, Atlanta is a cylinder that isn’t firing. But does that mean it should be relocated? Not a chance. All Atlanta needs, I swear to God Almighty, is ownership with a sense of accountability. First off, Atlanta has to SPEND lot a contender. And that means being at or near $3 million of the cap limit, year-in and year-out. Second, it has to hold GMs, Coaches, and Scouts to some measure of accountability. So, how come Atlanta doesn’t do that? Look at the First criterion. Spending to at or near cap limits. Generally-speaking, Atlanta doesn’t do that. Consequently, it doesn’t have to answer for its lack of playoff revenue to OFFSET those financial losses. The offsetting factor … actually comes in the form of revenue-sharing dollars, from more successful teams.

Atlanta isn’t going anywhere. Kovalchuk can leave, and it still won’t change things. Atlanta can, fairly easily, go land a couple of 22 goal scorers, even at UFA pricing, to compensate for Kovy’s 50-60 goals. In fact, Atlanta would be REQUIRED by league policy to spend to AT LEAST the FLOOR of the cap. Like it or not. I repeat, like it or not. And to get the attendance they need, for revenue-sharing dollars, they only need six thousand Thrasher fans and six thousand OTHER TEAM fans to pack the Bulb on any given home game. Plus, the NHL apparently allows “give away” tickets to count as “sold” tickets, for attendance purposes. While that’s hardly IDEAL for the ownership, they need those revenue-sharing dollars to survive.

Folks, if the Atlanta franchise were to be run PROPERLY, that is, with spending at aggressive limits and accountability over results, this team would be in the playoffs 8 out of every 10 years and in competition for the Cup 2-3 years out of every decade, with plenty of playoff revenue to offset whatever regular season losses the franchise sustains. It’s just sad … that no ownership of this team has vigorously pursued that as an option. Commissioner Bettman is learning from the Atlanta example, however. You’ll notice that “Ice Edge,” the 8-man investor group interested in purchasing the Coyotes, is REQUIRED to go PUBLIC with its holdings/finances, to PROVE that it CAN SUSTAIN a 26-year lease in Glendale, Arizona. And they are required to do so … within the 30-day limit the NHL imposed on them. Why? So they don’t have another “Octocluster” among their ranks of ownership. This way, if some “estranged” investor partner wants out, the REST of the group can produce the revenue NEEDED to sustain the spending limits that it would take … to keep the team in the playoff chase, each and every year.

See? Some good came out of the Octocluster for the NHL. The league is getting smarter about how and WHO they’ll allow to own teams. Meanwhile, I suppose, Jim Balsillie just shakes his head in utter disbelief that he CANNOT acquire a franchise. But it’s his own DARN fault, for being so adamant about FORCING a team into Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. If Balsillie were smarter, he would have just purchased the nearby Buffalo Sabres, and settled for that. Even today, I’d wager that Tom Golisano, the Sabres owner, would make him a nice deal to own the Sabres. But the NHL wouldn’t bless it, for they know Balsillie has nothing but RELOCATION on his mind. Personally, I don’t see why Mr. Balsillie cannot be HAPPY and SATISFIED by owning a team located in Buffalo, NY. The fans are hockey savvy, pack the arena, and are the die-hard variety, in a cold-weather, “traditional” market. But hey, I’m not him. And I don’t see the allure of Hamilton, Ontario, either.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR FELLOW BLOGGERS!!!!

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Happy new year all!

Anyone check the TSN Player rankings lately…Kovy is #9 in the LEAGUE….Gaborik (#3) signed with the Rangers for just under $8M/year…so Kovy can be signed for less than the max…

If Waddell is so bad, why then does TSN rank the Thrashers FA signings (Antropov, Finny, Pevs) as being very good?

BTW…outside of Atlanta, no one thinks that Kovy is going anywhere but the KHL at this time…however, there are several NHL teams that would be interested…

Another item of note…remember, thanks to our wonderful ownership, the Thrashers have one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL…so, adding $5M to the payroll would not significantly affect the current make-up of this team…and, believe it or not, there would STILL be room to add a top line player or two…..

So all you guys that want to watch minor league hockey…go to the Glads games…and get on their blog….

Boy…you GM wannabes sure show your centuries of hockey knowledge…

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Happy New Year all.

Seeing as the Thrashers have garnered 10 points in their last 5 meetings with the Sabres,..this might be just what the doctor ordered. On the other hand, as some bloggers note, the law of averages could start catching up to us tonight. We do seem to match-up well against the Sabres though.

With the law of averages still on my mind,…maybe White will score tonight.

Hope Zach has a good game as I’ll bet he’ll have lots of family and friends in the stands. Oh,…we need him to have a good game too.

I’m looking forward to seeing the Sabres big rookie D-Man again (Tyler Myers?). Except for being undressed by Max late in the last game,..he looks like the real deal to me.

Go Blue, play like we know you can.

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Happy New Year. Biltong, the Balvenie is as good as you rated it. Can Anderson. Time to go OD on football.

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I went back and looked at Pavelecs numbers for December. It is obvious that he is part of the problem and was the Pavelec we all were fearing we would see at the beginning of the year. In the 8 games he played, he was pulled in 3 of them. He gave up an average of 5.35 goals per game in the month and saved 85.9% of the shots he face.

I don’t see him being the “Number 1″ anytime soon and I don’t see him getting the start until the team turns things around. I guess the real question is will that be before Lehtonen returns?

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Call me delusional if you will,…but I wonder if there is anyway the Thrashers contract with Ilya could be structured to contain a partial ownership share of the team? That would be the ultimate “no trade clause” eh. I guess the salary cap might need to be redefined. Although it came about a very different way,..this arrangement seemed to work pretty well in Pittsburgh.

Gotta go,…Game on!!!!

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wbf, My aunt lives in Auburn and it is a Nice town in the Finger Lakes Area… By NO means a hole !

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I have no feelings but doubt w/r/t the Thrashers until they prove to me otherwise that they deserve my hope and expectation for success. I have lost most of it. Perhaps if some dramatic changes are made sooner than later, we can save this season. But the one thing that everyone feared early this season and really, last summer, has come to fruition. That Kovy has not signed and made some sort of commitment, even short-term. When the team is made up of young RFA’s and a handful of vets who are either overpaid (Hainsey, White, perhaps Antropov) and guys who make a ton of dough and only have one year left (Kovy, Kubina, Kozlov, Army), a feeling of doubt and internal conflict arises in the players’ minds and personal preservation becomes more important than hard work at any cost. Until something happens one way or the other on the Kovy front, I don’t see January being any better than December. God I hope I’m wrong!

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OK sports fans. My son amd I will be at the Sabres game tonight. If the Thrash do not show any fight we will. Wish us luck. Happy New Year!!

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Solid first period, Buffalo only 2 shots… Stood up at the blue line and won most ALL play along the boards… This type play wins hockey games !!! KEEP IT UP !

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OOHH Great goal by captain Kovy!!!!!! 600th point!!!! OOOOHHHH my gosh!!! They literally scored as i’m typing!!!!! Evander Kane! WHOO HOO!

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Good Game. I think we will get some news very soon. Kovy is playing like always.

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The REPLAY of this game will be at 11PM, on Fox SportSouth.

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Bob, the L.A. Kings?

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Do not be misled by illusion LAC. Same worthless Yardbirds! ++STENDEC++

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For Atlanta to make the playoffs, they must go 25-14-3 in the remaining 42 games. I think it’d be a tall order for the Thrashers to win HALF of those (21 wins). I think this streak of losses, where Atlanta only banked two of a possible fourteen (2/14) points, has cost them the playoff berth.

Folks, from this point forward, the intensity of the seasons ramps up. Atlanta’s never been known as a physical team. It seriously lacks grit. And grit is what it will take, from this point forward. The time to bank points and wins off of teams that are BETTER than we are … has passed. It’s over. We got to the mid-point, essentially, at only one (1) game over .500. And if we lose tomorrow, to the Islanders, we’ll be at .500.

So?

So, to make the playoffs, Atlanta must go 11, or 12 games over .500 the rest of the way. It’s not an impossible task. But from the looks of it, it’s not going to happen.

Now, I hear ya. You silent bloggers, and even the “not so silent” bloggers who predicted 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th or even 15th in the Conference, will come forward to say, “But Brendan, I knew this wasn’t a playoff team back in September. Shoot, I knew it in July. I knew it when Don Waddell wasn’t fired.”

Yes, fine. But, “that’s why they play the games.” If we don’t play the games, we don’t have any results to confirm or discredit those thoughts. Truthfully, Atlanta’s right about where I thought they’d be at this juncture. I’ve got a prediction of 85-points, 3rd in SE, and 10th in the Conference, from our contest, which concluded back on “puck drop” of Opening Night. NO MORE VOTES. VOTING ENDED in OCTOBER.

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wow. what a choke job….. they looked like they finally had understood the need to come to the arena ready to play starting from the puck drop-played a nice road game, then they took their collective foot off the gas and guess what? snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

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I live in north Ga. and lost my sports south feed because of some squabble over pricing with Fox. Anybody else lose sports south? Guess it’s time to get the dish.

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As a long suffering Atlanta sports fan, all I can say about last night’s game is WTF is gonna happen next?

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Often to break out of a losing streak, you need a game like last nights. Outplay the opposition and still lose. If they bring that effort tonight, they’ll win. Little looked better.

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General Manager Rick Dudley sounds real good right now, real soon we hope!

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Here’s your boxscore: http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2009020610

Notice that Hainsey and Antropov were the only “plus” (+1) players for the Thrashers. Kubina’s give-a-way, that lead to the 1st Sabre goal, made him a -1 for this game.

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Helps to embed the link: http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2009020615

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I just looked at the shift report on the game. Salmella’s last 2 shifts were the 2nd & 3rd goals Buffalo scored. After 4:15 of the 3rd, he did not appear back on the ice.

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Andy Murray fired by the Blues and still the same status quo in “Bluehoo” Land. Wake up ASG, you are not going to have EITHER team in the playoffs this year!

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While Whitey hasn’t scored a goal in forever, he is not by any stretch our biggest problem right now. He is fine as a 2-way defensively responsible C playing 3rd line minutes. In fact, I really liked him with Kane and Armstrong. Problem is, they weren’t producing many goals playing together.

The bigger problem is Slava. He’s just not very good on the forecheck and his lack of speed hurts him getting back if / when he takes a chance and pinches in deep to try to get the cycle going. Why JA hasn’t at least tried him with Peverley and Army I’ll never understand. That was our best line at the end of the season last year for 20+ games. At least he might have enough defensive protection with those 2 if they were to be re-united.

Problem is, that leaves a line of either Kane – White – Little if you leave the Russian Front together. But that would still be better than Kane – White – Finny. If the KWL line were assembled for the next several weeks, they should be charged with focusing on defense and making the safe play. Occasionally, if the defense is good, they will get a good breakout chance and might be able to capitalize on their speed for some goals.

I’d rather see that than Kozzy – White – Little, Kozzy – Slater – Little, Kozzy – White – Finny (NOOO!) or any other combo that doesn’t give Kozzy a banger like Kane, Army or Thorburn to protect him. Or you could move Finny down a line and let Kozzy play with Kovy and Antro. It’s our first PP unit anyway and Kozzy said he would be willing to play RW if it was better for the team. Well, anything but the status quo w/r/t Kozzy would be better for the team!! Do something JA…sit him, reduce his minutes…something!! Kozzy is a much bigger liability than White or Little.

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Bob, I think we could make an argument that, had Kovalchuk re-signed in back in July, those games were “meaningful” insofaras they caused #17 to make a longterm commitment to playing in Atlanta.

Obviously, that didn’t happen. And, maybe, won’t happen. So, yes. A less than honorable finish to the 2009 season by Atlanta might have blocked our division rivals, Tampa Bay, from landing Hedman in the draft. Bygones. Can’t be undone.

At least, I think, we got a decent player at #4. I don’t know that Atlanta could have managed to unseat anyone but Colorado in that draft. So, we might have been looking at Duchene, but no higher. Plus, as you know, the lottery draft is determined by the pingpong balls. Even the L.A. Kings, technically, had some chance at John Tavares.

If someone is asking me who I’d rather have, over the longhaul, Kane, Duchene, Taveres or Hedman, my answer would be John Tavares. But honestly, I don’t think anyone would do badly with any of the them.

The Kings and Capitals are now tied, 1-1, after two periods.

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Brendan-That sound you hear is me thumping my head on the table during this first period. Woeful! Is it too late for me to move back to Minnesota, freeze my buttocks off and cheer for the Wild?

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“Bob, this one’s for you bud”

Dude, if you think Kane has a prayer of becoming the player that Tavares is, well then, giddyup

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In the first two contests, the Islanders spanked us by 3 goals. What’s the lead tonight? Three goals. Yes, folks. The offensive juggernauts that are former Thrasher Jon Sim and Richard Park, joined Moulson as a trio of goal scorers.

Unless the Thrashers overcome this deficit, they will be 1-7-2, for 3-points out of a possible 20, over their last ten (10) games.

Finny scores! It’s 3-1. I love it! Who “overcomitted” on the play? Yep, the pylon Andy Sutton. Don’tcha just miss “Mandy?”

But I digress. The Saint Louis Blues canned Andy Murray today. Atlanta does nothing. And now it’s 4-1, Islanders! Who got it? Brendan Witt?? Is that who got it?

Kozlov has now been goaded into a high-sticking penalty on Jon Sim. This team is a comedy of errors. I swear. They’re in total disarray. Better not point out that the “Emperor isn’t wearing any clothes.” This just in, from Mr. Levenson. “The team is sporting the finest silk from the Orient.” D’oh!

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9 goals given up in the last 4 periods. I guess we are out of the Vezina hunt.

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Well how many more ways can we lose a game ?

Road trip, Game 1, Refs were TERRIBLE, we played fairly well, our goalie was bad at the start.

Game – 2 Close but let another weaker team win, and a guy scores his first goal in 19 games…

Game – 3 A pretty good effort overall, a lucky bounce for NJ and we are
doomed again.

Game – 4 DID NOT SHOW UP PERIOD !

Game – 5 We can ill afford to lose 3 goal leads… Buffalo is NOT a
high scoring team, then that fluke bounce…

Game – 6 Good comeback, then usual reliable goalie falters badly in
shootout…

Game – 7 Will be a BLOWOUT to end this dismal streach.

4-10 in December AWFUL !

We need a shake-up, too bad the people in control have no idea what they are doing !

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Ranallo warning?? Not seeing one …

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. Your attention, please. We have a NEWWWWWWW +/- leader on the Atlanta Thrashers: It’s Nik Antropovvvvvvv. http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20102ATLAASAll&sort=plusMinus&viewName=summary

Pavel Kubina’s practically season-long dominance of the plus-minus stat is over. He’s been dethroned. Congratulations to Nik Antropov.

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Andy Sutton was a -3 in this game! Miss him yet?

Uhh, also a -3, however, was Atlanta’s Christophe Schubert. D’oh! If Ilya’s “bags are packed,” he didn’t show it tonight. He had 4-points, including a goal, and was +3. Kovalchuk did miss on his shootout attempt. At +3 was fellow countryman Nik Antropov, who had a goal. Finny had 2G and 2A, for 4-points and was “even” on his plus-minus.

Max Afinogenov now has 39-points in 41 games. He’s earning his $800,000 a year, and then some. But, he’s also still making plenty of lazy, intercepted passes and is careless in the neutral zone. And yes, he coughs up the puck a lot. I think he also has three (3) GWG, unless I’m confusing him with Kane, which I may be. Peverley has six GWG, I’m sure of that. Todd White has 3 goals all year, but one of them was a GWG.

At +2 tonight, were Anssi Salmela and Toby Enstrom. Toby Enstrom is the assist leader on the Atlanta Thrashers. That’s kinda nice for him.

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Rawhide – You suck, I was waiting to be first in 2010.

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Brendan-what a great Jr. championship. I am so glad we have been able to see the games, thanks to NHL Network. I used to be able to see these games every year when I lived in Buffalo; Canadian television broadcast the games during every holiday. It was another added bonus for the holidays!

Happy Sunday folks; time to put aside the losing streak and enjoy our last day of rest before we have to go back to work.

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