Is the Kovalchuk era in Thrasherville nearing an end?
As recently as New Years Eve, I held to the proposition that there was a better than even chance that Ilya Kovalchuk would re-sign with the Atlanta Thrashers…the only NHL team he has ever played for.
But as I also told a handful of close friends around that time, if a deal had not been announced by the team’s annual Casino Night, then chances are he’ll be pulling on the sweater of a different team in the league before he dons the one for his native Russia in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Could Thrashers captain Ilya Kovalchuk be saluting Thrasherville good-bye in the coming days? (AP Photo)
Casino Night came and went this past Sunday and, of course, there was no surprise announcement similar to last year’s when Kovy was given the “C” to wear on his jersey.
Then Monday morning, Don Waddell told our own Chris Vivlamore, “Our first priority still remains to sign him…that’s clear. I probably didn’t leave the door open enough at the beginning of the year because, obviously, I was hoping that this would be long done by now. We also have to protect the asset. He’s an asset to our franchise. …
“[A trade] still looms as an option, but it’s not my first choice.”
Uh-huh…why do I picture Michael Corleone kissing his brother Fredo in Havana when I read this?
And so, while I was very optimistic that Kovy would sign a contract to remain in Atlanta up to recently, the fact is that since we are at this point of the season and no deal is yet done…it’s easy to see why many feel he’s already got one skate out the door.
Now, the NHL trade deadline this season is 3:00 pm eastern time on Wednesday March 3, which is one day after the Thrashers play their first game after the Olympic break…a home match against the Florida Panthers. However, as I stated earlier, if a trade will be made…chances are good it will be done prior to that date. Actually, I think a lot of deals will be done before the scheduled 2-week break in mid-February given the fact that general managers and owners would rather not risk having players who may be on the trade block injured during the Winter Games while still on their payroll.
Which will be the last home game that Kovy will be a Thrasher
- 1/12 vs. OTT (3%, 6 Votes)
- 1/14 vs. BUF (3%, 5 Votes)
- 1/19 vs. TOR (3%, 6 Votes)
- 1/21 vs. CAR (7%, 13 Votes)
- 1/26 vs. ANA (13%, 23 Votes)
- 2/2 vs. TB (12%, 21 Votes)
- 2/6 vs. FLA (19%, 34 Votes)
- 3/2 vs. FLA (6%, 10 Votes)
- None, he'll re-sign with ATL (16%, 28 Votes)
- He'll be "loaned" via trade, then re-sign with ATL (18%, 34 Votes)
Total Voters: 180
Loading ...Given that, if Don Waddell is in fact unable to accomplish his mission to re-sign Kovy, that means there are seven home games left in which Thrashers fans will be able to enjoy seeing the Russian sniper play in Thrasher blue. Even if the matter does play out until the day of NHL Trade-Deadline-A-Palooza 2010, that would still be just eight games including the March 2 contest against the Panthers.
Thus, the new Fan Poll to the side of this entry is asking for your prediction of what home game will be his last. If you feel he will indeed sign here in the coming weeks, you can vote that way as well.
But moreover, I also want to know what you feel will be an adequate return for the NHL’s first overall draft pick in 2001? Teams that I’ve heard which have expressed an interest in his services include Philadelphia, Chicago and LA…though certainly others will give Waddell a phone call or two in the coming days.
Are you simply looking to replace Kovalchuk’s goals? Are you looking to add defensive help…even if that’s a winger that can back-check like a madman? Are you looking for a combination of a couple solid goal-scorers plus some prospects/high draft picks?
Painting with a rather broad brush here, I only hope that Don Waddell can actually bring a maximum return for Kovalchuk…yeah, yeah, I know, I know. This team needs players that can help right now and we simply cannot be sitting here in two years waiting for certain players obtained via any possible trade to “develop” in order to determine whether or not the transaction was beneficial to the Thrashers.
You know, kinda like we are two years after the last time Waddell was forced to trade away a star player because he was unable to convince him to re-sign with the Thrashers.
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118 comments Add your comment
Somaatl95
January 12th, 2010
10:57 am
Brendan, thanks dude. My first hockey game was a knights game in the Omni, during their championship year. It just saddens me to see a minor league team in Atlanta can succeed but a major league team is mismanaged and the fans only go to the games because they want to be let down. Or in the Thrashers case as of late get free air conditioning. What should I expect, being a native of the area, when we were the idiots that showed the world via the 1996 Olympics that we are all about Chrome Pickup Trucks and pastel colored cowboys driving them??? Jeez……
Curious George
January 12th, 2010
11:04 am
Is it true Ilya Kovalchuk just turned down a job offer from the UGA Football Team to be the new Defensive Coordinator?
R. Stroz
January 12th, 2010
11:15 am
Brendan – Well done. My point stands, Waddell doesn’t know how to value players, as evidenced by the revolving door of players.
How many seasons has this team ended up in the bottom 10 teams in the league?
Waddell is an idiot and the trust fund baby owners are morons.
If someone were to make a movie about Thrasher management and owners, they’d name it Idiot and Idioter.
Bob
January 12th, 2010
11:20 am
Rawhide, I read that. However, step back and think about it. That makes no sense, as they went out in July and signed Antropov because Kovy wanted him. They brought in Max and also traded for Kubina to make Kovy happy. If they weren’t sure they wanted to sign Kovy, why would they go and sign those guys last summer? And they signed Antropov to a 4 year deal, that was done in an effort to keep Kovy.
Doesn’t add up, what makes more sense is that just one of the leaks coming out to set up the excuses for the inevitable backlash they’ll get when they have to pull the trigger on the trade.
Smoothie
January 12th, 2010
11:22 am
The only player who has really had any long-term success playing with Kovy is Marc Savard. Boston should be the #1 target in trading him.
With Savvy out again for 3-4 weeks, there is a good chance Boston will hit the skids again (hell, Marc is even important to their PK!) and perhaps drop a couple of rungs or even out of a playoff spot (I’m thinking 7th eventually) unless Tim Thomas stands on his head.
Should that happen, I seriously think DWad may be able to pull of a trade with them that includes Sturm (LW swap), who only has 1 yr left on his deal, Derek Morris, who is a UFA and is as good as gone next year, and the prized #2 pick (Carolina will likely have #1) in the draft this year (Tyler Seguin?) via the Kessel TOR trade.
Boston has already admitted to needing additional scoring and even brought in Satan. Why not sweeten the pot and offer up Mad Max if they’d rather have him to augment another line. Personally, I’d rather have Ryder and figure out a way to get my hands on Rask (sorry Ondrej!).
DWad might as well shoot for the moon when and if Boston tanks:
ATL gets – Ryder (UFA), Paille (RFA), Morris (UFA), Rask (expensive) and their 2010 # 1 pick…throw in Satan too if you want Chiarelli
Bos gets – Kovy (and his exclusive rights), Mad Max (cheap scoring depth), Pavelec (still has upside and is $1.4 M cheaper than Rask), and our # 1 this year.
Boston would get their scoring depth, exclusive rights to re-sign Kovy, which is plausible since Chara likely won’t get a big raise, if at all, after this season and next at the age of 33, and a replacement for Rask. But the biggest plus is that they stand to save $2.4 to $3.0 M this year under the cap (depends on Satan as a throw-in and bonuses) which would allow them to be buyers at the deadline for even more help, if neccessary. They then jettison Max next year and build on a line-up of this for the future:
Kovy – Savard – Wheeler
Lucic – Bergeron – Satan (or UFA)
Sturm – Krejci – Bitz
Begin – Sobotka – Thornton
Jimbo
January 12th, 2010
11:34 am
The realization is finally settling in- Kovy is not a WINNER. He is simply a scorer who has dazzled us with some spectacular rushes and bullets from the side boards, but when he is on the ice at even strength- WE LOSE. Donnie Brilliance and the so-called “owners” blew a chance last summer to get something decent in return for him. Now they simply don’t know what to do. Better times ahead without Kovy the Koaster and Donnie Brilliance- WE HOPE.
Dwayne
January 12th, 2010
11:50 am
One day I will wake up, look at AJC.com to read that Kovy will be gone, Donnie boy will be fired, JA will be fired and Kari will be back in net and Stendec will have opened fire with multiple automatic weapons on all of us koolaide drinkers.
World Be Free
January 12th, 2010
11:54 am
GaVa-if you can get those 3 players from LA, make the deal today. Maybe exchange Frolov for Jack Johnson. I’ll drive the by to the airport.
All depends on how much LA really wants to make the deal.
Daculafan
January 12th, 2010
11:56 am
OK…I’m going to break with the crowd here on the whole “If Kovy goes so do I” bandwagon. Do I like Ilya Kovalchuk? hell yeah..do I think he’s exciting to watch? hell yeah…do I think he’s worth more money (10+ million) than Alex Ovechkin….no way in hell
The fact is if this deal doesn’t get done and it’s over money..don’t be so quick to jump on ole Donny boy…If he pays him a cent more than 9 mill he needs his head checked. The fact is this…Kovy is a liability on defense..he’s yet to post a positive +/- number yet in all his years in the NHL. He scores goals..but he has been responsible for more than his share of goals scored against us also.
There’s a maxim in all sports about winning…Offense wins games…defense wins championships. It’s true in football..it’s true in hockey…it does you no good to score 3 goals a game when you let in 4 and guess what folks…that’s what has been happening for a long time in Blueland.
Let’s just call a spade a spade…Is Kovy good? without question….is Kovy great? I don’t think so…if he was so great then he’d be playing both sides of the puck with the same passion that he plays the offensive side. If you’ve been to more than 2 Thrashers games you can’t sit here and tell me that you’ve seen the typical Kovy MO of peeling off from the defensive play to wait for the puck to break out of the zone so he could get a jump on the play…meanwhile the red light over our goalie’s head all the sudden lights up.
Kovy is 38 games played right now with 24 goals and 22 assists and is a -4. Alex Ovechkin (his contemporary..captain of his team…face of his franchise..payed 9 mil per season..is 36 games played (2 less) is 27 goals and 27 assists and is a +24…you read that right…+24. If you want further proof of what I’m talking about…let’s look at their careers. Since Ovechkin got in the league (2005-2006 season) he’s been a +43, since that year Kovy has been a -36. Now if you sit there and tell me that Kovy is worth a penny more than 9 mil then you need a drug test and so does Jay Grossman.
Where I do lay blame at Waddell’s feet isn’t for not signing him yet cost be damned..but not pushing the issue of a contract when he had more leverage in the league if he couldn’t sign Kovy. Will a team sign Kovy to the money he wants? I’m sure of it…just look at the Rangers and their penchant for overpaying for talent…that’s a skill that is almost universal among GMs in this league..but is Don Waddell exercising poor judgment for not signing Kovy?…not if the price is more is than 9 mil/year
Will I continue to come to Thrashers games without Kovy? If they can win and do it on a consistant basis I don’t care if Alvin and the chipmunks play for them. It’s not Kovy that brings butts to the seats..if that were the case then the place would be packed every time he’s on the ice…it’s a winner that draws fans
LAC
January 12th, 2010
11:57 am
Hummm… Report on KMBZ 980 Kansas City, that an NHL team in the SE
division, “might”, 60% chance reported…,be in KC for next season.
No name, but who else COULD it be ?
This is THE beginning of the END of NHL hockey in Atlanta.
Started with hossa, then #17, and now these IDIOT owners, and of course the man with NO brain or any hockey smarts IDIOT don waddell.
Thanks “don” YOU destroyed hockey here, Guess we’ll be at The Sprint Center next season, but those St.Louis/Chicago games should be GOOD !
Dwayne
January 12th, 2010
11:58 am
No need to get a goalie, they will wilt away like the ones we have now, no D, no D coach, no goalie coach.
GaVaHokie
January 12th, 2010
11:58 am
Bob… I’ll put two of your quotes together… see how they look…
Waddell should’ve set a deadline of the opening of training camp for the deal to be done, and if Kovy hadn’t signed, trade him then.
They brought in Max and also traded for Kubina to make Kovy happy. If they weren’t sure they wanted to sign Kovy, why would they go and sign those guys last summer? And they signed Antropov to a 4 year deal, that was done in an effort to keep Kovy.
So, why would they put up an ultimatum for Kovy to sign before training camp after making all those moves to make him happy, just to turn around and trade him?
The real issue is did they wait TOO long to make Kovy happy?… they put themselves in this bind by waiting for Kovy’s contract year before making the correct acquisitions.
They’re car salesmen… they only give you what you want when you’re walking out the door.
Schroeder
January 12th, 2010
12:26 pm
For cryin’ out loud,do something.Close the deal or pull the trigger on a trade.Fraudell and Grossman have re-arranged the deck chairs on the Titanic for long enough.The NHL is not going to stop the season while you 2 run up the expense reports over lunch.GIT IT DONE!!!
Bob
January 12th, 2010
12:29 pm
“So, why would they put up an ultimatum for Kovy to sign before training camp after making all those moves to make him happy, just to turn around and trade him?”
To make sure they don’t wind up in the situation that they are in today. It’s simple good management. You have a player who said “I want better guys around me” and he himself suggested some, who you go out and sign. So, you had a request, you fulfilled it. Now you go to the player and say, ok we signed the guys you want, sign here for 10 years, and if he doesn’t do it, you know you’re getting yanked around and you move him to get your value. You don’t sit there hoping against hope that somehow someway Kovy is going to sign. That’s just bad management, but then again, those of us that have been paying attention to Waddell’s inept moves for years now, have suspected that’s the ultimate problem, bad management.
“They’re car salesmen… they only give you what you want when you’re walking out the door.”
Finally, something we can agree upon!
jt
January 12th, 2010
12:38 pm
The team is not moving next year.
GaVaHokie
January 12th, 2010
12:43 pm
Allow me to go out in WAY left field… Montreal seems to really want Frolov to play alongside Cammalleri.
So here’s my 3-way trade offer.
ATL: Dustin Brown, Sergei Kostitsyn, Jaro Halak
LA: Ilya Kovlachuk
MON: Alex Frolov
lilibeter
January 12th, 2010
12:50 pm
I have two wish lists – one for the best case scenario and one for the worst.
– Wish List #1 (this one is the best case scenario) –
1. I want to keep Kovy
If Wish List #1 doesn’t come to pass, then we move on to Wish List #2. Please understand that I do not know the names and current team rosters for everyone else in the league. I watch the other teams and see what all of them keep doing that we seem to avoid like the plague. That being said, Wish List #2 consists of things that I want – fill in the appropriate names as you desire.
– Wish List #2 –
1. I want guys who will guard the blue line with their life. I want to enjoy the pleasure of watching the other team fight like crazy to cross into our offensive zone, and I want to watch them fail more often than they succeed and suffer for the effort if they do succeed.
2. I want guys who will shoot the puck without waiting and waiting and waiting for the end-all, be-all, perfect SOG opportunity to appear.
3. I want a big dude to go stand in front of the net, screen the other team’s goaltender so badly that he gets whiplash trying to peer out from around our net mountain, and I want him to scoop up rebound after rebound after rebound from #2 above.
Schroeder
January 12th, 2010
12:54 pm
GaVaHokie-I like this a lot but you would probably have to send Pavelic to Montreal to make it happen.Plus I would want the other Kostitsyn as well. Nice to dream isn’t it.
GaVaHokie
January 12th, 2010
1:13 pm
Schroeder, I don’t think Pavs needs to be involved… I think Montreal would send Kostitsyn and Halak to LA right now for Frolov if they could… LA doesn’t need Halak… we do.
If anything, I’d hope we could get Brayden Schenn in the deal as well since LA is only giving up Dustin Brown for the most part… Frolov being a UFA this summer.
Dwayne
January 12th, 2010
1:25 pm
Yes…lets dream, I would love to have two big kostitsyn’s in ATL.
J.B.
January 12th, 2010
2:02 pm
one of ‘em had some pretty serious knee surgery last week I believe. Not a problem we need at this point.
GaVaHokie
January 12th, 2010
2:22 pm
J.B… actually, they’re both injured, but Andrei is the one with knee surgery.
Scotty
January 12th, 2010
2:37 pm
I think what we are trying to say here is…..FIRE WADDELL!
Not Blind
January 12th, 2010
2:44 pm
How about some NA players ???? Guys raised up on rough and tumble play.
Matt
January 12th, 2010
2:57 pm
What was that…..FIRE WADDELL? Why yes, we should FIRE WADDELL. But unfortunately for us, the fans, the damage has been done. Five year plan..repeat…another five year plan…repeat again.
Ownership should be staked to a fire ant hill, covered in honey and then forced to watch Patrick Stefan, Jim Slater and all the other wasted draft picks over and over and over. It’s not that I’m not already P.O.’ed at ASG, but if I find out that they deliberately chose not to negotiate with Kovy for 2 months, I believe I will snap in two.
Smoothie
January 12th, 2010
3:01 pm
To hell with the Kostitsyns! No more Euros! I want more Canadians on this team…or gritty Americans.
No offense to Russian or any other Russian out there. I just think the overall composition of the team should be focused on North Americans. We’ve gone the heavy Euro route and it’s gotten us nowhere!
Christoph Schubert
January 12th, 2010
3:13 pm
Was Don Waddell dem Thrashers gemacht hat, ist das gleiche Ding, das Deutschland nach Polen im September von 1939 gemacht hat.
Rusty
January 12th, 2010
3:14 pm
Look at it from Donnie’s perspective. They’ve been consistent losers with Kovy on the team. So, he can sign Kovy for $9-10 mil and continue to lose; or they can not sign him for $9-10 mil, save the money and lose in more dramatic fashion. Either way, the most consistent loser is the long-suffering, nearly extinct Atlanta hockey fan.
All public commentary to the contrary, when Kovy didn’t sign over the summer or early in the season, it was obvious he was outta here. All this public pandering is to keep us on the edge of our seats hoping our pleasant behavior will entice him back. Otherwise, we’d all be in front of the TV (definitely not in Phillips) booing him, if we were watching at all.
Good players with options don’t sign with a franchise that amasses only four playoff games (losing all four) in 10 years. Great players want to be champions and won’t stay with franchises that can only achieve four playoff games in 10 years. Hence, Heatley (for a variety of reasons), Hossa and Kovy figured their future lay elsewhere. What Waddell needs to figure is who has decent playoff prospects that will give us something with which we can win with fairly quickly and build with going forward. Another Dupuis/Hossa for Christiansen/Armstrong/Esposito deal won’t do it. I’d have given them Hossa for free to keep Dupuis.
Meanwhile, Kovy can shop around next summer for what Heatley (jerk that he is) and Hossa got – the money they want and the championship prospects they crave.
Bob
January 12th, 2010
3:20 pm
“It’s not that I’m not already P.O.’ed at ASG, but if I find out that they deliberately chose not to negotiate with Kovy for 2 months, I believe I will snap in two.”
The ASG blows, but that rumor is just plain goofy. It makes no sense whatsoever.
Step back and think what we all saw with our own eyes this season (except Sara who told me I was nuts when it was obvious that Kovy’s play turned, where did she go?). Kovy came to play this season. He was playing great the 1st two months of the season. Do you really think he looked like someone who was in a situation where his current team wouldn’t even discuss a contract with him?
It was obvious when the contract turned bad, you could see it in his play.
Red Light
January 12th, 2010
3:22 pm
GaVaHokie
Stan Fischler said this afternoon on NHL Live that Price, not Halak, is more likely to be dealt if Gainey wants to cut bait in Montreal.
Here are some plausible deals in my opinion:
Philadelphia: Kovy for Briere and Powe
St. Louis: Kovy for Boyes and Backman
Chicago: Kovy for Sharp and Sopel
Colorado: Kovy for Liles, Svatos (UFA) and a first-round pick
Los Angeles: Kovy for Frolov (UFA) and Stoll
Ottawa: Kovy for Michalek and Volchenkov (UFA)
Vancouver: Kovy for Bernier (RFA), Salo and Wellwood (UFA)
Other picks and AHLers could be included
Thrashers are going to have to pick up some salary to make a deal happen. And, lets not forget that Kovalchuk, bar none, is the biggest free agent on the market this summer, so he and Grossman are playing with a stacked deck.
Red Light
January 12th, 2010
3:23 pm
Help me again Trixie, I’m shouting. No more bold for me!
rob
January 12th, 2010
3:26 pm
Who should be the “C”? Anyone out there bleeding Thrasher blue? Rookie Kane in top 5 +/-. Over rated one way player with “C” on his shirt a -whatever. We did just fine when he broke his foot. Give us a hard working 2 way player and be done. The question is who can/will lead this team? A true “C”, a Thrasher who will leave it all on the ice for the fans to see.
Jeff
January 12th, 2010
3:28 pm
At this point, I don’t really care if Kovy signs or not….This team needs to focus on something else than the contract negotiation of ONE player. Whatever happens need to happen now while we’re still in the race for the playoffs…
GaVaHokie
January 12th, 2010
3:39 pm
Red Light… if Waddell trades Kovy to Philly for Briere, I’m calling “Shenanigans!”
Waddell said all last summer they were looking for a player who was on the backside of a long contract extension, one that was less of a cap hit… ala Briere.
Perhaps he’s known all along that he was going to trade Kovy to Philly for Briere… maybe even Lehtonen for a bigger package of players.
… that’s my conspiracy theory for the day to go along with my one 3-way trade option.
World Be Free
January 12th, 2010
3:44 pm
I am so sick of talking about this subject. Don’t we have a game tonight and BUFFALO on Thursday?
Paminski
January 12th, 2010
4:06 pm
WBF – I’m attending the Buffalo game. I’ll be in the cheap seats, somewhere in the front of 307 or 308 if I remember right. Yes, I’ll be in a Thrashers jersey, but I may sneak my Buffalo T-shirt underneath. Last time I did that at TJ’s, the Thrash won.
World Be Free
January 12th, 2010
4:09 pm
Paminski-Hope to see you there-let me know your section/seat when you get it. I do not have mine yet
TableHockey
January 12th, 2010
4:12 pm
I’ll be at the Buffalo game as well – hopefully the team will look better than their last outing…
Smoothie
January 12th, 2010
4:23 pm
World – if you need a pre-game, hockey preview fix, check out my blog:
http://thrashingbirds.blogspot.com/2010/01/gameday-preview-i-dont-normally-do.html
And I got a little help from Dacula as well. Actually, I have another long “season on the brink” type entry below that one…that is if you really want to risk making yourself quite depressed!
Smoothie
January 12th, 2010
4:25 pm
WBF – I may also have 2 tkts available for Thursday in Section 318, row E if the two people I’m waiting on for an answer pull out last minute tomorrow.
Rawhide should have my e-mail address if you want to drop me a line.
Russ
January 12th, 2010
4:37 pm
There are two highlights for Thrasher fans to look forward to every year: 1)What DW gets in return for the firesale of impending free agents at the trade deadline and 2)Who he selects with the top five draft pick.
This is where we all hoped to be in season 10, right?
LAC
January 12th, 2010
4:38 pm
You are right Bob, just more and more evidence that levenson is a drunk,
Still willing to put my companies up against you foul mouthed little THING, Doesn’t anyone stand up for what they believe anymore ?
Just how much futher can a franchise sink ? I now am starting to believe the team will be gone after this season and if Mr.Pottymouth
ordered no contract talks until 10/31, then ALL hockey fans in Atlanta need to STAY HOME and not attend, why not ?
I liked the St.Louis trade best, Briere has only a couple more left in the tank and he is not lighting it up in The City of Brotherly Love either.
StateBird
January 12th, 2010
5:11 pm
In a rare situation I am putting money on the Thrashers tonight. If they don’t have the drive to win this game they are indeed hopeless. Although Opie in net worries me. His form certainly isn’t the same as it was in his 50 save performance against Ottowa.
p.s. LAC – Briere is exactly what DW would get … small and underperforming.
Somaatl95
January 12th, 2010
5:13 pm
Lets have a history lesson of our teams at year 10 – 1976 Atlanta Braves: 70 wins, 92 losses. 1976 Atlanta Falcons: 4 wins, 10 losses. 1978 Atlanta Hawks: 41 wins, 41 losses. Atlanta Flames didn’t even make it a whole decade before being shipped away to Calgary and managed to make the playoffs 6 of their 8 years in Atlanta – so naturally the only winning pro franchise leaves town before year 10. You’d think by now we would know that dismal ownership and shoddy management gives the same product over and over again, but we Atlantans are masochistic and will always come back for more. To answer your question Russ this isn’t what I had hoped for for season 10, but it was pretty much what I (and all of us) should have been prepared for. And that is so sad that I’m searching for my box of Kleenex…..
Lew 39
January 12th, 2010
5:33 pm
I think both sides are right and I think the negotiations with Kovy have gone as far as they can without compromise. As much as Waddell’s track record is questionable, his statement on being able to bring other players in with KOvy making 20% of the cap is somewhat accurate. Is Waddell being hard headed? Maybe.
If Kovy truly wanted to stay, he could go the way of Chipper Jones, who lowered his short term demands for a longer term payout; which helped the Braves. Is Kovy being greedy? Maybe.
Do we need Kovy; yes? Can he be replaced; yes. Once you take away the emotion we can lose with him or without him. Have we played ourselves out of a play-off spot, yet again? Probably. Our teams just don’t seem to click. If Kovy goes will be get anyone in return? Look at Waddell’s record (some of this smells of Hossa).
We need shades of gray from both sides not black and white if Kovy is going to stay. As for this team, on paper, they are better than where we are in currently in the standings; This team has not been the same since the 4 straight losses against the Rangers.
I am one hell of a frustrated season ticket holder.
Brendan
January 12th, 2010
5:57 pm
I’m prepared to face your ridicule, Somaatl95. Prepare to laugh HEARTILY at this post. But this is actually how I envisoned the Thrashers through 10 years, if they had stayed on course and been competently run.
1999-00: Lottery draft
2000-01: Lottery draft
2001-02: Lottery draft
2002-03: Playoff bubble team/no playoffs
2003-04: 1st round playoff loss (5-year plan, a success!)
2004-05: 2nd round playoff loss (Atlanta catches the fever!)
2005-06: CF berth/loss (Atlanta Hockey now growing like a weed)
2006-07: SCF berth/loss (Heartbreaker, but we’re still close)
2007-08: Stanley Cup Champions (”We ARE Family. I got all my sistas widme–That’s the way, uhh-uhh, I like it!. Uh-huh, Uh-huh)
2008-09: CF berth/loss (We’re still in the hunt)
2009-10: 2nd round playoff loss (We’re not as good as we were, but we’re still respectable and competitive.)
2010-11: Time for change? New GM? New Coaches/Scouts? It’s the ebb and flow of success and failure. Tide rolls in. Tide rolls out.
Somaatl95
January 12th, 2010
6:36 pm
Brendan,
I am not a di*k, I swear it. Just passionate about the Thrash and frustrated by them at the same time. Way back when (99) I saw the same hope that you did. I was hoping the Thrashers would buck the trend of the other teams but the circumstances seem to be the same as our other pro teams so history repeats itself.
No ridicule
Peace!
stendec
January 12th, 2010
7:07 pm
Puck about to drop. God, please do not let this be another Washington debacle. Amen. ++STENDEC++
HookyBob
January 12th, 2010
7:14 pm
OK,…now all Bolts needs is an assist and a fight.
Sage of Bluesland
January 12th, 2010
7:31 pm
The hockey blogs are having a field day with this fiasco.
Just another day in the life of the Thrashers faithful, fighting for relevance.