Glass ‘half full’ or ‘half empty’ road trip?
First of all…I’m working this morning from an office that resembles an over-stocked flower shop. All of you people that sent Valentines Day roses to Trixie…just thanks. I’m not going to get any work out of her at all for the next several days as she reads all of the cards attached to them. Plus, since she absolutely loves getting flowers, she is just beside herself if happiness and bliss…and work has taken a backseat.
So just thanks…thanks a pant load!
sigh…
Well, at least she is letting me have some of the chocolate.
Anyway…the Thrashers return from their three game road trip with a record of 1-0-2, gaining four out of a possible six points. Anytime you can net 2/3 of the points available, you’re doing well. But at this juncture in the season, a team that considers themselves as a playoff contender has to find a way to get that extra point from games that made it to overtime…which was the case in two of the three games.
Making things just a little more frustrating is the fact that both OT losses came after the Thrashers surrendered third period leads. Wednesday night in Colorado Atlanta relinquished a two-goal advantage with less than nine minutes left to play in the third…then saw the Avs skate away with the extra point after only 9 seconds worth of overtime has elapsed. Then last night in Chicago, after turning a 3-1 first period deficit into a 4-3 second period lead, the Thrashers let another one slip away, this time in the shootout.
Two points left on the table…albeit from two very good teams. But if you look at the standings this morning, that is exactly the amount of points separating this team from the eighth and final playoff spot.
Of course, that’s the “glass half empty” side of this discussion…what about the “glass half full” side?
Jim Slater gets his Valentines Day hug from Kim Johnsson Saturday night (AP Photo/John Smierciak)
We, if you consider we were playing three Western Conference teams, one of which is the second seed out west and the other is currently tied with Vancouver for first in the Northwest Division, the fact that the Thrashers played them all as well as they did has to be an encouraging sight indeed.
I mean, show of hands…how many out there last Tuesday would have seen four out of six points this week as a good thing considering the opposition? Uh-huh…yeah, me too.
And given that the overtime games were played out west, none of the points surrendered in OT gave anything to teams the Thrashers are battling with back east…so 1-0-2 is really no different than 2-1-0. It’s still four points in the standings.
Another promising sign here is that the team is getting balanced scoring across the lines from players that do need to step up in the post-Kovalchuk era.
In the five games since the trade, Nik Antropov has 2 goals, 6 assists and is a +1, (+3 since the loss to Washington)…Evander Kane has 3 goals, an assists and is a +2…Bryan Little has 2 goals, 2 assists and is a +2…Toby Enstrom has 2 goals and an assist…Maxim Afinogenov has two goals…Rich Peverley has a goal and an assists…and Jimmy Slater scored last night in Chicago and is a +1 since the Thrashers began life A.K. Slates, along with Kane, was a +2 versus the Blackhawks.
What's your view of the Thrashers right now?
- Glass half full (92%, 167 Votes)
- Glass half empty (8%, 14 Votes)
Total Voters: 181
Loading ...Then there are the contributions from Niclas Bergfors…3 goals, two of them game winners, an assists on 18 SOG and he’s a +2.
As a team, the Thrashers have continued to score goals at a better than 3-per game clip…notching a total of 16 in the last five games plus 5:09 worth of overtime play. As you can see, the goals are still coming from this squad, which is a very encouraging sign indeed.
So, given the way this team has responded since the Kovalchuk trade, going into the Olympic break…going 2-1-2 in the five games played in that stretch, do you have a “glass half full” or a “glass half empty” view of this team.
Me…I’m of the “glass half full” opinion…but not as full as the glass vases containing all the roses on Trixie’s desk. That’s just out of control.
Next year guys, just send the chocolate…OK?
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137 comments Add your comment
Smoothie
February 14th, 2010
2:14 pm
Oh yeah, throw in a “checking” line of Army – Slates – Max and you’ve got a mighty nice Top 9. I say “checking” in the sense of fore-checking their asses off. Say whay you will about the Mad Gambler, he has back-checked and supported the puck in the corners since the Wash game. Now that the initial shock is gone, I still think Max is playing like a guy out to prove a point. If we can just break him of the habit of passing cross-ice so often, I’d welcome him back with open arms.
Smoothie
February 14th, 2010
2:18 pm
Just a helpful reminder that no contract offers can be tendered to a RFA until June 25th. Hopefully we can lock Bergie up until he is 28 or 29. Same with Litts.
Harry Sinden
February 14th, 2010
2:21 pm
We are going to have to stop the bad defense in the 1st period. It has been this team’s problem all year. They can’t keep spotting the opponent 2 goals until they get cranked up. And now they are showing a propensity for blowing 3rd period leads… damn lucky to go 1-0-2 this trip. There are some flashes of really good hockey in there– and the kids are responding, so despite my pessimistic tone, I’m saying half full, and even fuller if we FIRE WADDELL NOW!!!
rob
February 14th, 2010
2:37 pm
My thoughts on Thomas, or any other for that matter. Can we really attract a good goalie here? I hope with Dudley coming here it gives us SOME credibility. This team is going to have to prove it can get and keep some good talent. PRESS Armstrong/Kubina and get them to come around to seeing this is a good place to play hockey, then let’s take a look at just who is out in the market. Trading Kari so quick put us in a bind, IMO, because now we really need a goalie going forward. Might have been nice to have him as we push towards the playoffs. It would be nice to think the guys can get us there, but I fear the goalie is now our most pressing concern. We need someone who isn’t going to see coming to the Thrashers as a death sentence. 3 years yet before/if Pavs gets to where he needs to be, without the number of starts he has had this year too. Just so long as they don’t overpay, I will be happy with whatever quality goalie we can get to come play here.
fes
February 14th, 2010
2:52 pm
Thanks Smoothie. I thought that there was some sort of RFA rule like that, but was too lazy to dig it up.
rob
February 14th, 2010
2:53 pm
Smoothie,
I think the core is almost set, now it is up to DW (dam that man) to put it in stone. White/Kozlov for a winger and a goalie and this team is actually looking VERY good. It may now be up to us the FANS to prove that we support them and help get them to see playing HOCKEY in atlanta is a good thing. FAN support has drifted due to ASG, the economy, ASG, DW, ASG, and well, the ASG. We have to let the guys know we are behind them, 100%. They have to hear us cheering at home. We can do that and voice our displeasure with owners et al at the same time. Imagine a good crowd cheering the boys on and AT THE SAME TIME telling ASG/DW to stick it. But if they continue to play in front of 5000 people, I wouldn’t want to be here either. So, do we show the players we appreciate their effort by showing up and cheering, or do we cut off our nose to spite our face and not go near Philips? Obviously staying away isn’t working well. And I don’t want to NOT be able to see a live hockey game because some “group” with no “spirit” ruined it. So they took your FIRE WADDELL signs? Get a white Tshirt and wear it under your jersey until after you walk in and then put it on over your jersey. That way you get in, you show you support the boys in blue, and you tell them and the owners that they suk.
Badger Bob
February 14th, 2010
3:07 pm
Smoothie, the length of the Little and Bergie contracts will speak volumes about what players think of this organization. We need to be like Chicago, locking up the young core for multiple years. That shows all the UFAs what we’re building here and attracts more talent.
Kulda has impressed – I presume he was paired with Chelios in looking at Wolves +/- ratings, and it shows.
And definitely glass half full, based on how the team has responded with five straight strong, high energy team efforts. Rawhide is right – 12-15 points were lost with the Kovy contract hanging over them. This level of effort might just get us 75% of the March home points, and that plus 50% of March road points and 50% of April points gets us to 90 and possible post-season. None of those will be easy, but they are alot more likely with the current team than with the Dec-Jan team we endured.
Red Light
February 14th, 2010
3:18 pm
The Thrashers season comes down to the eight games between March 16-29. For them, it will be March Madness or March Sadness. The true measure of half-empty or half-full depends upon that stretch. With eight winnable games after the break, five against teams currently behind them in the standings, if the Thrashers get 12 points out of those eight games 6-2, then what comes next is a treacherous stretch of games, even though six of those are at home. Two home-and-home sets against Philly and Carolina (not dead yet).
March 16 BUFFALO at ATLANTA, March 18 OTTAWA AT ATLANTA, March 20 PHILADELPHIA AT ATLANTA March 21 ATLANTA AT PHILADELPHIA, March 23 BOSTON AT ATLANTA, March 25 TORONTO AT ATLANTA, March 27 ATLANTA AT CAROLINA, March 29 CAROLINA AT ATLANTA
I already mentioned the day of or after the trade that the team concept can now be implemented with no deference to anyone else and that’s proving to be true. Still, Waddell needs to add another forward to the mix that can score in my opinion. Say what you want about Pavelec, but he’s not going anywhere and hopefully that’s true with Moose for the last month and a half of the season. But, I wouldn’t be shocked if Kubina or Army is dealt, and I sure as heck hope that the return for either will be a top-six forward.
You can play with the 12 forwards you have right now, but adding someone to the right line would be huge. There are a lot of people who have soured on Justin Penner, and at $4.25 million per I can see why, but he’s only 27 and has scored 17-29 goals in each of his four full NHL seasons. 6′4, 245 would look good in the lineup, and he’s not European!
Not my top choice, but I’d give him a longer look than Poni because he’s under contract for the next two seasons and we don’t have to rely upon a particular someone to re-sign him. Capice?
Smoothie
February 14th, 2010
3:47 pm
rob – agreed that we have a good core of about 8 or 9 young guys to build around. And we have a couple of in-their-prime vets in Antro, Hainsey, Oduya and Pevs to help guide the kids.
We now need a legit starting goalie, Pavs should be the back-up, another bona-fide 25 goal scorer, perhaps 2 if Finny leaves and another gritty, do-all-the-little-things grinder like Colby to round out the forwards.
As for the D, Kubina is the consummate vet who can legitimize this group as a viable up and coming team of the future. His savvy calm, if we can re-sign him, along with Marty Party’s never-ending hustle gives us plenty of leadership even if we must part ways with Moose.
The worst part of this current situation is that Kozlov has a NTC and White is worthless on the open market. Everyone, myself included, who said we should’ve traded White last summer — especially after Max made the team — was right. Now its too late.
The ASG will have to buy him out but they probably won’t. No way they pay Kubina and Army what they’re worth AND a UFA forward AND a goalie AND buy out Todd White. That’s why I’m hot on Poni’s trail as he might be willing to take a bit less $ for guaranteed Top 6 mins and the chance to play with his old roomie.
We will need to invest in either another UFA goalie or a better goalie coach who can make Pavs into a #1. But for me Kubie is the key to legitamcy for anything else we hope to do in the off-season. Get him signed Don! This is your chance to change your legacy.
Mrs. Zoomo
February 14th, 2010
4:24 pm
Has anyone found video online of when Army took out Hossa? I missed it because I was flipping back and forth between the game and the Olympics. Zoomo thinks Hossa still doesn’t know where he is after that hit.
POTF
February 14th, 2010
4:31 pm
R. Stroz-Atlanta Flames Way. You took the words right out of my mouth.
Darren
February 14th, 2010
4:33 pm
Given his outstanding individual effort on the penalty kill (and in general), the idea of Reasoner as captain was tossed around on Twitter last night.
Given that Hainsey was on the ice for 3 of the 4 goals, what do y’all think?
Smoothie
February 14th, 2010
4:42 pm
If I recall correctly, the bloggers on this here site voted Marty “King” in Rawhide’s blog poll after Ilya jetted for Jersey. I would just give Marty an “A” since one of our “A”’s never plays anymore.
Rawhide
February 14th, 2010
5:04 pm
Smoothie – In the fan poll you’re referred to…
Marty Reasoner did garner 58 of the 286 votes cast in favor of him being captain.
Peverley came in a very close second with 57…then Kozlov with 43…Hedberg had 38 votes…Bogosian had 34…Ron Hainsey had 29…Army had 13…and 14 cast their vote for “Somebdy else”.
BTW…C-Viv reports that Arturs Kulda has been re-assigned to Chicago today. He did very well in the two games he played, I thought. He even picked up his first NHL point last night via a secondary assist on Afinogenov’s goal. He was a +1 in the two games played.
rob
February 14th, 2010
5:29 pm
Mrs. Zoomo,
you missed it?!?!?! well you must see it, and if you find it, make sure you see the part where Hossa looks up while he is laying on the ice, trying to figure out what just happened to him before he goes night night. WHAT A HIT!
Mike
February 14th, 2010
5:29 pm
Kulda reassigned? That sucks. Hopefully it is just temporary…let him play in Chicago during the Olympic break…then bring him back up after the break. If Boris is out for the year and Schubert is still going to be out for awhile, then I say you bring Kulda back and play him with Pops. Give Bogo some time to get re-focused mentally if he doesn’t do it over the Olympic break.
Lee
February 14th, 2010
5:37 pm
Kulda is a bruiser, but….again, very sloppy.
Half full…I say, but….you never know what will happen in the coming months. They really need to pick it up in March, those are the games that really are gonna count. Most of the games are @ home, so that’s good, but, the home ice advantage isn’t unless lots of fans come! LETS GO THRASHERS!!!!!!!!!! I hope to see lots of trades right before the deadline!!!!!
Smoothie
February 14th, 2010
5:44 pm
If we do end up trading Colby Armstrong — the price may be too high to pass up — then his replacement is waiting in the wings. His name? Joseph Crabb.
Crabb’s numbers over his last 28 games: 14 goals, 13 assists and a +20 over than span (since December 12, 2009). Oh yeah, he also wears the “A” for the Wolves so his gritty, banging style of play has really flourished under Don Lever. I would be willing to bet his minutes went way up and his play improved dramatically after the coaching change in Chicago.
Take note John Anderson. Make the call on March 1st.
Brendan
February 14th, 2010
7:20 pm
Oh, I definitely agree that those of us advocating the Armstrong trade are doing so with the “belief” that Army wants out. If we hang on to him until the end, we’ll get nothing for him. But, let’s be honest, a very FRANK discussion is in order with Colby. And, I further feel that if Armstrong WANTS to leave, we should try to get him where he wants to go, provided that a deal that benefits Atlanta can be simultaneously accomplished. I’m not saying, “let’s ditch Armstrong, ‘cuz he’s a disaster.” He’s capable of 20 goals. We’ve seen that.
Stop for a moment, okay? Remember when I talked about the “depth strategy?” And how Atlanta just might be a perfect market in which to try it? Well, in a depth strategy, you sign guys like Colby Armstrong. In years past, guys like a Metropolit, Sim, and Brunette. Even a Recchi-type. These are players who will score 16-22 goals a year and be paid between $1.9 and $3.1 million cap hit. But, what I failed to mention is … that you don’t really want a player like that to be ’streaky.’ In other words, you DON’T want him to get 3 “hat tricks” while scoring 17 goals for the season. For HALF of his total goal production occurred in three (3) games, out of 82. That’s not good. Not really. Even if those three games were wins. In a depth strategy, you want every player to score about every 4th game. You need that kind of “balance.” Otherwise, it won’t work. The true goal, in a depth strategy, is to cause the other team’s coach to fail to properly meet your line combinations. The other team cannot play their checking line all night. So, if your 4th line is just as apt to score as your 1st line, the other coach must devise a strategy to defense you. What might happen is … the other coach throws his hands up in the air and says, “the best defense is a GOOD offense, I’ll play my top two lines for 40 minutes.” Good luck with all that. That’s a rope-a-dope. In third period, your top line guys will all be gassed. Why? You overplayed them through the first two periods. Now you’ve got to play your 3rd and 4th line guys more. And we’ll just continue to roll four lines, equally, with fresh legs. Our 3rd and 4th lines are BETTER than theirs. And when their 1st and 2nd line comes out again, they’re tired. They have to take a 25-30 second shifts, unable to play longer than that, from overuse/fatigue.
That’s the “fun part” of the depth strategy. Watching it work. Laughing, as the other team trips over its own tongue. It’s the tell-tale sign that the strategy WORKED. It causes the other team’s coach to turn and bow, while tipping his hat in your direction. You, simply put, outsmarted him. And give the GM some credit, too. He found “the right kind” of depth players. Well, “assuming” of course that a capable GM is at the helm.
Mrs. Zoomo
February 14th, 2010
7:33 pm
Found it – Clean Hit!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocqbcKvo31c&feature=youtube_gdata
World Be Free
February 14th, 2010
7:52 pm
Smoothie-you gotta start that Joey Crabb Fan Club.
Brendan-do you think Don is having discussions with Colby cheese and his agent about
1) Extension 2) Do you want to be traded? Hope he’s having the same conversation with Kubina.
rob-my thoughts exactly on Dudley, which is why I was so excited when they hired him in 2009. I believe his reputation will help retain current talent and attract new players. Looks to me that Don is handling contract negoitiations and Dudley is handling player evaluations. Duds doing the 1st period interview in Washington after the Koval-slug trade was a significant to me.
World Be Free
February 14th, 2010
7:56 pm
Mrs. Zoomo-and he get a penalty for defending himself.
Brendan
February 14th, 2010
7:59 pm
Rawhide, my post to Zoomo is in the SPAM filters. I know. Don’t write a book, and that won’t happen.
Brendan
February 14th, 2010
8:02 pm
Well put, WBF.
Brendan
February 14th, 2010
8:11 pm
Zoomo, I’ll give it another whirl. It’s definitely a ’slippery slope’ in terms of the relationship between an NHL team and its local media. Look at Toronto and New York, for example. Toronto’s media actually CRIPPLES that team’s chance of becoming better. Toronto’s media has the power to hire and fire Coaches and GM’s alike. In New York, it’s a comparable power. Media shapes public perception, and in a city with 18 million people, that’s worthy of taking note.
Here in Atlanta, I think the sports media is a bit soft. Ours is a city of transplants. And well, we seem to be a bit “patient and tolerant” with our teams, precisely because they aren’t our childhood teams. In places like Philly, a coach or GM’s head is placed on a pike when it misses the playoffs in a year where playoffs are expected. Philly’s a tough city–don’t let the moniker fool ya. If by “brotherly love” they mean, you get a head full of noogies and a wedgie from your older siblings, that’s about right. Brotherly love, indeed.
In the AJC’s defense, who ELSE says anything negative about a franchise with zero playoff wins after nine completed seasons? Does ESPN do it? No. They don’t care. And if the team left, they still wouldn’t care. Or, said another way, they’d CARE insofaras it’s another opportunity to knock sports in the South. Which is something “New York-centric” ESPN, located in Connecticut, loves to do.
If Jeff Schultz were the beat writer in a Stanley Cup winning season, I don’t really think his post-celebration article would read: “Thrashers have no shot next season, lucky to be Champions, will lose half its roster and miss the playoffs next year.” But, I assure you, there are those who think he would write PRECISELY such an article. Jeff Schultz loves the zinger. Jeff Schultz lives for the one-liners, that truly jab. But he does so, in my opinion, to point out “folly of their ways” much moreso than he does because of some sort of misplaced spite. Give Jeff Schultz something positive to write about, and he’ll run with it.
Imagine if the Thrashers fired Waddell and named a reputable GM. Still with me? Whether that’s Dudley, or otherwise. Here’s how I’d see Jeff Schultz writing the article. “Well, well, well … A CLUE finally surfaces among the offices of the Atlanta Spirit.” Hilarious? Well, beee honest. Yes, it is. But Schultz means more to “prod” than to “nag.” In such a hypothetical article, he’d point out that this move, alone, is not enough to overcome years of bungling decisions and mismanagement. Is he wrong to print that? No, no he isn’t. But, at the same time, if the season starts out 20-8-5 by Christmas, I fully expect Schultz to write an article that reads more like this, “Spirit Group’s accountability finally paying dividends for Thrashers.” And, in that article, I’d expect Schultz to write, “Those hockey fans who stayed loyal, or who are simply returning now, are being rewarded. And if you haven’t ever been to a Thrashers game, it’s not a pointless endeavor anymore. The time of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic is over. The SS Thrashers is steaming into a port called the playoffs. Hallelujah!” And in such an article, stilllll people would say Jeff is being negative. What’s he supposed to do? Pretend? Fabricate season totals? Fabricate playoff results? State the team is harmoneously and intelligently assembled? This where the statement, “It is what it is” takes root.
In many ways, Zoomo, it’s easier to start from scratch than it is to win BACK the fans. Stop and really think about that. The longer ignored issues remain, un-treated or un-corrected, the worse it gets. Any problem let unattended or ignored, FESTERS. And, like a cancer, grows and eats away at you.
This is the situation of the Atlana Thrasher fans. They’ve been very, very patient. Almost any other organization would have made serious changes throughout its hisory. For our team to be without an IDENTITY in its 10th season, with ONE (1) GM, is inconceivable. It really, truly is. For other GM’s, like them or not, they have a strategy. They have a mold. They have an idea or concept of what they want to do. They do their utmost to achieve it, before getting fired. That’s the reality that most GM’s face. It’s not the reality that this GM faces. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tries to point that out. For that, they are accused of being “negative” or “hateful” or “spiteful” or “mean-spirited.” Wow. For pointing out that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes is demogoguery? I think it’s just an assessment of things as they truly are.
Bryan Lewis
February 14th, 2010
8:31 pm
Resign Army!!! He is a grinder and always makes the plays that you need to have (the ones that dont show up in the stats). He is the most popular guy in the clubhouse and is a team leader. He really works with the young guys and they all look up to him.
Nikita (in PA)
February 14th, 2010
8:33 pm
There’s no actual proof that Colby wants out, is there? I can take him or leave him — but it’s pretty notable that whatever his numbers in general are (respectable, could be better) that he’s one of the best players on the team in terms of putting pressure on the opposition. Honestly, Anderson probably needs him on the squad, simply because he executes the strategy so well from the defensive and neutral zones into the o-zone.
Don Waddell
February 14th, 2010
9:02 pm
I guarantee you we won’t be talking about the Armstrong contract situation in December.
Midfield
February 14th, 2010
9:39 pm
Brendan, what are you talking about? Thrashers do have identity. It’s 4 years later, but I always remember Waddell – GM of the USA Olympic Hockey team heading out for Torino – standing in the middle of the ice at Philips beside Hossa, Kovy and I don’t remember if there were any other Olympians on that roster. Although all but Waddell are gone anyway, and Waddell is no longer the USA team GM, he is the face, he is the team. Go Thrashers!!! I smell deep post-season run this time around. After all, we finally have all the right pieces in place. Right?
FlamesFan
February 14th, 2010
10:55 pm
I am pissed about Amry’s penalty after the Hossa hit. It was as clean of a hit as they come. Supposedly the NHL wants to crack down on retaliatory attacks of clean hits. I’ve seen several cases this year of the Thrashers getting instigator penalties for this very thing. But in this case, not only did the Hawks not receive an instigator penalty, but Colby was also sent off for no reason. The result: 4-on-4 with all of that extra room, and the tying Chicago goal.
Tony C.
February 14th, 2010
11:08 pm
Id liken the thing to you and your budies going out to a bar/club/pary to celebrate-everybody was having a good time then mr bigshot (Grossman/#17) who said he was going to buy the the first two rounds dipped with some silcone-injected floozy leaving the rest of us at the bar like “well @#$%!”… so then everybody decides “well F him let’s keep having a good time” so we order another round, unfortunately, some other drunk@ss bumps into the server as the next round is being delivered.
Ok now the glasses are empty-BUT these two other guys who’ve just started hanging out decide to hang out with us and we’ve rdered another round-now the topic of discussion is “lets get out of here and goto that cool spot ‘Playoffs’!”
It’s now up to everybody to decide if they really want to keep going or accept defeat and go home feeling crappy.
Maybe not the best analogy, but it works for me.
As far as shooters go-I’m asuming Slavamatic’s time is nearing a close here. That being the case, why not let Tobias be a shooter? Anybody who’s seen the guy in practice knows he’s definitely got the moves…. I personally think Enstrom’s a better option than Little in a SO situation.
One other thing:
Can somebody PLEASE get #4 to watch and begin to do what #44 does when there is “confusion” by the net! Mark your man and take him down-this is hockey YOU CAN PLAY THE MAN! Too many times lately we’ve seen our defenders (notably Bogosian) try and play the puck when taking the man may not be the pretty or flashy play but you know what? Unless the guy’s name is Jaromir or Aleksandr he ain’t gonna score while he’s on his duff.
Bluenote
February 15th, 2010
8:27 am
Brendan…good points on Shultz’s style, but I have to weigh in with a little counterpoint. Is he supposed to be blowing sunshine when there is none? Of course not…plenty to take potshots at.
Is the AJC supposed to make a big deal out of an All-Star game when it comes to town? I’d think so…yet coverage of the event focused on “hockey’s a tough sell in the south” theme instead of the best in the world are coming to Atlanta.
Ever read a Schultz column with insightful comparisons of NHL players, coaches or what’s going on in the league? Neither have I.
His lack of curiosity/knowledge about the sport and what’s going on outside Atlanta are, well, embarassing for someone who pretends to be a big time sports writer. To me anyway.
Lazy is the best way to describe his coverage. Make sure there’s a reference to zero wins in playoff history someplace in every article and mail it in.
There are so many better writers covering high school sports in this city it seems a same the AJC can’t find one
Red Light
February 15th, 2010
8:31 am
My exercise in futility. Here are the standings at the break under the old system with teams getting a single point for a tie. Simply, there are way too many games that wind up in OT/SO. I think people forget just how important a regulation win is, particularly in conference games, but particularly division games. The Caps are 13-2 against the division, and just two were decided after regulation and they won both. Those are some ugly looking records.
WSH 34-13-15 83 points
TB 20-24-17 57 points
ATL 20-24-16 56 points
FLA 18-27-16 52 points
CAR 19-30-12 50 points
It’s nearly March, so if you intend to sign a impending UFA, you can’t afford to wait until July 1. forget about doing it after the season. If you want a player to re-sign, extend him a great offer now, particularly during the Olympic break. At least you can deal him if he’s looking for too much money or a way out. Shouldn’t he have learned that painful lesson by now? So, if he’s doing his job, we’ll have a good indication as to whether or not the player wants to test the market seeing what happens at the deadline. There’s no excuse for Army. He’s not an Olympian and you’ve got two solid weeks to negotiate.
Here are my poll questions:
Would you re-sign Kubina for $6.25 million per year?
At 32 or 33 yrs old, this could be the last contract he signs. He’s going to want a solid raise because of the stupid money paid to Hainsey, Redden and Campbell, for example, and he’s had 3 very solid years in a row.
Would you re-sign Army for $3.2 million per year?
Is an $800,000 raise out of the question for a guy who scored 20 goals last year and has half that many this year? I say no, so let him go. If he’ll re-sign for $2.4 million, I’m not sure I like that amount either. There are other guys who can fill his role for cheaper in my opinion.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
9:12 am
WBF, I have NO IDEA what Don Waddell might be doing/thinking. My guess is that he’s in Vancouver, enjoying the Olympics, and not giving the Atlanta Thrashers a moment’s thought. (”A Waddell divided CANNOT stand.”) But, he should be sitting down in Colby’s agent and Kubina’s agent and Pavelec’s agent. And Moose’s agent, and Finny’s agent. And so on. And so forth. But hopefully, some of these players have the SAME agent. That’d be nice.
I didn’t mean to omit Bryan Little’s agent. We have RFAs, folks, that we “could” proactively lock up. Like? Like Little and Pavelec and Bergfors. So yeah, there’s work to be done. And come July 1, 2010, Zach Bogosian becomes “first eligible” for a PROACTIVE RFA contract. A real organization would begin contract negotiations with Bogosian, the former 3rd overall pick from the 2008 draft, in the first week of July. Instead, we are who we are. Shoot, we’ll probably wind up letting an RFA offersheet reach Bogosian in July of 2011, and then be forced to match it. Don’t laugh. There are other GM’s out there who look at Bogosian’s raw talent, and OPT to develop it, rather than take the Thrashers approach of twiddling its thumbs and hoping for the best.
By the way, anyone see the “updated” standings? Atlanta is now the #24 team in the NHL, good enough for 11th in the East, thanks to points gathered by the NY Rangers last night. Now, the silver lining there is … they denied TB two points. Tampa is even farther ahead of Atlanta than NYR, based on tie-breakers.
WBF, did you notice that Ottawa is now the LEADER in the Northeast Division, headed into the Olympic break? Buffalo has slid to 4th, I believe, as a result of 3-5-2 in their last 10. While Ottawa went something like 8-2-0 or 8-0-2. Ottawa, sans Heatley, is the NE Division leader going into the Olympic break. If you’d told me that in September’s training camp, I would have laughed .. and laughed … and laughed. The Senators are happy to be rid of Heater.
DWTOO
February 15th, 2010
9:19 am
Bluenote has some real good points about Shults’s writing. While I lke his sarcastic style his research is lacking. He glommed onto Bill’s points about not retaining lottery draft picks – which annoys all of us. But, as Red light pointed out for the period of 2000-2003 hardly any lottery picks remained with their original team. Think a writer would at least do some basic research before spouting off.
World Be Free
February 15th, 2010
9:34 am
Brendan, if you want to value the Heatley trade, San Jose clearly got the best of the deal from a player standpoint. Especially now that Cheechoo is in the minors; just shows you that Joe Thornton is such a great setup man that he can made Cheechoo look good. Without Joe, Jonathan is where he should be-in the minors. Reminds me of Rob Brown with Pittsburgh in the early 90’2.
But Ottawa surely has progressed from a team standpoint. They are playing their coach’s game, something Dany could not do since Dany’s world is all about Dany. He has no character whatsoever. Ottawa clearly wants it more than Buffalo. The Sabres have 3 good players (Myers, Vanek, Miller) and the rest are a bunch of 3rd liners at best.
This break is THE opportunity for the club to evaluate where we are with our current players. Management better be talking to the right people to either determine if the individual players want to stay or go. Army is 50-50; Kubina I believe will want to stay. Max, I saw try and get something for him. Also, we need Jimmy’s name on a contract too-he has earned it. Yes, you can quote me on that one, never thought I’d say it!
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
9:44 am
Bluenote, I can appreciate what you’re saying about the AJC’s coverage of hockey. And really, the “timeliness” of a “Hockey is a tough sell in the South” right on the heels of an All-Star Game. So, yes. I think that the AJC misses some opportunities to prop up the sport and promote it.
In their shoes, however, hockey is low on their pecking order. I don’t like it, but I understand it. They’re in the business of selling newspapers, in a medium that is dying. They know they’d sell more papers if they filled the space with Yellow Jacket player profiles than coverage of the Thrashers’ berth into the Conference Finals. That’s just the landscape of where we are. But it amplifies your point, Bluenote, that the paper must take some responsibility for propping up this sport.
The difference is, the AJC isn’t responsible for ALLLLL of the responsibility for selling hockey, here in the south. I’d say the lion’s share of which falls on Donald Douglas Waddell’s head, as GM. He’s the architect of the roster. He’s got to ice a winning team. And hire someone competent to coach it. It speaks volumes about the level of hockey interest and commitment here in Atlanta, that the team survives through all this mess. Imagine if its playoff history more closely resembled that of Nashville, or even Minnesota, two other clubs added about the same time as Atlanta. I think there’d be a very different climate surrounding this team.
And folks, neither Nashville or Minnesota are powerhouses in the league. Minnesota made an improbable, but VERY MEMORABLE run in 2003, when they TWICE (2x) overcame 3-1 series deficits, to advance into the Conference Finals. Their playoff berths since then have been inglorious and forgettable. In 2008, Minnesota won its division, but were upset in the 1st round by Colorado. It was a very deflating moment in the franchise history. The previous season, the Wild notched 104-points (!!!), but ran into the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, Anaheim, in the 1st round. So, there they were, Division Champions the next season, expected to advance at least into the second round. Bygones.
For Nashville, they’ve made the playoff four times (4x), but they’ve never won a round. They’ve never been SWEPT, either. They lost to Detroit in six, back in 2004. In 2006 & 2007, Nashville was eliminated by San Jose in five games. In 2008, it was another rematch with Detroit, but as you all know, the Red Wings would win the Cup that year. The Predators pushed the mighty Red Wings to six games. The point??? They had a RESPECTABLE outcome for their efforts. Their GM, David Poile, is GOOD. And his faces many of the same obstacles that Atlanta faces there in Tennessee.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
9:46 am
Midfield, your aim is straight and true. As always.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
9:51 am
WBF, perhaps I should clarify. It’s not that Ottawa did some gradious FLEECING of the Sharks. In fact, if the Sharks win the Stanley Cup this year, everyone will say that this very trade as the reason, or a primary reason, that San Jose achieved its objectives. My point was this. From a position of extreme weakness, namely a Superstar stating that he wants to be traded, Ottawa’s GM, Bryan Murray, did the best he could. Hanging on to Heatley, FORCING HIM TO STAYY AND PLAYYY, might not have the Sens in 1st place in the Northeast Division, today.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
9:53 am
That should read, “grandiose fleecing.” I need a spellchecker.
World Be Free
February 15th, 2010
9:59 am
Brendan-I totally agree and wish we would have traded Kovy around the same time Ottawa traded Dany. It was clear to me from the start that Kovy was just dancing around the thought of staying here, when he really wanted to go to a “first class organization”.
You can’t let the player take over and drive the team, like what happened here with Kovy. NO player is bigger than the team.
Nikita
February 15th, 2010
10:00 am
Schultz really, really makes me angry. I have worked as a reporter and colunist, myself, and appreciate his style. That said, if you look at a history of Schultzie’s columns, about 90% of them are negative regarding the Thrashers. Which, well, fine if that was factually accurate. But maybe 50% of his columns are unassailably accurate. The other 40% of negativity is his puttting his own negative bias on neutral facts.
His major and continued weakness is his not putting things in context. The retention of draft picks is one, and another is going on and on about how action x is just the latest in a long string of failures or is nice, but who knows how that’ll go since these guys are failures?
My point being that it’s nto his ability — it’s his focus.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
10:04 am
Nikita, we’ll never find “proof” of Armstrong’s intent any more than we’ll likely find Jimmy Hoffa’s body. (And we all hope he turns up, alive and well.) But when Colby was an RFA last year, he had the options of signing a multi-year deal, or one that just fulfills his obligations of restricted free agency, where the name of the team holding his rights is the Atlanta Thrashers. If Armstrong thought he had a big future in Atlanta, he could have pressed for a 3-5 year deal, foregoing several of his UFA years. That would show his INTENT to stay.
Now, I hear ya. “But how do you know Colby and his agent DIDN’T make this request to the Thrashers, and that it was the Thrashers that turned him down?” I don’t know that. No one outside of the immediate parties involved could know that. So, we have to decipher the clues that present themselves. The fact is … Colby signed a one-year deal. Maybe that’s just what the Thrashers wanted, too? Shrugs. I don’t know. Maybe. I couldn’t tell ya. But what the Thrashers WANT and what the Thrashers GET are often very different things.
How are Brian Campbell, Manny Malhotra, Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk doing with the Thrashers this year? I have to ask, since Bruce Levenson went on record as saying, “I think we know how to sign free agents.”
Smoothie
February 15th, 2010
10:07 am
“And come July 1, 2010, Zach Bogosian becomes “first eligible” for a PROACTIVE RFA contract. A real organization would begin contract negotiations with Bogosian, the former 3rd overall pick from the 2008 draft, in the first week of July”
Brendan – what part of the CBA are you referring to. I thought a team could not even begin negotiations with a RFA until the 25th of June in the year in which a player becomes RFA eligible. Other than offer sheets, which will become decreasingly rare save for one or two that probably get tendered to Chicago’s RFA’s, there really is no risk of losing Z-Bo, Bryan, EK, Bergie or Pavs until they turn 27. There may be some painful arbitration along the way, but DWad can only be so pro-active. If he isn’t working the phones and meeting with player agents for the UFA players listed above, then he should be fired for negligence. Period. End of story.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
10:15 am
WBF, I once again agree with you. The Kovalchuk situation should have been decided, definitively, in mid-July. But this organization genuinely believed that they could sway Kovalchuk. Or, maybe they didn’t. Maybe, just maybe, Kovalchuk’s retention until the day he was traded … was all about selling tickets. As in, “We think we’ll sell MORE with Kovalchuk than without him.”
But forgotten in all this … is that THE TEAM had the option of what to do with Kovalchuk’s $6.5 million cap hit, even back in mid-July. Even if the deal were IDENTICAL, with New Jersey, Atlanta has options to sign more free agents or make more trades.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
10:19 am
Smoothie, the CBA allows for teams to renew pending free agents one-full-year ahead of schedule. So, if Bogosian can become restricted on July 1, 2011, then he can be re-signed on July 1, 2010. That’s my understanding of the situation.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
10:23 am
Smoothie, you heard Bruce Levenson’s words at the Town Hall Meeting. “We’re 100% behind Don Waddell. He isn’t going anywhere.” Nothing will get him fired. Not action. Not INACTION. Nothing gets him fired. No regular season results. No playoff results. No losses of key roster personnel. I repeat, “Nothing gets Don Waddell fired.”
Here’s what it would take to get Waddell fired. He’d have to commit a FELONY so egregious … that his retention would make Michael Vick look like the Humanitarian of the Year.
World Be Free
February 15th, 2010
10:30 am
Nikita, gone are the days of objectivity in most sports columns. Dialogue has been replaced with negativity and indifference because it is easy to be negative. We are fortunate to have Rawhide to communicate with. If it weren’t for Bill, I am not sure who we would be “talking” too about hockey in this town.
Schultz and Bradley are the equivalent of one big flush. I do not waste my time reading their columns. They don’t know a hockey puck from a steak biscuit.
Brendan
February 15th, 2010
10:33 am
Red Light, no on both accounts. I’d say “no” to Kubina at $6.25 million and “no” to Armstrong, at $3.2 million. At $2.4 million, that vote changes to “yes” on Armstrong.
Smoothie
February 15th, 2010
11:03 am
WBF – good one! Schultz and Bradley, and anyone not named C-Viv and Bill Tiller are worthless in the sports side of this rag. Well, DOB is pretty good, but Ledbetter and Sekou’s replacement are not.
Anyway, on the issue of re-upping our UFA’s, here are my max limits on certain players:
Kubina – max term of 3 years; max cap hit of $5.25 M ($5.5 M, 5.0, 4.75)
Afinogenov – max term of 2 years; max cap hit of $3.25 M
Armstrong – max term of 4 years; max cap hit of $2.75 M
Schubert – max term of 2 years; max cap hit of $925 K
Slater – max term of 3 years; max cap hit of $950 K
Those 5 would-be contracts basically equate to the $13.1 M we were paying to IVK, Slava Kozlov and Kari Lehtonen. Doing so would give us a total of 17 signed players (I included Kulda for this exercise) under contract for roughly $41.55 M — 8 D-men and 9 forwards including Todd White. Thusly, we would still have roughly $12 M (self-imposed cap of $53.5 M) to spend on RFA’s and UFA’s.
Since Little, Bergfors & Pavelec stand to earn close to an average of $3 M per season, that only leaves another $3 M for a FA scoring forward and a goaltender named Moose. Unless we want another Todd White, it becomes apparent that we may not be able to afford Armstrong at his going rate. So in conclusion, “sianorah Colby” unless he is willing to take a big paycut.