Dealing with situation in goal will be high on Dudley’s summer to-do list

Not even a mention of the other free agent goalies available this offseason?

Marty Turco, Jose Theodore, Chris Mason, Dan Ellis, and Marty Biron are all more stable, proven options than the Hedberg/Pavelec combination Thrasher fans witnessed last season. Mason and Theodore may re-up with their respective teams, but Turco, Ellis, and Biron will likely be available July 1.

Nabokob may be the cream of the crop this offseason, which probably means the veteran Russian is out of the Thrashers league in the free agent market. Atlanta seems to be targeting free agents, at least in the last couple of seasons, that are just a step below the league’s elite and looking to cash in on a first or second go-round at UFA status.

Dan Ellis is a guy that features not only a stellar Twitter Feed, but the attributes of a starting goalie that could help nurse the young, inconsistent Ondrej Pavelec along.

I’d be extremely surprised if the Thrashers decided to go with Carey Price over Pavelec. Price’s numbers are not drastically different than Pavelec’s and that comes with a better team around him in Montreal the last three years.

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Part of me is intrigued by Mannino coming up.

A great compromise would be to spend Ilya money for 1 or 2 seasons on Nabokov, say 8 mm a year for 2 years, and then let Pavelec and Mannino fight it out as the backup.

Nabakov will not come here with our historically porous defense unless we hire a head coach he can trust or pay him stupid money. I vote spend the stupid money and get him.

He will pay for himself by getting the 1st round playoff money, then it is up to Dudley to build a solid defense around him and hire a coach that will teach said defense to the players.

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Stroz

STOP BEING LOGICAL.

LOL

I wonder if a condition of Dudley taking the job was the ability to fire Weeks?

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They have a great goalie coach in the organization already. Johannes and as much as I love the moose. He is a backup goalie and that’s it. He has the best attitude of anyone I’ve ever met. He belongs in atlanta but behind the bench

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Um… fun fact: his name is Jaroslav Halak, not Havlat (a forward playing in Minnesota).

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Glovesave-Ray Emery????? Are you kidding me?? What a locker room cancer he would be on this team. No, just NO!

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Nabokov…..too much money, especially to come to Atl from a team that has Lord Stanley potential when he is not getting younger. Now is the time for him to be thinking contender. Gotta think younger or not quite that stature. Don’t even put Nittimaki(sp) in the group to consider. Take us out of his record and he isn’t impressive. An interesting thought that hasn’t been talked about much is Boston’s situation. Rask has probably beat Thomas out there, so do they keep him there or does he look to be moved where he can start next year? I could see this if the price were right, anyone know what he is making? If we are going shopping it will need to be for a proven starter, not a possibility. We have enough of those here in Pavs, Mannino, and a few others.

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WBF,
good thought on Nabokov LOL. I think it was you that threw out Thomas’ name first around the trade deadline as well. Watching Volchenkov playing I could see going after him if he was interested, he shows a lot of heart out there blocking shots. Problem being is guys like that are usually loyal, so will he leave Ott? While I like Kubina, I think he looked a bit slow at times, and if he losses much more of his speed he will not be as effective IMO. Haven’t seen Hamlius play. It will be interesting seeing all of the Dmen we have vying for spots in training camp, and also how Zach does next year if he doesn’t have the wrist problem he was said to have had most of this season.

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First, I do NOT want to hear anything about bringing someone up from Chicago. Been there and done that and look how well that worked out. I do agree waiting to see who is available come July 1 is a good idea and I’m probably sure that’s what Dudley will do. But, after the series Nabokov had for the Sharks against Colorado, I cannot see them letting him go, besides he’s 35. Why let one ‘old’ guy go for another? Doesn’t make sense. Pavelec will probably be ready by mid-season but what do you do until then? Good question. Be smart is the answer, but this club has not always shown that they can be.

I’m reminded of Waddell’s inability to keep good players everytime I watch a play-off game, just for example–Pasquel Dupuis. Let us hope that Dudley has a better instinct and ability to keep good players around.

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If Waddell would have had the intelligence to bring in a real goalie coach instead of a college cronie, I wonder if Lehtonen would have bloomed.

If you’re Lehtonen and your “goalie coach” is little more than the GM’s stooge, what motivation do you have to develop?

No accountability as a coach spreads.

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rob, you are correct, I did toss out Thomas at first amongst others. But I am thinking more about the long term effects of bringing in a goalie that wants to be here long term, vs. an old guy that’s looking for a check for a season or 2 or 3. We need Jeff Deslauriers, Cory Schiender, Ellis or someone younger to build on for the next few years.

Stroz on Kari-I still think the problem with Kari was his heart, will and desire to be a number one. His issues were always pulled muscles and spasms. I never saw the physical dedication it takes to be a number one. The things that nobody can teach; you have to have it in your heart.

Defenseman-not sure what Volchenkov thinks of Ottawa, since they haven’t been able to get a deal done yet. Siedenberg is another one; I suggested him last summer, then he went to Florida and became a mainstay. They like him in Boston too, though I am not certain the Broones have enough cap space to keep Siedenberg.

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WBF – Kari has motivation issues. However, why draft a young goalie requiring development if you have no one to do the job.

Weeks was the equivalent of having Waddell’s college beer buddy turn a young man into a world class goalie.

If you don’t have a real goalie coach, well you better get a veteran goalie who already knows the ropes.

And, to make matters worse, Waddell’s beer buddy was ruining another goalie, Pavelec.

With no offence to glovesave, when a blogger can see and knows how to address fundamental proper positioning flaws better than the goalie coach, unmitigated disaster is the result.

When anyone else consider Kari Lehtonen’s career and Pavelec’s development, or lack thereof, to be an unmitigated disasters? I would.

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My goaltending idea is to the sign the BEST AVAILABLE UFA netminder “actually willing” to sign with Atlanta. And I don’t particularly care if we OVERPAY to get him. Maybe that’s Nabakov. Maybe it’s Roloson or Biron. Maybe we get a #1 guy via trade? I’m not opposed that, provided that the goalie traded here wants to play here, and had remaining years on his contract. I don’t someone in mind, when I mention that.

There are some surplus goalies. I see Niemi, not Huet, in the Chicago net. I see Tuukka Rask, not Tim Thomas, in the Boston net. I see Varlamov, not Theodore, in the Capitals net. I see Halak, not Carey Price, in the Habs net. I doubt Ottawa would move Elliott. And in the cases of Elliot and Carey, or even Halak, are they bonafide #1’s? Maybe in Elliot’s case, the answer is yes.

What about Deslauriers, in Edmonton? Not exactly firmly established, either, maybe worth taking a long hard look-see. Deslauriers went immediately after Jim Slater in the 2002 draft, 31st overall, the first pick of the 2nd round. Deslaurier is 6′4, 200 pounds, catches right. He’ll be 26 years old on May 14th. I hear ya … “late bloomer?” Well, if we do get him, at least didn’t invest the years developing him. We can thank the Oilers for that.

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After reading some of the poster comments, I am intrigued by Dan Ellis. Is he withing the “price range” of the Atlanta Spirit? I’m not sure. But I kinda think so.

After thinking it over on Nabokov, and weighing Glovesave29’s post, our resident blog goaltender, I think we do have to forget Nabby as a possibility. Oh, not that Joe Friday’s wrong. He’s not wrong. If we could land Nabokov, I’m for it. I just don’t think Nabokov really believes his best opportunity for a Cup, or another Cup, is here in Thrasherville.

Let’s talk more about Ellis. What do we know about him? You Sabre and Islander fans, chime in on Marty Biron. I don’t Biron so well, to know if he’s a good fit here. But I’m interested. What’s the deal with Roloson? Tim Thomas is a gamble. I don’t rightly know what happened to him this season. Maybe he just saw Tuukka Rask and got demoralized? I don’t know. I need a Bruin fan to chim in, to help me out.

Pavelec, I still like ‘im. I see him as a “work in progress.” Certainly, he’d benefit from a proper goalie coach. Now, as for Moose … you guys know I love him. He’s my 2nd favorite Thrasher, EVER. But he’s 37 in May, and we got a GIFT of a season from him. My $0.02, he delivered what he had left in the tank of his career this past season. And if we go back to the well too often, we’ll find it dry. He’s a career “back up.” Name me another GM who would look to Hedberg to be his #1 goalie in the Fall? If Hedberg doesn’t retire, and isn’t re-signed by Atlanta, he will join another team to be their BACK-UP goalie. I’m fine with carrying three (3) goalies, just like we did this year, if management cannot cut the cord with Johan Hedberg. He can sit up in the presser. I’m okay with it. But it wouldn’t be my first choice.

My 1st choice … is to try to land the BEST AVAILABLE UFA netminder out on the market. My 2nd choice … is to TRADE for the BEST AVAILABLE goaltender on the TRADE MARKET. Absent that, we stand pat with a re-signed Moose and young Pavelec. I am concerned, if we do try to land Carey Price. He’s not really an established #1 goalie. What he is … is very high 1st round draft pick from 2005. That usually means “high pedigree,” but I haven’t really seen it yet. If I had to choose between Halak and Price, hmmn, I guess I go with Halak.

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I want Vokoun for NJ’s 1st round draft pick. He is a 1 years stop gap at 6M. It would be great for Pav’s plus he should feel comfortable seeing as they plan internationally together a lot.

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I like the thought of trading for Vokoun, he’s had a stellar couple of years in FLA, but we’d have to give up quite a bit. Also, I think the 6.3 mil cap hit would be to high for us. Chris Mason looks to be a better fit and we don’t have to give up anything. I simply don’t agree with Stroz on Theodore being less consistent than Moose. If Dudley’s budget in in the 5-7 mil for this position and Opie gets 1.5-2 mil then Mason at 3.5-4 mil leaves room for Moose to stay at 1-1.25 mil. Theodore at 5 mil’ish fits what we’re looking without leaving room to sign a 3rd player.

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It will take $4-5M to get Ellis. We won’t be the only team going for him. If we want him, we will have to pay for him. He’s a UFA that will sign July 1, no later than July 2.

I am concerned about Pavs as well. Glovesave pointed out long ago that Pavs has some techical flaws that still exist today. His movement freom side to side is poor. A real goaltender coach should be able to correct these issues.

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Darn…been busy today…so I haven’t read everybody’s ideas yet. I’ll get to them later.

Here’s a different take on the going with Pavs and Moose scenario: This is a little unconventional but what I’m kicking around is to sign Moose as coach-player and play him sparingly and enough in practice to keep his skills level up. Pavs is #1 and sign a cheap backup goalie. Or maybe Mannino is ready to backup Pavs. Moose is there and available if the Pavs/backup tandem fails. This means carrying three goalies so they have to be cheap, like all three for maybe $3.5M, about half the salarys of signing an aging Nabakov for $5M + Pavs salary of maybe $2M. This give us goalie options and leaves money to apply to the skaters and d-men. Also, Moose has to be judged to be a good choice for goalie coach and he has to want the job.

I’m fine with trading for a Price for perhaps the NJ 1st and trading Pavs. We don’t need both unless Pavs is content to try to out play Price for the job while earning backup goalie money.

Well gotta go wash and vac the car. I think the pollen haze is finally over.

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Yes it’s all for naught it seems as long as the Octocluster is writing the checks……

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WBF, just out of curiosity, what would cost for Biron? He’s not my #1, by any means. But I see him as someone who might be un-signed on July 2nd or July 3rd. That means … we might actually have some shot at him. I still like the idea of Deslauriers, out of Edmonton, too. Hold up. I know what you’re thinking. “Why would Jeff want to come here?” Well, first of all, it’s about 50-degrees warmer on average. I tease. I kid. Also, when you’re dog runs away in Atlanta, it doesn’t take 3 days to chase him down. Edmonton finished 30th out of 30. Atlanta wasn’t nearly as bad as all that. What’d we finish, 23rd? 24th?? 22nd?? Somewhere in this viscinity. It’s a better situation, now at least, then what he prospectively faces in the frozen wilderness of Alberta. I think Deslauriers may be ready to finally blossom, as a 2002 draftee. At least we didn’t spend the years developing him. It’s just a passing thought.

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Is there an L.A. Kings fan up in this house? Talk to me about the situation between Jonathan Bernier, 11th overall pick from 2006, Jonathan Quick, and Erik Ersberg. They cannot keep them all. I suspect Ersberg would be the odd man out. But if somehow Quick were the one shown the door, he might be an interesting consideration. I don’t know his contractual situation. I also don’t know how far away Jonathan Bernier is from becoming the Kings’ # 1 goalie.

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By your liege, mutton.

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Not sure you want to carry 3 goalies, the only way to stay sharp is to play. Practices just don’t cut it. I doubt anyone that comes is going to be OK with being either in the press box or being sent down to the AHL – plus they’d be subject to the waiver wire, so you’d likely lose him anyhow. That’s why you stick with the current combo for another season and go after Vokoun or Giguere next summer.

Brendan – my problem with Pavs is not his lateral movement. To be honest, that is his strongest suit. Its that he does not move under control. He overcommits and takes himself out of position. He moves across in his butterfly and leaves the net wide open. He’s the hockey equivalent of the base stealer who gets tagged out sliding past second…the free safety that falls for the head fake and leaves wide open the receiver with a 50 yard touchdown. But I certainly agree that he’s a victim of not having the tools to succeed, he needs a good goalie coach. Why do you think Toronto is getting people to come there? The weather? The great team? Goalie guru Francois Allare?

I can see LA purging a goalie with little to nothing in return a la Bryzgalov from Anaheim to Phoenix…it’d be nice to take advantage of that…

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A Dan Ellis mention! I’m pysched. And not only is Dan Ellis a solid goalie … he is a hilarious Tweeter (@dellis39 if you don’t already follow him) — if you like that. It’s a great marketing tool. In addition to getting goalies and players — you know, the important stuff. A good social marketing campaign could help the Thrashers too in my opinion. That’s also crucial.

Colby Tweeted for a while and so did Hedberg, but I always got the feeling they were told to stop. Or that they were squelched for some reason. Ellis, is a character. And he’s made a Preds fan out of me. Maybe not the choice we are looking for in goal, but I am going off track.

Marketing is a topic for another day!

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Interesting discussion. Would would be having this discussion at all if you could subtract Pavelec’s December performance? Frankly, I think you all are being short-sighted. Goalies, as I discussed before, are either starters or back-ups. Few can exist as both, such as Toskala, whom many people thought was a great find by Toronto but clearly he is not a No. 1 goalie, yet he was a stellar back-up to Nabokov.

So, if you don’t think Pavelec is a No. 1 goalie now, then there certainly is no guarantee he can become one. I do believe he is one and can be a great one with the proper coaching as R. Stroz and others have pointed out. He was rushed to the NHL because of Lehtonen’s injury and now after proving he can play at this level, yet not on a consistent basis, everyone wants to consider alternatives. As I have said over, and over, and over again, this team will not spend anything remotely close to $4- $5- or $6 million for a goalie, and since Nabokov is now in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, he WILL NOT consider coming to Atlanta at a discount. Why should he?

Move on. And, if you want Price to create a competition between Pavelec and Price, like Montreal did with Halak and Price, how exactly does that work? Like it did in Montreal?

Pick your No. 1 guy and a back-up. Pavelec and Hedberg, Pavelec and Biron. Nabokov and Mannino. Whatever. A competition for the No. 1 spot rarely if ever works. You play one guy 50-60 games and the other guy the balance with no guessing games.

A No. 1 needs stability and a No. 2 needs to know when he’s playing his 22-32 games. That’s the environment that has worked over and over and over in the NHL. Reinventing the wheel in Atlanta won’t work as has been proven for the past 10 seasons.

The only two goalies that started 65 games this year and didn’t make the playoffs: Lundqvist and Kiprusoff, 8th and 10th in save percentage this year.

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Nabokov may come here for the “4 year contract” that seems to be the signing contract for a UFA. What’s wrong with $7.5 the 1st year, $6.5 the 2nd, $5.5 for the 3rd and $4.5 for the 4th??? Or a nice round $25 mil for 4 years. Whats that $6.25 per year? Naby would be an idiot not to take that. And remember, he plays like 75 – 78 games per year!!!! After 2 years or so, Pavelec or Marrino would be a great backup or possibly take over as the starter for HALF the games. I say pay the big bucks for a SOLID STARTING GOALIE and others will come when the Thrash start winning. The offense is SOOOO close to being acceptable, it has to start with the goalie!

Rob, I believe Thomas signed for 4 years around $4.5 – $5 mil a year. He is NOT our answer. (He is too much like a perrenial backup with a great attitude like the Moose!).

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Sorry, meant Kozy’s $3.5 mil

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Nabokov has good young talent while still maintaining some NHL experience. His save percentage is 9.10. Not bad. Carey price is an option this year too. He’s really led this team to a new level and got them into the playofffs. But. Nabokov probably is more ready to take on a big challenge. And it’s not easy to be a goalie for a team like the thrashers. You HAVE to have patience.

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Roberto Luongo just made the SAVE OF THE ENTIRE PLAYOFFS on Ryan Smythe. Who saw it? Someone find the U-Tube of it. It just happened seconds ago, though, to be fair. Luongo was trapped DEEP INSIDE his own net. He crawled on his stomach and hurled his glove hand forward to snatch the puck from the top corner of the net, while he had his pad vertically in the air.

Amazing!!!!

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Okay, let me just ask it. Where are we, salary cap-wise, in terms of what’s committed for next season? I used to know this if awakened at 3AM on some idle Tuesday. But with the Spirit owning this team, I’ve let certain research aspects of this team slide. That said, we must have money for goaltending. Pavelec won’t cost a lot. Hedberg wouldn’t cost much. Look at the salary that might not be returning?

1. Kubina’s $5 million
2. Kovy’s $6.5 million
3. Colby’s $2.4 million
4. Artyukin?
5. Slater? ($750K)
6. Boulton? ($600K)
7. Hedberg? ($1.25M)
8. Popovic? ($600K)
9. Max Afinogenov? ($800K)
10. Kozlov’s $3.75

I’m too tired to do any math, so you guys do it. Don’t groan at me because you have homework. Just do it. Whatever the heck that adds up to … should be enough to go shopping for a UFA goalie. Of course, I haven’t heard what the salary cap limit is. At last check, it was $56.8 million, with a league MANDATED FLOOR of $40.8 million. I know Kane and Bogosian have some “bonus” money hitting our cap, but let’s also remember that Alexei Zhitnik won’t be hitting our cap anymore, either. Not that the cap hit was devastating, Alexei Yashin style.

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Brendan – 23m’ish +Artyukin
7 Forwards that need to be replaced/signed… a goalie tandem in the 8m range leaves 15m to sign those 7 plus 1 top 4 D-man.

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Wayne-agreed,
I hope the next “system” we receive from our new coaches is NHL-worthy. Anderson’s system did nothing for our goaltenders or our overall team defense. There were never any adjustments in Anderson’s system to protect a lead during any game in the season. Coaches have to coach as the games progress. Our coach stood around and yelled out “WTF”.

Smoothie-I like scenario #1 the best, though I think #3 is a possibility. I just don’t want to pay an old goaltender, like Nabakov to come in and try to be a #1. Not sure how much Nabakov has left in the tank. Your body starts to send you signals at 35 and nobody can avoid those signals unless your name is Darrell Green.

Stroz-this weekend reminded me alot of Kari. His counterpart in the NFL, Jamarcus Russell in Oakland just lost his job when Oakland traded for Campbell. Kari and Russell, two guys that have all the tools to be great that refuse to work at their respective crafts. Wasted talents.

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Wow, Stephane Fiset and Bunny Larocque made an appearance on Rawhide’s blog! Cool!

The word “choke” is overused Brendan and not applicable!

Nashville was down 3-1 on Saturday and as mentioned they scored three goals to take the lead and once they did could have salted it away had the final 90 seconds gone a little differently. I was incredulous that while on the power play and the clock clicking down that Shea Weber made a d-to-d cross ice pass rather than simply dumping the puck to the corner. I was flabbergasted that Erat tried to no-look a pass out in front rather than just hold the puck and let more time go off the clock. They were crucial mistakes with a man advantage not a choke.

A choke would have been missing a wide-open empty net goal with less than a minute remaining, not hustling back and watching the Hawks score the game-tying goal. That didn’t happen.

Labeling that loss a choke doesn’t do justice to the fact that the Preds never quit, stormed back and put the Hawks on the verge of being down 3 games to 2 and having taken two of the three games in Chicago. They final minute was brutal but I don’t think it’s right to say it was a choke. Stupidity yes. Bad coaching no. The players have to recognize the situation and make plays based upon the situation. They didn’t. screwed up and lost.

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is no longer the issue. Torchetti will coach and he will bring Chicago’s goalie coach with him. Mark it down.
As for the cap and how much the spirit clowns will spend depends on how far the Hawks go. I know a lot of yall do not care for basketball, but for the Thrashers best intrest, pull for the Hawks, I know it hurts, but just think of it as pulling for the Flyers to beat NJ.

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Bunny Laraque – ha! Great name, remember him well. He’d always suit up against the Flames and I’d be bummed that I would not get to see my boyhood hero, Ken Dryden play. That is, after all, why I play the net and wear number 29.

I think you are not looking at the big picture. If we sacrifice the team as a whole to make sure we are getting Pavs experience, that is one helluva a roll of the dice. What if he “craps out” and we have wasted that time? What if he pulls a Pasi Nurminen and never plays again? Make it even harder to attract FA’s with that mentality, too. Crowds grow even smaller…I mean why pay for a ticket to a team that is only there to give a goalie experience and not play to win? I just want the situation to be static one more season with Moose in the net. If his play improves, give Pavs 55% of the starts this season. Moose does his farewell tour. Gives Ondrej one more season to prove he hase the mental capacity and physical conditioning to be a full timer in the NHL. Give him a good goalie coach SOON and lets see if he can be a Matt Ryan and throw himself completely into his craft. A regular rink rat.

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“I am intrigued by Dan Ellis”

What, do some of you have man crushers on Dan Ellis for his little twitters about his cute Starbucks runs and yogurt scarfing?!?

Step back and think about it. There’s a reason Dan Ellis is riding for the pines during the playoffs and isn’t the #1 goalie on a club like Nashville. Riddle me this, how exactly does our goaltending get improved by taking a guy who has no better #s than Moose and a guy who is a backup goalie on a club that’s going to be knocked out in the 1st round?

Aim high, this club has never had a true #1 that can steal games and won’t, unless we trade for an established goalie or sign Nabakov (who you know is actually starting for his club and just won a round in the playoffs).

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Bunny, my point is that Anderson did not have a system that incorporated team defense or the design to protect a lead as the games progressed. My hope is that the next coach will incorporate a system that can be altered to protect a lead. That will be up to the next caoch. Most seem to favor Torchetti as the #1 coaching prospect; personally, I favor Ramsay becuase of his experiences as a player and long time coach. Whoever is slected will be an improvement over Anderson.

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I’ll be disappointed if Ramsay isn’t offered the Thrashers head coaching position, and doesn’t accept it!

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“Ellis had 37 starts in 2007-08 and that number has dwindled ever since.”

So the answer in our goal is a guy riding the pines who last saw 37 starts three years ago? The backup on Nashville? And that improves our goaltending? Mmmmkay. Come on, fellas, you’re smarter than this.

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I guess my point of view is, Why bring back guys we have not won with in the past ?

Slater, Boulton, White(Buyout PLEASE), Thorburn come to mind.

We need fresh faces, not more of the same we have seen for years. Heck if that were the case bring back Ken Klee for pete’s sake !!!

We also need a Tough Guy upgrade… AKA… Derek Boogaard, He is 6′8″, 257 and a UFA, he won’t score, but who wants to tangle with him. Or maybe Raitis Ivanans, He is 6′4″ 256. Having those two to CRUNCH cindy crotchby would be very very nice, this would assure NOBODY would push us around without paying for it. They would be cheap to get, downside, they would provide little if any offense, but we need to be TOUGHER and a Tough guy upgrade IS important too !

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Biron, my money is on Biron.

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Fang Fingers? Nah. But, I do have my 10-gallon hat and Hoss Cartwright vest ready to go!

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You’re not going to make me go do research to find the hundreds of names across all sports that benefitted from a change of scenery, are you JF? Ellis is a strong and technically sound goalie. Not his fault he’s behind Pekka Rinne, just as it was with Bryzgalov behind Giguere and Hiller. Let us not forget the Rogie Vachon and Tony Esposito were cast aside by Montreal. You saying you wouldn’t take them because another team had no room for them?

I am not giving up on Pavs. He’s got good size and reflexes. He is technically unsound. Here’s where every one throws Hasek at me – but he was TECHNICALLY sound, he just was very unorthodox in his methods, so that arguement doesn’t work. I picked Ondrej’s game apart during the preseason with Bill, Darren Eliot and Matt McConnell over at the IceForum. We were all on the same page, in total agreement. That being said – I do not totally blame him, he is not being given the tools to succeed here – we all know where that blame lies.

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who needs boogard? or goddard? or bolts? We got Evander “don’t call me holyfield” Kane!!!!

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lol, here’s Rinne, your next coming of Patty Roy:

Rinne 2.53 GAA .911 Save%

Ellis 2.69 GAA .909 Save%

Moose 2.62 GAA .915 Save%

Moose had a better save % than the Rinne with comparable GAA and Moose did it on a weaker team, yet Ellis who couldn’t beat our Rinne is an upgrade over Moose and going to be the true #1 we need? Hoo boy.

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Nabokov just posted a 1.76 GAA (including the 5 he let in during one game), a .926 Save % and posted a shutout while winning the first round of the playoffs this year.

I rest my case, your honor.

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Brendan,

Just a quick note here, since the post I’m responding to was from so far up in the blog. I agree with WBF’s assessment of Biron. He is NOT a #1 anymore at this point in his career. It would not serve us to have him unless we specifically want him as a tutor for Pavs, and I don’t think that’s what this signing is about.

On Roloson: Since you asked, Rollie signed a TWO year deal with the Isles last summer, so he under contract through the ‘10-’11 season. Considering DP’s health (or seeming lack thereof), the Isles will not be parting with Rollie any time soon.

My money is still on the Ellis/Price scenarios (although I would still LOVE Halak…I just don’t see him available anymore). Nabakov is unrealistic.

Here’s a unique thought that no one has mentioned: What about trading for Kipper in Calgary? We’ve talked about Iginla since Calgary may “blow up” the team. Why not consider that man with the flaming skull mask??

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Speaking of unrealistic FormerIslesFan…
I don’t see Calgary moving Kipper. He has just played too much hockey since the lockout, averaging 74 starts per season since 2005-06. He’s faced 10,427 shots and has a save percentage of .914. That’s certainly worthy of a $19 million investment over the next four seasons, although at 33 that makes a bit more sense than Nabokov at $6 million.

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Joe, you are saying you’d take Moose over either goaltender in Nashville? Do you want a 35 year old goaltender that has won NOTING in his career despite playing most of his NHL on very good teams? I’d like to see how Nabakov would play and hold out on a team that’s not so good! I am not totally adverse to bringing Moose back, but I truly believe we have to move forward.

FIF, do you think SiPietro is done? If the Isle thisnk so, they may be another “player” in the number one goalie market this summer. I just don’t see Calgary moving Kipper; they have nobody behind him to take his place. Calgary already has created a flawed lineup, I don’t think they create another hole they can’t fill.

Nice wish though!

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Does anybody want him as a Coach? I am just wondering.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=527084&navid=DL|NHL|home

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FIF-you are correct, Kippy would be a great catch for most teams looking for an upgrade. I just don’t see Calgary parting with him and if they did, it would cost a ransom to get him. Calgary fans would demand it and Sutter can’t afford to make another bad deal.

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FIF, thanks for chiming in on Roloson and Biron. I wish the Thrashers could be a “chooser” more than a “beggar.” As we roll through these scenarios of free agency, it may turn out that the Ellises and Birons are what’s still left, on July 3rd. We’re just musing out loud. Truthfully, I’m not entirely on anyone just yet.

I agree that Nabby is unrealistic. We’d have to pay him $7 million. And, really, that’s substantively overpaying him. Chris Mason, I don’t have his stats, but he strikes me as an “okay” choice. Ellis, I do think he has an upside. He’s younger than Moose. Would Ellis, necessarily, be our # 1 goalie, moving forward to 2013? Meh. I don’t know. A lot can change between now and 2013. Personally, I hope Pavelec can become that # 1 goalie we hoped he’d be, when we sacrificed the # 12 pick in the 2005 draft to get him. Pavelec still has his whole career ahead of him. If it turns out we do wind up with Carey Price for our pick # 22 or 23 or 24 from the Devils, we have to look at Price that way, too. The easiest solution is the “quick fix.” But Nabokov isn’t coming here.

Kiprussoff, I just can’t see him leaving Calgary, but he’s not a spring chicken anymore, either. He turns 34 in October. Yeah, sure … I’d like to have him. How realistic is it? If Kipper goes, who’ll tend net in Calgary? Flames fans would be furious, I would imagine.

We’re all of us just speculating, for fun. In the end, Dudley will sign or re-sign whomever he does. Hopefully without input from Waddell. I love the Moose. But he’s 37 in May. I just don’t think we can ask or expect another season like he delivered for us this year. Ellis’ numbers may be less impressive than Hedberg’s, but Ellis will be 30 in June. Is Ellis some “end all, be all” solution? No. In fact, if signed, he might wind up being the back up. Is having Dan Ellis as your backup goalie a tragedy? Depends on how much ya paid him, I suppose.

I’m leaning towards Chris Mason and Ondrej Pavelec. If the LA Kings jettison Johnathan Quick, in favor of a tandem of Jonathan Bernier and Erik Ersberg, I’d welcome what Quick can do here. Quick turned 24 in January. I’d say he has quality years ahead of him.

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Red Light-I can only guess. The man has had a heck of a team around him every year, but San Jose rarely ever gets too far. They are always considered the team that under achieves. Plus, he’s 35 and will take alotta cash to get him to Atlanta.

None of the perceieved available goaltenders is an ideal fit, there’s something about them that is flawed which explains why they are available not locked up for the next decade. Dudley will just have to go for the guy he thinks fits best and that includes on the $$$ side.

Brendan gave us the first Waddell reference for this post! Nice to see he’s moving away from the focus of our many conversations. They may just end up going back to Moose, Pavs and real goalie coach.

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Red Light – funny you mention Osgood – anyone remember the train wreck he was as an Isle? I’ve always felt he was the kind of guy to make a good goalie coach. He isn’t a butterfly goalie (but uses it when necessary) and not a stand up keeper either. Kind of a Brodeur like hybrid.

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JF > Especially for Goalies that are changing teams > “Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results”

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Re: Russian’s link:

Wh-wh-wha-whaaaaaaat? That was kind of unexpected.

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Sure, ‘retiring’ is the nicer way to go, if Lemaire indeed was going to be canned. There’s the first expansion of Dudley’s possible coach pool.

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If Duds wants a defensive minded trapping coach, that would be Lemaire for sure. Might work here because I think the Thrash will still be able to score 3 a game out of that system off of PPs, ES goals and neutral zone turnovers.

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Enter your comments here

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Looks like Jacques Lemaire retired.

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Too many L’s heading up that team.

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Flip side: Coaches wanting a job can choose to go to NJDevils instead of AThrashers.

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Strike that. He was behind Hedburg, who was second in save % among UFA goalies.

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Jameson – But he faced 344 more shots and slightly edged out Moose in GAA. He’s 33…

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Adam- I was actually advocating Mason as at least a second choice to Nabokov.

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I CAN TEACH KOVY DEFENSE TOO!!!!

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I like it. Keep it coming. If someone put a gun to my head and said, “Name the two goalies on the bench for Opening Night 2010,” I’d probably say Pavelec and Hedberg. But, I’m a fool to dream … that we’ll actually find someone in free agency. It’ll be interesting to see what’s still left on July 3, un-signed. I’m guessing Ellis and Mason will be gone. Biron might still be there. And then … we have to weigh Biron vs. Hedberg as the backup. If we wanted Ersberg, we could probably get him.

Heck, we don’t even know if Moose will retire. But, we’ve nothing yet. If the soon to be 37-year old Hedberg does opt to retire, or play in Sweden, or elsewhere in the NHL, we’ll probably know before the draft in June. Hedberg, if he wants to stay in Atlanta, would probably be one of those Thrashers who would opt NOT to hit the open market, in favor of re-signing. Other Thrashers who I suspect with re-ink, right f’n now, if Atlanta offered a deal, are (1) Slater, (2) Boulton, and maybe (3) Popovic.

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Don called and said he’d put in a good word to Lou for me. Any minute now…Lou? Lou? You there?

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Hey, that’s Barney’s job! Anyway, Dealer Donnie will probably hook ya up with Lou or somebody.

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The heck with coaching in the NHL, Dumb Wad can give JA a line on a porta potty gig, he threw out enough $hit in interviews all season he should be good at it by now. But when he’s doing that, he should look out for those unlucky bounces.

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Great hockey night so far! Crying Ryan Miller and Buffalo chokers are gone! Alexander The Ungreat and Washington Crapitals deadlocked with No. 8 seed after six games. Pray overrated bums ousted in front of their arrogant fans. Chicago Chicken Hawks may win tonight but just want Maryann “Cheap Shot” Hosebag hauled off on stretcher! No place for sadistic creeps like this guy in professional hockey. Oh well. Enjoy the finale of evening! ++STENDEK++

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Unbelievable night in hockey. The Capitals stilllll cannot close out the Habs. A 4-1 loss is cause for concern. Either the Capitals aren’t trying … or they just won’t respect the Habs, or there’s something wrong in that lockerroom. The whole sports reason we play 7 game series … is to ensure the BETTER team wins. Generally speaking, I think that is true. Over seven games, the better team does emerge. The business reason we play 7 game series is … for the money!!! In any event, the series should never get to this point. If the Capitals slip on a banana peel, or suffer from bad officiating, or experience “monkey pucks,” bad bounces, or “ice that’s too slippery,” they’ll be golfing later on this week. Or playing in the World Championships.

And if you’d asked me … if Boston, Philly, or Montreal was a lock to make the playoffs with 10 games left, I’d say, “I wouldn’t count ‘em out, entirely, but it’s all up for grabs.” If you’d asked if if ANNNY of those teams could be in the 2nd round, I’d have laughed hysterically. And now, Montreal is one (1) win away from making all three of those teams second round entrants.

Amazing. Aren’tchu glad we have to play 82 games to establish this playoff field?

While I’m sure some fans are pulling for Montreal at this point, the Penguins will go 8-1 the rest of the way, in East. They’ll sweep Montreal, then beat the Boston-Philly series winner in five games, is my feeling. What a “soft walk” for Crosby and the Pens. I at least want to make the Penguins go through Tuukka Rask to reach the CF, for the third straight year.

In Red Light’s game, he saw seven (7) first period goals. The Blackhawks lead, 4-3. Go Preds!!! I hope it goes seven.

Buffalo??? What happened??? I tell ya what happened. The Sabres failed to close out two games in which they took 2-goal leads into the 3rd period. Had they held on, they’d have won the series, 4-2, instead of the other way around. And now, they’ve got to decide what to do with Rivet, Tallinder, and Lydman. Can’t let ‘em all go, or you’re starting with an essentially brand new blueline for next season. I hope Montador’s still under contract.

Folks, if Montreal wins, we’re in for a snoozefest of a Pens-Habs series. I’d rather see Boston-Pittsburgh and Philly-Washington than Montreal-Pittsburgh, Boston-Philly. Though that Boston-Philly matchup means that someone has to win! What if it’s Philly? Stop. That’d make two years out of three (2/3) for the Flyers being in the Conference Finals, as a 6th and 7th seed, respectively. Remember when they finished DEAD LAST in the NHL in 2007, with 56-points? And Thrashers ownership blustered about how they were in a better position than Philly was the year before they reach the CF? Yeah, well. Forget I said anything.

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Ice Daddy, here’s some more detail on Max playing pick-up hockey in Birmingham.

http://blog.al.com/ray-melick/2010/04/melick_fed_cup_lures_mad_max_t.html

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