Thrashers ‘fire’ Ben Eager all the way to San Jose
The last time we saw Ben Eager play was on January 7th when he skated off the ice of Philips Arena after receiving a match penalty for sucker punching former Thrasher Colby Armstrong. 14 of his team-high 77 penalty minutes came during that forgetful game…and afterwards I made it clear I would not mind it if he never donned an Atlanta jersey again. If GM Rick Dudley traded him away for a fifth or sixth round pick, that suited me just fine. Many of you agreed.
Well… looks like we got our wish.
Ben Eager celebrates one of his 3 goals as an Atlanta Thrasher last November. On Tuesday he was thrown to the Sharks by general manager Rick Dudley AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
As I’m sure you’ve heard, once he served his four-game suspension for that incident, the Atlanta Thrashers traded away Eager to the San Jose Sharks Tuesday. The move really came as little surprise given the amount of time he had already spent in coach Ramsay’s doghouse this season. In exchange for the 23rd overall pick by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2002 draft, the Thrashers will get to use the Sharks fifth pick in this summer’s draft.
To place that return in some perspective, let’s try to see exactly what such a pick might procure for Rick Dudley down the road, shall we.
As of the time the deal went down between the Sharks and Thrashers, San Jose was 21st in the NHL standings with a .543 points winning percentage. If they were to wind up at that spot in the standing after the season ends, that would mean they would own the 10th pick in each round. So, here’s a list of players taken at that spot in the fifth round over the past five drafts.
2006: The Minnesota Wild took goalie Bryan Pitton with the tenth selection in round number five that year.
2007: Defenseman John Lee was selected by the Florida Panthers.
2008: The Vancouver Canucks took center Prab Rai.
2009: Forward Matt Kennedy heard his name called by the Carolina Hurricanes.
2010: Last summer, the New York Rangers picked up Jason Wilson.
Now, I’m in no way shape, matter or form trying to degrade or insult any of the above mentioned players…certainly they are talented and promising enough to be drafted by an NHL team and that’s an accomplishment in and of itself. Plus, there really is no way in predicting just where that pick will eventually land. But to see the Thrashers basically give Ben Eager away to another NHL team in exchange for a prospect that will be chosen with the 130th or so pick in five months pretty much says all that needs to be said about what the Thrashers organization felt about Eager’s time with us.
Ben Eager...You're FIRED!
If there is a way to “fire” a player in the middle of a season…then basically Dudley just “Donald Trumped” Ben Eager’s butt all the way to the San Francisco Bay area.
Truth be told, I’m just fine with that. If Eager was not going to be a part of the whole collective effort to help push this team to the postseason, then it’s best to go ahead and get him out of the way as soon as possible. Better to get a 5th rounder for him now then let him clog up a roster spot while waiting for something only slightly better. After all, that’s a roster spot someone else…at this point and time, Spencer Machacek…could be filling.
And if Eager…after being ‘fired’ all the way to San Jose…finds himself in a better place for his own personal and future growth, then that’s fine too.
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115 comments Add your comment
Joe McGrath
January 19th, 2011
4:31 pm
Sorry for the sad sack attitude on my part lately. I have Center Ice and I guess I watch games every night and I’ve contracted SWF(Stable Winning Franchise) syndrome.
Red Light
January 19th, 2011
4:40 pm
Joe McGrath…Here Ya Go! Whadday think?
Thrashers Acquire D Eric Brewer, F Patrik Berglund and F Adam Cracknell from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for F Nicklas Bergfors, D Paul Postma and F Nigel Dawes.
Note: This is a mythical trade and is not factually based.
ThrasherTim
January 19th, 2011
4:42 pm
The guys are definitely banged up. How long since Buff scored? I think it’s no coincidence that he’s gotten up slowly from some board spills almost every game and his scoring has declined at the same time. Kane has gotten up slowly from some hit almost every game for a couple of weeks too. Red Light asked on one of the blogs if we were concerned Kane only has 7 goals in his last 34 games. I’m concerned. But I’m concerned about scoring across the whole team. During the solid play in Nov., we had essentially the same lineup every night. Right now, it’s piece-meal. Boulton on the 3rd line? An all rookie 4th line?
Lack of depth is an accurate statement. We basically have 4 rookies on the team in Cormier, Burmistrov, Stewart (1st full year) and Machacek. Kane and Bergfors are 2nd year guys and Little and Peverly have only played 2-3 full years too. Boulton doesn’t have much skill and Antropov (IMO) is still making his way back from injury – and isn’t that speedy anyway. So who does that leave as “veteran forwards”? Ladd and Thorburn.
Time to recall Nigel Dawes? Or is Stapleton coming back? I know the Coach likes Stapleton’s hustle but 0 points in 10 or 11 games isn’t going to help us either.
World Be Free
January 19th, 2011
4:48 pm
red light-wishful thinking, that would be a good trade!
Always a huge Brewer fan
R. Stroz
January 19th, 2011
4:52 pm
Well we’ re just over half way through the season and Modin is at 7 goals and 28 games. At this rate, he’s running on the under side of the 14 goals and 56 games.
littlemsmonk
January 19th, 2011
6:33 pm
I haven’t seen this in the last day or so but I was seeing comments regarding the possibility of the Thrashers obtaining Brent Seabrook. I do admit that the people that were posting “Eager for Seabrook-straight up!” really gave me a chuckle. Now back to reality. I’m not saying that another trade with the Hawks couldn’t happen, but I seriously doubt it. The Thrashers received a nice chunk of the Blackhawks players (no jokes now about how technically Eager couldn’t play) and I doubt that they would be willing to part with one of their star players now. There’s a reason that we refer to the Thrashers as “Blackhawks South”. The Blackhawks penalty kill was ranked something like 27th in the league last time I checked. They aren’t about to make it even worse by trading away one of their best defensemen. So, you guys may have to look other places in order to tweak your team. Not to mention, any team that did get Seabrook would more than likely have to shell out at least 5 mil a year for several years in order to keep him. No doubt the Blackhawks will have to shed some weight in order to do just that.
Runner,
Yes. Chicago does seem so small at times. That’s why I try to stay nice and sweet (most of the time anyway.) My reputation is a clean one. I find that it’s easier to be a good girl. Less drama. Can’t say that for everyone here. Let’s just say that there are some gals here with a little “mileage” on them. Hey, some guys don’t mind or they may even like it!
SomaAtl95
January 19th, 2011
9:13 pm
Official Thrashers Tweet:
Atlanta Thrashers (Official Site) >> Thrashers Recall Forwards Nigel Dawes and Tim Stapleton from Chicago (AHL)
World Be Free
January 19th, 2011
10:54 pm
little – no chance Seabrooke comes here, he is part of their core and one of the best defensemen in the league. Maybe someone else on their roster but not Brent, sorry to say.
littlemsmonk
January 20th, 2011
12:08 am
World Be Free- That was my point. Thrashers aren’t getting Seabrook. Blackhawks are going to do everything in their power to hold onto him. Trust me when I tell you that Stan Bowman will be punched in the snot locker by some pissed off Blackhawks fan if that happens! It was just more than mildly amusing to read all of the “trade ideas” that people had on this board. The “Eager for Seabrook” one was side splitting!
World Be Free
January 20th, 2011
7:44 am
little-they those posts are funny, just wish we would get some real trade information, prospective deals instead of the rumors that are floating around. But, those rumors could have a positive effect on the players. Most players don’t want to move in the middle of the season unless they are lucky enough to get traded to a contender. Motivation comes in many forms.
Smoothie
January 20th, 2011
9:50 am
Here’s hoping that Dawes and Antropov don’t end up on the same line again! Those two did not mesh very well last October. Modin-Antro-Dawes and Modin-Slater-Dawes were unmitigated disasters for the mosts part. Hmmm, what is the common theme in these line combos? Okay, with Modin on the shelf, what are your line combos du jour? I’ll go with:
Ladd-Pevs-Bergy
Kane\Antro-Litts-Stewy
Boults-Antro\Corms-Stapes
Dawes-Cormier\Burmy-Thorbs
Time for Burmy to get some pressbox time with Bogey to gain some perspective and eat as much as he can at the buffet. I reckon the boy has lost 10 lbs of weight over the course of the season and he can no longer muscle other forwards off the puck or protect the biscuit like he did earlier in the year with a stronger body and fresher legs.
Rawhide
January 20th, 2011
9:54 am
I wouldn’t necessarily call tonight’s game against the Lightning a “must win”. However….
Smoothie – Sorry dude. Looks like you get the Ranallo Award today.
Joe McGrath
January 20th, 2011
11:13 am
Unfortunately, I guess Stapleton and Dawes are the only answers we have available right now. But we still need to add Pro League depth, not AHL depth. In the West, Edmonton is the only team not in the hunt. I watched them play night before last and they were horrible, but I did like Dustin Penner and he’s a UFA in 2012–he’s also been in the dog house there for inconsistency, but every Oilers game/highlight I see, he’s getting highlight reel. Would Tambelleni entertain an offer of Kulda, Postma or Welch and a pick for Penner. Maybe. But then we’d need a D man, and the only other Western Conf team I think that will be dealing soon is the Flames (they were freaking horid against their 6-0 loss to Wild last night–they’re in deep do do)and Cory Sorich (UFA after this season) could be had for a pick and a prospect. IMHO we have the best first, and third pairings in the NHL. Sorich combined with Johnny O would make a very stable second pairing.
littlemsmonk
January 21st, 2011
1:33 am
World Be Free- Unfortunately, anybody can start a trade rumor on a blog or in an article and it spreads quicker than a wildfire. I could post that the Chicago Blackhawks were shopping Patrick Kane and wanted to deal him before the end of the week. Within hours people would think it was a fact.
On another note, what do people think of the officiating this season? I just watched the Vancouver/San Jose game and I can honestly say that I was so sickened by all of the non-calls, that there was almost an instant replay on my dinner. It’s always amazed me how officials can be standing right in front of a player that gets beaned with a stick and somehow “not see it.” I’m actually considering just starting to do a shot of Jameson every time there is a non-call in a hockey game. I am a little concerned for my liver, though.
BTW, Nabokov just signed a one-year deal with the Wings.
Mr. Heat Miser
January 21st, 2011
1:14 pm
Absolutely the worst officaited game I have ever seen.