What could brutally good owners do for Thrashers fans?

A new ownership group will lift the Eeyore like cloud that hangs over Phillips Arena the day it takes over.

From the first day of the incestuous purchase from Turner/AOL this ownership group has destroyed value.

The Atlanta Spirit cost Turner an extra 200+ million dollars by circumventing David McDavid so that the kids could get a new toy.

The Spirit’s incessant bickering put millions of dollars into lawyers pocket and stole the attention needed to run the teams and arena by putting it on their infighting.

Their lack of sports management knowledge alienated fans and companies that would have supported the teams and provided the economic cushion needed for success.

Essentially their dishonesty and double dealing doomed the franchises to attracting the mercenaries and not the passionate players.
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A new ownership group will remove the stain, the cloud, the ambivalence that surrounds Phillips Arena and provide a positive experience for fans and businesses to support the local teams.

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Well said! In addition to airing away games, I would ask them to make a deal with a local station (Peachtree TV?) to air games. The only way to see games now is to have a cable sports package, and if you have AT&T Uverse, forget Center Ice! Those that want to watch the games will find a way (hello, internet streaming!), but it would be good to get the team in front of more eyeballs by making it easily accessible to those that may be flipping through a basic cable or OTA package.
Keep up the good work, Rawhide!

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There is one thing that costs very little in terms of investment and that is honesty. You can parade a sow’s ear and tell us it’s a silk purse, but most of us aren’t knuckle-dragging idiots and can tell the difference. The PR spin doesn’t cut it these days, from employees who describe the game to us on TV and radio to those who want us to think Angelo Esposito still has a promising NHL career in front of him. Sometimes you have to conclude certain things aren’t working before improvement can follow. Change throughout the organization and a new mission statement is required. All you have to do is see what is happening with a division rival, Tampa Bay, to know that passionate change and good leadership is essential to success. The Lightning finished behind the Thrashers in each of the last four seasons since their Cup win. They blew up their staff, they added key players and they know have leadership and direction. AND, they did it in the span of seven months!

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The Thrashers need a management face on the franchise. This face must relate to the fan base and represent the fan base within the Thrasher management team. Here think Arthur Blank of the Falcons, Ted Turner of the Braves in the 90’s, Mark Cuban of the Mavericks. These owners build the brand, promote the brand and convince the fan base that they have a collective seat at the table. After the damage done by ASG (lies, lawsuits and contempt), the fan base desperately needs a quantum boost in confidence.

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Something the Thrash did a few years ago that I thought was so simple it was genius was the sweater swap. I’m sure most of you remember this endeavor, the new baby blue sweater came out and they wanted to give those of us with enemy sweaters the opportunity to trade in our old duds for a brand new baby blue. There was always the complaint that even when the seats were full, there was always tons of sweaters for the enemy, since many hockey fans in Atlanta were carpetbag..er, transplants to the city. My excuse was Carolina got a team before we did and I love hockey, so I had a ‘Canes sweater and hat.

This ingenious offer was so popular that they were out of the baby blue sweaters before they knew what hit them. SO, I got a sweet hat out of the deal, just having to wait for the new batches of baby blues to come in.

All of this to say is, if you want to get buy in from old or new fans, the new owner needs to give stuff to the fan base. Get sweaters and hats out there to the buying public. You’ll have walking advertisement and a fan base that feels wanted.

And I hope that they’ll do the same for the court birds too. I wan’t the AS, LLosers out of all Atlanta sports. They are a plague. (Ok, I’m sure most of these guys are great personally, but they are clueless as sports business owners)

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Sage, I agree with you. The current batch of owners have given Daffy Don enough rope. The new owners need to start fresh at that level, even if just for symbolic reasons.

I think the GM is set. And I would give Rammer another chance with a real payroll investment.

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Get rid of that huge wall of non-working TV’s in Philips Experience and Headlines Grill. Sane concession prices and concession workers without attitude. Maybe a new jersey design. Waddell selling hot dogs.

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EPIC DISCONNECT – building a brand around “A Brutally Good Time” and hiring a coach that thinks physical play is overrated.

The new ownership group needs to have hockey sense and be part of the organization’s planning – not just textbook toothpaste marketing types. No more Epic Disconnects like that.

I agree with the 7:30 weeknight starts. When I was a kid, I was only allowed to go to Fr/Sa/Su games because of the school night issue and I’m still a fan (depsite how tough it’s been for 30+ years).

As an out-of-state fan, I would really like to see more TV coverage on the national outlets (Versus, NBC, etc.), but that’s a “win and it will come” issue. Failing that, can they at least run re-plays of every game later at night?

Can the new owners do something about the farm system? Relying on a disconnected franchise in Chicago to prep/train/build players for a system we’re not using at the NHL level seems ludicrous to me. Fix it. I think the “Elevating Gwinnette” option is worth serious consideration.

Until the Thrashers can build a solid, competitive team that shows up for 60 minutes every game, we won’t get press (other than bad press) and we won’t get breaks from the referees or Toronto. Fix that.

Go Thrashers!!

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Just having owners that gave a damn would be an improvement. Everything else would fall in line.

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1-7:30 Weeknight starts.
2-Re-design jersey
3-Repair Arena-[toilets, tv's, bring back customer service]
4-Entice fans with cheap seats. FILL the ARENA you dumbasses.
5- Free WIFI[duh!]
6- Let people bang on the glass fer gawds sakes.It is what hockey is .

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Oh….and hot water in ALL the restrooms.

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Most of the arguments supporting the 7 pm start are weak at best. If your child normally goes to bed at 9 pm, then even a 7 pm start is too late. With all due respect to our wonderful families, the new owner must focus on tapping into the post-college graduate demo as well as the later twentysomethings with disposable income and an appetite for beer etc. Give people time to get downtown and thus enhance their overall experience since they won’t have to rush and scramble to their seats. New ownership needs to focus on growing the game and use more creative marketing to get the 18-30 crowd in the building, even if it means buy a fri/sat nite tkt and get a tues/wed nite for free. Families who want to be there will figure out a way to get to games on weekends and when their skeds allow. My dad used to take me to Hartford from Albany, NY during the week cuz tkts were easier to get. Do you think he cared about me losing sleep and getting home at 130 am? No, he wanted to enjoy NHL hockey with his son. I still got good grades and managed to grow up without becoming a slack-ass derelict who doesn’t contribute to society!

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I vote for Jack as this year’s 7th Fan Award winner!

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I’ve always felt the former Flames got shafted in regards to the Thrashers. Those Flames players ought to be brought into the fold.

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Get rid of the red third jersey. It looks like a football jersey not a hockey sweater. When announcing the spirit squad at the beginning of the year put them in over-sized jerseys instead of bikinis. The bikini don’t make sense. Hockey is a winter sport. The over-sized jerseys will still give sex appeal you want cuz hockey chicks I’ve been told are hot. Do small give away promoting the players. More people come for the give away and they’ll remember how cool the sport is. Even Detroit has give away. Get out in the community more and advertise you’re out there. If people know the players care about their fans they will make new fans and more fans will care about the players

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Need a new jumbo-tron and show replays so people can get into the game…stop all the little silly promos that fill the down time.

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At the end of the game, win or lose, the Thrashers should stand center ice and raise their sticks to the fans.
Take a note from the Braves and work on becoming a regional team. Play more preseason games in the “local” area. Huntsville, Knoxville, Birmingham, Columbus (Ga.) Augusta, Gwinnette, Biloxi, Pennsacola all have facilities available for hockey in late Sept, early Oct. Put together clinics in these towns. Columbus youth program is in its infancy and the Thrashers should be a part of that too. Same with Birmingham, as the small but steady youth program there could use
some Thrasher love.

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go to detroit and mimic everything mike illitch and ken holland do, both on and off the ice. that franchise was a joke before illitch took over.

remember when gretzky called new jersey a mickey mouse organization? that was 3 stanley cups ago, a distant memory.

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tell me if this is a good marketing idea:

Start on the glass-first 10 rows at $100 dollars per seat and take off $2 on every row after (so row 11 is $98, row 12 is $96, etc) and stop the sliding scale at $10 on the non club side (let the club side be for those who want to pay the premium to have that “title” attached to their seats). All 400 seats should be $5 and held for sale on gameday to try and get people to buy closer to the arena. Then go to all the colleges around Georgia and put a massive media blitz (TV adds during FOOTBALL since we know everyone watches that, ticket deals in student centers, etc.) so they know how competatively priced the thrashers are. Basically, it makes it so its affordable for anyone to go the games… breaks away from the stupid corporate lock up we have now. Bring down concession prices some, I work at a school and its really not that expensive to order food in the quantity that Phillips would be.

Also, with this new ticket deal, call past season ticket owners after seats have been made available to current ones and offer them seats close to their old seats with their past perks/incentives. This way they get their old seats back (or close to them) with their past perks that had at a lower price… how does anyone not win from that. By doing this and having a growing season ticket fan base it allows the new owners to mark up the few remaining seats in individual games so a season ticket holder is never undercut by a one time buyer.

Being a business person, steal the walmart concept here. 41 sellouts at a lower revenue will always create more long term stability than 15 sellouts a years at higher price. It makes the players realize there are fans here and we as fans can give them energy. How intimidating would it be to have to come to Atlanta and know that you’re facing a hard hitting team and hopefully a very vocal crowd ontop of that… not too much fun if you ask me.

I am all for the 7:30 start because I work in Roswell and there is no way I can get done working at 6 and make it to Phillips by 7 and catch the puck drop. Family events should be on the weekends when the kids have the time to do what they want and dont have to worry about being up early for school the next day.

The owners need to be more public and viewable to the paying customers. Teams that have true loyalty have owners who are transparent and act like a paying customer themselves sometimes. Arthur Blank, Marc Cuban both do this on a regular basis and interact with their customers to find out what they want.

Lastly, have the players more available to fans. I think hockey is about the only sport where you can’t get an autograph at a game. Iit would be cool to be like baseball where if you got there early enough you can get a signed puck or something from a player. It just helps make a kids night that much more memorable so they ask mom and dad to go back and see if they can get another player to sign a different object (I say this because I have a rare jersey/hat combo framed that has Heatley, Snyder, Kovy, Savard, and Hossa all framed in one setting).

Ok, sorry about the mini tirade there but just had to get that off my chest.

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In addition to the Ilitich Detroit blueprint, mirror what Tampa Bay and Tom Pegula in Buffalo has done. There was a great interview on Bettman’s NHL XM show with the TB owner…everything he said related back to relationships with the fans. They’re even changing out the seats because people complained they were too uncomfortable. Pegula and his wife hosted a dinner for players and team staff as an opportunity to get to know everyone personally. Mr. Pegula realizes Buffalo is not a 1st choice destination for many players, so he’s doing what he can to build a hockey family in Buffalo.

We need hands-on owners in Atlanta who personally care about players, team staff, fans and the community. Mix in a little business sense and organizational development, and everything else will fall into place.

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Get new goalies. j/k But seriously, a combined save percentage of .818 over the last 4 games??? Ick! How bad can your defense get? They’ve only allowed 99 SOG in the four games, yet 18 of them have beaten our goalies. Okay, so which defender(s) do you get rid of??

One small change I’d like to see with respect to the fan in-game experience is a switch to cans for the beer served inside the arena as well as on the concourse. If someone wants draft beer, fine. Have some of that too, but let’s face it, those dark, brown bottles don’t get cold enough fast enough nor do they stay cold long enough. Beer stays colder in a can and I want my beer COLD!! I’ve seen fans in every Canadian hockey city on the glass holding or drinking from CANS. Is this that much to ask?? And get more Molson, Labatt and Genny Light (just kidding) in the arena for God’s sake!!

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Until mass transit in this city is improved, and worth a damn, it is silly to start games before 7:30. If you live in Gainesville and don’t like getting home at 11:30, then perhaps you should move closer to town. I’m sorry, but any argument supporting a 7 pm start in a city of 6 million people with some of the WORST traffic in the country just rings hollow. If people want more time at home to grab a bite to eat, throw on their game jersey, wait for the baby-sitter to get to the house etc, then they should have more time ahead of the game. Who cares what time you have to go to bed on a weeknight. If you can get to sleep by midnight on a work night, then you as an adult should be able to function okay the next day. It’s unfortunate that the arena wasn’t built closer to where the majority of where our fanbase lives, but we’re stuck with it. Hopefully the area around the arena and Gulch will become more attractive to draw more folks regularly for games, but I’m sick of seeing only 5-7,000 butts in the seats for puck drop and then 10-15,000 by the 2nd period. It’s just plain silly.

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1. Fire D-Wad, if for any other reason so we can all talk about hockey (aside from the 11 years of pain we have witnessed from DW we hear at least once a week how DW needs to be gone. Time is well past for that and I think Sage would wet himself from the excitement)
2. Bring former Atlanta Hockey players into the mix. My first Thrashers game ever was their first home game against Calgary (and first ever home victory). Before puck drop they gave former Flames greats a Thrashers jersey and gave away a TV. I think that was the last time that ever happened. Show Atlanta that the Knights were successful in their short span here. Show Atlanta that the Knights had the first Black head coach, John Paris, and one of the first pro goalies who was of the fairer gender, Manon Rheaume. Honor the past while building a future. Ask people as they file in for games what the Thrashers means to them. Make a point during TV broadcasts to show the Thrashers in Atlanta as they interact with the community and also SHOW THAT THERE ARE YOUTH LEAGUES SET UP IN THE AREA. Anyone who has seen a Ducks game on Center Ice knows that they have youth programs and even offer Training camps with Ducks players. Showing that there is homegrown support for the sport would help show our neighbors who covet our team that there is community support.
3. Bring back retired players and let them be involved with the sportscasts, a la Mike Milbury and his intermission reports of Bruins games. I see Bobby Holik on NHL Network, why couldn’t he replace Kincade between periods? Replace Matt McConnell with a former Thrasher (just pick one) who will not use the following words/phrases: Bouncing Puck, Jam (or any form Jammed, Jamming, etc) Sniglet, The Hockey Way, etc etc etc. We all made fun of JR after the Hawks won last June because he cried, but thats what the Thrashers need as a broadcast face – someone with an emotional connection as the broadcast voice of the team.
4. Take a page from the Braves – bring former greats in as coaches, assistants, or as motivation. Its amazing that with their playing days long behind them you will find names like Glen Hubbard and Terry Pendleton still in the Braves family.
5. I know I will get flamed for this but keep certainty in the coaching position. If new ownership is going to show gumption and actually spend money for top talent then our coaching should succeed. Nobody said a bad thing about Rammer from late October to late December. Make it known that we are no longer a revolving door for talent and a death knell for coaches.
6. Make it easier to find things like the St Pattys Jerseys, Majectic “Baseball” style jerseys and other things that fans can spend money on. Finding a Black “Ice Flirt” Jersey for my wife was next to impossible without going to Team Gear 2. Because they weren’t on the website it was impossible to get it personalized.
7. Move the start time to 7:30 on weeknights. Encourage mass transit by offering a free soda to those who took Marta to the game (by showing tokens or marta receipt)
8. HIRE CONCESSIONS WITH A PERSONALITY. Nothing puts a damper on a game quite like someone who makes it obvious they want to be anywhere but giving you an overpriced drink. In that same vein make it so typical arena fare (pretzles, Hot dogs, etc) arent out of stock by the end of the 1st period.
9. Recognize the power of a blog. Aside from the standard blog have someone like Ben Wright post here on the AJC. More public interaction is a plus.
10. Last one, I promise – once new ownership is in place make it publicly known before the first game of the season that the Thrashers are ATLANTA’s team and are not going anywhere. Give the people who covet our team a reason to circle around some other unlucky franchise and pelt them with the nastiness and attitude that we see on a daily basis. When will the Winnipeggers start slamming St Louis, team, fans and all?

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Keep the girls in bikini’s……That’s it.

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Get a color commentator with Kamal, liked Odgers…need an ex-player to hold down that spot.

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1) repair the trust by being open and honest with all fans and be vocal that the team is not leaving. If I was owner I would kick things off with The Thrashers open house being the last preaseason game make it free for everyone ( I think Florida did a free game ) Great oppurtunity to fill the building and have a captive audience to market too

2) On ICE product sign Free agents and give some team atability – many former season ticket holder like myself lost faith they wanted to win with the revolving door of Free agency and low payroll . Would love to see them go after a big name Free agent to send a message were serious about winning

3)Spend money on marketing – many average Atlantans may have been to a Thrashers game but short of a few billboards there is no active Tv or radio marketing outside of the networks that carry the games to keep them connected. It’s sad that more of my Friends go to GLADS games than Thrashers games if your not marketed too You will always choose the cheaper option

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Sorry BB, but, I like the organ and would incorporate it more – organ music is a hcokey tradition. Better than some head banging crap (guess I’m showing some age here). But – NEVER PLAY LADY OF SPAIN AGAIN!

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We don’t need a homer like the one referenced above on this blog.

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Gosh DWTOO, we’re going to send a guy with a jackhammer to free you from your concrete shoes. Pretty soon you’re going to ask for bubbles and have Lawrence Welk’s favorites playing during intermission.

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World Be Free: Edmonton’s capacity is 100 percent. The size of the rink prohibits a higher ranking. Same with Minny, which is at 98.5% capacity this season.

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Lot of good ideas in these blogs that new ownership should take a look at. Pretty simple.
1. Put a far better product on the ice (better players)
2. Add some real leadership behind the bench- not a passive old timer.
3. Promote it- special ticket deals, jerseys with chips, PR (remind the AJC that you advertise with them and have over 10,000 readers who can be turned off to their rag).
4. Create a “not in our house” mentality.
There are more than enough good hockey fans in the metro area who would come back over time with a far better product run by an organization that is committed to fans. Bring back old Flames players? Gimme a break!

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—> Smoothie. Saw your comment on driving down from Albany NY to Hartford. I take it that made you a Whalers fan growing up? Me and my dad used to go to games at the Civic Center all the time. Brings back a lot of memories…..too bad the play here reminds me too much of those same Whalers teams.

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Interesting seeing mar1jdh comment at 9:28 am about the Knights cheer.

I wonder if it is a subconscious reaction by the fans to the failure of the organization to properly recognize the past and the fans passion for it?

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After reading the comments I realized something —

Today we are all Brendan…

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Forgot to say a BIG YES to acknowledging The Atlanta FLAMES, That is a NO Brainer for sure, and I would like to see the next time Calagry plays here, it be Retro game, They play with White Atlanta uni’s and we have the Red ones, I know back in the 70’s red was road, maybe we could swap. Have The Painted Lady attend, see was Great and HOT as HELL ! Neil Boortz to
be the announcer and maybe Dave Schultz to go after him like he did years ago at The OMNI !

Yes a tribute to Anything FLAMES, Atlanta that is would be fantastic.

Maybe a Knights Championship banner, at least they didi win !

And don waddell can not be Fired fast enough !
Two others, Randy Manery and Bobby Simpson live here too.

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I would be worried if the Coyotes somehow stay in AZ…one of these two franchises is destined for Canada. I am from MN and am a Wild STH…who knows a couple Canadian cities have the ownership lines in place.

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Atlanta would support another team in Canada – by expansion. Stealing teams doesn’t fly with people in Canada yet they have no qualms trying to steal an American team? Hypocritical nature at its finest.

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“Smoothie. Saw your comment on driving down from Albany NY to Hartford. I take it that made you a Whalers fan growing up?”

jeff97 – awesome man, I was a fan of the Whale, but Plucky was not my #1. My dad is from Buffalo/Rochester area and I grew up a Bills and Sabres fan. Now I pretty much hate them both. But I always pulled for the Whalers and took great delight when they finally made it to the playoffs in ‘86 and swept the ‘Diques in 3. They pushed the eventual Cup champs to 7 games and I could not have been happier at their tasting of success. Little did I know at the time that I was seeing so many great players, including Francis, Dineen, Holik etc. Okay, Holik is a stretch, but I liked him back then. I missed Howe and Hull by a couple of years, but saw the Sabres and Whale play some very good games at the Civic Center. What a treat watching Gilbert Perreault skate! Funny thing is now I have good friends from college who are now huge Canes fans and we’re always giving each other grief, although I usually come out on the short-end of that back and forth! Good times!

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Smoothie – Sounds like you started going to the games around the same time I did. My dad and I used to go to the Springfield Civic Center while they were repairing the Hartford Civic Center roof. Wow, those days seem so so long ago. I was there for Game 3 vs the ‘Diques. One of the best game experiences I have ever had. Whale was a goal away in my opinion from the Cup finals as I think they would have beaten the Rangers that season. And your right, who would ever have thought we would have been looking at so many future great players at that time. Dont forget about Ray Ferraro, Ulf Samuelson, Pat Verbeek. Heck, Ferraro even played here a few seasons. I moved here a month after the Thrashers inagural season started, so it was real easy to root for this team after the Whale left Hartford, I could never get into being a ‘Canes fan..to much resentment to that ownership.

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sports fan///

it would be interesting to see how any city would support this team with the track record we have had to deal with for 11 years, minnesota included. there are potential owners here – we have to assume that the next group of check-signers will actually want to win instead of treating the hockey team and fans like they are diseased. the canadian dorks keep telling us we don’t deserve a team; they have to fuigure out the nhl does not want to go to winnipeg or quebec city; if they did the 2 teams would have never left those cities to begin with. stop treating the fans like garbage and they will come back, as we did the first 4 seasons with the thrashers for horrible teams.

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Nothing wrong with the name as it’s a nice way to honor our past as the original settlement was called Thrasherville. Going forward, the Blueland concept, although I don’t hate it, needs to be scrapped and the Thrashervillage or something along those lines needs to be developed. The Hawks already have their nest, but I’m sure Thrash won’t mind nesting his tail feathers down at the family-friendly Thrashervillage or Thrasherville. In fact, it can be Thrashervillage on family weekend days and Thrasherville at night to connote a rink of horrors and thrashing for the other team paying us a visit. A new concept for the 3rd jersey featuring the old T-bird / Ultimate Warrior crest needs to be conjured up…perhaps with some radiating flames as the bird rises like a phoenix out of the ashes of despair and mismanagement that is Atlanta Stupid group.

jeff97 – damn son, we must be close to the same age, we should definitely meet up for a brew before a game soon and talk puck at Gorin’s. So many great memories from the old Civic Center and the Mall next to it. I probably only made it over to 5 or 6 games total (my dad was on a limited budget) but we always had a great time with the folks from Hartford. It was a great little hockey town for awhile. Good people there in that part of CT. Would love to see the Whale make a come back. Perhaps move Blue Jackets to Seattle and bring back the Whale crest and green and blue colors since the city is right on the water and there are most certainly lots of whales in the Pacific.

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soma: the terminators, not bad…my objection to the name is not that it was originally bad, its become bad, the image of the team is now tied to a bird that comes to one’s mind. Its a tarnished logo filled with bad luck.

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I liked the idea of trading in your sweater, but I think it would be cool if you could trade your old one in for the new one. The deal at the last home game was 40% off 3rd Jersey which means they might be getting a new design. When they do that, it would be cool if you could trade in your old sweater for a new one for a lesser price.

They also need to do things for people who love the team but don’t have the means to have season tickets. I understand season ticket holders deserve more deals, but there are other faithful fans that either can’t afford season tickets or who are in school. College student deals would be great, and having a student discount on tickets could help out too.

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It’s already been confirmed the horrible maroon 3rd jersey is going away.

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1-Make a connection to the region!
2-Every youth and men’s league team within 100 miles should be playing with Thrashers logo pucks and drinking from Thrashers logo water bottles.
3-Have the players make a presence at local events (Peachtree Road Race, 4th of July, Festivals in Kennesaw, Marietta, Gwinette, Roswell, etc.). Just walk around with their jerseys on!
4-Promote youth ice hockey and roller hockey. If building new roller hockey rinks is too much of an investment, donate a bucket of blue, orange and yellow paint to the few rinks we already have.
5-Anything in this region that is even remotely related to hockey should have a Thrashers influence.
6-Keep the kids on the ice for the player intro / anthem. That’s at least one fan-for-life.

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We’d all be referred to as “Coke-heads”!

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the atlanta krackers!……hehe

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Many good comments on this issue. Here is another one; open pre-season to anybody who wants attend and make it free. When people experience this game they will be avid fans and will build the fan base.

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I have NHL Center Ice on Charter in Gainesville, GA. We do not get any coverage for Thrashers games on Center Ice – even though they are listed on the menu. Why? Who knows? Even ATL vs/at Pittsburgh Penguins games (200+ sellouts) is a FSPenguins telecast.

I hate mid-town ATL due to the traffic. I see Gwinnett Gladiator games instead when I feel the need to attend a game. Thrasher tickets are over-priced considering all of the hassle getting to and from and parking and such. The Arena at Gwinnett does it right. No pay parking, easy in and out of lots. A much better entertainment value.

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@ZAvs or at least only charge $5 bucks. I was at a Caps preseason game at Landover in 2002 and they reduced ticket prices to $5 the day of the game and then between the 1st and 2nd periods announced that everyone “grab a seat wherever.” There were only about 6K there, but it really seemed like a nice jesture on the Caps part.

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$1 beer night on a weeknight would get plenty of the age 21 – 30 crowd in the building!

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make the end zone seats in the upper deck $15 for all midweek games-you’ll make the money back in consessions give those clowns somethign to do anyhow.

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Right Smoothie, and we don’t agree often, but nice to here. Yes I was behind the pressbox about 20 rows, He has just gotten soundly whipped by Ken Houston, and Neil kinda gave him The Neil Boortz Smurk Smile, well Schultz went nuts, trying to use his stick first, then exiting the box and trying to get inside the announcers area. He got pelted with everything you could think of, legally that is, esp BEER. After that he was tossed and gave the OMNI crowd the One Finger Salute as he exited,
Dan Bouchard had a few words for him as well as he left, as well.

Like the book, Babes of Winter,has in it, Dave Schultz was The Omni’s Favorite Villian !

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Congratulations Brendan. One of your most concise, literate and self-aggrandizing posts since 2007. LOL

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***New Jersey– 2 spots ahead of us in attendance with 3 Stanley Cups, yet Kovy calls them a first class organization***

I dont think Kovy was reffering to attendance when saying NJ is a first class organization.

As far as new owners— clean house entirely

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LAC – if you remember the officials locker room was in the far corner from the Zamboni door. They had to walk between the end seats and those corner overhangs. There was no awning to protect them back then. After a particularly brutally called game between the Flames and Rangers, horrible ref extrordinare Bruce Hood (just the name still ticks me off) got two 20 ouncers dumped on his head by a righteous fan. That was one of my favorite Omni moments…after the Flyers fight, the first time Lysiak came back as a Blackhawk, the Jim Craig game, the time we put 12 behind Rogie Vachon, and the best check of all time when Pat Quinn put Guy Lafleur into the next week.

Sigh, I miss the Flames.

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Glovesave29, I will never forget bob myers calling questionable tripping & holding calls that cost us against a BAD Detroit team and again against Toronto, where The Flames were a much better team, but could never get over the hump in the playoffs.

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glovesave29, The only time the Flames scored 12 goals in a game was against Vancouver, Never against LA. We got 9-0 win against Boston once, where Bouchard stoned Buyck in the final seconds to get the shutout, GREAT ! Wish the Thrashers could do that at home sometime !

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LAC et al:

I forgot sisters daughters and young sons of fans too. watching my baby sister get uncomfortable made me change my mind. i love my sister and would never want her to be uncomfortable.

KOVY

Barring injury he’ll be one of the best players ever. He still lives here and he and kozy SHOULD be honored in time the pain of a business choice shall pass for you as it has for me. Heatley, Savy, Hossa, no. well maybe Savy.

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ben – ya gotta honor Hossa as he was hugely important to our playoff season and “success”. The production of “Hoslov” made Kovy take second fiddle in ATL. How many chants of “Hos-Sa” echoed through the Arena that year? Just sayin’.

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I realize that Smoothie for sure, But…. Sage does make some good points, albeit in a perhaps different way, But, he is like ALL of us, tired of losing, Tired of the Lying and other BS, He, Like EVERYONE, WANTS TO WIN !!!! Can you for just a second, think if we were in the position Vancouver is in ? Best in the NHL, with a Good shot in the playoffs, How Crazy would we be ? WOW ! That would be REAL Fun !

I just hope we show up Friday night and play a decent game of it. Remember, 5 out of 8 against NJ/Phila. not to bad, if refs were legit we would have another for sure and maybe 7 of 8, but I really don’t think the NHL wants us to win, just like the lousy owners.

Glovesave, I went back through my old Flames media guides I have. We scored a 7-2 win over LA in The OMNI in January 1975. Looked through them all and that was the highest number of goals we ever scored against LA during The Flames years here. Did get a 12-4 win over Vancouver in 1976.
This also at The OMNI.

ben et al, what in the hell are you talking about ?, nuts to me !

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ZombieSteve, I’m with you on the third jersey – definitely a fan of it, as pictured above. My wife, partial to the home blue, and my son, in to the throwback dark blue and copper (can we say throwback for an 11 year old franchise?) have different favorites. We’d say the jerseys are about the least of our problems.

Any update on a Laddy contract? That would be a good step in the right direction.

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Just tossin’ this out there, but what if you encountered this sentiment circulating the arena, at your next visit to the Bulb: “I’m not really much of a hockey fan, but I do like to cheer loudly for Thrasher goals, and especially love coming out to see those scantilly clad ‘Blue Crew’ girls. Wowza.”

Not sayin’ it’s right. Not condoning it. Not advocating it. But, yes or no, that’s good for attendance? Yes or no, more Thrasher fans at the Bulb … than that of our opponents … is a good thing? Yes … or no? This the point where you have to decide … if doing what YOU think is ‘right or wrong’ outweighs that which benefits the team, the MOST. Namely, more fans in the stands, wearing Thrasher gear. While you posters mull it over, I’ll just hum the theme song to ‘Jeopardy.’

Red Light, honestly … I think we live in such a ‘quick-fix, digital photo (since 1 hour photo just wasn’t fast enough anymore), instant oatmeal, IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION society’ … that if we didn’t suffer from attention deficit disorder (ADD) naturally, we certainly came to develop it as a CULTURAL PHENOMENON. And for such people, even ‘Cliff Notes’ of the play they’re too damny LAZY to read … are too long-winded and rambling for their limited attention spans. Isn’t there a TWITTER (TM) version of “Hamlet?,” they might opine, grimacingly. Sadly, I think that’s where we are, as a society.

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Lot’s of good suggestions here, there has been so many things that have changed for season ticket holders over the years. All I really care about is a winning team, spend the money on that and forget the rest and people will go to the games! Of course there is a lot to learn from Tampa’s actions this year, the free new jersey all the STH holders got with the microchips was a great idea. Next give away was a free shirt on each seat at a home game. see link http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=551151 (Lightning Introduce Season Ticket Holder Jersey Concept for 2011-12)

I like the current 3rd jersey only if it has the name and numbers, plain it looks wrong. As to the Knights chant, while I do not care either way and do not yell it a lot of people do. It does not bother me one bit but can see why some do not like it. But is there anything in the Anthem that allows you to use Thrashers in it? Carolina yells red for example so maybe we should do the same? Just kidding!

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7:30 starts will help. Look around the arena when the puck drops. Look around the arena at the start of the 2nd period. Duh.
Hire a creative crew to run audio/ video. This is so repetitious, predictable and boring. Same videos over and over. Yuk.
Someone has to be the face of the organization. Ramsey? You gotta be kidding me. He is too calm. Win or lose there is NO fire in him.

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R.Stroz, unless I missed it, I never got your response to my question, “What has been the best ’salvage job’ the Thrashers ever had?” I gave A – H as choices. Here’s a link to the post, again, which was in response to your 11:49PM post, on ‘Playoffs Buried Under a Snowman’ blog, on March 19th.” http://blogs.ajc.com/iceman-thrashers-blog/2011/03/19/buffalo-builds-snowman-to-help-bury-thrashers-playoff-hopes/?cxntfid=blogs_iceman_thrashers_blog#comment-54879

I think I went with Kari Lehtonen for what is ultimately Andrew Ladd, via Ivan Vishnevskiy. I reserved the right to change that to Rich Peverley for Blake Wheeler, at a later date. Boris Valabik for Mark Stuart was my runner-up choice, as an immediate answer.

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I don’t know that there’s any “quick fix” short of some miracle run to the Eastern finals…

That being said, it seems to me that from a marketing/promotions side, I would think the following would be pretty easy to accomplish without significant financial burden.

1) Take the gag order off the players (granted pro atheletes have been trained to be as inoffensive as possible, but seriously outside of Hainsey & Byfuglien, these guys come off as xannax zombies when interviewed), and put them out there-I don’t care what station, put them on, even if it’s just to segue into “The Dawgs Report”…no such thing as bad publicity at this point.

2) As has been pointed out several times-get the local Uni’s involved-college night Wednesdays…something. I would think having $5 400-300 level seats will result in much tap beer being bought/consumed. The need for additional security is most likely offset by tap beer sales (cans is a good idea too Smoothie).

3) Seriously stop with this pipe-dream that 7pm weekday start times are viable. It’s not. Reasons described above. Just look at the difference in the stands between 1st and second periods.

4) Take a page from the Braves and do a pre-season caravan all over. I mean all over. Goto Macon, B’ham, Chattanooga, Athens etc. Bring hot chicks and have crowd participation events (most people that have never tried have no idea how hard it is to lift a shot more than 6″ off the ice)-the creeks don’t freeze around here, people just don’t have any frame of reference for how skilled these guys are-give the people a chance to see for themselves how tough it is to make a tape-to-tape pass or get a one-timer to go anywhere close to where you want it to. (you will need to bring a sheet of that Mylar simu-ice stuff, and yes it’s not going to survive the tour)

5) Never ever ever blame the fans for your ineptitude. Don’t be afraid to be seen. Basically, look at the FUBAS management model and do the exact opposite.

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OK, this is likely an upcoming topic, but lets say the Thrashers do land in the lottery and miraculously get the top pick in the draft. The question for the panel is what type of player (no draftees’ names are necessary) do you think the Thrashers need to select with the No. 1 pick?

Examples:
• A play-making center like Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom.
• A big powerful No. 1 defenseman like Nashville’s Shea Weber.
• A sniper like Steven Stamkos.

Basically, your job as mythical GM is to fill what you feel is this teams’ biggest need. This should be interesting.

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Oh yeah, not matter how much of a har…errrrr how enamored Your GM is of a certain player, never let the player’s wishes become more important than building and maintaining a cohesive team identity. While the Byfuglien has grown on me as a rover, I still feel we’d be better served with him up front. Either that or sign a serious shutdown guy to cover up the gaps .

also, mandate that the players that are single live here in ATL during the offseason (I mean hey they can take a two month vacation, fine-but I want people to run into the guys at the gas station/grocery store/tag office) and strongly encourage the married guys to make a home here that they are again strongly encouraged to utilize during the offseason. I’m convinced that half of the reason that Philly is doing as well as they have these past few seasons is directly linked to the fact that Carter went out and literally made the other guys live downtown in his neighborhood-now about 3 years ago there were some boys-will-be-boys moments but the camaraderie that developed from that has paid some big dividends. Now I’m not taking away the skill and the job that Laviolette has done, but seriously, if you’ve got one guy packing his bags for the Riviera the day after out-bound physical and all but 6 guys fleeing to “home” at every opportunity, well, you don’t make this town anything more than a place to do your time and cash your checks.

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Could it be the Mayflower trucks ARE coming after all? Talk about karma!

What could brutally good owners do for the Thrashers? A name and locale change for starters. Just stopping by to say hello.

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I wonder if Uncle Mitty is actually the Peggy character from the Discover Card commercial with Stanley Cup keeper Phil in it.

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I like all of this talk about embracing Atlanta’s hockey history. I think the only time they have ever done it was to have Boom Boom drop the puck for the very 1st game and they also had him give Kovy the Rocket Richard Award..which I thought was ironic. Speaking of the Geoffrion…has anyone noticed how well his grandson, Blake is performing in Nashville? Talking about market t-ball – having the grandson of the most recognizable and beloved figure in Atlanta’s short hockey history on the team..there will be a special place in hockey hell for asg, ted turner and don waddell

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The Blue Crew is fine the way they are

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If there is one thing about this franchise that is consistently better than other NHL teams I’ve seen, it’s our ice girls. =D

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Actually, my g/f marvels at the girls’ boobs more than I do! Probably because it’s far more awkward if I make that a conversation starter: “hey hon, did you see the new knockers on Candy? Wow!” I would probably have to pay a hefty penance for that one!

Anyway, so much “good stuff” in this blog, too bad 680 the Fan, our FLAGSHIP STATION, wouldn’t know a hockey puck from a sausage biscuit from Hardee’s! New owners need to make it very clear to Mr. Dickey that they make a concerted effort to talk some hockey at least once in every 3 hour span of the day. Morning drive should have a hockey segment, but doesn’t (Mazzone is an embarassment as the stodgy, out of touch, faltering old man), Chuck & Chernoff do nothing but talk football and occasionally baseball and Buck Belue would rather poke knitting needles in his eyes than talk anything besides the two big sports. For a major station in a major market to not talk all 4 major sports during the majority of their broadcast day is a joke and an insult to sports fans. The new owners and management need to be much more aggressive in how they promote their team on the radio, on the local news and in the community in general. Take it to the streets and have some fun!

Come on “Balkan”, you have all the advice and insight you need from this here blog, NOW GET ‘ER DONE!!!!

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Move them to Gwinnett! Downtown sucks! It’s a nightmare to get to the arena, and the philosophy (other than cheap land) of having major sporting events downtown has failed! The fans and money are in the suburb’s.

And as for the Gladiators? Move them to the Ice Form, it holds about as many people that go to their games now.

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Uncle Milty, and all other Winnipeg wishful thinkers. Do you think the NHL will trade a town like Atlanta, with 6 million in metro area and one of the top 10 cities in the world for a town of 600,000 in the middle of nowhere? That lost a team 15 years ago because of lack of support. Seriously? Trust me on this, something will get done in the ATL.

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Rawhide-Thank you

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@Smoothie, agreed. Basically, Thrasherville needs a mayor. A politician. A quick-witted, former player (Thrasher, Flame, or Knight) who knows Atlanta/Georgia.Southeast because they live in the area. This person’s job is color analyst in the TV broadcast booth, and a spokesman to the local media. He never answers direct questions about the team because he’s not involved in operations, he’s a broadcaster and he only gives opinions. He must be able to BS with the best of them. This person CANNOT be tied to the organization in any capacity other than broadcasting/community relations. People love the Terry Crisps, Don Cherrys, Don Merideths, Bob Uekers, Al Hroboskys. I guarantee if the Thrashers employed Crispy, Belue would WANT to spend 20 minutes a couple of times week talking about the Thrashers and hockey. Hockey people by nature are timid around the media. However, anyone can receive broadcast training, acting lessons, and learn the ropes of media and civic relations. Find a quick-witted ex-Thrasher who can convey his knowledge/opinion of hockey to various levels of audiences, who can tell old war stories and easily schmooze with the media, civic clubs, politicians and fans, and you’ve got good, free publicity.

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Joe McGrath-beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to the Preds’ announcing team. I despise Weber from my Buffalo days, Crisp was smart to get out of coaching and into broadcating. Ken Daniels, the voice of the Red Wings did the Caps/Flyers game last night. It was amazing how good Daniels sounded with Eliot; Daniels and Mickey Redmond together are hard to take-too much Red Wing “homer” in both of them. Daniels formerly was a sports announcer in Tronna.

No slap on the Red Wings, just their announcers as a team.

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** SomaAtl95 ** – - More good points in your post and I like the Matt McConnell comments — so tired of the “confidence” remarks and the over usage of other terms as well. Bless his heart, he tries his best but his enthusiasm is contrived and he makes too many unforced errors. But they probably got him “on the cheap” which is the typical process of the Thrasher organization.

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@ Smoothie, so X is back in Atlanta?

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The real question is…who will be available in this summer’s draft for picks 4-8. Any solid talent out there for the Thrashers to pick up there? A playmaking center maybe?

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I’m sure it was a somber occasion on the evening Martin’s number was painted on the ice for the 1st time. Talk about pinching a giant turd.

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Smoothie-that’s a good one !

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RL, as per your question regarding what we should take in the draft if we get a #1: Absolutely has to be top D that is big and fast and has no problem not scoring goals. Some people have been giving Pavs a hard time and as I have said before, very few NHL goalies in history can carry a team with a weak D game after game. GloveSave, do you agree with me on this?

Hope that you all were able to see the Avs-Jackets game last night. Holy Cardiac Kids! Yeah I will admit it, I may have to wear Depends (TM) while watching my 2 favorite teams. This is why I love hockey, the Avs are totally out of it and could throw games for the higher probability at a #1 pick, but hockey players have pride and never stop. Can I nominate Matt Duchene bad-a$$ of the week? Yes I can. That kid is absolutely killing it.

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@ZAvs, I saw it. Tied game with 3.3, then the shoot-out. Good game. But I disagree with your pick. I think we need scoring forward because we’re looking OK on D. Redmond is looking very good and will likely be up in a couple years. Postma and Kulda may make the squad next year. If we can get Bogo up-to-speed and playing like a 28 year old at age 21 instead of a 15 year old at age 20, and we have still have Toby and Stuart, then we have a decent core.

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ManUp – Thanks! I don’t dislike McConnell, I just don’t think him D.E. and J.K. make a good broadcast team. MM reminds me of a strange cross between Darren Pang and Forrest Gump. Someone who was on the ice as an Atlanta player is what the trolls should be hearing when they mock our broadcast. A respected former player has more knowledge of Atlanta being a hockey town than anyone else would.
Since 24/7 Pens/Caps is up for some emmys I think HBO should follow the Yotes and Thrashers for a few weeks next season (call it a “Battle of the Bruised”) so that the rest of the hockey ravenous world can have myths dispelled about our cities, teams and us fans…. unfortunately if HBO were to do it again it would be for the Winter Classic (AKA the Pens vs Some other team), but showing 2 cities with targets on their backs could do wonders – besides, I wonder if Rammer drops F-Bombs like Brucie B when things aren’t going so well…..

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@soma / JoeMc – I like it! Behind the scenes with special footage featuring Usher, Bieber and Ludacris! Can you imagine the ratings for some of that sh!te?? Bettman should be begging Bieber/Usher to buy the whole kitten caboodle. And HBO would set ratings records! I bet some interchanges between Big Buff and Toby Enstrom might be quite humorous. I can see Toby in my head telling Buff to “go eff himself” a la Duper greeting Geno in the room. And you know hi-jinks are taking place when it comes to Kaner, Stewy and Inspector Lee!! LOL

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It would give the new owners of both teams media exposure. I’ll admit, up until 24/7 I disliked the Caps as much as I will always dislike the Pens. By the time New Years Day got here I was rooting for the Caps. The follow up (and final) episode of 24/7 was the best hour of non-game hockey programming I have ever seen… I think I relished the hit on Cindy in slow mo on HBO more than I enjoyed it watching the game in realtime. The Thrashers may have tanked in the second half, but at least we haven’t been bombarded with “OMG Sid and Geno are teh bombz” like every fairweather fan has done in the past few years. Its been nice. If I had my way Crotchby and Malkin wouldn’t return

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jerry landfill////

-so what’s in the dunk tank?

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Smoothie – I’m glad someone else remembers The Fly! A line with him, Schremp, and Burmy would be a shifty little line.

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That’s the point R/L, eff the Wolves! As if there development system has really served us well; we might as well see what they can do. They can still go back to play in the P/O if they make it. I’d settle for Freddy P and Klingberg until they are out mathematically. Klingy can play in his “free” 9 games and then Postie and Kulda come up for the last 4 or 5 of the season? Or can we only call up two more regardless of what happens with their AHL team?

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I agree with the sentiment, Smoothie, but the company line will be that these young guys need game and playoff experience and don’t see them coming up for more than a game or two. It has been thus, and thus it shall always be. No change.

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Dont forget F Albert and D Redmond are done at NCAA level and could report to CWolves to free Fly, Postie or Kulda.

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Red Light, two awesome posts, and two good links today. I must have been channeling you today, Red Light, because I’ve been analyzing those “prospective” 1st round matchups like crazy today. They’ll all be great series. But I stunned myself and my own conclusions. And I know I’m headed for disaster this year, pickswise, since I did well last year. I only average 8.6 wins versus 6.4 losses.

Anywho, my amazing “first glance” analysis had ALL the higher seeded teams advancing. I had to double-check that. But it was true. I had seed 1-4 in the West and 1-4 in the East. See, right there … that’s a 4-4, AT BEST, in the 1st round. It NEVER happens like that. I don’t think it’s EVER happened that way before, but maybe once, in both conferences. And it won’t magically start happening now.

So, I looked at it from the ‘reverse perspective,’ if I took nothing but lower seeded teams, I should probably expect to go 3-5 in the opening round. Gee! Isn’t that fabulous? Take all higher seeds, you wind up 4-4. Take all upsets, you’ll finish 3-5 or 4-4, on average. So, the real trick is … which five “favorites” will win, and which three “underdogs” will pull through.

Granted, I didn’t do indepth analysis, of GF vs. GA, or goals differentials, or special teams play. I did the ol’ “which team’s goalie is better.” Then, “Which team has more depth, if the goaltending matchups are even.” Here were my conclusions. The last team on Earth the Vancouver Canucks (1) want to play is the Anaheim Ducks (8). Anybody but them, and the ‘Couv will win. Jonas Hiller is very well capable of stealing this series for Anaheim. Chicago (7) vs. Detroit (2) is the best candidate, in my opinion, for an overtime game in Game Seven. That’s Turco vs. Jimmy Howard. Turco, historically, underachieves. Jimmy Howard faired well in his 1st postseason play, losing out to the Sharks. San Jose (3) vs. Nashville (6) is Niemi, a Cup winner last year, vs. Pekka Rinne. Historically, the Preds have never won a playoff series. Analysts are saying that this is their breakout year. Maybe. Maybe not. I still say the Sharks are too deep for the Preds, and that Rinne will have to steal it. Red Light, the # 4 vs. # 5 matchup is the one that has me salivating. The Coyotes (4) would host the Kings (5). Phoenix has NOT WON a playoff series since moving to the desert. This time around, they will, if the Kings are their opponent. This, again, will be another nail biter series. I think the Coyotes win Game 7, 2-1, while the Kings frantically try for the equalizer in the final 4 minutes of regulation. Prediction: Coyotes take an early 3-1 series lead, but L.A. wins Game 5 convincingly, then handles its business at home to force Game 7. Love the matchups out West, but I think I go with Vancouver, Detroit, SJ, and Phoenix, 1-4.

Red Light, in the East, there are serious room for discussion of nothing but lower seeds advancing. I’ll grant you that. Goalie wise, Miller, Buffalo Sabres (8), is the winner over “What About Bob?” and Boucher. Is Miller enough, though? I still take the Flyers to win that series. In the # 7 vs. # 2, it’s the NYR at Washington. Goalie-wise, that Lundqvist vs. Varlamov or Neuvirth. I just have no faith in the Rangers. I can’t even believe they’re going to make the playoffs. I gotta think, after last year’s 1st round bouncing, that the Capitals know what’s on the line this year, with a window starting to close. Historically, the Rangers own that series, as the Caps are notorious playoff choke artists. I still take Ovechkin to come through. Then there’s the “Original Six” matchup of Montreal (6) at Boston (3). Gotta admit failure when I commit it. I had Carey Price lined up as the “goat” and his Habs outside of the playoffs this year. How wrong I have been. Halak did not place the Blues in the playoffs, either. So, Montreal is looking good. And we saw them reach the CF last year. On the other side, Red Light, is Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas. Gotta like Boston’s chances, really. I hope Rich Peverley makes the most of his playoff time in Boston. Tyler Seguin, Chara, the Bruins look good. I’m taking Boston, in 7 games. That leaves the Penguins (4) and the Lightining (5). I like Dwayne Roloson, but this is five years removed from what he did with Edmonton in 2006. I do think goaltending will matter in this series. Fleury has been to three (3) CF and two SCF in his very recent history. Crosby will be back. I have no reason to doubt the Penguins will prevail. Again, that’s seeds 1-4, Philly, Washington, Boston, and Pittsburgh.

As for the playoff advice article, my Finals picks from preseason fit the formula. I have Vancouver (1) vs. San Jose (3) in the West, and Washington (2) vs. (4) Pittsburgh in the East. With that said, watch me lose them all. I got Caps-n-Canucks in the Finals. From preseason, I think I had Capitals and Sharks, with Penguins and Sharks as my 2nd choice. Having Malkin would sure help out the Pens’ cause for another Cup.

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Scary, but anything is possible with the laffs: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/If-you-can-pony-up-1-000-you-might-be-able-to-?urn=nhl-wp919

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Soma – i’d never invest in the Leafs because everyone already knows the new owners are going to move them to Kansas City.

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I’ve only talked to my STH rep once this year and that’s when he called to ask if I was renewing two weeks ago. I told him my issues and that I wasn’t sure what I was doing and I haven’t heard from him since. I guess that’s the standard ASG method of customer service. Great way to treat one of the few inaugural STH’s left. When a team is losing 20 mil a year you’d think they’d put some effort into simple sales techniques to salvage whatever sources of guaranteed revenue they could.

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I like the RED jerseys. I don’t like the blue ones, because of the colour, not the style.
I would fervently hope we could returne to the original jerseys… ‘Blueland’ as a promotional tag, has no clout with me whatsoever.
A ‘brutally good time’ is not bad, but as we have seen this season, it can connote a bad message as well.
So I ‘d like to see a concerted effort to bring about a better promotional campaign.Style and substance as it were….

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Biltong, I want the team renamed. I want a new marketing campaign. Shoot, change the colors, too. I’m partial to red, black and gold.

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Another suggestion to new owners: Don’t be afraid to innovate. Look at the Lightning and their jerseys with the microchips inside. Just a suggestion – cool stuff may seem gimick-y if not done correctly but could be golden if done right.

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The Ice Girls are really nice ladies. That does not mean the top they wear could not have a little more coverage for shall we say “some of the bigger girls”. The Thrashers do the same things every year. Instead of adding new and exciting incentives for the fans, things are taken away leaving just some of the same stale events. Mix it up a little with the fan events and add more. Tampa Bay has the model to be followed. Some excitement surrounding the whole experience mixed with consistent winning will make everyone happy.

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A nice slate this evening with the Bruins vs Habs, Ducks vs Preds, Flyers vs Pens and Sharks vs Kings, but the Avs vs Leafs has allure because Toronto can pull within three points of Buffalo and tie the Canes for 9th, although both teams will have two games in hand on Ron Wilson’s club.

The Isles can tie the Thrashers and Devils in points tonight with a win, and wouldn’t that be something for a team that fired its coach Nov. 14?

When the Thrashers beat the Isles 5-4 on Dec. 11, the Isles were 5-17-5 while the Thrashers were 16-11-3. What was once a 20-point lead for Atlanta, is now two.

The Isles haven’t had Mark Streit all season, Trent Hunter played in just 17 games, Doug Weight only played in 18, Kyle Osposo just 30, they dealt James Wisniewski after 32 games, and Roloson just after New Years.

Add to that the fact that trades and injuries have forced the Isles to use six goalies and the team leader in wins is Al Montoya, who is 8-3-4 since being acquired from Phoenix.

This has been quite a coaching job by Jack Capuano, and he deserves a lot of mention for the Jack Adams Award. And, now GM Garth Snow looks like he knew what he was doing when he plucked his leading scorer, Grabner, off the waiver wire Oct. 5. They could have five 20-goal scorers by the end of the season, and only a handful of teams will be able to make that claim.

Really a great story.

Brendan, too many things will change before the end of the regular season to start looking too closely at match-ups. But, there are a ton of teams getting hot at the right time.

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Joe McGrath, I’m sick of the bird logo. Birds don’t belong in hockey. What about Penguins? Can Penguins fly? (The answer is no. So don’t go pushing one off some roof top to conduct the experiement. PETA will be all over your a$$.)

I don’t like the name Thrashers. Sounds too minor-leaguish. Take the bird logo away, what’s the visual image of ‘thrashing?’ Two players colliding along the glass, in the corner boards??

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LAST

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