Kovalchuk dealt to New Jersey in sad, expected ending
Here's Ilya Kovalchuk going against the Devils' Johnny Oduya. Just switch the uniforms now.
This is generally how these things end. A star goes one way. A large package of some undetermined substance and quality goes the other.
This isn’t a new practice with the Thrashers, just an evolving one. The names keep getting bigger. Dealing Ray Ferraro and Jiri Slegr in the early days came with limited blowback. They were late in their careers. But then another impending free agent, Donald Audette, couldn’t come to terms and was traded to Montreal for an obscure prospect named Kamil Piros. (Unfortunate early analysis from then-coach Curt Fraser: “The greatest player in Czechoslovakia.”). Then Marian Hossa wouldn’t re-sign and was dealt to Pittsburgh.
Now it’s Ilya Kovalchuk’s turn.
This isn’t just a trend any more. It’s a disturbing franchise trait, with no sign of change in sight.
Kovalchuk was traded Thursday night to New Jersey. His exit was predictable since last season, when the team struggled (again), failed to amend for past mistakes (again), failed to accurately gauge the market (again) and in the end was forced to desperately deal him for another questionable package of players and prospects. It’s a nice trade-up for Kovalchuk. He goes from a franchise that has never won a playoff game to one that has won three Stanley Cups, four conference championships and nine division titles since 1994-95.
Lou Lamoriello, the Devils’ general manager, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. Don Waddell? He has been the architect of disaster central in Atlanta since Day 1. Anybody want to venture how this one turns out?
“I don’t think it sets us back at all,” Waddell said after the deal. “I think it moves us forward.”
Yes. He really said that.
It’s another quantity-for-quality trade. That’s the way these things work. The Devils get Kovalchuk, Atlanta’s all-time leading scorer (328 goals, 615 points, in 594 games) and defenseman Anssi Salmela. The Thrashers get right wing Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, troubled prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick. The teams also will swap second-round draft picks.
Bergfors? A nice young player, hardly a star (27 points in 54 games). Oduya? A solid puck-moving defenseman. Cormier? A train wreck. He elbowed a player in the Quebec juniors, sending himto the hospital, and has been suspended for the season. The No. 1 pick? Maybe this one works out. And stays.
At least Waddell didn’t slam Kovalchuk going out the door. He was given a chance to say Kovalchuk only cares about money. Instead, he reiterated what Kovalchuk has been saying all along (the screams of short-sighted critics notwithstanding): “I think, Kovy right to the last day, wanted to be a Thrasher. But it’s a business decision.”
Waddell knew he would get slammed for this. Earlier Thursday, in hopes of swaying public opinion, he released a statement including some of the team’s contract offers to Kovalchuk. But the offers — $70 million over seven years ($10 million per year) and $101 million for 12 years ($8.42 average) — already had appeared in Wednesday’s Journal-Constitution. So his intended thunder was muted.
It never should have come to this. Kovalchuk is one of the NHL’s few elite players and has been since he entered the league in 2001. He’s on pace to score 40-plus goals for the sixth consecutive season. That’s a rare commodity in the NHL. But he has been frustrated by the team’s lack of success. The Thrashers have reached the postseason once. Attendance has declined. Concern over the club’s future fed into Kovalchuk’s desire to ask for the maximum salary allowed by the collective bargaining agreement: $11.3 million per season for 10 to 12 years. He asked for the only thing he felt he could control, and he had the leverage of unrestricted free agency. Unless he immediately signs an extension with the Devils, Kovalchuk will become the highest-profile unrestricted free agent in his prime in NHL history.
It’s another ugly ending. Two years ago, it was Hossa. He went to Pittsburgh, and the Thrashers celebrated the package they got back. But look at it now: Colby Armstrong (third-line winger, impending free agent), Erik Christensen (washed out), Angelo Esposito (flawed prospect) a No. 1 pick (Daultan Leveille, Michigan State).
Maybe this deal turns out better. But history tells us otherwise. Another star was just shipped out of town. This is where we came in.
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453 comments Add your comment
Steve
February 5th, 2010
7:10 am
Sad day in Atlanta just hope The Atlanta Spirits will sell team and new ownership will let go Don Waddell. I just feel the Thrashers will be gone in two years.
Hacker_Dawg
February 5th, 2010
7:14 am
Kovy an “elite player”? LMAO
JS where do you get this stuff? Has he collected points on bad teams? Yeah. That hardly makes one an elite player. Elite players in sports like hockey and basketball (and baseball in many cases) play offense AND defense. I distinctly remember an elite player named Michael Jordan being pretty good on BOTH ends of the court. Kovy should NEVER be described as such.
Tell us all this JS. IF Kovy had signed that RIDICULOUS multi-year deal that our idiot offered him would your article had been slanted to the “Thrashers overpaid for a one-dimensional player setting the franchise up to NEVER be competetive?”
I will give you this, under Wads they in-fact may never actually be competetive, regardless of this deal but you can bet every dollar you have that signing that player long-term at that % of cap space would have been the nail in the coffin for hockey in Atlanta. This, at least, keeps us on a ventilator a little bit longer.
Hacker_Dawg
February 5th, 2010
7:17 am
Holy smokes. LMAO…Jeff Carter for Kovy? I don’t care who was “talking” about that. NO WAY IN HECK would Filly trade Carter for Kovy – straight up. No way…Hell they wouldn’t do that if we offered them the entire Braves starting rotation as a kicker in the deal.
joe suggs
February 5th, 2010
7:22 am
Who cares ! The economy is in shambles.Young U.S. soldiers are dying in ratholes overseas and some thug hockey player turns down millions of dollars .How much do they pay fireman for going into burning buildings to save children ???
jtsweet
February 5th, 2010
7:23 am
i’m done with the thrashers. they get rid of any hope i have in this team and my favorite players. i’ll be a devils fan now. thanks idiot don.
Lee
February 5th, 2010
7:24 am
One word, six letters – STUPID!
J-man
February 5th, 2010
7:32 am
Lots of posts… quick look seems to have not covered this, but I apologize if I missed something… Cormier was suspended for the remainder of the season by the QMJHL. He could theoretically be called up to the Thrashers right now. They are under no obligation to respect the suspension, although I think they will. I believe DW’s quote was something like “We expect Cormier to challenge for a spot on the team next year”. Well “challenge” can mean anything, just like Jason Krog “challenged” for a spot in training camp. And Cormier is facing possible legal charges for his hit. If that happens, it might be kind of hard to make the Thrashers when he’s in jail. I’m just sayin’ …
Cormier is analogous to Riley Cote of the Flyers. So he’s unlikely to ever provide more than Boulton/Thornburn type offense. If fighting goons excite you, he’s your man for sure. He’s got a terrible attitude AND a complete lack of discipline as well – more win for us! Well, not really.
Bobby Orr
February 5th, 2010
7:36 am
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH…..Fleeced AGAIN, good luck with those players….did I mention that I’m laughing my @$$ off, I’m not even a New Jersey fan but they sure know their hockey….The only thing I don’t understand is why he didn’t ship out Kane and Bogo with him for even more nobodies
Yunel Asscobar
February 5th, 2010
7:39 am
Waddell looks absolutely brilliant compared to Wren. Had this been Wren’s trade, the incoming players would have all been 38yrs+, coming off season-ending injuries, and would then be asked to play out of position once they joined the team. Somebody needs to write the “GM for Dummies” book because Lord knows, we’ve got the guys in ATL who should be reading it.
Hacker_Dawg
February 5th, 2010
7:41 am
Hey DevilsFan80 – I got a pretty good idea of what is going to happen. There will be some initial excitement. He’ll play hard, get a point or two and then, some Tuesday night or so, you’ll catch him doing figure eights while your defense scrambles against an odd man rush. This will come just after he has rushed down the left side, come to a quick stop because he has no backhand or power move, and he’ll make an ill-advised cross ice pass that will be picked off. Your coach, who is defense minded, will grow angry at this. He will let it slide a game or two but at some point, in a tight game, he’ll begin shortening his shifts or cut his overall playing time. Kovy will get pissed and pretty much decide then that he won’t sign with you either.
Then it is summer and we ALL get to watch as NOBODY comes close to paying (at least in the US) Kovy the money he turned down here.
I bet that is pretty close to how this plays out, imo.
bugman
February 5th, 2010
7:54 am
Always Hoping, you are what is referred to as a “Blind Homer”.
You are a complete idiot. Relocate to NJ please.
NYtransplant
February 5th, 2010
7:55 am
I have had season tickets from day one. I have watched the owners and Waddell turn this team in the equivalent of the Clippers. I told my Thrashers rep to stop calling me. I am done. Imagine the gall of Waddell in his statement saying they had not won while Kovy was here! Duh! Could that be because we have brain dead under capitalized owners and the most incompetent GM in sports. I guess it is a new 10 year plan. I hope the new kid gets out of the penalty box every now and then. I am finished
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
February 5th, 2010
7:57 am
Waddell still has a job because there is no one to fire him. Is there not anyone who can rescue us.
Hawkhound
February 5th, 2010
8:00 am
This trade makes absolutely no sense; however, as far as iso Joe of the fade away jumper with a hand in his face and 1 second on the shot clock goes, I think the Hawks would be a better team with Crawford at the two and whatever name free agent can be brought in with the differences in their salaries
bad brad
February 5th, 2010
8:02 am
A friend gave me tickets to Tuesday night’s game with Tampa. I’m not a die-hard hockey fan, but have been occasionally since the Flames first came. Here is what I noticed:
The game, or at least Tuesday’s, has become boring. Tampa scored on 2 of their first 3 shots, even though the Thrashers appeared to be “outskating” them. I say that because nobody checks anymore. I got tired or watching players pull up rather than smack somebody into the boards; and that goes for both teams.
Hockey seems to have developed into a speed and finesse thing and frankly it is boring. The face value of the tickets from my friend was $98 each. That’s why the crowds are down…they have priced themselves out of the range of most folks and are doing so with a boring product.
Chris
February 5th, 2010
8:04 am
Time for the Thanshers to leave town – maybe some other city would like to experience semi-pro hockey for a while…
ralph
February 5th, 2010
8:05 am
look for the skate rental price at the ice forum to increase when d-wad takes over as manager
Original Hockey fan
February 5th, 2010
8:05 am
I`ve been watching illya x the past few games…he left weeks ago.What`s a small money pit market supposed to do?After all this is hockey in the deep south!Look at how much $$ The Carolina Computer guy has lost!Look at Tennesse!Arizona!TampaBay!Florida!These southern teams continue to bleed money,and former yankees or mid westrnerners are NOT enough to come and see their former towns` teams.If you can, you have to start with younger,hungrier players with an exiting type of game,,,and hoping tha some of those youngsters will become stars,while staying put in these southern teams,maybe that`s a solution,MAYBE! Hey,a lot of Canadian teams are having similar problems[Edmonton,Calgary ,etcc]The league needs less,stronger,more competitive teams and less TB,Fla,Tenn.and yes Atlanta{flames o r thrashers].Big markets; big money show.C`est la vie!Can`t change this flow,cannot change the local culture or its hunger for specific sports[football,college or pro],college basketball.How`s the basketball in Emonton?see what i mean?
Original Hockey fan
February 5th, 2010
8:05 am
I`ve been watching illya x the past few games…he left weeks ago.What`s a small money pit market supposed to do?After all this is hockey in the deep south!Look at how much $$ The Carolina Computer guy has lost!Look at Tennesse!Arizona!TampaBay!Florida!These southern teams continue to bleed money,and former yankees or mid westrnerners are NOT enough to come and see their former towns` teams.If you can, you have to start with younger,hungrier players with an exiting type of game,,,and hoping tha some of those youngsters will become stars,while staying put in these southern teams,maybe that`s a solution,MAYBE! Hey,a lot of Canadian teams are having similar problems[Edmonton,Calgary ,etcc]The league needs less,stronger,more competitive teams and less TB,Fla,Tenn.and yes Atlanta{flames o r thrashers].Big markets; big money show.C`est la vie!Can`t change this flow,cannot change the local culture or its hunger for specific sports[football,college or pro],college basketball.How`s the basketball in Emonton?see what i mean?
Will
February 5th, 2010
8:06 am
The Thrashers organization has become of mirror of the Pirate organization in MLB. It is a de facto minor league program that provides star talent to the NHL.
If a good player is picked up while giving away better players, the organization cannot/will not spend to retain the pickup. If a prospect turns into a good NHL player, the organization will not/cannot pay to keep him and “farms” him out to true NHL organizations for less expensive (read prospects) players.
It is so depressing to think would might have been if we have an engaged, vibrant and committed ownership for this organization.
The very fact that this organization has allowed a general manager to remain in place who has never provided a roster to head coaches that is competitive within the NHL says all you need to know about the state of hockey ownership in Atlanta.
JSS
February 5th, 2010
8:12 am
Patrick Stafan…
Always thought you were a proud Czech?
The Truth
February 5th, 2010
8:13 am
Kovalchuk trade and Waddell’s futility aside, I, for one, will not renew my season tickets along with 20 others in my group until the Spirit Group decides to either sell this franchise to someone local to give it a real fighting chance or else makes the commitment to grow the team and market it solidly around town. It all starts at the top and they are so smitten with basketball and totally ignore the hockey base.
In essence, until the effort to show commitment is shown, I, as much as I hate it, am through.
Don Waddell vs. Atlanta
February 5th, 2010
8:20 am
Don, you want us to call Two Men & A Truck or has your secretary already taken care of that?
Its sad how out of touch you are. This just in, WE HATE YOU!
Matt
February 5th, 2010
8:25 am
Nearly 375 comments in just this blog on this subject and people say there aren’t hockey fans in Atlanta?? What a load of bull. There are plently of fans just dying for the team to give them what they deserve, a team with a chance to win every night, make the playoffe and advance in the playoffs. Have we had that in the last 10 years, the 4-0 sweep by NYR not withstanding?
And another thing, for those of you defending Waddell and saying those of us who criticize him don’t know hockey, I’d be MORE than happy to compare my knowledge of hockey to yours.
pk
February 5th, 2010
8:25 am
Over this season I have watched Kovy on each shift. He would rather hang out at the blue line instead of back checking. And when he gets the puck, if he’s not fumbling it, he’s skating figure eights without a clue how to be a complete player. And he turns down $100mil? Blame goes both ways. Waddell should have done something last year, not waiting for the last minute.
I’m finished giving ASG my money.
TheAntiMe
February 5th, 2010
8:45 am
“This isn’t a knock on Kovy, but Kovy’s been here eight years and we still haven’t won a playoff game.” Don Waddell
Well, you know, Mr. General Manager, maybe Kovy wasn’t aware that – in addition to being the franchise player – he was also supposed to do your job for you and build a team that could at least make it to the playoffs more than once a century.
By the way, Mr. Waddell, would you kindly explain to this Thrashers fan, just what it is that you do as an NHL General Manager?
Dan
February 5th, 2010
8:47 am
definitely not much of a deal. why would you want to pick up cormier anyway. the guy pulled one of the biggest cheap shots of all time and almost killed a guy. that’s the kind of player you trade your top star for?
Steve Brown
February 5th, 2010
8:55 am
As I predicted a long time ago. Kovy new everything a year ago that he knows now. That’s when Waddell should have begun trade talks. Kovy’s trade value dropped every day he waited to pull the trigger. $101 million too little and no playoff wins to show-there was no other choice. This is a team game and we fans need to suck it up and support our guys. This is about winning not about individual stats. Although I’m depressed and I often watched to see if Kovy would score I will find new reasons to watch. Go Thrashers.
JR
February 5th, 2010
8:55 am
ATLANTA — At the risk of sounding all Marc Antony, I do not come here to bury the Atlanta Thrashers, but to praise them. Or, at the very least, suggest to them this trade of star player Ilya Kovalchuk does not necessarily have to be an ending, but something else entirely.
Of course, that’s not how it will look to most people.
Kovalchuk, the face of the franchise and the team’s most prolific scorer, was dealt to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night for rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, junior player Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick. Defenseman Anssi Salmela returns to New Jersey in the deal with Kovalchuk.
It was, Atlanta GM Don Waddell acknowledged, an emotional day. Waddell had raised Kovalchuk since he was a pup after the Thrashers made the flashy Russian the first overall pick back in 2001.
Thursday’s trade marked not just the departure of a longtime player, but also the departure of yet another seminal figure in the team’s short history.
We watched former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean practically leap out of his chair on a Canadian hockey broadcast denouncing the trade as a disaster. Not that MacLean’s track record suggests he should be calling out Waddell or anyone else for their handling of talent. But we digress.
The point is, many people will hold up the list of names involved in this deal and roll their eyes.
The new Thrashers don’t add up to Kovalchuk, no matter how much you turn things around and squint your eyes and think warm, fuzzy thoughts. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Here are some stark realities about the state of this team, even when Kovalchuk was on board:
- The Atlanta Thrashers have never won a playoff game. Not one.
- They’ve played in exactly one playoff series. One.
- The fans have stayed away in droves even with the exciting Kovalchuk on the ice for the past eight seasons.
“We’re struggling with our attendance as it is,” Waddell said late Thursday night. “It doesn’t matter who is on our roster. The only way we’re going to attract fans is by winning games.”
And so, there it is.
Dany Heatley, Kovalchuk’s translator and running mate in those early days of the franchise, fled town.
Marian Hossa came in Heatley’s stead and left as quickly as was humanly possible.
Now, Kovalchuk is gone.
Many will suggest this trade is the final nail in the coffin for this franchise. And that may well be true, but it doesn’t have to be.
The men who will continue to pull on skates in that locker room have a chance to do something remarkable in Kovalchuk’s absence: they have a chance to prove him wrong. They have a chance to prove wrong everyone else who thinks this team will roll over and believes the widely held notion that this is a lousy place for a hockey team. Or rather this is a lousy hockey team in a lousy place. They have a chance to prove people wrong by being better without Kovalchuk than they were with him.
When the team left for Washington on Thursday afternoon, they were one point out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Kovalchuk, for the record, had scored just once in his past six games, his final six games as a Thrasher.
Beyond that, everything surrounding this team was shot through the prism of how it affected Kovalchuk. He was consulted on player personnel issues and lobbied to have Nik Antropov signed. He was made captain when skeptics wondered if it was a ploy to try and encourage him to remain with the team long-term.
But for all Kovalchuk’s insistence he wanted to stay in Atlanta, his contract demands suggested otherwise. Fair enough. He is fully within his rights to ask for whatever he wants. In the end, though, demanding near the maximum allowed under the salary cap suggested he never really wanted to be here and made it easy for the team to ship him out.
So, what will the Thrashers left behind write on the blank page they’ve been presented?
The answer lies with the new arrivals, but also with players like Bryan Little and Evander Kane and Ron Hainsey and Zach Bogosian. Can they write a story that’s never been written for this team, a story of success? A story of a team being more than the sum of its parts, more than one dynamic figure and some other guys? Will ownership help them write that story?
Waddell said Thursday night he figures to be a buyer in the trade market between now and the March 3 trade deadline. He has money now that Kovalchuk and his $6.4 million cap hit are gone. Here’s hoping those weren’t just words, but a commitment ownership has given Waddell to take this team forward and not just let it shrivel on the vine, which is what most people think will happen.
“I don’t think this sets us back at all,” Waddell said.
It’s the kind of thing GMs say when they’ve suffered an egregious setback, but Waddell has a chance to give meaning to those words.
What kind of statement would it make to this battered market if the Thrashers didn’t just fade away but rallied and made the playoffs? Would fans rally behind this team in a way they’ve never rallied around them in the past?
I wonder if we’ll find out.
On Friday night, the Atlanta Thrashers, minus their former captain and best-ever player, will visit the NHL’s hottest team in Washington. It looks like as good a place as any to start and find out just what remains of this hockey team in Atlanta.
Scott Burnside covers the NHL for ESPN.com.
DWW
February 5th, 2010
8:57 am
Atlanta is a city that could support a really good minor league hockey team. Don seems to be the right guy in the right seat to make that happen – give him some credit for that. All we need now is to change leagues and lower the ticket prices. (We’ve always had the stupid and overly loud heavy metal music and kitchy entertainment – the most ridiculous mascot in the NHL who would fit in nicely in the minors.)
Maybe we could even re-name our new minor league team …… how about Knights??
Seriously – what would the real hockey fans rather have here in Atlanta. A decent high-level minor league team with a chance of winning and ticket prices lots of people can afford …… or a low quality, over-priced NHL team that is boring to watch with really awful management?
Brass Bonanza
February 5th, 2010
8:59 am
It’s time for the NHL’s Southern Fried Hockey experiment to end. Send the Thrash to Hartford and resurrect the once almost mighty Whalers. While the Whale’s hockey performance was for the most part substandard they did have the best uniform in all of sports. http://www.icejerseys.com/vintage_hartford_whalers.php?s_kwcid=hartford%20whalers%20jersey|4210379743&gclid=CKT538Ot258CFR8hnAodXEXOJA
PMC
February 5th, 2010
9:00 am
If you bought season tickets, I don’t think there is any reason not to go. You’re already invested voice your displeasure or go cheer the laundry. Giving up all those goals though is going to hurt the franchise. Ilya checked out early. He wasn’t staying here for that money. He’ll sign elsewhere for less. I get it, the guy is gone he was full of crap the entire time and he really just wanted out to go to a contender.
I guess the plan now is to play much better defense physically pound people and hope losing the Ego helps…. but when you look at the really good bonified teams…. they aren’t shipping off superstars because they can’t afford them. Edmonton went in the toilet after Gretzky left. Crosby signed for less so they could keep Malkin etc…. when Kovy is looking at his peers essentially (Ovy) I can’t really blame that number either.
Would you want to play for a franchise that shipped off every great player that you ever had a chance to play with? You wouldn’t want to work for that company either….becuause that company is run by people who do not care about success.
Blackhawk Fan in Atlanta
February 5th, 2010
9:00 am
I maybe I’m in the minority here, but I don’t see the doom and gloom that everyone else sees. I see opportunity. Kovy was probably gone come July 1 no matter what, so a trade had to be made. In hind sight it probably should have been done sooner. I do understand the concern with trading the face of Atlanta hockey, but I’m looking at this. With Kovy; Atlanta’a attendence is still down, they have played in only one playoff series, and won 0 playoff games. Atlanta was not a balanced team with him. Yeah he has 328 career goals but he is also a career -84 and only a +1 this season with 31 goals. That’s not exactly a two way player. This had to happen and I feel better with it since Atlanta got Rick Dudley as Associate GM from Chicago. Dudley helped scout what is now a Stanley Cup caliber team. And with Kovy’s 6.4 million cap hit gone Atlanta are buyers in free agency and can still make another move before the trade deadline. All this while they are still only a point out of a playoff spot.
EA
February 5th, 2010
9:00 am
Kovy will not stay in N.J. He wants to choose. He also is a fan of warm weather as he has stated many times. Hopefully he will decide to go west. It is time to move on and welcome the new guys while continuing to support the rest of the team.
randaroo
February 5th, 2010
9:04 am
“Put a fork in this franchise, they’re done”……………………….
Clay
February 5th, 2010
9:08 am
Jeff, so what exactly should Waddell have done differently? Jeez, if $101M can’t keep him here, he obviously didn’t want to be here for any price.
Lisa
February 5th, 2010
9:12 am
When will the owners finally get wise and fire the REAL PROBLEM – Don Waddell??
How many years is it now that he is into his “5 year plan”?
timthebrave
February 5th, 2010
9:17 am
Clay, “so what exactly should Waddell have done differently?”. He needed to find out at the beginning of the season if Ilya was interested in signing. If not he should have traded him at the beginning of the season so that he could have gotten real value…Also it is stupid to announce that you have to trade a player and how desperate you are to teams looking to trade….Our 2nd round and there first round pick will be about the same position…Our 2nd round will be about the 35th pick and their first round will be about a 30th pick…We also got a player suspended for the season and another that will be a free agent next year….So basically we traded our best player to ever come through here for a late 2nd round pick…Hooray!!!Great job….Atlanta has had 3 of the top 4 goal scorers since 2001 and NONE are still here…As far as hockey in Atlanta people will come if you put a solid product on the floor…You should have been here the last 2 months when we won the division. Put something worth watching and people will come….I just have to laugh to keep from crying
roterhals
February 5th, 2010
9:23 am
Waddell’s got some unbelievalbe stones, blaming Kovy for the (non)direction and mediocre play of the team. Are you kidding me? Waddell is the biggest joke around, one fluke playoff appearance (in which they totally embarassed themselves)in franchise history. Can’t blame people for not paying to see a substandard product while that clown’s running the show.
CowboyJim
February 5th, 2010
9:26 am
By the way his other great draft choice that has never panned out that goes by the name of Carry LetOneIn will be gone as well by the end of the Olympic Break. When does Waddell stop getting a pass. Nice guy, lousy GM. It’s over Johnny, it’s over
gc
February 5th, 2010
9:27 am
Waddell says it’s all about money. Cmon. You offered Kovy the world to stay and he *still* wouldn’t take it. Don’t you get it man.
Stephen Smith
February 5th, 2010
9:30 am
The only constant in these last 11 years of “hockey” is Dan Waddell. I honestly cannot believe he is still the GM. I’m a huge thrashers fan but Philips Areana looks emptier every season. This could be a hockey town if the Atlanta Spirit ever took the game seriously. They haven’t and this is what we have. How does Hamilton Thrashers sound?
Thrashy Thrashy
February 5th, 2010
9:30 am
The Thrashers couldn’t afford to pay this dude. We all know that. Waddell traded him quickly. Too quickly? We’ll see. All I know is that he will have the ability to make some moves going forward. Why not move Slava, too? Send him to the Western Conference.
Look, I’m frustrated like everyone else. I hate losing Hall of Fame-caliber scorers. It sucks. I also know that this team has never been built to win. That sucks. The fact that the same guy is responsible for the construction of every Thrasher team since the franchise came into existence is maddening. Nevertheless, there’s more young talent spread throughout the big club now than at any point in team history.
Gotta play some defense, though. Gotta have more discipline, though. That starts with the GM. Until Waddell goes (or some magical hockey gnome takes over his brain), we’re not likely to find out what it’s like to watch a solid hockey team take the ice on a regular basis.
Will
February 5th, 2010
9:38 am
New Jersey?, the New Jersey Devils?, are you kidding me?, what are they thinking?, and what did we get…oh jeez Marge…what a mess
Bob
February 5th, 2010
9:45 am
Nice to see the Spirit employees out trying to spin this cluster into some kind of a positive for the club.
The fact of the matter is that it never should have gotten to this point where Waddell had to take the middling return he got for a rental player.
The fact is that if Waddell was competent, he should have extended Ilya long ago, and when it was apparent that he just wanted out of here, you trade him last year, last summer, and get solid return for him, and build yourself a lineup for this year and move forward.
Instead, Waddell let Grossman lead him around by the nose all year until he backed himself into a corner and had to flinch and let Sweet Lou pick his pocket.
Waddell is the reason this club has gone nowhere and the Spirit is the reason we have no hope for change, as they won’t fire Waddell.
Nothing meaningful will change until meaningful changes are made and a real GM is brought in.
Here we go again
February 5th, 2010
9:47 am
Well they have done it again! I for one will not renew my season tickets in the future as long as Waddel is at the helm.
Want My Floor Seats?
February 5th, 2010
9:50 am
I can’t believe ANYONE — ANYONE — is claiming this team should’ve given ANY ONE PLAYER a 12-yr contract for $11.346 Million/yr!!!!!!!!!!! WTF?!??!!?! I don’t care if he is “the best player ever in a Thrashers uniform”. Because of KOVY’S completely unrealistic MONEY demands, he will now be fondly remembered as “the best player that ever WORE a Thrashers jersey!”
THERE WERE NO WINNERS in this train wreck. Kovy and the Devils MIGHT come out smelling like roses IF — and that’s a BIG IF — they take over and get The Cup. As far as I know, the Devils only “own” Kovy through the end of the season…..THAT’S IT!! Then they’re in a very SIMILAR situation that was just foisted upon this franchise by Kovy and Grossman, namely:
“How do we sign a crazy @ss Russian who already TURNED DOWN $101 MILLION because he believes he’s worth MORE?!?!?”
Maybe NJ can do it….Maybe they can’t. What Waddell got was infinitely BETTER than what we would’ve been left with at the end of this season —- Still no playoff berth and a crazy @ss Russian who WALKS AWAY FOR NOTHING and goes on the open market! Then everyone screams, “I can’t believe Waddell let Kovy WALK and got NOTHING IN RETURN for our star player!”
And for everyone (including Schultz) screaming, “Waddell should’ve dealt him LAST YEAR when he could’ve gotten MORE for him than this last minute thing!” Well, you’re the SAME FANS who would be screaming, “Why did Waddell get rid of Kovy with a YEAR LEFT on his contract and we have a legitimate shot at the playoffs next season?!?” See how that works?
When your star player becomes an UFA on July 1st and he WON’T NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH, you just aren’t left with a bunch of good options. THAT is the Reality Check! And sorry, but saying, “Give me a 12-yr contract at $11.346 Million/yr” INITIALLY, and then NEVER COMING DOWN is simply NOT “negotiations”…..It’s EXTORTION.
And for everyone saying, “Why would you want a guy like Cormier?”….He’s the guy Lou DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE UP!
So just HOW MANY NHL franchises could even come close to AFFORDING a single player who just turned down $101 Million?!?! EXACTLY…I can’t even believe THIS franchise offered it — It truly would’ve ended the Thrashers sooner rather than later! Understand just how difficult — practically IMPOSSIBLE — it is to deal a player as a “rental” for less than 1/2 a season who just rejected $101 Million!!
NOBODY wants to take a chance on trying to re-sign a MORON that just rejected $101 Million to play freakin Ice Hockey!!! And that’s exactly WHY Waddell pulled a friggin rabbit out of the hat THIS TIME when the hat was also filled with scorpions and snakes!
He won’t get a lot of credit for it — simply because Kovy is G-O-N-E — but the fact he got ANYTHING for an asset that would be WORTHLESS by summer is quite AMAZING…..In fact, once Kovy rejected $101 Million, he was no longer an asset, but he instantly became a LIABILITY!
WHO THE FRICK TURNS DOWN $101 MILLION TO PLAY HOCKEY?!?! Answer: The ONE GUY you definitely DON’T want on your hockey team! Get it?
I’ve said it before, but if you guys sit around and pout about it like a bunch of 5-yr olds instead of getting behind our NHL franchise that really could use a shoulder to cry on right now — Then YOU’LL BE SORRY! It’s EASY to kill off an NHL franchise in the South and keep being known as “a town without real sports fans.” The real challenge is KEEPING an NHL franchise in the South….
The Tampa Bay Lightning WILL BE SOLD TODAY.
The Dallas Stars were just “PUT UP FOR AUCTION” yesterday.
If you really WANT the Thrashers and NHL Hockey to leave, it’s probably not that far off from happening. We’re GOING TO PHILIPS SAT NIGHT to see the post-Kovy team hopefully compete and kick some Florida Panther @ss!! It will be an interesting night to say the least.
So start acting like adults and support YOUR NHL franchise when it needs us most…..That’s what makes a town stand out as one WITH TRUE SPORTS FANS!
FYI, once I told my boys (6, 8 & 8 — and all 3 with Kovy jerseys) that he was traded to NJ last night, they said:
“We’re still going to watch the Thrashers play the Panthers Saturday night aren’t we Dad?”
Funny how they’re more GENUINE Thrashers Fans than so many of you ADULTS posting here, huh?
KovyPleaseStay
February 5th, 2010
9:50 am
What does it say about Atlanta’s ownership that a guy – any guy – would turn down $101 million dollars to play here? If Kovy wants to win, he needs to go elsewhere. I see no reason for him to accept any offer -no matter how huge- if it means he’ll waste the prime of his career on a middling team which will never contend for the Cup while it’s run by this group of incompetent owners.
Praveen
February 5th, 2010
9:55 am
I agree. this is the best deal Waddell could have gotten last night. But was it the best time to deal Kovy? It was clear Kovy wasn’t going to sign with Atlanta. I am pretty sure Kovy will sign with another team for less than what he asked Atlanta for. Not that diffferent from the Hossa situation.
Also, I do think Kovy will play better defense in NJ because he will be forced to. Just because he got away with poor defense in Atlanta doesn’t mean he is not capable.
You do not need to trade a player like Kovy to get the kind of players Thrashers get in return. Pittsburgh and similar organizations have been getting such players as the ones NJ gave up in this trade at reasonable prices. Pittsburgh got Guerin for a measly 3rd rounder which wasn’t even guaranteed at the time of the trade. Pittsburgh got Fedotenko for a reasonable price. These are second line level players. You have a guy like Kovy, you want to get at least one top prospect in return. The Hossa trade, the average player you got back was worse than the average player NJ gave up for Kovy.
For a good portion of the decade, both Pittsburgh and Atlanta had a lot of high picks. But when Craig Patrick who oversaw some of those gimme draft picks like Crosby and Malkin was unable to take the team to the next level(and his work until he was fired was better than Waddell’s), Pittsburgh fired him instead of being content that Patrick drafted some no brainers like Crosby and Malkin., Shero made the steps that took the team to the next level. Shero has been brilliant at some pickups that did not cost the team the cap. He has been able to mix in clutch playing role players with the stars. Until you get rid of Waddell, you will not get your version of Shero in Atlanta. When you get a good GM, then you will have your own version of Guerins trying to re-sign for a reasonable price and marquee players not trying to break the bank.
BTW, you want a really bad trade? When Pens traded a disgruntled Jagr, they got 3 players back in return and NOT ONE OF THEM PANNED OUT TO BE EVEN AS “GOOD” AS CHRISTIANSEN. That’s how awful it was.
Tom
February 5th, 2010
9:57 am
What did Waddell say! Giving Kovy the money would hurt the ability to sign future promising young players. That statement might have worked the first few years of rebuilding, but that Thrashers have not kepted anyone. They also get crap in return when they do trade a quality player. A team with no direction, crappy GM, obvious clueless ownership. I truly believe there is plenty of Hockey fans in Atlanta, but why waste their time and money watching the Thrashers. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. The ownership needs to show that they want to stay in Atlanta or go move the franchise. The Hockey fans in Altanta don’t deserve this mess. They traded any one that they could possiblity build around and they have not gotten anyone in return to even suggest they will be that person. I hope Waddell does not play the stock market because he probably buys high and sells low. Fire Waddell and give the fans a piece of hope!