AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > February > 16 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USThrashers crumbling right now
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
On the chance you checked out during the Kamil Piros era and haven’t been following the Thrashers, this should serve as a brief recap of their season:
They went 8-2-3 in October, 8-5-1 in November, 7-4-2 in December and 6-5-2 in January. We call this a downward trend. In retrospect, the mild slippage might now be likened to what happened when Scooby Doo tried to ice skate across a partially frozen lake, only to hear a slight crack, look down and utter, “Rut-roh.”
Because now, in February, it’s no minor crack. The Thrashers are 1-5-1 and about to plunge into the abyss, where they no doubt will bump into floating corpses of past expansion draft picks.
“We threw the cushion away,” Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said of his team’s division lead. “Now we’re sitting on plywood.”
Sitting.
Drifting.
Decomposing.
Hello?
“We’re still in first place,” general manager Don Waddell said Friday.
I’m still not sure if he was trying to set up a punchline.
The Thrashers have played 60 games. You can split the season in almost equal halves and see the problem: 18-7-4 in the first 29, 12-14-5 in the last 31.
They are four games under .500 (7-11-3) since being a franchise-best 13 over (23-10-6). Should this trend continue, turn back the clock: Steve Guolla will be back on the power play by March.
Some are waiting for Waddell to make a significant pre-deadline trade. Welcome to Groundhog Day. Peter Forsberg was traded to Nashville, the closest team to Atlanta geographically but light years away in perception. The Predators have the second-best record in the NHL and suddenly are a Stanley Cup favorite.
Waddell can’t be criticized too much for not getting Forsberg. He said Friday what he had whispered previously: Forsberg would waive his no-trade clause with Philadelphia for only four potential trade partners — all in the Western Conference.
But this team is crumbling right now, and the four corners of woe start in the front office:
Waddell: The team’s weakness at center has not been significantly addressed all season (Eric Belanger: a nice penalty killer). A puck-moving defenseman is needed for the declining power play. The Thrashers are $2.6 million under the salary cap, so at this stage of the year that shouldn’t be an issue. Taking on salary in future seasons is another matter, given ownership is in limbo. But Waddell acknowledged only what he has said in the past, that any deal “that might financially impact the franchise” must get clearance. Regardless, it’s on him to do something, and he’s not ducking that: “The pressure sits right here. I’m aware of that. I’ve been here from day one.” But, no, he’s not close to a deal.
Kari Lehtonen: In hockey, it always starts and ends with goaltending. Lehtonen’s play has fallen off. He’s allowed 25 goals in his last seven starts, leading Waddell to state the obvious: “He hasn’t been good.” Lehtonen is talented but there are lingering questions about his mental and physical toughness. He has never been through the pressure of a playoff race. This is when goalies are defined.
Hartley: If you watch enough games, you see the same special-teams breakdowns you’ve seen for weeks. Hartley is a teacher. But whatever he’s teaching isn’t working now. The man won a Stanley Cup in Colorado, but old stories don’t get you contract extensions. He’s not absolving himself of blame, but that didn’t stop him from issuing a mild threat: “I’m not going to just allow some of these things to go on. Some guys will sit out.” (Comment: That sounds better when there are worthy replacements.)
Resolve and toughness: The team has become soft. Your would think there was widespread contamination in front of the net the way forwards have avoided going into the slot. They’re losing battles in the corners and along the boards. This is supposed to be when guys like Bobby Holik and Scott Mellanby take over in the locker room. But it’s not happening.
Slava Kozlov, whose play also has dropped off, admitted: “It seems like in the last five games or so we’ve been watching opponents, just hoping we would win. It doesn’t work that way.”
Yes, we know. This is the seventh season. We’re well acquainted with what doesn’t work.
Permalink | Comments (25) | Post your comment | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Thrashers / NHL
Comments
By Josh
February 16, 2007 09:01 PM | Link to this
Best article I’ve read in awhile Jeff as far as just stating the facts. One think I’d like to point out specifically that if Waddell simply stated “we’re still in first place” that he is the biggest joke of a GM in the NHL. Nashville has the best record in hockey and decided to be aggressive and make their team even better. We need a GM like that. When the Thrashers miss the playoffs again I will only laugh because of his ignorance and all that money they will owe Thrashers fans on advance playoff tickets if they put a 250 dollar down payment on 2007 season tickets.
By RBG
February 16, 2007 09:49 PM | Link to this
the 250 downpayment will be about what the rise in ticket price will be. 2008 is the all star year for Atlanta and you saw how the country just eat up the 2007 game in Dallas….On the bright side pitchers and catchers reported today…
By John
February 16, 2007 10:35 PM | Link to this
I have to say, Jeff, everything you’ve said is right on target. I actually wrote a couple of small paragraphs for this blog, but decided it wasn’t worth printing. So I’ll just say this: I’m not, nor have I been, a Waddell Hater. However, the team he has put together this year is not good. When the rest of the league is getting younger and faster, we’ve gotten older and slower. I live in Pittsburgh now, but watch every game on Center Ice. I actually hate this team. Even when they were winning (seems like October and November were YEARS ago, doesn’t it) I was happy, of course, but I’ve never really LIKED this years team, and since December, I have absolutely HATED them. I really hope they get it turned around fast, because we are very close to dropping down to the lower half of the standings now, and I think if they get mired in that mess down there, the playoffs will be a pipe-dream for this season. Sorry this was so long, but I’ve been holding it in for months….
By ATLsportsFan
February 17, 2007 12:29 AM | Link to this
The team needs to make a trade for a Dman NOW!!!! The team is very soft and was just abused against Calgary and Edmonton. Vancouver skated circles around them as well. We’ll see how they do tomorrow against the Sens but it’s not looking good and Tampa is RED hot.
Also it’s a damn shame that the Predators are the best team in hockey and yet no one in Nashville can even bother to show up and support that team.
Say hello to the Kansas City Predators starting in 2008.
By rickt58
February 17, 2007 03:20 AM | Link to this
I disagree that our problems are due to lack of players. I see the problem with the coaching. Why are we getting worse? I think there are several glaring issues:
1) Getting out of our defensive zone; When we get control of the puck, the player doesn’t even look to see if there is anyone near him, or a teammate open, he just flips the puck right back along the boards, into traffic if we’re lucky, or right to an opposing forward more likely. Icing the puck seems to be a strategy, though I can’t figure out why. Did the league outlaw skating out of the zone if your name isn’t Kovalchuk? And, did the coaches outlaw Ilya passing the puck?
2)Penalty kill. In football, you never want to give any quarterback time to throw the ball. But, on the PK, the Thrashers put NO pressure on the puck, we just suck back into a smaller box leaving the entire zone open for passes. Note to the coaches, the passes are getting through! Pressure the puck and the passer…make it tough to find or get the puck to the guy in the slot!
3) Learn how to pass. It’s not as obvious on TV, but at the games, it is so obvious that we can’t pass the puck, or recieve it. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, it always look like they have velcro on their sticks, and we have teflon on ours (If we even try to get the pass on the stick, usually it’s the skates).
4) Power Play. Shoot the puck and crash the net. When Ilya scores on the slap shot, it’s so pretty. That’s the only time we score. We need more grit. Get people around the net, and get more movement when we’re lucky enough to get possession in the offensive zone. Here’s a new word for the Thrashers….”cycle”. Get people moving around so the defense on the other team can’t close all the passing lanes.
Kari has been great this year. He has allowed maybe 10 goals that he had a realistic chance to stop. We need to stop the “ole” at the blue line and hit some people, make them make a quick choice at our blue line, and we have the guys to do that. Good backchecking would allow our D to stop people at the blue line, but there is never anyone there to support the D. More important, when we get the puck in our end, the guys need to take more time to find an outlet, not just flip it up the boards. The best defense is offense and our offense is totally dependant on dump and chase and forecheck. Other teams (almost all of them) attack the opposing zone as a unit. We ice the puck. Know why idiots keep screaming “Knights” during the national anthem? Because that team played hockey. I don’t know what we play!
By Toronto Tom
February 17, 2007 07:25 AM | Link to this
Inside the inner hockey sanctum of the Canadian provinces, Don Waddell is a generally considered a joke. Here is another guy lucky enough to ply his trade - or what he THINKS is his trade - in a passionless sports town like Atlanta. It’s been (7) years: enough already! Since finances seem to be driving the bus right now, management (whoever THEY are by the way!) should dump this load and focues on one of the many QMJHL guys who actually know how to build a young team for lasting success!
By Dave
February 17, 2007 07:42 AM | Link to this
Maybe some ultimatums need to be stated by the coach as Torterella did in Tampa Bay. Before the current hot streak down there he and GM Feaster made it clear the remainder of the ‘04 Cup team would be ‘changed’ meaning possibly one of the BIG 3 being traded. We all know that Lecavalier and St Louis have played super all year but all of a sudden Brad Richards is Brad Richards again at both ends of the ice. The players on the Tampa Bay roster care about their team mates and I wonder if the Thrashers would respond in the same fashion. It is not too late. It would help to have a Dan Boyle on D, and the quarterback of the power play, but The Thrashers had a very potent PP at one time just last year. Yes, a player or two is gone but that shouldn’t mean hitting rock bottom, not with Hossa and Kovalchuk playing. They need to step it up both on and off the ice. Hartley needs to issue the challenge. No harm in trying because we might be out of 1st place very soon.
By **Ha!**
February 17, 2007 07:51 AM | Link to this
Who cares about hockey anyway? This sport has long been forgotten. When a NASCAR qualifying race on Speed Channel and the NBA Rookie/Sophmore game on TNT bring in 5 times the viewers that the NHL All Star game did, you know nobody cares anymore. The successful sports present their players in a fashion that the fans almost feel they know them. The NHL markets their players as a bunch of foreigners who don’t speak English.
By Jim
February 17, 2007 07:54 AM | Link to this
Right on Jeff. Unless this team takes on the same sense of urgency that it had at the end of last season, we’ll be watching the Braves early on. The D. has certainly been shown to be too slow and indecisive and both the PP and PK are pathetic right on. Not a good picture or future.
By jerry
February 17, 2007 07:59 AM | Link to this
This column is a joke because it leaves the owners out as part of the problem. The owner is ultimately resposible for the success or failure of his team. The owner hired every one of the people that Jeff is blaming for the team’s decline.
By B. Thenet
February 17, 2007 09:10 AM | Link to this
The key point is that most of us recognized that this team had some serious weaknesses when it was winning games in the first half of the season.
DW has not done anything to improve this team until a 6 game road trip, that could see the Thrashers end up outside of the playoffs by the time it is over, had started.
Certainly Hartley does have his share of the blame, especially on special teams. How on earth can you justify keeping Mellanby on the PP for example, and why would you even consider keeping a system which involves setting him up in the middle when you have 2 of the most talented forwards in the NHL on your roster.
I would not give Lehtonen that much heat. He has been playing consecutive games, essentially, for the past couple of months. Plus the only win the Thrashers have managed in Feb came when he made 40+ saves.
By Tom
February 17, 2007 09:15 AM | Link to this
Dear *Ha, Go watch your yahoos racing around in circles and we’ll go watch atheletes perform with skill, talent and heart.
By Tony
February 17, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this
The Thrashers will blow their lead this weekend and WILL NOT make the playoffs this year.
By moo
February 17, 2007 12:43 PM | Link to this
Waddell’s Follies include:
Time to clean house all the way around. Let’s go Belkin!!!
By Mark
February 17, 2007 01:44 PM | Link to this
Kick ‘em when they’re down Jeff, Kick ‘em when they’re down…
Totally off base on Lehts. sure his stats have taken a hit, but if Roy, Brodeur, Sawchuk or Dryden had zero defense in front them, they would have had problems as well.
But while we’re kicking folks when they’re down…Let’s talk AJC…
This paper has the most horse manure sportswriters in the United States. It’s horrible. Your Horrible. Bradley’s horrible. You couldn’t cover hockey in Peewee league. You guys are as lost as anyone in the Thrashers management. I think it’s why you never write anything about the team, because you don’t have a clue.I think everything you wrote you read somewhere else.
The paper is too cheap to get a current print version more than 20 miles from the plant. I quit subscribing for that reason 20 years ago, and all I got from the person on the phone that day was “oh well”…what crap.
Your owners are so stupid, I can go online and read it for free. I don’t even have to buy the trash. I miss it for lighting fires in my fireplace though.
Every sports writer other than Furman Bisher, waits until a team is down before they write some scathing column…or when they win something they jump on and say they’re great, only to change they’re tune 10 years later(See Terrence Moore, GT 1990 FB)
Just like the Thrashers, your compitition is passing you. The Macon Telegraph blows this paper away in sports, even in CF coverage, with less than a fifth of the budget you idiots have. Savannah and Augusta are better at covering CFB recruiting better than you guys do.
Go to Florida and pester the Braves you Bum.
God, what crappy writers…
By Mark
February 17, 2007 01:57 PM | Link to this
Hey ha! Your right, Half the NBA is homophobic egotistical thugs, MLB, now there’s some folks the common man can relate too. Wanna buy some steriods? I’ve got 80 mil to spare… NFL- Wanna buy some drugs II. Nascar- Best drivers are dead. Wives fighting in the pits. Restricter plate racing. Fans leaving in droves…
Go watch some poker or trailer park fighting…
By Batman
February 17, 2007 02:07 PM | Link to this
The thrashers are NOT crumbling into the abyss as Jeff Schultz would have you to believe. Have you heard of the word slump? The Thrashers are simply in a wretched slump right now and when they come out of it, they will be fine and will again look like the Champions that they are. The Thrashers have a very fine, excellent hockey team and I am expecting no less than a Stanley Cup Championship out of them this season. The Thrashers will win the Stanley Cup this season and you can take that one to the bank.
By Blowhard
February 17, 2007 02:44 PM | Link to this
The NHL has been on the decline for several years. They have added a couple of decent changes(2 line pass accepted, and OT). They’ve taken away the physical aspect of the game. Seems like every time someone gets touched, they call a penalty. There are no real rivalries for the Thrashers. I remmember the anticipation when Dave Shultz and the ‘Broad St. Bullies’ used to come to town. Or Terry O’Reilly and the Boston Bruins. Or Tiger Williams and the Leafs. You could expect a good, tough, hard hitting game. Heck, there was as much or more scoring back then, when they allowed all of the rough stuff. More entertaining too. The Thrashers have fallen into the ‘soft’ category. Other than Exelby, they are pretty much worthless regarding physical play. Even their enforcer, Boulton has backed down physically. Sorry, if you want to bring me back, take a look back at the 70’s and early 80’s for a more entertaining brand of hockey and use that as a guide for change.
By B. Thenet
February 17, 2007 06:58 PM | Link to this
Feel kind of silly about defending Lehtonen after he was responsible for the first 3 Ottawa goals thanks to some dreadful rebound control.
This team has been streaky all year. This is no ordinary slump. It seems that almost every game one of the recurring weaknesses of the Thrashers is exposed. And guess what, finding another borderline 4th liner to play with Ilya is not part of the solution. It is actually part of the problem.
By Brendan
February 17, 2007 07:21 PM | Link to this
Jeff Schultz, this is yet another in a series of great hockey articles. I wish you’d write more of them. Steve Guolla is a name I managed to successfully repress. As well as Kamil Piros. At least you didn’t resurrect the name Johan Garpenlov.
Sigh. I was there, opening night, back in ‘99. I’ve been waiting for the drop of the first playoff puck. I never thought it would take this long, however. And we’re still not in. But that’s okay, we can all point to Doug McLean in Columbus and say, “See, it could be a lot WORSE.”
D’oh.
By Tom
February 17, 2007 09:07 PM | Link to this
For the first time this year I fear the Thrashers will miss the playoffs. If the current scores hold, Tampa will take over first place tonight and the Thrash tumble to 6th. Given their inconsistency in so many crucial areas of the game, and the way other teams are surging, i think you can kiss the playoff goodbye. DW better have a big move up his sleeve in the last few days here before the deadline or we’re screwed. And so will he be come season’s end if they are left out in the cold.
By blmeanie
February 17, 2007 09:49 PM | Link to this
Trading Vish has and will hurt. He made rushing forwards think about him as they cruised in.
Playing De Vries and the loyalty he shows DV is terrible. I would rather have Coburn learning than DV. No difference in the outcome, might as well bring the boy along.
By Bob
February 17, 2007 09:51 PM | Link to this
The only good news is that ownership has to finally wake up and dump Waddell at the end of this year’s debacle. He has been the problem since Day 1. The guy cannot draft, his free agent defenseman signings are a litany of failure. He constantly has let our best players walk, for no return! thinking the kids he’s drafted can take their spot. Wrong on all counts.
It’s been obvious since early in the year that we needed an offensive center, yet Waddell did nothing. Fiddling while Atlanta burned. If a bunch of hockey heads like us can see it, why can’t he? That’s the problem, he’s a nice guy, but just incompetent. Time to go.
Lehtonen’s problem is easy to see and those of us who know hockey warned about this all year, Hartley overworked him. He started the year hot but Hartley wore him down. Since the beginning of the year, they should have been platooning Moose in there every 7th game or so. This is the result you get, it’s ridiculous to try to play a kid every night during his first full pro season, especially when you have Moose on the bench. The rebounds he’s giving up are simply because he’s mentally, and possibly also physically tired. Now, Moose has sat all year and needs a few starts to get a groove, something we can’t afford now.
The good news is that there are many players with contracts up at the end of this season. A new GM could come in and restructure the team pretty quickly as there also are some tasty free agents available this summer.
By Jay
February 17, 2007 10:16 PM | Link to this
I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen the thrashers blow a third period lead this season. Unbelievable. This loss to Ottawa makes them 11 - 19 against current playoff teams…not a good sign. If they do make the playoffs, they are at best a first round and out team.
By Brendan
February 17, 2007 11:22 PM | Link to this
Remember when the Thrashers were 13-0-2 when leading after two periods? Yeah, neither can I. Had to have been in ‘06.