AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > February > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USFinally, a move to stop the bleeding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
They have been playing like they’re waiting for something to happen. Maybe somebody makes a trade. Maybe the opposing goalie faints. Maybe the NHL releases a statement: “This exceeds the amount of misery we will tolerate for one franchise. We hereby declare the Atlanta Thrashers a playoff team.”
“You can’t play that way,” Bobby Holik said Saturday when asked if the team needed a trade. “You can’t go to work thinking, ‘Oh, if only somebody else was here.’ “
No, you can’t. But somebody else needed to be here. And finally, somebody is.
Too often low profile at the trade deadline, Thrashers general manager finally made a significant move Saturday. With his team transitioning from first-place wonders to a panicking lot struggling to tread water in the playoff pool, Waddell shipped a piece of the future (prospect defenseman Braydon Coburn) for a piece of today (Philadelphia defenseman Alexei Zhitnik).
Holik neatly summarized the situation after Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Carolina when he said: “Is it good a thing? Yes. He can make a difference. But only if everybody else is doing their job will this trade improve us.”
Something had to be done. At some point, you had to assume that the team that started 23-10-6 might not be coming back. The Thrashers once led the Southeast Division by 10 points. They now trail in the division and lead non-playoff teams by only two.
A trade guarantees nothing. But what it does do is send a message: to the players in the locker room who live to compete, to the people in the stands who have been paying for empty promises, to anybody who has witnessed Waddell do little or nothing in the past, even when an SOS has slapped him on the head.
Coburn is about tomorrow. Zhitnik is about now. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. This franchise hasn’t had nearly enough “nows.”
Zhitnik can carry the puck. He will provide immediate help on the power play. Of his 91 career goals, 45 have come on the power play. All we know about Coburn is he can’t play in the NHL now, and he hasn’t looked as advertised.
Why wait? There has been too much waiting. Waddell in the past has been overly concerned about “mortgaging the future.” Apparently, the message finally got through: Dude, if you don’t improve this team, there’s a good chance you have no future. The Thrashers had as much chance of winning with tomorrow’s prospects as the Hawks have of winning with today’s salary cap space.
“We’ve all talked about the future for so long,” Waddell said, “but our future is present.”
In doing so, he took on a player who will make $3.5 million annually for two more seasons. For that, Atlanta Spirit owners should be commended for taking on salary.
There has been this concern about overpaying in a trade. But how long do you watch every team around you “overpay” and do nothing? Maybe Nashville overpaid for Peter Forsberg. But sometimes you have to overpay for the upside. It’s the upside that enables you to separate yourself from the field.
Nobody said trying to win came without risk. Indeed, risk should be the mandate.
Against Carolina, the Thrashers committed too many turnovers in the defensive end and forced too few in the offensive zone. Still, they trailed only 2-1 and had a power play with 8:43 left. Then they whiffed, and a blocked shot led to a rush going the other way and a goal.
“With the power play, you’re out there to give momentum to your team, not to close a casket,” coach Bob Hartley said.
Zhitnik can make a difference. At 34, he’s not the player he was early in his career with Buffalo. But he immediately becomes this team’s biggest threat on the back line.
The Thrashers once were 13 games over .500. They are 8-13-4 since. Even with the unraveling, they could have made the playoffs without a trade. But merely qualifying for the postseason shouldn’t stamp this season as a success. There is a chance to do more.
A trade assures nothing. But doing nothing projects less.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Thrashers / NHL
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By John Crawford
February 25, 2007 12:56 AM | Link to this
I hate to lose Coburn, because I really thought that he was going to be good, and he well may be, but I guess it is worth it. You can tell Waddell is concerned about his job!
By mayhew
February 25, 2007 02:41 AM | Link to this
this is a nothing trade. zhitnik hasn’t been a player in a couple of years. we need to get more center iceman. waddell had done some great things, but if they don’t make the playoffs this year, it’s on him.
By a mad thrasher fan
February 25, 2007 07:58 AM | Link to this
Don Waddell must go. This team is old and slow. He gave up the only D-man in the system that could skate and was offensive minded. At this point there is no one left in the system to trade or bring up to the NHL level. Even if this team makes the playoffs this year it will take a step back in the next few. What amazed me is that I was trying to name off who on the Thrashers are the top six forwards and I went Hossa, Kovy, Kozlov, and …….. So then I went to the top two D-pairings and came up with Sutton/Havalid and De Vries/Excelby. This team has a lack of talent on defense and a second wave of forwards. We have plenty of third and fourth line forwards and 5th and 6th d-men. Don Waddell must go because the Thrashers are about to start a new 5 year plan to make the playoffs.
Right now this is vent because a once promising season is going down the toilet because of the way this team was built. I hope I am wrong and the Thrash make the playoffs because playoff hockey is the best. My fear is that I won’t have any problems getting a playoff ticket 4 years from now because that is when the Thrashers will make the playoffs for the first time.
By Brendan
February 25, 2007 11:19 AM | Link to this
Folks, we’re just gonna have to wait to see about this trade. I’m not brimming over with confidence about it, but Braydon Coburn is the key to this deal. If Coburn never materializes into anything more than a #4-#6 blueliner, then Waddell did well to get us a proven commodity who can provide immediate help.
Do you sense a “but” coming? Zhitnik will be 35 later this year. Thirty-five, with two more years left on his contract, priced at $3.5 million-per-year. Is this the direction that an expansion-era team should be going, in SEASON SEVEN? The average age of this team is in excess of 30. How does this happen, when the franchise is only seven years old??
Especially in the “new NHL,” where youth and speed are at a premium. Look, I don’t know that Braydon Coburn will be the d-man of his generation. Not from what we’ve seen. Though, it’s still early. But consider this. People who love to bash Waddell’s draft acumen ought to be dancing the jig that another of his picks has been moved. We’ve all waited four years to reap the benefits of the #8 overall pick in the ‘03 draft. Did you see them? I didn’t. But, if this change of scenery turns Coburn into the prospect he was orginally billed to be, I suspect Thrasher fans will be disappointed.
At least Waddell did something. And who knows, Sutton’s UNRESTRICTED this Summer and might still hold some trade value. I don’t think Don can re-sign him this summer. So, maybe Waddell can leverage a Sutton trade for that center that has eluded us all season.
At $3.5 million, Zhitnik will be hard to move out of town if things go south. He very well may find himself on waivers at some point next season. Plus, any player in his mid-30’s has reached that age where they become extremely susceptible to injury. If I had to bet, Zhitnik will NOT play out the remainder of his contract with Atlanta. In the short-term, however, the Thrashers got the IMMEDIATE HELP that they needed.
By lance
February 25, 2007 11:59 AM | Link to this
The Philadelphia Flyers have been playing better since they traded for Zhitnik in December, getting him from the Islanders. He couldn’t make them a winning team all by himself, but he stopped the bleeding and the panic. Hopefully he can do that in Atlanta also.
We had major questions about next year’s defense anyhow: do we keep Sutton and deVries? Having Zhitnik makes it possible for Waddell to build upon Havelid, Zhitnik, and Exelby. Then he can bring in Popovic and Lewis (and maybe Enstrom). In some ways, we’re saving some money because we can get rid of Sutton’s and deVries combined $4m next year.
By Jeff Schultz
February 25, 2007 03:47 PM | Link to this
Lance .. You’re correct in referring to Havelid, Exelby and Zhitnik as the core of this defense now. Sutton is gone, but he’s not going to get nearly the money in free agency that he thinks he will. His play of late has been awful and I’m convinced that when Hartley was referring to some guys cracking under pressure, he was talking about Sutton. He’s thinking more about his contract than just playing, … The additions of Zhitnik and Tkachuk should significantly improve this team’s power play and grit. But we’ll see how it all plays out. JS
By Rawhide
February 25, 2007 04:00 PM | Link to this
I welcome the move,…..casting off a promise for tomorrow for help today was what was called for. But, as Holik said,….it will work only if everone else does their job as well.
DW stated there is still room for more moveS,…one would hope for another center.
But the facts are this. Outside of this move, and a possible one more by Tuesday, the guys who have been out on the ice during this 4-5 week long slide are the ones who will be out there to determine our fate over the next 5 weeks.
I’m sorry to take the contrarian roll against all the doom and gloomer-sky is falling voices out there, but I am still excited about this group of guys.
Nervous,…but still excited!
GO THRASHERS - BEAT BOSTON!!!
By wristshot
February 25, 2007 04:01 PM | Link to this
I’d love to see Havelid break out of his slump right about now. Maybe a new defensive pairing will help him out. The Tkachuk was brilliant by DW.
By Sean
February 25, 2007 04:06 PM | Link to this
It’s definitely a wait and see moment for the team. These two moves could make a difference. Then again, they could be shoulder-shruggers. Either way, I’m glad something happened. This team is about now, and for that I am excited.
By Sage of Bluesland
February 25, 2007 04:07 PM | Link to this
Desperate moves made by a man desperate to save his own skin…
Now, our ‘brilliant’ GM can defer any and all failure to the coach (who will be the sacrificial lamb for the failings of our ‘five-year plan’ and ‘building through the draft’). What’s the average age of the team now??? In the new NHL, no less—where youth and speed are prized.
I urge the “fans” to do the BEST thing for this franchise by STOPPING THE SUBSIDIZATION OF THE INCOMPETENCE OF DON WADDELL—-DO NOT RENEW THOSE SEASON TICKETS…Don is so far in over his head it’s not even funny anymore.
This is what we’ve waited seven years for??? Please…WTFU!!!
By Scott
February 25, 2007 04:13 PM | Link to this
Hell yes this was a good trade, both of them. We needed help and we got some. This team was about to miss the playoffs altogether but at least now ownership and the front office is saying that they are at least going to try and do something about it.
GO THRASHERS!!!!
By Some guy
February 25, 2007 04:34 PM | Link to this
I don’t think Coburn will ever turn into the player he was supposed to be when we drafted him. That trade was amazing. With Tkachuk, we might have given up too many draft picks, but it was a great trade as well. We need both of those guys on the special teams and I think this makes a strong case for us to get that division lead back. We just have to stop the bleeding and go into this game Monday with some enthusiasm and excitement. A win Monday with these new guys in the first game with the team, I think will genearate the momentum we need to put together a run to close out the season. Regardless, Kari and Moose also need to pick up their play.
As for that guy who says not to renew your season tickets… if we don’t keep up season ticket sales, and get them back to where they were back around the inaugural season, we won’t have a franchise around for many years. We’ve seen an NHL team leave Atlanta before. C’mon, put some faith in our franchise. We’ve got a stanley cup winning coach and we’ve got a GM who has been running the United States Olympic teams for many years. These guys know what they are doing. This is the first season Waddell has had a chance to do something at the trade deadline that might help us out to get to the playoffs. Including last year, we’ve never been a playoff team, even if we added more pieces. We played well at the end of last season, but you couldn’t risk an 8 seed by trading some of that future then. This was the season. This was the first chance, and Waddell has made two HUGE trades, as he should have. Well played Don.
By Geoffrey Paul
February 25, 2007 05:04 PM | Link to this
Coburn isn’t even our best D prospect at the AHL level. Popovic is better right now but doesn’t have the upside. Oystrick is a good deal better now and is younger/bigger upside. In a year from now, when Oystrick is with Le Thrash, were Coburn to still be in the system he still wouldn’t be our best D prospect in Chicago- that title would belong to Valabik. Coburn was done with the Thrashers. They gave him every opportunity to succeed (playing him more than his level of play deserved) and he couldn’t even stick on a club with an extremely weak blueline. He had no future in Atlanta. Dealing him was a smart move by Waddell. It was also a smooth move for Philly b/c they dumped salary and got a player who at this point looks like a 5th or 6th but a change of scenery may possibly spark him and he could end up as a top 2 in a couple of years (I doubt it though, and I bet Philly is only counting on him to be at best a reliable #3). Zhitnik’s presence really calmed Philly’s blueline and got them playing better, here is hoping he can do the same for us, and specifically, that he can get Havelid to stop squeezing his stick so tight. Plus, he can quarterback our power play. On the balance therefore, I think DW did well on this trade. The Tkachuk trade is a bit of a different story. Depending on who the picks turn into, we could have WAY overpaid here. However, it somewhat depends on whether or not this is the last move. Having him and Zhitnick allows Kovy to drop to the half-boards on the PP and Tkachuk brings a willingness to take punishment in the crease in order to set screens, and gives us someone who will crash the net and scoop in the trash (Mellanby is the only player on the roster willing to play this role, but in his case the mind is willing but the flesh is weak). The combo of Tkachuk and Zhitnik should significantly improve our PP therefore. However, the reason I said the effectiveness of the Tkachuk trade largely depends on subsequent moves is b/c acquiring him raises BIG questions about how we will play 5 on 5. Speculation is that he will play center (his natural position is RW). If he plays center for us, does Slater move back to the wing? The problem with that is that Slater is probably the only player whose play I would say has been consistent and improving over the past 10 games. The move to make him Kovy’s center seems to have really sparked his play, and he is the only natural center on the team who can skate with Kovy. Tkachuk, no matter what other skills he brings to the table, can’t skate with Kovy. However, maybe we are too focused on that b/c remember the chemistry and goals that resulted from the last power center that Kovy played with (Pascal.. can’t remember his last name, he was french-canadian and we traded him to NJ…)? Pascal couldn’t skate with Kovy either but their styles really seemed to complement each other. Here is hoping that happens with Tkachuk. Ok, but even if that happens, and we just switch Slater out to the RW on that line… now what do we do when Rucchin comes back? Do we bump Rucchin down to 3 and Holik to 4? Are we seriously going to just scratch Kappanen for the remaining games? Maybe we should consider leaving Keith at RW and Slater as that line’s center. I dunno… But I still think there is a good chance we see another deal before Tuesday which will clarify the situation. If Tkachuk is to play center, we have an NHL roster center to trade. Braithwaite, Garny, Popovic, Delmore, Sutton, De Vries could all be tradebait… let’s see what happens…
By Zeus
February 25, 2007 05:17 PM | Link to this
I ditched my Season tickets 2 years ago due to the Waddell fiasco. He couldn’t identify talent if it sat on his face. This is a definite short term fix to try and retain his position.
I have had Div 1 scholarship offers to play ice hockey and as a technical fan of the game, can tell you Don Waddell has no idea how to put a team together. There are still plenty of holes on the blue line and lack of passing talent to combine with Kovy.
By Tom
February 26, 2007 01:43 PM | Link to this
Think about it as an Atlanta fan, all the sports teams here sit back and watch themselves blow up. this is a great move because the defense is horrible, its hit or miss some nights. Dont blame it on the goalies. Its a good statement that we’re trying to win. Don’t have a we’ll be okay attitude like the braves and their garbage bullpin over the years and now when its late you get a good bullpin, i guess better late then never, huh
By Jamie
February 26, 2007 06:04 PM | Link to this
mad thrashers fan yor an idiot i bet you my life they make the playoffs this year and ill bet you the world they make the playoffs within three years. Your not very bright, i hope your spouse doesn’t see this he/she might leave you. oh yeah and i think your a guy so… you might not be aiming straight.