Sports Columnists

By W. Gretzky

October 18, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this

Have you seen what Hartley has had to work with? The man should be given a parade for getting us to the playoffs with that group of slow and aging veterans and inexperienced youth. Ken Klee is the big off season pickup? Nine years DW has had to put this team together and he’s done nothing but make a couple of gimme draft picks. Take a look at the Flyers - their GM worked his butt off and look at them this season. It’s ridiculous that Waddell is still here. Vote with your wallet Atlanta. I was a season ticket holder but I haven’t paid to see a game since he let our leading scorer leave town way back in 2000. It was clear then that he was terrible and he hasn’t gotten better with age.

By B. Thenet

October 18, 2007 11:36 AM | Link to this

I’d agree with most of this, I think you are judging Kovalchuk too harshly, who has he been playing with for the last two years. He is an elite player whose scoring chances are regularly squandered. I think he will eventually get on the same page with Todd White.

Hartley was part of the problem, and had been since their panic causing struggle to make the playoffs in the 2nd half last year.

DW is the reason the Thrashers even made the playoffs with the moves he made at the deadline.

By HockeyDawg

October 18, 2007 11:38 AM | Link to this

Good points, Mark. While I think there’s no question that Waddell is the bigger problem due to his horrible drafting and poor free agent signings, I agree w/ you Mark that a change in head coaches was needed at this time. I thank Bob Hartley for his contributions here and for helping to make us a better team than when he got here. He seems like a good man. But this team has only been close to winning once in 6 games, they’ve displayed terrible effort and seemed to be playing w/ no passion at all this season. Even without a lot of talent, a coach who is connecting w/ the team can still get them to play very hard. That was not happening w/ the Thrashers!

Let’s hope this helps, but maybe not too much. Otherwise the owners may get a false sense of security and not FIRE WADDELL, as they should!

By Chris

October 18, 2007 11:43 AM | Link to this

Kovy looking less special as time goes on? Mark are you even watching any of these games? He’s kept his scoring numbers up while improving in every other aspect of his game. A comment like that just serves to undermine what was an otherwise well-reasoned article.

By ex_Thrasher_fan

October 18, 2007 11:57 AM | Link to this

Way off base Mark…..let these babies play for Scotty Bowman or Mike Keenan.

Jim Mora types, a “player’s coach” is NOT what this team needs. Pros should play like it.

By gretmonsta

October 18, 2007 12:24 PM | Link to this

The Problem fired the Coach! Good Luck Hartley…and while you are looking for a job…look for one for Waddell…he is next! Let’s Go Thrashers….

By Robert

October 18, 2007 12:37 PM | Link to this

Anyone see this comment on the Blueland Blog?

“I go to school with one of the owners son I talk to his dad sometimes and he admited honestly they are more interested in giving money to the hawks because basketball brings in more cash than hockey.”

I find it hard to beleive the Hawks brought in more money the past 3 years.If this is what the owners think then maybe THEY need to fire Waddell and get out of sports all togather.

By Bill

October 18, 2007 12:38 PM | Link to this

Is it possible to get Bill Guerin? What were they thinking in the off-season?, Waddell is going to have to pull some serious rabbits out of his hat to get this thing going again.

By Chap

October 18, 2007 12:59 PM | Link to this

You must be kissing DW’s butt. Stick to talking about the Falcants and the Trade school.

I would like to hear more about what the owners think, they can’t hide behind their legal crap for much longer. Oh! I hear there is going to be a new WNBA team and that they have a five year plan for that too. Yipppeeee!

By Ryan Downs

October 18, 2007 1:04 PM | Link to this

Hartley shouldn’t be the one fired it should be Don Waddell because he didn’t sign or trade any good forwards and defenders. If the Thrashers had better defenders and forwards than Hartley would have the Thrasher’s at the top of their division going for the play offs this year. Another thing is that iif they had better defenders and forwards Kari Lehton wouldn’t have trouble in the net giving up a lot of goal. That is why Dona Waddell should be the one fired. Hartley should also still be coach because he isn’t the one that can’t sign any players. Don Waddell should be fired because at the end of the season Marrian Hossa’s contract expires and i think he will wait to the last minute to sign him back.

By Josh

October 18, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this

Bradley quit trying to act like you know anything about hockey…Thank you!

By ranallo10

October 18, 2007 1:27 PM | Link to this

Bradley — you sure are the ying to Schult’s yang. It’s a good thing you’re both AJC employees…it’s nice to see someone focusing on the problems of the person fired and not the person firing him.

By mrthrasher

October 18, 2007 2:32 PM | Link to this

Waddell should be fired too—-he’s an incompetent loser.

By Gene

October 18, 2007 3:07 PM | Link to this

If Hartley was that bad, he should have been fired before the beginning of this season. The Thrashers are now in the same shape as the Falcons: an expansion team.

By LAC

October 18, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this

Wrong Mark, you know little about hockey and while Hartley may have his faults, waddell is a CANCER on the entire franchise, waddell IS the reason we have been lackluster since the start, and going on the CHEAP like he does, has killed this season.

Sure Hartley may have had issues, But waddell is a MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM and needs to be FIRED asap !

By Midfield

October 18, 2007 3:16 PM | Link to this

Yeah, yeah. I haven’t been in the locker room, but from Hartley’s many public statements, I only remember him being unfair once - to Kovy, of all people. That is the guy who looks like the only professional athlete in the Thrashers uniform for a long time now. The only guy who mustered anything classy to say about Hartley. Shame.

By ThrasherNY

October 18, 2007 3:30 PM | Link to this

his prized draftees — Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen — look less special the older they get

Incorrect Mark Ilya only looks less than special to the casual fan because he has never had any linemates.

By Bob

October 18, 2007 3:42 PM | Link to this

This isn’t to say Waddell has been perfect, or even pretty good. He hasn’t found a first-rate defenseman in nine years of trying, and his prized draftees — Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen — look less special the older they get. But firing the GM would have had no immediate effect on the team itself, and this franchise can’t afford to spend the next 76 games wallowing in self-pity.

Yep, exactly right. That’s why Waddell will be here until April the 7th, get used to it guys, then he’s gone and we can finally get on with it.

No good coach worth his salt is going to come in under Waddell now, they all know he’s a lame duck.

Bradley, one thing you are wrong about above is Kovalchuk, he has improved greatly. In fact, it’s Hartley that improved him by turning him into a two way player. That’s probably Bob’s biggest accomplishment in his tenure here.

But Hartley can leave with his head held high, it’s Waddell that gave him the players, and ya can’t make s** shine.

Whoever wrote above that they were suprised to hear that the Hawks brought in more money for the owners, that may be hard to hear for a hockey fan, but it’s the truth. The NBA has a huge TV contract. That’s where the money comes from, not ticket sales.

By atlfan

October 18, 2007 4:04 PM | Link to this

Robert - yes the Hawks bring in more money- because of the TV contact that the NBA has. NHL’s contract sticks.

I’ll miss Hartley but you have to move on. This will be Waddell’s last year. Any coach that is brought in will know that before they sign. It’s time for everyone to step up to the plate and play like they are professional NHL players.

By Midfield

October 18, 2007 4:04 PM | Link to this

One more thing: did you see Slater’s waffling about Hartley’s firing? You could say that in the big scheme of things it does not mean anything. But I tell you, I would send this guy packing yesterday. If he needed Hartley fired to think about playing better, it’s way too late to my taste. No wonder this guy is not making it. He never will.

I feel sorry for Kovy who have to put up with this sort of teammates.

By jeff

October 18, 2007 4:13 PM | Link to this

FIRE WADDELL BRING BACK HARTLEY!!! I am never going to another Thrashers game again. It is Wadells fault we are in the situation we are in. So what does Donny do…fires the greatest active coach in the NHL to cover for his inept management. If Waddell does not win the next few games FIRE HIM! Hold him to his own standards. I ask others who feel this way to boycott the thrashers until Wadell is fired, or Hartley is put back in place!!!

By Jenn

October 18, 2007 4:23 PM | Link to this

Bradley - Reading your blog has put a lot of the last 24 hours (heck, the last 24 weeks) into perspective for me. Hartley didn’t deserve to be fired. You can’t argue with that. But Don can’t turn the clock back and resign Tkachuk or Belanger or Hnidy.

It’s Don’s fault we have such a small (tiny, short) roster, and come April, he should be fired. But for now, we have what we have, and we need a coach who can…coach them. Obviously Hartley couldn’t.

He was an All-Star last year. And if you want to compare last year’s season to 2005-06, then feel free, because in both seasons, the team broke their own records. Every year, we improved on our improvements because of him. This new roster, they just ended up being a huge block in his road. But we literally don’t have the ability to just fire 8, 10, 12, 23 players, and find new ones. We just don’t.

If he couldn’t coach the team, then he couldn’t coach them, and that’s just a fact we’ll all have to deal with. I didn’t want to see him go; he had a passion for Atlanta hockey that this town seriously needed. But unfortunately, sports are an entertainment business, and the fairweather town of Atlanta is generally only entertained by winning. Bob couldn’t figure out a way to provide that, so he’s out. Don should definately be next, no doubt about it, but Bob had to go now. It’s early yet this season, and we can turn this around, but we just couldn’t do it with Bob as coach. Not with this team. There’s too much of a disconnect.

So. So long, Bob. You deserve all our best wishes for everything you’ve done here.

By Dawggy Style

October 18, 2007 4:33 PM | Link to this

Is there anyone out there in Blueland that will stand up and call out the veteran players on this team? Waddell hired Hartley and Waddell signs players given the budget that he has to work with. This is the real world that we all live in! I simply don’t buy the argument that Waddell signed bad players and set Hartley up to fail. The veterans on this team (with the exception of Kovy) set Hartley up to fail. Presumably they have their reasons for doing so and got their wish very early in the season. Hossa, Holik, Kozlov, Havelid and Zhitnik are the purported veteran leaders on this team. Kovy and the rookies are the only guys I’ve seen busting their butts night in and night out thus far. The guys listed above need to start earning their big checks and stop dogging it. I may be in the minority but, if Hossa has already checked out and it’s going to affect his play this season, then we need to trade him soon for maximum value and move on. If he wants to stay here and be part of the solution for the Thrashers then he needs to step up and make his intentions known.

By Buzilla Baby Blues

October 18, 2007 4:33 PM | Link to this

your a douche too, Mark

By ranallo10

October 18, 2007 4:38 PM | Link to this

Well put Jenn.

By ranallo10

October 18, 2007 4:42 PM | Link to this

I love you Buz.

By Sage of Bluesland

October 18, 2007 6:29 PM | Link to this

Bradley, you’re such a clown.

Folks, this is the same writer who also ‘loved’ the equally incompetent Pete Babcock—you remember, the Hawks’ GM who single-handedly ran that franchise into the ground after a decade of poor performance (yet has the absolute nerve to get on Billy Knight after a few years of trying to CLEAN that mess up)…

Folks, this clown also ‘loves’ Waddell…Thus, I expect him to cover for his buddy at every opportunity. He’s done it in a couple of articles over the years.

You’re so wrong on this one, Mark, it’s not even funny. Look at the overall fan reaction! You’re on the verge of becoming completely irrelevant.

What does our lisping, bumbling, blustering Donny DO for YOU, Mark? Is it as simple as free ticket upgrades? Luxury-box? What PRICE did you SELL OUT for?

Protecting the “architect” (and I use that term very loosely) of this mess—a man who has been on the job for almost a decade—yet he escapes your judgment of accountability??? Yep, where there’s smoke, there’s fire…Again, Mark, what did you sell-out for?

By chillahill43

October 18, 2007 9:13 PM | Link to this

well they are showing their true colors tonight. Playing like its the final game for the cup. 3-0 after 2 scoring and staying in position.

They shoulod all be fined for laying down, and then throwing the coach under the bus. The kids got Their feelings hurt from too tough BOB. and the captain of the team showed how he is a stand up guy as well (not) run to the GM. Good little Hitler youth!!! What a joke, I have been a thrasher fan and a flame fan but this type of team is not for me. They act like Randy Moss. and it is showing. Its gonna take a lot to get me back to spending my $250.00 a night to watch em… BABIES, and pansies win 10 in a row so what you have shown me your real sides and it looks like the back side to me.. SAY LAH VEEEEE!

By Brendan

October 18, 2007 9:22 PM | Link to this

Sage, take some comfort in knowing this is only Bradley’s 2nd hockey article in 52 weeks. I can live with that … if that’s going to be his frequency.

I want to challenge some of these comments. But firing the GM would have had no immediate effect on the team itself, and this franchise can’t afford to spend the next 76 games wallowing in self-pity. For the sake of those 76 games, a change had to be made. That change had to be the coach.

There are “elements” of truth to that. But what if the team had fired Waddell and Hartley at the same time? Or even Waddell-first? These changes would have no immediate effect on the team itself?

Reeeeally?? So … like … nobody’s attitude or effort might change … with the installation of a new Administration? Everything would be ‘as it was before’? Complete and utter “status quo?”

Are you SERIOUS?? I’m about to do a John McEnroe, “That ball was ON THE LINE!! Chalk was flying everywhere!!!”

If you’re player and there’s a new GM … and you’re in your contract year … this doesn’t ‘affect’ you?? What if you’re a “tweener” AHL/NHL-caliber player … a new GM doesn’t “impact” you?? ‘Everything is EXACTLY as it was???’

Are you SERIOUS?? Your b%tt could be put on waivers lickety-split. Even if you’re a player with two-years left on your contract … you don’t think you’re “above” being traded to the other Conference for prospects or draft picks? Sometimes, that means moving your entire family 2,000 miles away, out to California. Not to worry, though. It’s a “non-issue.”

A new GM will mold the team the way he wants. Anyone who wants to stay will need to impress him. If a player fails to impress him, don’t be surprized to see him shipped out of town. Or not renewed during the Summer.

Last, O…M…G. Kovalchuk is less special the older he gets. Stop. I’m a person who’s been “critical” of Kovalchuk through the years. But even a Kovy-critic like me can see how much #17 has matured, and is continuing to mature. He’s shown heart and grit, and leadership, all things for which Russian players, in particular, are often criticized. Ask around and you’ll find most opining that Kovy deserves the “C” more than Holik. I won’t argue that one.

Kovalchuk is nothing less than a phenom. Mario Lemieux called him “the best pure sniper in the league.” And he’s not wrong about that. Ilya Kovalchuk is a bonafide sniper. He’s had virtually “no help” and manages to put up 40-goal campaigns. The stat everyone conveniently forgets when discussing Kovalchuk are the 72 goalposts he hit last year. If a third (1/3) of those went it, he’d have run away with the Rocket Richard trophy. With no help. If Waddell ever pulls the trigger on a deal for Kings Center Mike Cammalleri, watch Kovlachuk pop in 60. As in 6-0.

Even if your seat is up in the rafters, just watch Kovalchuk skate. It’s like he’s leaving everyone else in the dust. His speed forces penalties and creates power plays. You can feel the “breeze” up in the 400’s when he’s at full speed, coming through Center.

Just out of curiosity, anyone troubled by that?? Anyone think Kovlachuk’s skating is deteorating? That he’s, perhaps, “lost a step?” PUT … YOUR HAND … DOWN.

By Brendan

October 18, 2007 9:34 PM | Link to this

The team that swept us out of the playoffs is being whupped by our “back-up” goalie, 5-2, late in the 3rd. And Exelby “laid out” of the Rangers in the process. I think we’ve even had five different goal scorers. This, the result of having made a change in the “front office” area of the franchise.

By rj

October 18, 2007 10:37 PM | Link to this

I’m waiting for all you dipsticks that were calling for Waddell’s head to start saying ‘Oh I knew Don was doing the right thing firing Hartley’.

Too bad he didn’t do it in Feb.

By Dr. Hensen

October 18, 2007 11:49 PM | Link to this

LAC is a CANCER to BLUELAND and Metro Atlanta and should be cut away as quickly as possible.

By Hip Czech

October 19, 2007 8:36 AM | Link to this

Thanks for the article Mark…look forward to hearing from you again in April.

By Rob in Columbus GA

October 19, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this

…and his prized draftees — Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen — look less special the older they get.

Oh, you really p** me off on that comment. Ilya brings it every night he playes. He’s become a solid player on both ends and his heart overshadows his mistakes.

Mark, you are wrong about him.

By Mary

October 19, 2007 11:41 AM | Link to this

I am sure there are many GMs who would love a chance to add the lackluster Ilya Kovalchuk to their line up! You need to attend a few games.

By Surly T

October 19, 2007 1:40 PM | Link to this

Brendan - you’ve lost it, friend. Firing the coach was necessary and the most immediately effective change that could light a fire in the collective belly of this team. Don’t take me wrong, Waddell needs to go, but firing the GM and leaving Hartley in place plainly ignores the fact that until last night the Thrashers have only shown glimpses of caring. I blame the coach for that and am glad we’ll have a new voice at practice, in the locker room and behind the bench.

ps. Kovy is a superstar, playing better every game in all three zones.

By Ryan

October 19, 2007 2:12 PM | Link to this

I may be wrong on this but I think the Thrash had 11 players post points last night.
Keep it up!

By Brendan

October 19, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this

Surly T., I am certainly not going to stand before you and say, “Hartley wasn’t any sort of problem.” That would be laughable. So, I agree with you. We’ve covered this 1,000 times now. The PP, the PK, the “overall strategy,” … it just wasn’t working. What’s more, I think Hartley had lost the room. The players were tired of his message and, maybe, “tuned him out” like a nagging wife. (Ohh, now I’ve gone and done it!!)

That said, to advance that firing Waddell and Hartley (at the same time) would have had no impact, as I stated above, I’d have to say is false. Even firing Waddell first would have had “some impact” on the current roster. How could the team have “absolutely no effect” to Waddell’s firing??

Yeah, I dunno either. But I have no problem with Hartley being fired. If you look back to mid-January or so, this team began to flounder. Hartley was “outcoached” by Tom Renney in the playoffs. Someone had to answer for that. And it turned out to be Bob Hartley. For the roster Hartley has/had, he should have gotten better results. I’m not advancing that the previous or current Thrashers roster was a “can’t miss Stanley Cup winner,” in case that’s what anyone was thinking. Chuckling.

By JP

October 19, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

It’s hockey. Who cares?

By JP

October 19, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

It’s hockey. Who cares?

By Surly T

October 19, 2007 7:30 PM | Link to this

JP If you can’t appreciate the ultimate team sport played by the best-conditioned athletes on the planet who combine self-sacrifice, toughness and grit with fluid grace at a lightning fast pace, then I believe you’ve stumbled upon the wrong blog.