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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Nothing ever comes easy for Thrashers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
In hopes of reassuring employees that the company is stable, life is grand, success is inevitable and, I believe, global warming is somewhat of a media creation, two Atlanta Spirit owners met with their front office staff Wednesday.
What happened later in the evening either continued to ease concerns or led to massive meltdowns — depending on your perspective.
The Thrashers opened the post-All-Star, it’s-now-or-never part of their schedule with a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh. It ended a five-game winless streak (0-3-2), which was their longest skid since a coach got fired. But we’ve seen this team morph from one form to another game-to-game, so excitement tends to be muted.
Or, to quote Bobby Holik: “I’m absolutely not pleased by anything because we’ve done this many times before, and we failed immediately after. Complacency is our worst enemy.” Imagine his comments if they had lost.
Then there is Ilya Kovalchuk, or at least the remains of him. He suffered a right knee injury early in the second period after being checked knee-on-knee by the Penguins’ Jarkko Ruutu.
There was some debate in the two locker rooms whether the hit was dirty, but Ruutu’s comment, “I barely hit him,” would be amusing, if Kovalchuk weren’t in so much agony. He returned late in the period for one shift, could barely move, then left for good.
The Thrashers actually showed some resolve after the hit. Steve McCarthy immediately went after Ruutu (who drew a major penalty and a game misconduct). The other players pulled together, as if, like, they really cared. Who knew?
But if Kovalchuk is gone for any extended period, so are this team’s playoff hopes.
Holik, again, with the dissenting view: “It’s a loss. He’s our best player. But time doesn’t stop.”
Right now, they’re just trying to become a normal, functioning franchise. But notwithstanding attempts by owners Michael Gearon and Bruce Levenson to calm the masses in the front office Wednesday, these are unsettled times for the Thrashers. The coach (Bob Hartley) was fired in October. The president and CEO (Bernie Mullin) resigned last week. There is a chance the general manager and temp-coach (Don Waddell) may be next. But we likely won’t know that until after the season.
Regardless, this is not quite a well-oiled machine right now. The Thrashers currently rank among the non-playoff teams in the standings. With the trade deadline less than four weeks away, there is a chance they may soon shift into fire-sale mode. All rumors start with Marian Hossa, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season and wants to play for a Stanley Cup contender, which likely translates to somewhere else.
If Hossa doesn’t re-sign imminently, Waddell is likely to trade him to a contender before the Feb. 26 deadline rather than let him walk this summer. And if the general manager deduces the season is shot, he won’t hesitate to move Holik, Mark Recchi or any other veteran not deemed part of the future (which includes almost any veteran other than Kovalchuk).
The only thing that could quiet all the rumors would be an unlikely hot streak that would: 1) propel Atlanta past Carolina in the Southeast Division (plausible); 2) convince Hossa to sign a long-term deal, thereby smothering trade rumors (far less likely).
If the Thrashers are to make any kind of move, it has to start now. They play six of their next seven at home (game two in this stretch coming Friday against Buffalo, which annihilated the Thrashers 10-1 before the All-Star break).
“This was the kind of game we needed, but we can’t stop,” Recchi said. “We had a meeting [Tuesday]. We felt with six of the next seven coming at home, it would really help us, and we had to take advantage of it. This is when you need to come together as a team.”
We’ve seen too much to draw conclusions from this win. Yes, the Thrashers were in control for most of this game. But they beat a Penguins team that played the night before and was missing Sidney Crosby.
Now they may have to play without Kovalchuk.
It’s definitely not the time to feel at ease.
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