AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April
April 2007
Lehtonen back in action - and still quotable
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey - I thought the Rangers were unbeatable. It took a two-overtime win on Sunday for the Rangers to get their first win of the second round. The Sabres look really good don’t they? But that’s how you respond in Game 3, you have to give the Rangers a lot of credit. Tuesday’s Game 4 should be fun to watch.
But here at the Thrashers Beat Blog, now updated weekly, we don’t much care about the Stanley Cup playoffs - not when there are Thrashers and future Thrashers still playing.
The IIHF World Championship started in Moscow, and it features two of the Thrashers youngest stars in Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen. Both are undefeated (okay, it’s early) and Kari was his usual quotable self after Finland’s win on Sunday. Here was an interesting quote that Kari told Lucas Aykroyd after Sunday’s won:
“It was a weird game,” Lehtonen told Aykroyd on his story for IHWC.net. “Our guys showed up, so that made it easy for me. I can’t remember when I last had a game like this, where I get one shot and then have to wait 10 minutes for another.”
Nope Kari, I can’t remember a game like that either.
Lehtonen and Fredrik Norrena may be the best goalie duo in the IIHF World Championship in Moscow, but Finland will win with offense.
Ilya Kovalchuk had an assist in Russia’s first game, a blowout win over Denmark. He was scoreless in the second game. But according to someone who saw the games, Kovalchuk’s all-NHL line with Malkin, Frolov, Gonchar and Markov really struggled. Russia plays Finland on Tuesday night, although I don’t know if Lehtonen is starting.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Wolves are slated to start the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs on Wednesday against the Iowa Stars. Here’s a breakdown of the matchup on the Chicago Wolves playoff blog.
Don Waddell was in Chicago, doing some scouting. He was also planning on making the trip to Moscow to watch some of the Worlds.
Other interesting reading:
NEW ADDITION: I just found this great Q and A with Ilya Kovalchuk done by Pavel Strizhevsky, a friend of the Beat Blog. It’s been translated from Russian to English, so you have to take some of that into account, but it’s great reading.
Holly Gunning at Hockey’s Future breaks down the rookies expected to make an impact next season with the Thrashers. Her locks include Brett Sterling and Mark Popovic.
Gerry Fraley, writing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch expects the Rangers to make a strong run at Keith Tkachuk.
This is a little old (that’s what happens in a weekly blog), but former Thrashers forward Marc Savard breaks down the second round in this ESPN.com piece.
Some responses to some of your responses:
Brendan: I’m hearing a salary cap more in the $46 million range for next season rather than $47.5, but it’s speculation at this point.
JayBird: In defense of the Red Wings lack of fan support, which you brought up by linking to this article by the talented Michael Rosenberg (Playoffs? Where are fans? Where is excitement?), playoff ticket prices in Detroit are outrageous. It’s hard to get in the Joe for under $100 and considering the Red Wings are kind of like the Braves in that they’re always in the playoffs, I think you have to cut the Detroit fans some slack for not showing up like gangbusters during early playoff action. I think they showed signs of coming around last game. Alright, I’m done defending the D.
UpperDeck: I’m not counting out McCarthy’s return at all. He genuinely seems like he wants to return, despite his lack of playing time down the stretch. And I think the way he handled the situation, with class, goes a long way. Bob Hartley really seems to like him, despite not playing him (if that makes any sense).
Lastly, just so we have it somewhere on our website, here’s a list of unrestricted free agents - compiled by the Hockey News.
Anaheim: J-S Giguere, G, 30; Brad May, LW, 35; Sean O’Donnell, D, 35; Teemu Selanne, RW, 36.
Atlanta: Eric Belanger, C, 29; Eric Boulton, LW, 30; Greg de Vries, D, 34; Pascal Dupuis, LW, 28; Shane Hnidy, D, 31; Slava Kozlov, LW, 35; Brad Larsen, LW, 30; Derek MacKenzie, C, 26; Scott Mellanby, RW, 41; Jon Sim, RW, 29; Andy Sutton, D, 32; Keith Tkachuk, C, 35; J-P Vigier, RW, 30.
Boston: Bobby Allen, D, 28; Nathan Dempsey, D, 32; Brian Finley, G, 25; Joey MacDonald, G, 27; Jeremy Reich, LW, 28; Petr Tenkrat, LW, 29; Jason York, D, 36.
Buffalo: Daniel Briere, C, 29; Ty Conklin, G, 31; Chris Drury C, 30; Adam Mair, RW 28; Teppo Numminen, D, 39; Dainius Zubrus, C, 29.
Calgary: Tony Amonte, RW, 36; Jeff Friesen, LW, 30; Eric Godard, RW, 27; Roman Hamrlik, D, 33; Darren McCarty, RW, 35; Jamie McLennan, G, 36; Marcus Nilson, C, 29; Wayne Primeau, C, 30; Byron Ritchie, C, 30; Brad Stuart, D, 27.
Carolina: Anson Carter, RW, 33; Bret Hedican, D, 36; David Tanabe, D, 26; Josef Vasicek, C, 26; Scott Walker, RW, 33; Glen Wesley, D, 38.
Chicago: Denis Arkhipov, C, 28; Peter Bondra, RW, 39; Jeff Hamilton, LW, 29; Michal Handzus, C, 29; Patrick Lalime, G, 32.
Colorado: Tyler Arnason, C, 28; Patrice Brisebois, D, 36; Ben Guite, C, 28; Ken Klee, D, 36; Ian Laperriere, RW, 33; Brett McLean, LW, 28; Scott Parker, RW, 29; Mark Rycroft, RW, 28; Pierre Turgeon, C, 37; Ossi Vaananen, D, 26.
Columbus: Bryan Berard, D, 30; Brian Boucher, G, 30; Anders Eriksson, D, 32; Derrick Walser, D, 28.
Dallas: Krys Barch, LW, 27; Matthew Barnaby, RW, 34; Stu Barnes, C, 37; Jon Klemm, D, 37; Eric Lindros, C, 34; Ladislav Nagy, LW, 28; Patrik Stefan, C, 27; Darryl Sydor, D, 35.
Detroit: Todd Bertuzzi, RW, 32; Kyle Calder, LW, 28; Chris Chelios, D, 45; Dominik Hasek, G, 42; Robert Lang, C, 36; Josh Langfeld, RW, 29; Kirk Maltby, RW, 34; Danny Markov, D, 30; Mathieu Schneider, D, 38.
Edmonton: Jan Hejda, D, 28; Jussi Markkanen, G, 31; Petr Nedved, C, 35; Petr Sykora, LW, 30.
Florida: Ed Belfour, 42, G; Martin Gelinas, 37, LW; Ville Peltonen, 34, LW; Jozef Stumpel, 35, C.
Los Angeles: Sean Burke, G, 40; Noah Clarke, LW, 28; Mathieu Garon, G, 29; Jamie Heward, D, 36; Tom Kostopoulos, RW, 28; Aaron Miller, D, 35; Jaroslav Modry, D, 26; Marty Murray, C, 32; Mike Weaver, D, 29.
Minnesota: Nicklas Backstrom, G, 29; Martin Skoula, D, 27; Wyatt Smith C, 30; Wes Walz, C, 37; Todd White, C, 32.
Montreal: David Aebischer, G, 29; Radek Bonk, C, 31; Aaron Downey, RW, 32; Mike Johnson, RW, 32; Andrei Markov, D, 27; Janne Niinimaa, D, 32; Sheldon Souray, D, 30.
Nashville: Peter Forsberg, C, 33; Scott Hartnell, LW, 24; Paul Kariya, LW, 32; Scott Nichol, C, 32; Jerred Smithson, C, 28; Kimmo Timonen, D, 32; Vitaly Vishnevski, D, 27.
New Jersey: Scott Clemmensen, G, 29; Jim Dowd, C, 38; Scott Gomez, C, 27; Brad Lukowich, D, 30; Brian Rafalski, D, 33; Erik Rasmussen, RW, 30; Mike Rupp, LW, 27.
New York Islanders: Arron Asham, RW, 29; Jason Blake, RW, 33; Joel Bouchard, D, 32; Wade Dubielewicz, G, 28; Mike Dunham, G, 35; Sean Hill, D, 37; Viktor Kozlov, C, 32; Tom Poti, D, 30; Deron Quint, D, 31; Randy Robitaille, C, 31; Chris Simon, LW, 35; Todd Simpson, D, 34; Ryan Smyth, LW, 31; Richard Zednik, LW, 31.
New York Rangers: Brad Isbister, LW, 30; Michael Nylander, C, 34; Jed Ortmeyer, RW, 28; Sandis Ozolinsh, D, 34; Thomas Pock, D, 26; Brendan Shanahan, RW, 38; Jason Strudwick, D, 31; Kevin Weekes, G, 32.
Ottawa: Dean McAmmond, C, 33; Tom Preissing, D, 28.
Philadelphia: Robert Esche, G, 29; Todd Fedoruk, LW, 28; Denis Hamel, LW, 29; Mike York, C, 29.
Phoenix: Owen Nolan, RW, 35; Curtis Joseph, G, 39; Mike Ricci, C, 35; Jeremy Roenick, C, 37.
Pittsburgh: Eric Cairns, D, 32; Nils Ekman, LW, 31; Joel Kwiatkowski, D, 30; Josef Melichar, D, 28; Ron Petrovicky, RW, 30; Mark Recchi, RW, 39; Gary Roberts, LW, 40; Rob Scuderi, D, 28; Jocelyn Thibault, G, 32.
San Jose: Bill Guerin, RW, 36; Scott Hannan, D, 28; Mark Smith, C, 29; Craig Rivet, D, 32; Vesa Toskala, G, 30.
St. Louis: Radek Dvorak, RW, 30.
Tampa Bay: Rob DiMaio, RW, 39; Ruslan Fedotenko, RW, 28; Johan Holmqvist, G, 28; Doug Janik, D, 26; Andreas Karlsson, C, 31; Eric Perrin, LW, 31; Nolan Pratt, D, 31; Luke Richardson, D, 37; Cory Sarich, D, 28; Jason Ward, RW, 28.
Toronto: Nik Antropov, RW, 27; Jean-Sebastien Aubin, G, 29; Bates Battaglia, LW, 31; Travis Green, C, 36; Tyson Nash, LW, 32; Jeff O’Neill, RW, 31; Michael Peca, C, 33; Yanic Perreault, C, 36; Aleksander Suglobov, RW, 25.
Vancouver: Jan Bulis, C, 29; Jeff Cowan, LW, 30; Rory Fitzpatrick, D, 32; Josh Green, C, 29; Trevor Linden, RW, 37; Taylor Pyatt, LW, 25; Sami Salo, D, 32; Tommi Santala, C, 28; Bryan Smolinski, C, 35; Brent Sopel, D, 30.
Washington: Bryan Muir, D, 34.
Talking Tkachuk and Mellanby
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today kicks off the first installment of the Thrashers off-season beat blog. We’ll update this blog every Monday at the very least. If I’m feeling especially motivated, or there’s big news, it’ll be more than that.
Speaking of news, the Thrashers will be holding a conference call on Tuesday morning with Scott Mellanby where he’s expected to officially announce his retirement. I guess he figured out how to do it. The team also signed Bryan Little, but you already knew that.
Since we have a few weeks between now and the start of free agency, I figured we’d blog each week, debating the merits of resigning a current Thrashers free agent.
And why not start with the biggest fish in the pond? Keith Tkachuk. Many people (including myself) believe he’s played his last game with the Thrashers, but as he has said many times, you never know. So let’s break it down.
The pros: This team is going to need centers. Right now, Bobby Holik is the only healthy center signed for next season. Steve Rucchin is signed, but his health is a question mark. Jim Slater is a restricted free agent. Eric Belanger is unrestricted. Now I figured that Tkachuk might move back to his natural position on the wing after this season, but he said that’s not the case. He said he loves the action at center and plans on playing there next season. He said he feels like he still has a good 2-4 years left in him. Compared to some of the other big-name Thrashers, Tkachuk was strong in the playoffs. At least he didn’t completely disappear. He seemed to be a good influence on Ilya Kovalchuk and was a strong presence in the locker room.
The cons: Well, there’s that first-round draft pick you’d have to give the Blues if the Thrashers sign him. He also doesn’t come cheap - probably between 3.5-4 million per year, for three years - unless someone gets crazy. Despite what he said before leaving town the other day, St. Louis has to be the favorite to sign him. His family still lives there and his kids are getting to the ages where they probably aren’t too interested in moving. But he did, at one point, ask about the youth hockey scene in Atlanta. If the Thrashers do sign him, they’d have a lot of salary tied up in Kovalchuk, Tkachuk and Hossa (assuming he extends in January).
The bottom line: Tkachuk walks. He came here and did what he was asked to do. He still desperately wants a Stanley Cup, and after the Thrashers first-round flop, you have to wonder how close this franchise is. My guess is that he’s either going home, or to a team that’s closer to a title than the Thrashers.
What do you think?
Hossa rumors and offseason talk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First lets address the Marian Hossa rumors. I spoke with Hoss yesterday and he said he has nothing any more serious than the usual assortment of injuries everybody has after a long season. I think many people assumed something was wrong because the Marian Hossa we saw during the season wasn’t the Marian Hossa we saw in the playoffs. He wasn’t driving to the net as effectively as we’ve seen.
John Kincade mentioned on the air that he wouldn’t be surprised if Hossa had surgery. I don’t think he said he was having surgery. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has surgery, but the team assured me that there currently are no surgery plans. In fact, Hossa is mulling over an offer to play in the World Championship in Russia, although he didn’t seem too enthused about the idea yesterday. If he was having surgery, I don’t think he’d even be considering it.
I addressed it a little in today’s story, but a few of you asked which of the young players I expected to get a shot next season. Don Waddell specifically mentioned Bryan Little, Brett Sterling and Colin Stuart as three players he thought might get a look. Little hasn’t signed yet, but he’s close.
I imagine they won’t bring back all of the blue liners who aren’t under contract for next year — Sutton, McCarthy, de Vries, Exelby and Hnidy. Mark Popovic will likely fill one of those spots, and I know the team has high hopes for Boris Valabik and Tobias Enstrom. The team needs a speed upgrade, and going young will certainly help.
Here are the answers to a few of your questions from yesterday:
Shane: I don’t think Don is having any regrets over the deals he made. There’s a pretty good chance that this team wouldn’t have made the playoffs without those trades, and that would have been even more of a disaster than the sweep. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dupuis and Belanger back, and Zhitnik is signed for the next two seasons, so that wasn’t a rental. The only trade you could question is the Tkachuk deal, and he delivered everything he was brought in to do. Plus, I’m guessing Don will find a way to get some of those picks back.
Kari’s Karpets: From what I understand, a deal with Little is close to being done, where they’ll go from there I’m not sure.
Mass: Interesting take on Sutton. While I believe he likes it here, I really can’t see him taking a big hometown discount to stay. Guys work hard for one maybe two chances at free agency - you can’t blame a guy for wanting to take full advantage and cash in.
AT13: No, I don’t think Tkachuk will be back.
Thrashersfan33: I would be surprised to see Metro back here. As he left, he said ‘I’m not one of Bob’s guys.’ Last I checked, Bob isn’t going anywhere.
David: I asked Mellanby who he thought should replace him as captain, and he laughed. He said he wasn’t going to touch that one, that he’d leave it to the coaches. It’s an interesting debate though — Captain Kovy?
Geneen: I appreciate the comments on the Kozlov story. Don has said he’s interested in bringing Kozlov back, although Kozzie’s answer when I asked him if he was coming back was interesting: “I’m flexible,” he said. Kozzie loved playing in Detroit, you have to wonder if they offered him a deal, if he could turn it down. One of the reasons he signed with Atlanta the last time his contract was up was because Detroit never made him an offer.
Lastly, with the season over the Thrashers blog won’t be updated quite as frequently. I just don’t have that much to say. So thanks to all of you who have helped the blog grow with your insight and comments. I look forward to making this an even more popular hockey destination. This is really an enjoyable part of my job.
— Craig
Mellanby 99 percent retired
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s exit day here in Duluth, a little earlier than the Thrashers might have hoped. Players have been filing in to get a physical, meet with Don and Bob, sign some autographs, then conduct interviews with the media. Scott Mellanby obviously drew the most attention, and he said he was 99 percent sure he would retire. When asked what would bring him back, he said nothing.
The only thing holding him up may be semantics.
“I don’t really know how it works,” he said.
He said he’ll talk to his agent and file the necessary paperwork, but still didn’t want to say 100 percent so close to the end of the season.
It seemed like every player had some question about whether or not they’d be back. There’s only eight guys on the current roster under contract for next season, so you have the potential for some serious roster turnover going into next season.
While chatting with guys like Pascal Dupuis, Eric Belanger and Jon Sim, it was evident they wanted to come back. Keith Tkachuk didn’t rule anything out, but seemed a little more non-committal with his “you never know” comment. But it’s a longshot. He did say it wasn’t automatic that he’s returning to St. Louis to play, although he was getting Mapquest directions to his St. Louis home to return to his wife and kids.
I’ll update more later in the comments, Don Waddell and Bob Hartley are due to speak here shortly.
Timing is everything
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The last couple days there’s been a lot of debate over the AJC headline after two games, “Do you believe in debacles?” Bob Hartley expressed his displeasure to the trio of AJC writers here in New York on Tuesday. He said he wasn’t sure what debacle meant, but didn’t think it was the appropriate word after two close games.
Now let’s jump ahead to this morning’s meeting with the media. Bob Hartley had just finished his scrum, when Jeff Schultz pulled Hartley aside and explained to him that Tuesday’s 7-0 loss, now that was a debacle.
Hartley laughed, and joked that he thought about calling Schultz sometime during the third period to say the same thing.
Schultz then says, ‘We should have saved that headline for Tuesday’s game.’
Bob’s answer? “It’s all about [expletive deleted because this is a family blog] timing.”
Ain’t that the truth? Timing hasn’t exactly been on the Thrashers side. Game two was a bad time to give up a flukey goal. And game three certainly wasn’t the time to play your worst collective game of the season.
To get his team ready for tonight’s game, Hartley reminded them of a couple things. First, the Red Sox beat a New York team after dropping three straight, to go to the World Series. Does anybody know if Curt Schilling can forecheck?
His other point is kind of valid - all season long, this Thrashers team has been streaky. They’d follow a few losses with a winning streak. If anybody can come back and win four straight, Hartley said this morning, it’s this team.
While everybody is counting the Thrashers out, and I’m not saying I am, but I just canceled my hotel room reservation in New York for game six, Johan Hedberg had a pretty determined look on his face this morning. He’s ready to go, and said if they can just turn things around for one game, they’re back in this thing. It might be a little late for that though.
I will say this though - for as bad as the team played on Tuesday night, the players didn’t duck the media after the game. They were accountable for their horrible play and deserve credit for that. Ilya Kovalchuk, who isn’t exactly known for hanging around long after games, stayed and answered questions for as long as he was needed. So did Marian Hossa, Tkachuk, Lehtonen, Holik, everybody. That’s a credit to the team and the PR staff.
One last thought. Sean Avery, who has clearly accomplished everything he’s set out to do so far in this playoff series, was asked after the game if he was happy to take the trade off when both he and Kovalchuk were sent to the penalty box in the third period.
Here’s what he told John Dellapina, who had this quote in today’s Daily News: “Not really, not right now, would you [take that trade-off]? he said. “I’d rather have me on the ice than him.
And that’s what this series has come to.
Needed: Big game from big players
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I think Bobby Holik put it best this morning — the Thrashers one-game season starts tonight. A loss, and it’s over. The team was pretty loose today, but as Jon Sim pointed out, they were also a little more business-like. This is a focused team that desperately needs a win, and they have to do it in front of a group of fans Holik called the best sports fans in the world.
It’s going to be loud, but more important than that, Rangers coach Tom Renney now has the ability to shake Jaromir Jagr from the Holik line with final line changes. There is even talk of double shifting Jagr, so that might be an interesting aspect for tonight’s game, it’ll be a chess match that’s for sure.
Steve Zipay at Newsday had a great line from Renney when he asked about using the home-ice advantage to free Jagr from Holik. Here was Renney’s response to Zipay - “Bob [Hartley] reads,” he said. “You can speculate, I’ll just leave it at that.”
The goaltending situation for the Thrashers continues to be a hot topic up here. Larry Brooks points in his column in the New York Post that Hartley never had goalie decisions to make in Colorado because of Patrick Roy, perhaps questioning Hartley’s decision to start Lehtonen. Brooks wrote “Atlanta will be switching back to Kari Lehtonen even though he left acres of the net at which to shoot in the 4-3, Game 1 defeat and was benched for Game 2 in favor of Johan Hedberg who was magnificent.”
Wow, acres of net.
Hartley said yesterday that the goalie switch will be the only lineup change. The lines looked the same, with Mellanby skating with the Chuks, although we saw a lot of Sim in that spot in the third period last game, and wouldn’t be surprised to see it again.
Don’t be surprised to see some personnel changes in the power play. We saw some of Dupuis on the PP last game, and there were some different looks at practice on Monday. They need to do something to get it started — Keith Tkachuk said today that it’ll all start with more shots from the point, then better efforts on the second and third rebound.
But the bottom line for tonight was summed up by Hartley as he walked away from the media scrum this morning. He said, the big guys have to be the big guys. Kari Lehtonen is going to need to respond with a big game, Marian Hossa’s scoring is desperately needed, Ilya Kovalchuk will need to continue to play well, the same goes for Keith Tkachuk. The Thrashers need top performances from their top players. It’s that simple.
Kari Lehtonen - you’re up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s back to Kari Lehtonen for game three in New York. Bob Hartley announced today after practice that he’s returning to his young goalie, and expects him to play well on Tuesday in New York. He said this one was a no-brainer, pointing out that Lehtonen plays well at Madison Square Garden and that he has the talent to win the big game.
Lehtonen said he’s ready to go. He admitted that there were a couple days where he was a little disappointed and down after being benched, but some quiet time at home helped him turn the corner.
Hedberg, as usual, handled the whole situation with class. “There’s no room for egos,” he said when asked about his reaction.
No other lineup changes for game three.
Hedberg in goal for game two
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll blog more later, but Bob Hartley said today that Johan Hedberg would get the nod in goal for game two over Kari Lehtonen. Hedberg is excited to go, but Lehtonen is obviously disappointed by the decision. I asked him if he was surprised, and he said he was. Actually, his answer was “You were too.” And I was.
But the move makes sense, considering Hedberg’s history of playoff success as well as his standout game against the Rangers late in the regular season. What do you guys think?
Excitement building for historic playoff opener
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, for my sake, let’s hope tonight’s game doesn’t turn out like the Vancouver- Dallas game last night. Four overtimes. 72 saves for Roberto Luongo. And countless missed deadlines for the poor sports writers covering that game. But despite that, there was some great coverage of a game that really set the tone for the playoffs. If you only have time to read one game story, try this one by Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province.
Fun morning skate today, tons of media and players from both teams were in good moods. Jaromir Jagr said he had a good feeling about tonight’s game, but then again so did the Thrashers. I didn’t sense any tenseness, although the lighthearted blue hair from Wednesday had disappeared. Andy Sutton went black (turns out his attempts to return to his natural color resulted in a hunter green. Reminds me of those old ziplock commercials — yellow and blue make green). Kari Lehtonen buzzed his off and has a white buzz cut. He kind of has a Mark Martin look going for him (didn’t think a Detroit guy could drop a NASCAR reference did you?).
Nobody admitted to staying up for the entire Vancouver game and New York Rangers coach Tom Renney joked that he would mute his hotel TV to make sure Henrik Lundqvist was getting his sleep and not watching the game in the next room.
Speaking of Jagr, Lynn Zinser from the New York Times, had a good piece today about how Jagr has changed his game to get the Rangers where they are today. I remember when I was up in New York, there was a lot of talk on the radio that he shouldn’t be the Rangers captain and he wasn’t a good leader. Lynn’s story disputes that.
In chatting with some of the Rangers, they said that this is a totally different team than the won that the Thrashers played earlier in the season. Brendan Shanahan said the team is finally comfortable and confident in close games, which wasn’t the case early in the season.
I’m curious to see how you guys break down the series by position. I’ll start, but would like to see your opinions:
Forwards: Both teams have a ton of firepower and before the Tkachuk trade I would have said this was pretty even. But the extra depth and balance that Tkachuk provides makes me think the Thrashers have an edge here.
Defensemen: The Rangers are getting healthy on the blueline and might enjoy a slight edge over the Thrashers in this department. Neither team has the really dominant No. 1 defenseman but you have to be impressed by a guy like 6-foot-6 Marek Malik was finished the regular season a plus 32.
Goatending: Obviously this is the key to the series, and I’ve become convinced that Kari Lehtonen is going to rise to the occasion. I asked Bob Hartley today how long a leash Kari was on, if the team would turn to Johan Hedberg and he said he’s staying positive and fully expects a big performance out of Lehtonen. He looked pretty focused this morning and when Lehtonen is focused he usually is outstanding. That being said, no goaltender played better down the stretch than Henrik Lundqvist who finished with a 2.34 GAA. He’s certainly the kind of goalie who can win a series by himself. But I may be in the minority here, but I see this series as the series Lehtonen really makes a name for himself nationally.
Coaching: Bob Hartley has the edge simply because of his playoff experience over Tom Renney. Hartley’s next playoff victory will be his 50th. Renney’s next playoff victory will be his first.
Music taste: We don’t miss a thing here at the blog b eat, so when you’re trying to find any edge one way or another between two teams, you can’t overlook pre-game music. Well, after practice this morning, the Rangers were blaring some Gwen Stefani, while the Thrashers had Metallica going. I like Gwen Stefani as much as the next guy, but The Sweet Escape doesn’t seem to be the best song out there to get me fired up to play hockey.
Blue hair in Blueland
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The big news at practice today? Kari Lehtonen and Andy Sutton’s new hair. Forget the playoff beard, Sutton and Lehtonen decided to go with bright blue hair. So I guess this officially marks the start of the playoffs. Sutton went with the all-blue look while Lehtonen opted to dye part of it bleach white then the middle blue. If I was smart I would have grabbed some pictures with my camera phone - but I’m not. I think it’s time I start carrying a digital camera around for the blog.
Lehtonen said he wasn’t happy with the dye-job and will probably redo it for Thursday’s game. He didn’t like the transition turquoise color between the white and the blue. So here’s today’s scoop for you — look for Lehtonen to go all-blue for Thursday.
Alright, enough about that. The New York media continues to pick the Rangers to win. Sherry Ross, who does a great job for the New York Daily News, picks the Rangers in six. Larry Books says Rangers in seven.
But I found someone who likes the Thrashers to not only beat the Rangers, but to advance to the Conference finals. None other than Darren Eliot. In his SI.com playoff prediction column, he has the Thrashers beating the Rangers and Devils before bowing out against the Sabres. Forget for a second that Darren is on the Atlanta Spirit’s payroll - this guy knows his stuff and his credibility is more important than appeasing the home team. He’s been critical of the team in the past, so there’s no reason to doubt his sincerity with this pick.
Chatted with a few guys about playing against Sean Avery, the league’s biggest pest. Avery makes Jon Sim seem like a choir boy. Obviously the Rangers have bigger guns like Jagr and Shanahan, but that Avery trade was huge for the Rangers. How this team responds to Avery — more specifically how they don’t respond to him could be a huge key to this series.
It’s official: Rucchin out for season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We can put any Steve Rucchin comeback stories to rest. According to Thrashers GM Don Waddell, who I just got off the phone with, Rucchin is officially out for the season. It’s not a big surprise, although it’s the first time the team has said he’s done for good.
Evidently he went and saw a different doctor last week because he’s just not getting any better from the concussion he suffered from after taking a hit against Colorado back in February. With Rucchin’s history of concussions, he’s not taking any chances - plus there was the cracked foot, the shingles - it’s been a tough couple months for Rucchin.
So we can end any talks of Rucchin’s big return, and possibly moving Tkachuk back to his natural spot on the wing. Doctors are optimistic that Rucchin should be fine for training camp, but at this point nothing should surprise us when it comes to Rooch.
Steve Hummer attended practice for me today so I could wrap up my interviews and get writing on the Kozlov, Hartley and Lehtonen features, so I don’t have a practice update. Lehtonen story runs on Wednesday, so I actually better finish up there. Spoke with Scotty Bowman this morning for the Hartley and Kozlov stories, which was a blast for me considering he’s the best hockey coach of all time.
Since we were talking about the betting lines yesterday to determine who Vegas considered the underdog, well it’s official. I got an e-mail from somebody who found them on Bodog.com. Here’s a breakdown between the Thrashers and Rangers:
Odds to win Stanley Cup:
Thrashers 25-1
Rangers 22-1
Odds to win the Eastern Conference Championship:
Thrashers 12-1
Rangers 12-1
The series odds slightly favored the Thrashers
Rangers series -105
Thrashers series -115
As one reader pointed out, these lines are set up to even out the betting. So it’s pretty even between people picking the Thrashers and Rangers, except for those picking the Stanley Cup. The Thrashers pay a little more to win the Cup.
Standout stats: Was studying some stats, looking for trends when the Rangers and Thrashers play. Thought it was interesting that the Thrashers held Brandon Shanahan to just one point in three games. Marian Hossa has eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in four games against the Rangers. Bobby Holik has two goals and an assist in the four games against his former team. Kari Lehtonen is a average 2-1 with 3.27 GAA against the Rangers. Only two players (Mellanby and Holik) have ever played the Rangers in the postseason, and both struggled. Holik has one assist in 12 playoff games against the Rangers. Mellanby has three points in 10 games against the Rangers.
Lastly, thought it was curious that ESPN’s John Buccigross, who is a hockey die-hard, concluded that the Thrashers have the edge at every position except in goal, and that “the Thrashers are the better team,” but picks the Rangers in seven. I guess until the Thrashers win a playoff series, they’re going to be considered underdogs.
Thrashers are Southeast champs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Suddenly the last game is meaningless. What a night for the Thrashers, who not only bounced back strong from the Washington debacle, but thanks to Florida’s big win, clinched the division.
It’s not confirmed or official, but word from the team is that the first playoff game in Thrashers history will be on Thursday, April 12th (which also happens to be my wife’s birthday). I think that has a lot to do with the Hawks schedule, but nothing can be firmed up until we know who the Thrashers are going to play.
So what was going through your mind when the Thrashers clinched? You do realize that the last two Southeast Division champs went on to win the Stanley Cup, don’t you? (no pressure there)
Here are some Hartley quotes I didn’t use from my cell phone conversation with him as he boarded the plane, once it became official. Because like a good hockey coach, he refused to comment on the division, even when Florida opened a 7-0 lead.
Hartley from the plane:
“For the entire organization, the owners, fans, players, management - it’s a big reward. Home ice advantage. It gives us a banner in the rafters in our rink. Obviously we want to add to that banner. It recognizes the effort of all the players since day one.”
On this being a big year for him personally with the team
“That’s the mandate that Don had given me. To be his partner and to work in getting this team to the playoffs. Not only did we get to the playoffs, we got the divisional title, home ice advantage. It’s certainly fun as a coach and a player. You hope you’ll be in the playoffs, that’s the goal. We had step one, now step two is on the verge of starting.”
Alright I have to get back to the hotel before they kick me out of the arena. Early morning flight, then one more game.
3 things to watch vs. ‘Canes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the third game in a row, the Thrashers take on a team out of the playoff hunt tonight, although that doesn’t guarantee anything (as we learned Wednesday). Cam Ward will be in goal for Carolina which is somewhat interesting because Bob Hartley has said in the past that he thinks the Thrashers are a bad matchup for Ward. For whatever reason, Ward doesn’t play his best games against the Thrashers. It’s the same reason, he explained this morning, why Johan Hedberg is getting the start for the Thrashers. Hedberg plays well against the Hurricanes and Kari Lehtonen struggles.
So if we’re breaking it down into three things to watch tonight — the goalie matchup is No. 3. Here are the other two:
1. How does Kovalchuk respond to the benching? Hartley kind of smiled yesterday when I asked him if a [ticked] off Kovalchuk plays better. Here was Hartley’s response:
“I think we’ll know [soon]. At this time of the year whether you play unhappy or you play happy, you have to play well. That’s the most important thing.”
Let’s not forget how well Kovalchuk played after his All-Star snub this year, although he’s never said publicly that he was mad about not making the All-Star game. I’ve been told by others of examples before my arrival where Hartley benched Kovalchuk and he came back strong. You just wonder how many times you can go to the well before it doesn’t work. Anyways, I’ll be watching Kovy closely tonight, that’s for sure.
2. Sim’s return - I honestly didn’t think Sim was going to play again during the regular season, but he’s back tonight against the Canes. That’s quite the comeback. He said he’s a little nervous, although he acknowledged that his nervousness could have as much to do with the importance of tonight’s game as much as his return from the injury. He’ll skate with Boulton and Slater, and he joked that maybe Hartley put him with those two so he doesn’t have to fight anymore.
3. Moose vs. Ward - I spoke with Cam this morning about Kari Lehtonen and he thinks Kari has the perfect demeanor to be a good playoff goalie and Ward expects Lehts to have a strong postseason despite never playing there in his career. If anyone would know about strong playoff debuts, it’s Cam Ward.
Lastly, the Beat Blog’s adopted college hockey team, the Michigan State Spartans are in the title game. Jim Slater (a former Spartan) is following it very closely. He said he’s still really close with about 10-12 guys on the team and was making phone calls to the players right after they clinched a spot in the championship. Saturday night could be quite the night for Slates if the Spartans win and the Thrashers clinch the division.
Kovalchuk’s response and goalie plans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I hate to be short for the second day in a row, but I’ve got a ton to do today, so I’ll get right to the point. Spoke with Ilya Kovalchuk about the benching, and he basically said that it was the coach’s decision and the coach is in charge. He also said he didn’t agree with the decision or that it would lead to him playing any harder because he said he’s already playing hard all the time. Tkachuk said everybody has gone through it, it’s how you respond that defines you as a player. So we’ll be watching Kovalchuk close on Friday against Carolina. I’ll have more on the Kovalchuk situation in a story for Friday.
EDITED (6:28 p.m.): I just finished the story for Friday and was listening to my interview with Ilya on tape. I did find it interesting that this was his initial response to my questions about Hartley benching him:
“That’s his decision. What am I going to do? He’s the coach this year.”
Um, this year? There’s lots of ways to interpret that quote, and for now I’ll go with face value. Whether Kovalchuk was insinuating that Hartley might not be the coach next year is questionable. He could have just been stating a fact. Either way, it caught my attention upon playback. Alright, back to the blog.
With two games left, Johan Hedberg and Kari Lehtonen will each get a start. Hedberg, as we suspected here on the Beat Blog, will start against Carolina on Friday and Lehtonen will start against Tampa Bay in what is starting to look like the game that will decide the division. Jon Sim will return to the lineup for the Carolina game although Hartley said he wasn’t sure who he’d replace in the lineup. That’s quite the quick return for Sim, who will wear a cage to protect his repaired orbital bone. If I had to guess, Eric Boulton might be the odd man out. Eric Belanger didn’t practice and he took a spill in last night’s game that look like it shook him up pretty good. He’s got groin issues, so I’m wondering if he’s still managing that situation. Hartley said Belanger was just resting and he’ll be in for Carolina.
Steve McCarthy is still bothered by a bad back and didn’t practice. I doubt we’ll see him the rest of the regular season. I believe that should catch everybody up to speed. I expect a good performance from the team against Carolina. You can’t say you were THAT surprised last night against Washington - this is a team all year that tends to make things harder than they have to be - why would clinching the division by any different?
A break for Thrashers - no Kolzig or Semin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers can’t clinch the division tonight, but there’s still a lot on the line. Two more wins, and it doesn’t matter what Tampa does. The Thrashers like to control their own destiny (sorry Brendan), and can continue to do so with a win tonight.
Two important notes for the Caps: Olie Kolzig will be getting a rest after shutting out Florida last night. Brent Johnson will get the start. That might be a nice break for the Thrashers, although backup goalies have had some success lately against the Thrashers (remember Pittsburgh? Florida?). Also Alexander Semin, who is having a big year (38-35-73), didn’t travel to Atlanta and according to the Capitals, he won’t play tonight. He’s got a foot injury so Washington loses a little punch tonight.
Steve McCarthy didn’t skate and I found out this morning that he has a back injury, kind of a flukey thing that happened a couple days ago. So we may not see him the rest of the season. I’m hoping to talk to him tonight, so I’ll get an update for the morning paper.
Sorry for the brief blog, but I’ve got to run. Lots of playoff stories to work on, which is a good thing.
Drunk zamboni driving okay and so is Sim
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First let’s start with some TV talk, which is a hot topic with the blog commenters. I’m still poking around to get to the bottom of the Charter communications/VS situation. But as far as the Thrashers playoffs coverage goes, every game will be televised. Fox Sports South will pick up any games that VS. and NBC don’t televise. And that’s going to depend on who the Thrashers draw in the playoffs. If the Thrashers play the Rangers, that series might appeal more to a national audience than, say, Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Now, FSS can elect to also televise a game if VS. is doing it, but I can’t see a scenario where FSS would want to spend $30,000 to televise a game that is already being televised. FSS will pick up games until the Eastern Conference finals, then NBC/VS get them all.
While we’re talking about TV, some of you guys were complaining about a glitch at the beginning of the Boston telecast. Turns out, the NHL appointed timeout coordinator in Boston gave the refs the green light to drop the puck 40 seconds early, which sent some folks behind the scenes scrambling to cut out of commercial. FSS will also be doing Thrashers Live, it’s pregame show, live from Phililps Arena on Wednesday night instead of from the studio. Thrashers co-owner Bruce Levenson will be the guest, and the Stanley Cup will also be there.
I’ll see if I can find out more about Charter and VS., although if you’re into sports, I get DirecTV and it’s been great. I get all the sports packages (even caught some of the Tigers Opening Day yesterday) and have been happy with it. Now they just need to give me a break on my monthly bill for the endorsement.
On to team news. Jon Sim practiced with the team for the first time since breaking his orbital bone. At first I assumed it was non-contact, until Andy Sutton checked Sim into the boards early on. I was surprised to hear from Bob Hartley afterwards that Sim is cleared to play in games immediately. He won’t against Washington, but Sim hopes to get in the lineup this weekend. Hartley wasn’t quite as clear about when he thought Sim might return to the lineup, saying that the team was playing pretty well right now and he wasn’t too eager to make lineup changes. Let’s say the Thrashers clinch the division on Wednesday, do you really want to rush Sim back? But then again, you don’t want him playing his first game back from injury in the playoffs.
Hartley said there won’t be any other lineup changes, so for those of you on McCarthy watch it looks like it will go another game. Kari Lehtonen is in goal, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Johan Hedberg against Carolina. But that’s only because of his success (and Kari’s struggles) against the Hurricanes, not because of any info I’m getting from the team.
Had a great interview with Slava Kozlov before practice that stretched a little longer than Hartley wanted. Put it this way, if Kozlov pulled a muscle in practice, I was getting the blame. But Slava was great, he has an interesting story to tell and I look forward to writing it as soon as I get done with all the other interviews. Also spoke with Joe Sakic and Jay Feaster for a Hartley story I’m doing for the playoffs, but again, I’m not giving away any of the gems from those interviews until the story is written. I’ll give you a heads up on when those two stories are running as we get closer to the playoffs.
I leave you with this: If you like to drink a few beers, then drive the Zamboni — turns out that’s okay in New Jersey. A judge overturned a Zamboni drunk-driving conviction on Monday ruling that Zambonis aren’t motor vehicles because you can’t take them on highways or carry passengers. The AP reports that the driver had a few beers, some vodka, a couple Valiums and some Sambuca with his morning coffee (who doesn’t?) then resurfaced the ice. Probably not the best idea he’s ever had.
Focusing on the division
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers have to share the spotlight a little bit today as word is traveling that they’ve made the playoffs. You’ve got the National Championship tonight, the Braves opening day, The Masters - it’s a busy time. But really, clinching a playoff berth didn’t seem like a real big deal today at practice. Some, maybe most, of the players didn’t even know it was official until they saw a note written on a dry erase board in their lockerroom this morning. Even the league was a little slow in recognizing it. The official standings printed out by the team didn’t give the Thrashers the coveted X next to their name in the standings.
The truth is, this team is focused on winning the Southeast division. Carolina travels to Tampa Bay on Tuesday - if the Hurricanes beat the Lightning, the Thrashers can clinch the division at home on Wednesday against the Caps. So, as much as you guys hate the Hurricanes, it might be time to get out your Cam Ward sweaters and root on the ‘Canes. As one fan told me - every time they say the words “Go Canes” they throw up a little in their mouth. But for one night, you’ll have to suck it up and root for Carolina if you want the Thrashers to clinch against Washington.
So now, do you want to discuss who the Thrashers might play in round one?
Before we get into that, how about this? The Devils fired coach Claude Julien today in a surprise move. General manager Lou Lamoriello is moving behind the bench, according to the Canadian Press. All the Devils have done this season is set themselves up to win the No. 2 seed in the East, and have won four of their last five. I’m curious to see what the deal is here.
Practice update: The most interesting thing was chatting with Jon Sim, who had his stitches removed on Friday and has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon to get an update on when he can return. If he can somehow get back for the first round, that’s a big plus for the Thrashers. Scott Mellanby will be the first to tell you that he’s not a guy who wants to play 15 minutes a game. Ideally, you plug Mellanby in for about 8-10 minutes. Well since Pascal Dupuis was put back on the Holik line (where he’s a better fit), Mellanby has been logging serious minutes in Sim’s old spot with Tkachuk and Kovalchuk. He played 16:27 against Toronto and 14:25 against Boston. Sim has been working out for almost a week now, so maybe he’ll be able to come back sooner than Knuble was able to with a similar injury. I’ll keep you posted.
Thrashers clinch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, you can talk about it now. The Thrashers are in the playoffs. Just got off the phone with Don Waddell, who was at the Maple Leafs game in New York to watch what turned out to be the biggest non-Thrashers game ever. For now.
He’s excited, but it’s obvious that winning the division is the bigger goal right now. Really, the overriding emotion was relief. “It’s been a battle, it hasn’t come easy over the years,” he said.
Alright, I’ll get more later, but I’ve got to get in touch with players and polish off a story for the morning paper. But I’ll weigh in on the comments a little later tonight.
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