AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > June > 29
Friday, June 29, 2007
Kozlov negotiations: A work in progress
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
EDIT (6/30 11:05 a.m.): It looks like Eric Belanger will join the Thrashers UFAs testing the market. Got confirmation from the Belanger camp last night, although that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gone. “We are not closing any doors in Atlanta,” his agent Pat Brisson said in an e-mail. Brisson also represents Daniel Briere, possibly the most sought after free agent on the market.
Here’s the challenge I face right now. Somehow I have to write a story for Sunday’s paper breaking down the Thrashers plans heading into free agency. There’s only one slight problem - those plans can change drastically at any moment. If the team locks up Slava Kozlov, which they are increasingly confident they can, then you can forget any major signings on July 1st. Right now, Waddell is calling the negotiations with Slava, “a work in progress.” If Kozlov walks, then it’s off to plan B.
So instead of writing my story, I’m updating the blog because there is a lot of information out there that I want to get together in one place. First, all the Thrashers UFA defensemen will be testing the market. That means the team won’t be signing Greg de Vries, Andy Sutton or Shane Hnidy before Sunday. Don Waddell hasn’t ruled out the return of any of the three, but it’s looking like all three will get better offers from other teams.
The team is satisfied, for now, with its blueline that will likely consist of Niclas Havelid, Alexei Zhitnik, Garnet Exelby, Tobias Enstrom, Steve McCarthy, Mark Popovic and perhaps a player like Nathan Oystrick. Waddell hasn’t ruled out a trade for a veteran d-man, but it won’t be the the teams priority on July 1st. Russian prospect Ilya Nikulin is out of the picture.
That leaves your forwards in limbo. Kozlov received a multi-year offer from the Thrashers, although Waddell declined to say how much (or how long) it was for. The team has also made offers to Belanger, Dupuis and Sim. They are talking with Boulton, which was a mild surprise for me considering the Thorburn deal.
The other wrinkle is the new salary cap, which is at $50.3 million next season. That’s not good news for the Thrashers, who won’t approach that number this season. Ownership isn’t revealing the budget Waddell and the Thrashers are working under, but we know this much - the team wants flexibility again at the trade deadline. We also know that Waddell isn’t concerned right now about getting Steve Rucchin’s $2.5 million salary off the books if he doesn’t play next season (and he recently failed a physical). That indicates to me that payroll won’t be significantly different than it was last season.
If you assume that the Thrashers take care of business with RFAs Exelby, Thorburn and Slater, that would leave them an estimated 10 million to sign 8 players. And I’m not even giving Exelby that much of a raise. That’s pretty tight. And that’s why the Kozlov negotiations are so big. If the Thrashers can get him to take a little less than he might be able to earn on the open market, that would open things up to get an upgrade at center. If not, the Thrashers may be in the market for more than just a center on July 1st.
I’ll keep you posted.
Services »
