Thrashers

By Russ

November 8, 2007 2:21 PM | Link to this

first?

By R. Stroz

November 8, 2007 2:22 PM | Link to this

And the Winner Is…

By Russ

November 8, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this

Craig, before the stretch of 8 games started I would have been happy coming away with 10 points. Now the Thrashers would only have to go .500 in the last six games to reach that. So, you’re right, let’s go for 6-2 (and I wouldn’t hold it against them if they decided to over-shoot the goal and put together an eight game winning streak).

By Jenn

November 8, 2007 2:35 PM | Link to this

I’m gonna go with either 3-5 or 5-3. We’re playing better than we were, true, there’s more spirit, more heart. But without consistency, we’re still going to struggle. I think which side of the .500 we’ll end up on will depend on luck.

By R. Stroz

November 8, 2007 2:35 PM | Link to this

Craig - On a different subject, do you know who Marcel Hossa’s agent is?

By GSU-Lee

November 8, 2007 2:43 PM | Link to this

What up Craig. I never realized how close the AJC offices are to Broad street. If you haven’t been there yet, you need to stroll down that way and hit up Rosa’s Pizza or Reuben’s Deli. You have the options of one of the best sandwiches you will ever have or THE best pizza you will ever have.

By Russian

November 8, 2007 2:44 PM | Link to this

Craig, Great news about Kovy. I hope he is going to play. We need to win at Florida. Pavs will be OK on net. I like his stile and he is hungry to game time.

By R. Stroz

November 8, 2007 2:46 PM | Link to this

If Kovy’s back is OK, the Thrashers go 6-1-1.

If Kovy’s back is not really OK, the Thrashers go 4-4.

By iamcurious

November 8, 2007 2:53 PM | Link to this

A winning streak equal to the losing streak would be a nice way of aligning the universe again.

By Buzilla Baby Blues

November 8, 2007 3:43 PM | Link to this

what did he mean by he couldn’t go to the bathroom? If it hurts when he pee’s he may have other problems than his back

By Craig Custance

November 8, 2007 4:11 PM | Link to this

R. Stroz - Ritch Winter

GSU Lee - I’m usually not at the office much because of the travel, but I’ll have to check those out. If I’m grabbing lunch though, it’s usually at Jimmy Johns, my absolute favorite sandwich shop in the world. Reminds me of my days in East Lansing.

By GSU-Lee

November 8, 2007 4:22 PM | Link to this

Where is that at? I will have to give it a try. P.S.- if you ever go to Reuben’s, I recommend the Eastsider, great sandwich.

By GSU-Lee

November 8, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this

R.Stroz, isn’t it the same guy Marian has?

By R. Stroz

November 8, 2007 4:38 PM | Link to this

Craig - Thanks for the info.

So the Hossa brothers have the same agent and both of their contracts are up this year, that’s beginning to sound like a package deal.

By R. Stroz

November 8, 2007 4:45 PM | Link to this

GSU-Lee - Sure is.

By Brendan

November 8, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this

Great news on Kovalchuk being back. I just hope he’s not rushing it a bit. If he aggravates that injury we’ll all be wishing he sat out the Florida game. But honestly, the doctors know best. And if they say he’s good to go, then that’s it.

By hockeyNUT

November 8, 2007 5:41 PM | Link to this

If we win at Florida, we go 6-2 (losing to the hurricanes away and TB). If we lose tomorrow, then 5-3. By the way, the Donner wrap at Ali Babas on Broad is the best lunch in the area. Don’t leave off the hot sauce.

By Brendan

November 8, 2007 6:01 PM | Link to this

I project a very optimistic 4-2-2, Craig.

By sam

November 8, 2007 8:23 PM | Link to this

BBZ-I hope you are kidding. Let’s just assume Kovy had a hard time WALKING to the bathroom. We don’t need too much information. It does however show he is just one of us.

By Craig Custance

November 9, 2007 7:45 AM | Link to this

R. Stroz - For the record, Marian said his agent switch to Winter had nothing to do with his brother.

By B. Thenet

November 9, 2007 8:15 AM | Link to this

Nice article on the 4th line by Carroll.

That line has been great recently. Anytime they are in the offensive zone for 30 seconds or more, it is a small victory for the Thrashers. The points will come as long as they stay together.

If I am not mistaken Hartley had Boulton and Slater together on the 4th line for a couple of weeks in the 2nd half last year…and they did a fine job then as well.

I think Slater is finding his niche in the NHL. He doesn’t quite have the skill to make it on the Top 2 lines, but when you have a hard working kid with speed and decent offensive skills on the 4th line good things will happen.

By Brian

November 9, 2007 8:34 AM | Link to this

GSU-Lee & Hockey Nut - but if you ate at Rosa’s, did you have your slices on the roof? I used to work at CNN Center and then did grad school at GSU, I spent many lunches on Broad Street…

Glad to hear Kovy is back, I hope this isn’t a rush job like others stated.

By Matt H

November 9, 2007 8:44 AM | Link to this

Yeah, Jimmy John’s is aight. We got a couple in Athens.

Know what else we got in Athens? The NHL Network. If you’ve got Charter Digital and the sports tier, you’ve got it. Channel 309. If you don’t have the sports tier, it’s hella cheap, $5 extra a month. Charter can hook you up. When I called, the guy didn’t even have it listed on his sheet, it’s that new.

So if you’re Charter like me, go and get it. If you’re Comcast or DirecTV, you should already have it.

Also, I posted this on Tiller’s blog, but I’m posting it here too in case anyone missed it: Some good recognition for Ex. Barry Melrose has long been a Thrasher booster, and he brings up Ex regularly on his ESPN podcast.

By Matt H

November 9, 2007 8:47 AM | Link to this

Oh yeah, and I’ve been loving the 4th line play lately too. Nice to see a piece on them. I’ve always felt Boulton and Slater could be solid contributors in the right positions. Glad to see Thorburn getting ice.

Now get out there and beat the F’in crap outta the F’in Florida Panthers.

By Hockeyfan

November 9, 2007 8:58 AM | Link to this

I grew up eating pizza from Rosa’s. They used to have a shop up by my parents house…

By Hockeyfan

November 9, 2007 9:01 AM | Link to this

Hossa (Marian) switched agents because 1) his former agent’s mother is really sick and the agent is spending a lot of time at her side in Slovakia I think 2) Marian is interested in going ahead with an extension here in Atlanta.

I grew up eating at Rosa’s back when they had a shop near my parents house.

By R. Stroz

November 9, 2007 10:04 AM | Link to this

Craig & Hockeyfan - Thanks for the additional info on Hossa brothers.

By Hip Czech

November 9, 2007 10:23 AM | Link to this

Craig, something I’ve always wondered about sportswriters jobs, that is how you choose who to get quotes from.

Obviously Holik is one you would seek out because of his captain role. Kovalchuk seems to be an easy quote as well. I know Hossa is a little reserved but it seems like he would be one that most of us want to hear from (especially this year).

Kozlov would be another one and seeing that he and Hossa both wear the ‘A’ I would think part of their responsibility is to be team spokesmen and to be available to the media. Do those two in particular just not want to talk to you, or do you go to other players you might be more comfortable with first?

Thanks for any thoughts…

By PW

November 9, 2007 10:26 AM | Link to this

I bet “The Wall” is a play on Patrick Roy. This young man is doing a great job. I have mixed feelings about him playing against Carolina. They are rough on Rookies. I like Moose as a backup, but he is not solid like Kari and Pavs seems to be.

By Sara

November 9, 2007 10:43 AM | Link to this

PW “The Wall” is more likely to be a play on Khabibulin - as in the “Bulin Wall.” Probably what you were thinking of.

I was thinking when they showed off Pavs’ (which is what I am calling him - even before Craig posted that in his blog - altho I like Opie as a close second. We’ll have 20 nicknames for this kid before the season is over). Anyway, they showed his and Moose’s new masks during a Thrashers game a while back, JP mentioned that Bulin was one of Pavs’ role-models, so to speak. Course, that could also be the night I went on that crack binge, so who knows.

By ranallo10

November 9, 2007 10:54 AM | Link to this

Rosa’s is great, ask for Joe. Actually, he may be at their new location (since he owns it), so maybe he wont be at Broad Street if you ask for him.

I like Ondrej the Giant, good idea by ToF…Pavs just doesn’t “do it” for me. I’ll stick to calling him Pavelec (you know, his actual name) until him and I are on nickname terms.

By Hip Czech

November 9, 2007 11:25 AM | Link to this

Is the game on TV tonight? My very slick magnetic schedule says no and the comcast schedule says no, but this site says it is on FSN…what is the truth?

By Sara

November 9, 2007 11:48 AM | Link to this

HipCzech the game should be available through CenterIce via the Florida broadcast. No local coverage for the next 3 games I think.

I’m still ticked off that the Caps game was unavailable even through CenterIce. Versus should not have the right to block all broadcasts of a game becuase they might want to broadcast it themselves. That deal doesn’t do the NHL any favors at all.

By Russ

November 9, 2007 11:56 AM | Link to this

Sara, it was particularly stupid last game because it was either the Thrashers game or the Isles vs. Rangers…like they would ever pass on putting the New York market on TV.

By Brendan

November 9, 2007 12:03 PM | Link to this

Center Ice has almost paid for itself this season, for Thrasher fans.

By Brendan

November 9, 2007 12:06 PM | Link to this

Russ, excellent point. Even thought DC is a decent-sized market, they’d never pass up a Rangers game, much less against the Islanders or Devils.

By Matt H

November 9, 2007 12:28 PM | Link to this

Sara, “Pavs” or “Pav” was where I went to first, as well. But with that nickname, all I can think of is Kenny being tossed around inside a cash-grab tube with a bunch of cans of creamed corn.

Maybe I’ve just watched too much South Park….

Does the kid look at all like (little) Ron(nie) Howard? If “Opie” sticks, they can play the Andy Griffith theme at Philips after big saves… That’ll get the Georgians going…

By sisu

November 9, 2007 12:30 PM | Link to this

So how much longer do we have to suffer with Holik on the team? Could we just give him away and pay his salary?

By Craig Custance

November 9, 2007 12:56 PM | Link to this

Hip Czech — The one thing about this hockey team is that everybody is really accessible and great to deal with, from the Superstars on down. I tend to turn to Holik a lot because he’s honest. He’s been in the league a long time, so he doesn’t care what people think of what he says. And like you said, I go to Kovalchuk and HOssa a lot, because fans care a lot what they think. But Hossa and Kozlov are always available. If you start noticing my tendencies as far as go-to guys, it’s probably a me-thing as opposed to a them-thing. Does that make any sense?

By Thorburn's Thugs

November 9, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this

I think Slater is finding his niche in the NHL. He doesn’t quite have the skill to make it on the Top 2 lines, but when you have a hard working kid with speed and decent offensive skills on the 4th line good things will happen.

God I hope you are joking. Slater is a bust.

By Thorburn's Thugs

November 9, 2007 1:01 PM | Link to this

For the 7 of you who voted Kari Lehtonen as our best performing goalie, I have one question. Have you even watched the games this year? That makes absolutely no sense at all.

By Brendan

November 9, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

Craig, Bernie Mullin was on 680TheFan this morning. And he apologized on behalf of the organization for not “properly closing the loop” on Mellanby’s future with the Thrashers. Which, I thought, was a classy move. But he explained that Scott and Sue chose to build a house in St. Louis even before the close of the season, and that for what the Thrashers envisioned him doing, that he’d need to be here in Atlanta to do it.

So, maybe it was a miscommunication. But Mullin did admit that he, Waddell and Mellanby had discussions about Mellanby’s role with the organization, post-retirement. Mullin also said that Mellanby is one of McCrimmon’s best friends, so of course, Scott would support Brad for the Head Coaching job. Mullin quickly pointed out, “it’s no certainty that all assistant coaches can make the transition to Head Coach. Some can. Some can’t.” But, I want to be clear, Mullin didn’t state that he thought McCrimmon wasn’t capable enough. Mullin only said that with the team 6-3, with Waddell and McCrimmon, that there was no pressing need to make a decision right now. Mullin added that several phone calls have been made inquiring about the position of Head Coach. But that’s where he left it. He wouldn’t go into specifics.

Bernie Mullin added, “If we hire a new coach in the middle of a winning streak. And things falter. The pressure is already on the new guy right away.”

Now look, I’m sure there are many of us who’d like to see Pat Burns or Scotty Bowman walk in here and feel that we’d be foolish the shun them, if they showed interest in the post. But I don’t know that either has shown any interest in the position. There’s certainly been a lot of speculation. But I don’t who has called the Thrashers and who hasn’t. But according Mullin, referring to the coaching decision, “It’s got to be Don Waddell’s decision. It’s his call to make.”

By FormerIslesFan

November 9, 2007 1:33 PM | Link to this

Matt H. - Not trying to undercut you, but I posted the link to the tsn.ca article on CC’s last blog. :-)

So here is my quick prediction for this stretch: 4-3-1. Of course, if teams continue to play their back up goaltenders against us, we could be looking at even better numbers.

What can I say, at this time, I’m cautiously optimistic.

By Hip Czech

November 9, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

Craig, makes sense, thanks for the reply.

I’ve attended a few practices and generally they all seem like a decent bunch of guys. Hossa and Kovalchuk tend to be a little less accessible, but that is understandable because they would get mobbed.

Boulton and XLB are probably my two favorites in that respect, they are always willing to take some time and talk to the kids. Hartley (love him or hate him) was generally willing to talk a little bit also.

I enjoy Holik’s quotes, you are absolutely right he doesn’t care what others think. He hasn’t adjusted very well from pre-lockout to post-lockout style, but he’s a serviceable 3rd line center. A bit overpaid, but I don’t begrudge him that.

By Jennifer

November 9, 2007 2:37 PM | Link to this

Brendan, Pat Burns has told everyone with a typewriter that he wants the job. I don’t think he’s a great fit (or at least not the best option) so no one has jumped to talk to him.

I thought Mullen handled the Mellanby issue very well on the radio. It’s a shame there had to be any suggestion of bad blood as a result of his visit.

By Matt H

November 9, 2007 2:58 PM | Link to this

Islesfan D’oh! Good on ya, mate. Haven’t been able to follow the boards as closely as I like lately. I figured I’d post it just in case anyone had missed it…

By Brendan

November 9, 2007 4:45 PM | Link to this

Jennifer, did Pat Burns say, “I want the Atlanta Thrashers job.” Or did he say, “I’d like to return to coach in the National Hockey League.” I’ve heard his bandied about in speculation over potential coaches. Granted, I’ve haven’t read all the hockey sites. Maybe he did say, “I’m waiting for Don Waddell to return my calls.”

By Jennifer

November 9, 2007 6:28 PM | Link to this

Brendan, Burns can’t say he wants any job in particular because of his contract with the Devils. He has put out plenty of “coach speak” though saying he is healthy and wants to return to coaching. I don’t know if he contract would allow him to interview mid-season or not. I know the reporters rumor mill travels fast, but I find it hard to believe so many different respected media outlets could report that interest if he weren’t putting it out there. He is probably a prime example of someone that has “others” calling the team on his behalf. Since so many candidates are prohibited from talks due to their in-season contracts I’d love to know how many of these “calls” DW is getting are from folks saying “we’d be very interested in this job if it were available after the season.”

By Brendan

November 9, 2007 9:12 PM | Link to this

And that’s a very good point, Jennifer. Who knows? It might be during the offseason that the Thrashers hire their next coach.

Good post, Jennifer.