AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > December > 12
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Haydar moves brings flexibility
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re still holding your breath for a trade, you can take a breather. For now. Yes, I’ll admit, sending Bryan Little to Chicago AND putting Darren Haydar on waivers raised a lot of red flags for me. On Tuesday afternoon, I hit the phones, e-mail, text messages, messenger pigeons, - anything to find out if the Thrashers were close to making a deal. Why clear two roster spots for one player (Recchi)?
Officially, here’s Don Waddell’s explanation: “We didn’t put [Haydar] on for re-assignment…if he clears [which he did], we can be flexible. I want to create a spot if we want to bring up a Brett Sterling or another player, now we’ll have that flexibility.”
So it comes down to flexibility. Now, I’m not sure why they’d want to bring up Brett Sterling, even though he’s tearing it up in the AHL. Last I checked he was most effective on the left side and on a scoring line. It seems to me that those spots are taken. Kozlov is best suited on a scoring line, as much as I think he likes playing with Bobby Holik. And I’m pretty sure Ilya Kovalchuk’s job is safe on the top line.
So why would the Thrashers want to call up Sterling? I don’t have an answer for you other than the fact that he’s earned another opportunity by doing everything the team asked of him since being sent down to Chicago. I think the other question you have to ask is, how long will Little be in Chicago? One of the interesting things Don said about the decision to send Little to the AHL was that he thought it would do him some good to make some long minor league hockey bus trips and get a taste of the minor leagues. Let’s not forget that this kid made the jump from junior the the NHL. He had a cup of coffee in Chicago at the end of last season, but really hasn’t experienced that life. I think there’s a feeling that he might appreciate the NHL more if he is exposed more to the other side. Whether or not that will help his scoring, I don’t know.
There are some people who thought Little would benefit from playing with Mark Recchi, and right now he’s not getting that chance. But when I asked Don about that he made it sound like eventually that would happen. So I don’t get the feeling this Little in the minors stint will last all that long.
A nod from Toronto: If you missed it, the Thrashers Beat Blog got some love from James Mirtle up in Toronto. You guys deserve as much credit as anyone for the success of this blog because without the constant discussion in the comments section this wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining for everyone. But I still think we can get better, we need to get back to the 100 comments a day we were getting during the playoff run last year. Some day we’ll be at the level of Dave O’Brien who gets 500 comments in the middle of winter on his Braves blog, and yes, I’m jealous. I think we’re doing pretty well here. So thanks.
Popovic close: Mark Popovic participated in the morning skate and he said his ankle as at the point now where he can’t do any more damage, so it boils down to how much pain he can endure. It’s a high ankle sprain, so they’re taking it slowly with him, but he’s really eager to get back on the ice especially with Toronto and Ottawa coming up. If you don’t think these North American players get fired up to play Toronto or on Hockey Night in Canada (which is the case on Saturday), you’re crazy. Popovic said it would be his HNIC debut, and doesn’t want to miss that. That reminds me, Saturday is a 7 p.m. game.
Haydar cool with it: The whole uncertainty of being put on waivers would drive me crazy. There’s a 24 hour stretch where you have no idea where you’re playing next. One claim, and you’re uprooting everything and starting over. It’s like me getting a call from my editor saying I got picked up by the Nashville Tennessean, so I need to pack. I guess that comes with the territory, and Haydar at $475,000 a year is making just slightly more than I am to help deal with the uncertainty. Bottom line, he seemed cool with either outcome. If he got picked up, there’s a team that wants his services. If not, he gets to stay with an organization in which he enjoys playing. “Don’s been great to me, he’s given me an opportunity to play longer than anyone else has in this league,” Haydar said after the skate this morning. “Uncertainty is part of this game. That’s something that never leaves this game. Even when your’e under contract, there’s talks of getting traded and stuff like that. It’s something you have to learn to deal with.”
Last - I need a favor for good friend Ken Sugiura. He’s doing a story on hockey jerseys and is looking for help from the fans. Help him out - he’s a great writer so he’ll do you right if you can help him. Here’s his request:
“Hello, Thrasher fans - I’m a colleague of Craig’s, and I am hoping you can help me out with a story I’m starting to work on about hockey jerseys. (Pardon me - sweaters) We’re trying to find fans who collect jerseys the way music fans collect concert t-shirts. Are you someone who proudly wears, like, Kovalchuk’s Russian national team or Spartak jersey, or has a vintage Bruins Bobby Orr jersey, or has paid hundreds (or thousands) for an autographed Gretzky jersey? We’re trying to figure out if the culture of fans wearing jerseys is different for hockey than for other sports.
If you fit this description and wouldn’t mind us poking around in your closet and talking to you about your hobby (or perhaps obsession), or know someone like this, I’d love it if you could get in touch with me. My e-mail is ksugiura@ajc.com thanks!
Ken Sugiura”
