AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 30
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Rumors swirling around the Thrashers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the hockey media in town over the weekend, the city of Atlanta and the Thrashers continue to get a lot of press. First, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the city and the hosting of the All-Star game. But when it comes to the Thrashers, the buzz hasn’t necessarily been as positive. Seems like the consensus on Marian Hossa is that he’s gone, leading to stories like these:
Like I’ve written a couple times in the comments, I’m trying to stay out of the opinion business and report what I’m hearing. Marian has evolved from, ‘My priority is to stay in Atlanta,’ to this quote from yesterday: “I told RItch, you handle the contract, and I’ll do my best on the ice.” It could be he’s sick of talking about the deal, which I certainly understand. Or he’s starting to distance himself from the negotiations.
From Don Waddell’s end, he spoke briefly about Hossa today and, while he restated his stance that the priority is to sign Hossa, it sounds like he’s realistic to the fact that he might not have that chance. “The next eight to ten games will help us decide if we look at moving him for assets or look at keeping him because winning the division is within our grasp and something that is very important to us.” The GM meetings start in nine games. So essentially, if Hossa isn’t signed, Waddell will have made his decision by the time he goes to Naples.
Some good speculation from Scott Burnside at ESPN.com. Burnside said that according to his sources, New Jersey dangled John Madden for Bobby Holik before the season. I know a few of you were quick to shoot that possibility down, but that’s not the first I’d heard of that deal. I asked Waddell about it in November or December and he said the Thrashers were never close to trading Holik in the offseason. And if that deal was close, it was news to Bobby. He said that the rumor would have more credibility if Madden wasn’t attached to it. He’s essentially saying, he’s not surprised New Jersey would be interested in him, just not for a deal involving Madden. But believe me, Burnside doesn’t just make stuff up. Why is this important now? Well, if New Jersey was interested in Holik over the summer, they could still be interested as they approach the playoffs. A guy who is proven playoff performer (one of the few Thrashers to play well in the playoffs last year) would certainly have value, but Waddell has indicated that, aside from the Hossa situation, he plans on being a buyer not a seller. Now if that changes, that brings us to…
Mark Recchi. If the Thrashers go into sell-off mode, and they’re certainly not there yet, Recchi would seemingly have some value. He’s won two Stanley Cups and has shown that he’s extremely useful on the power play and as a scoring winger. I dusted off my copy of the CBA to see if Recchi could be traded since he was a waiver claim. Now, I’m no lawyer, and parts of the CBA can be confusing, but here’s the section that I found that would seemingly address Recchi:
For those of you following at home, it is section 13.20 (b):
A Player who has been acquired by Waiver claim shall not be Traded to another Club until the termination of Playoffs of the season in which he was acquired unless he is first offered on the same terms to the Club(s) that entered a claim when Waivers were requested originally and the offer has been refused.
Any typos in that are mine because I couldn’t figure out how to copy and paste from the PDF, to this blog. Although all the capital letters on things like Club and Playoffs are in the CBA. Not sure why. Anyways, to me that would mean Recchi can’t be traded, right?
Apparently not. I asked Waddell about Recchi, and just to avoid any confusion, here’s the conversation in its entirety.
CC: Is there any restriction, as far as trading Mark Recchi since he was a waiver claim…
DW: No
CC: Is he any different than any other player on the roster…
DW: No
CC: You don’t have to offer him back to…
DW: No, not at all.
CC: Ok
Waddell seemed to be in a rush, since that quick hitter happened as he was walking to the lockerroom door, but that means that either A) The Thrashers were the only team to put a claim on Recchi or B) I misread the CBA or C) Don was in a hurry and just trying to get rid of me. Perhaps it’s all of the above.
If the Thrashers can somehow string some wins together, these trade rumors swirling around the team will suddenly disappear. But, I know some players have already said the Hossa stuff is a distraction, it’ll only get worse if the team continues losing and these rumors heat up.
