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Friday, February 22, 2008
Hossa rumors: Distraction or excuse?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So, how big a distraction do you think this Marian Hossa situation is for the Thrashers? Bobby Holik called it a cloud that keeps moving with the team, although he said it wasn’t a black cloud. Slava Kozlov has said in the past that he thinks it’s a distraction to the team and Hoss. When I asked Mark Recchi about it after the game last night, he refused to say the Hossa rumors were a distraction.
“That’s an excuse. No. Obviously, we’d like to know one way or another, but we’re not in this game for excuses. We still have to go play, we’re still fighting for a playoff spot regardless of if Hossa is going to get traded or isn’t going to get traded. He’s part of our hockey team right now. He’s not letting it affect his play, why should everybody else?”
Todd White also refused to use the Hossa situation as an excuse for the poor performances turned in the last two games.
“There are not too many teams who aren’t going through some type of rumors right now. As professionals we have to realize that and play hard every night,” White said.
I followed up by reminding him that not every team is going through rumors involving their best player.
“No, but every team has somebody wondering whether or not they’re going to be traded or somebody is going to take their spot. There’s uncertainty with every team, obviously we have a big uncertainty.
Fair enough. I’ve asked Don Waddell a few times if the Hossa deal is a distraction and each time he’s said no. But I asked again last night to see if he changed his mind in light of a bad performance.
“I don’t know if it’s Marian or the whole trade deadline,” Waddell said. “I hope not, these guys are pros, they’re going to play somewhere, here or in another city. We have a lot of business to take care of including another game before the deadline. We can’t let that game slip by us.”
So what do you think? If it’s not the pressure surrounding the deadline, how else can you explain the pitiful performances the Thrashers turned in the last two games in the midst of a tight Southeast division race?
Sundin on the move? TSN is reporting that Toronto’s Mats Sundin met on Thursday to discuss his future with the team. According to Darren Dreger, Cliff Fletcher asked Sundin for a list of teams he would play for although he never officially asked him to waive his no-trade clause. This is important because people in the Thrashers organization believe that teams may be waiting to see what happens with Sundin before aggressively pursuing Hossa. So this is a situation to be monitored tightly. It helps that Saturday’s game is in Toronto, now doesn’t it?
Yesterday, Waddell described the trade market for Hossa as cautious: “Things always happen when you’re forced with a deadline. I think teams are cautious, we’re not the only option out there. Teams are looking at multiple options.”
Practice report: The Thrashers practiced today in Toronto, and Hossa sat this one out too since he’s still bothered by the flu. The plans for him were to get a light workout in off the ice.
