Montreal — While my plane outside in wintry Montreal thaws, here are some final thoughts on what was an exhausting, stressful but fun four days in Montreal.

On the trade: I think Don Waddell did pretty well in the package he got for Marian Hossa. The trade goes from a B to an A if Esposito turns out to be as good as some people think he can. There were a lot of varying opinions from insiders in Montreal. Nobody is denying his talent, but there are concerns about a drop of production in junior and that he was cut three times by Team Canada for the world junior championships. But there are people who felt like he might have a crack at playing on one of Pittsburgh’s top two lines as early as next season, so we’ll see. I think Colby Armstrong is exactly the kind of player this team sorely lacks and he and Christensen are very affordable. Waddell said that Pittsburgh sweetened the deal in the final moments, but wouldn’t specify what the sweetener was. He did say getting the first-rounder was crucial to the deal. People love this upcoming draft, especially the top seven. Maybe Waddell can package his two-first rounders into the top part of the draft (unless, of course, the Thrashers end up in the lottery).
Ultimately, I don’t think you can fully judge this trade until you see who the Thrashers acquire this summer in the salary slot vacated by Marian Hossa. If they finally address the defense with that $7 or $8 million, not to mention the money coming off the books with Bobby Holik and Steve Rucchin’s expiring contracts, the Thrashers could be significantly better entering next season. If the Hossa money isn’t spent, well then, it’s open season for the critics.
I know you guys are sick of hearing it, but I want to pay Marian Hossa one last compliment on how he handled the whole situation, especially from my perspective. He essentially game-planned the weekend in Canada while meeting with Waddell on Friday. Waddell said they decided to face the media head on, and they did. Hossa stood in front of his locker in Toronto and stayed until every last question was asked. Then in Montreal, he came out in the hall after practice on Monday and patiently answered every question from a mob of media. He was kind enough to take my call, literally minutes after he found out about the trade, and later came down to the hotel lobby to answer questions for a few TV journalists, including a Slovakian station, who had waited a long time down there to get a clip. He could have easily turned his cell off the moment he found out about the trade, and ducked out the back of the hotel and really, everyone would have understood. Class act.
Now you guys. Unbelievable effort on the blog yesterday. We shattered every record, from page views to comments. The Thrashers blog found itself in the ‘Most Popular Stories’ box on ajc.com, a place usually reserved for Britney Spears, tornadoes and Signing Day. All we were missing were comments from Chipper Jones. Nice work and I really appreciate the interaction.

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