By Russian

October 1, 2008 2:44 PM | Link to this

Bogus will playing with Schneider as pair. He will learn a lot from this veteran. I do not know about Hoffman. He is a big player and strong. Where are we keeping him? 3 or 4 line? Can he play on first line? I do not think so. Intersting where he is ending.

By Toby

October 1, 2008 2:46 PM | Link to this

Soooo…..Bottom 2 lines….

Perrin - Reasoner - Thorburn Slater - White - Hoffman/Boulton ?

Where would Stevenson fit? They wouldn’t drop Boulton after just signing him, would they? So many questions!!

By germaniac

October 1, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

Hello Mike,

thanks for the update. Hoffmann is a really big surprise. Not that he only impressed an offensive minded coach like JA even with his big body , I think it is the toughness that impresses me. This is something that the thrashers really really really need. Imagine Valabik and Hoffmann on the same roster! Scary! So the cheap shots will be gone…

Oh yes, first!

By Mike

October 1, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

Send Slater to Chicago…make room for the new guys!

By germaniac

October 1, 2008 3:04 PM | Link to this

Or third…:)

I think it is a good sign that players, who went undrafted, get the same chance to make the roster like everybody else. It shows that JA is really trying to put the best players on the ice.

It will be much more difficult for Stevenson, because one of the only problems we don´t have is a lack of 3rd and 4th line centers, IMO.

By Smoothie

October 1, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this

While the fans in Canada may resent us and the media up North probably would rather ignore us, there is at least one guy on the national media stage who cares enough to write about the Thrashers! It’s our old friend Craig Custance who took the time to respond to my e-mail inquiry about the Flyers cap situation and how it might impact the future of Mike Knuble (hopefully as a Thrasher!). Here’s what he wrote:

*Jason — You know – that’s a really valid point by you. Knuble seems to be the one player I keep hearing as the solution, but Anaheim’s cap troubles have gotten much more publicity than Philly’s. Maybe it’s time to give Paul Holmgren a call, I’ll snoop around on this one.

Good to hear from you, I’m writing a Kovalchuk feature as we speak. I’m starting to feel bad for him.*

So look out for his Kovy piece on TSN’s website and be sure to send your written regards to CC for trying to keep the Thrashers on the national radar screen!!

By kracker

October 1, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this

Hoffman’s best year was with Portland and Manchester in 06-07. He tallied 56gms 10g 12a 22pts +8 139pim 66sog 15.15%

Pretty good scoring percentage, though all those stats are AHL stats.

By Nikita

October 1, 2008 3:23 PM | Link to this

They could trade Boulton. He’s pretty cheap for his skill set, though his numbers have never been great.

By the hordi

October 1, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this

thank goodness JA sees what i see in the Hoff. thank goodness he has thus far replaced some of the dead weight of last years turd. Hoff is a huge physical player we lacked last season until the call up of boris. hoffman is earning it, and he deserves to be here and he will protect our players. i like JA’s mindset, he seems to get it. we NEED team toughness, we need size and grit. no more of the small speedy players who are afraid to go into the corners (junior lessard). no more being pushed around or feasted upon ( like last years heartless dismal effort by players who didn’t earn their paychecks). make them pay a price and the hoff is a guy who will certainly add those intangibles.

By the hordi

October 1, 2008 3:36 PM | Link to this

easy on trading Boults. this guy should be rewarded for not quitting like most of the team last year. he is one of the unsung hero’s. slater should be dealt if we need to make room. Boulton has proved he is more than a pair of fists, Jimmy Slater hasn’t proved much of anything other than he has terrible luck. more teams would want slater anyway, a guy like Boulton will be more valuable near the deadline when most teams magically feel the need to get players who help win the physical battles each night. i might place more value on Boults than most here, i see no problem with both him and Hoff in our lineup. these guys give maximum effort every night, and you can’t ask for much more than that. boulton can play the game, he doesn’t have to rely on just being an enforcer, i think both DW and JA are cognizant of that. it will be a nice tandem in my opinion.

By Smoothie

October 1, 2008 3:41 PM | Link to this

My money’s still on Boulton, but then again I’ve never seen this Hoffman play. Boulton has earned his ice time in my estimation. He always works hard and seems to inject a different level of energy when the 4th line steps on the ice. I wish he was a little more skilled offensively, but teamed with Slater and Thorburn he seems to hold his own.

Assuming Boris can get his act together, I see no reason why Boults and Thorby can’t continue to act as our resident enforcers. They may not be on par with Brashear and Parros, but as long as they are willing to patrol the ice when liberties are taken, I’m fine with them.

By Gump Worsley

October 1, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this

Lavallee should have stayed on the squad. He is big, tough, and physical - All the things this team lacked last year. Why does this Jim Slater guy always get a “Free Pass”? Surely it can’t be because of his numbers! lol

By Mark

October 1, 2008 5:04 PM | Link to this

Philly does NOT have cap problems. I’ve been saying this all summer. Rathje is on LTIR and Hatcher has been placed there as well. He most likely will be forced to retire because he has no cartilage left in his knees. Once again, Philly does not have a cap problem.

By Smoothie

October 1, 2008 5:47 PM | Link to this

Mark, if it were THAT easy, why didn’t we do the same with Rucchin last year. Everyone knew he wasn’t going to play a game due to PCS, but we had to take the hit on his salary. There’s got to be something more to Philly’s situation. Perhaps you would care to explain to everyone why Philly’s situation is different. I can’t imagine CC would play dumb and pretend to not know what you know. At any rate, speaking of CC, here’s a link to his Kovy article:

Custance TSN Column

By Tony C.

October 1, 2008 8:46 PM | Link to this

ranallo’s comment on CC’s article is priceless.

All in all, it’s so good to read what #17 said in that article. I love the guy, he’s one of those people who makes you get out of your seat damn near every time he touches the puck-guys like that don’t come in bunches, and the fact that #17 wants to “climb that mountain” (in his words) and win a Cup here, means the world to me as a fan of this team and this man in particular.

Seriously, try and imagine how much the guy is going to flip out when he lifts The Cup… I mean c’mon here’s a guyu that is arguably the best goal-scorer in the league for the past 5 years, has let some truly mean-spirited (and in some cases, well-deserved) criticism roll right off his back and he always maintains his passion and joy for the game.

I won’t stop being a Thrashers fan, but if they trade #17…well… let’s not even think about it.

By LAC

October 2, 2008 9:43 PM | Link to this

I agree, Slater has had his chances.

He has never shown much of anything, why is he still on the team is nuts…

But we ALL know Anderson does what waddell says to do on players, so as long as waddell stays we lose…

By aroha

October 3, 2008 8:32 AM | Link to this

100-1? I’d put $10 on that…

By Maury

October 3, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

Lavallee should have stayed on the squad. He is big, tough, and physical - All the things this team lacked last year. Why does this Jim Slater guy always get a “Free Pass”? Surely it can’t be because of his numbers! lol

LaVallee also has offensive skills. In the first Detroit game, Ben highlighted him + voted him second player of the game. Slater is not the only free pass in camp. JA said in summer that Stuart could step into the job but he has not performed well in camp. Sending LaVallee back to Chicago suggests this is not a performance based system, more of a preordained system.

By Sara

October 3, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this

But we ALL know Anderson does what waddell says to do on players, so as long as waddell stays we lose…

Wow, after TWO WHOLE WEEKS we ALL KNOW Anderson does what Waddell says? Gosh, LAC, I sure am glad you are so omniscient.

By the hordi

October 3, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this

apparently it was a performance based decision and LaVallee didn’t perform well. according to JA , LaVallee wasn’t finishing his checks..thus he got the boot. you have to respect that. as many chances as Sterling gets..hopefully LaVallee will get another.

i agree that slater got a free pass last year, and the only thing i’ve seen of him this year is his fight against detoilet. so who knows..but again..according to our coach - LaVallee didn’t play big and physical.

By Nikita

October 3, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this

I don’t think Slater’s gotten a free pass. Also, his play from the second half of last year indicates his potential, which is substantial. If he can simply play the whole season this year like he played the second half of last year, he’ll be a bargain at his current salary.

By stendec

October 3, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this

Greetings everyone. First, so there are no misunderstandings, I love the Thrashers. Want them ro succeed! That said. I have serious issues with untalented losers wearing Thrasher uniforms. I forgive Maryann Hossa for bolting to a winner. What I cannot forgive is his dogging it during twilight days as Thrasher. Such behavior intolerable for paid professional athlete (unless you are a Falcon). I like Ilya Kovalchuk. Kid has abundant talent. Unfortunately, he does not wish to continue to waste that talent as Thrasher. Wants to compete for winner. Do not blame him. Kovy is a superstar that other teams will continue to negate game in and game out. Frustration he displayed last season will only worsen. Absolutely NO supporting cast! Team does not need one superstar but two or three stars. If Kovy is honest he will let fans know his true intentions. If not, he can pull a Maryann. Either way, he is on lookout for whiter ice elsewhere. Cannot blame him. In fact, if he is honest with fans, I wish him all the best. The only thing I ask is that when he departs he take Kari “Sori Letemin” Lehtonen with him! Enjoy the day.

By ranallo10 (in AT)

October 3, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this

Unfortunately, he does not wish to continue to waste that talent as Thrasher.

Interesting tid-bit…mind citing where you got that from, or perhaps pointing us all to the quote/conversation in which Kovalchuk made that abundantly obvious?

Because from everything I’ve read (including Craig Custance’s interview with him), he has never intimated that he “does not wish to continue to waste [his] talent as [a] Thrasher”. In fact, he’s said the opposite.

By Maury

October 3, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this

Hordi, While hitting can define a game, games don’t always lend themselves to hitting, especially when you can’t get the puck out of your own end. LaVallee can really hit when the game situation lends itself to hitting. By Ben Wright on the Detroit Game: I really like what LaVallee and Hoffman are bringing to the table. They’re doing an outstanding job of digging pucks out of the corner and driving to the net. They just got two shots off that were 100% the result of their grit. ‘Greasy’ as Machacek would say.

I too hope LaVallee gets, at some point, more of an opportunity, like Stuart +Sterling, to show himself. I think he could be a an fan favorite in Atlanta, like he is in Chicago.

By Alan

October 3, 2008 2:34 PM | Link to this

mind citing where you got that from

Probably his former employer, Weekly World News.

By UpperDeck4Life

October 4, 2008 5:00 PM | Link to this

Hey Mike, any truth to this report out of Canada that Pavalac wants out of the Thrashers organization and is threatening to go to Russia if they don’t trade him?

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=466980

By Midfield

October 4, 2008 10:53 PM | Link to this

Bob, any comments?

By LAC

October 4, 2008 11:20 PM | Link to this

sara, Look at the record and the team and quit making it sound great rather than the Train Wreck waddell has built !

By ranallo10 (in AT)

October 5, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

*LAC — As Knobler reported, and I mentioned on the Rawhide blog, the team went 5-2 during the preseason last year.

Then they started the season 0-6.

The preseason is relatively meaningless when looking at the W-L record. You have all rights to be upset over what you may perceive to be a lack of fundamentals, bad defense, bad goaltending, etc…but the record should not be your basis for criticism. At least, not in my opinion.

By English Teacher

October 5, 2008 4:52 PM | Link to this

This is from TSN http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/story/?id=251671&hubname=nhl-thrashers&lid=sublink02&lpos=headlines_nhl-thrashers

“Atlanta Thrashers top prospect Ondrej Pavelec will not report to the Chicago Wolves, the team’s AHL affiliate, according to a report in Sporting News…Walsh [Allen Walsh, Pavelec’s agent] continued to say that Pavelec was never given a fair chance to make the roster, something he said was part of the agreement with Atlanta.

‘He will never be part of an organization that doesn’t keep its word and treats players in this manner.’

“Walsh told Sporting News that his client has options, including several interested teams in Russia or he would welcome a trade from the Thrashers.”

By ant banks

October 5, 2008 8:56 PM | Link to this

1-5 in the preseason. dangit!!! the south and atl. particularly is not “hockyfied!” if the thrashers start the regular season 1-9, 2-8 they are done! no one will want to go out to see ‘em.

i am banking on you thrashers, pun intended, i purchased season tix this yr. sect 408 r B

By stendec

October 5, 2008 9:50 PM | Link to this

To all Kari Lehtonen apologists: Another season of excuses, soft goals, exuses, monkey pucks and excuses! Yes, excuses is utilized more than once. Sori Letemin has one for every goal he has ever surrendered! Glad apologists demand nor expect nothing more. God help us!

By Nikita

October 6, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

I agree with the freaking out over the preseason, but think it’s important to note the point of the preseason, which is to test various combinations. Winning is secondary or even tertiary.

As for Pavelec, I wonder if he’d like a little cheese with his whine…

By GaVaHokie

October 6, 2008 11:48 AM | Link to this

Mike, I’m looking at the Roster on the Thrashers site and it’s down to 23 players. Were the final cuts made? I haven’t seen any press releases.

Crabb, Oystrick and Valabik are the names missing from the list.

By Toby

October 6, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

Mike Any thoughts from DW or Pavelec himself??

By BUTCH

October 6, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this

Keep Pavelec and Trade Waddell for starters!