AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 07
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
It’s halftime; where’s the band?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re at the midpoint of the Thrashers’ season, and the question is becoming — or, perhaps to some people, already has become — what can be salvaged?
My No. 1 answer would be player development, primarily among the defensemen. There’s time to see what Zach Bogosian, Boris Valabik and Nathan Oystrick can do, and there’s also time to help them get better through experience. I don’t see young forwards in the Thrashers system that need a lot of NHL ice time this season; most of them are fine in Chicago for awhile. So is Ondrej Pavelec.
My No. 2 answer would be better 2009-10 contracts for the many guys who will be unrestricted free agents this summer, a number of whom won’t be with the Thrashers. That ought to be motivating Jason Williams, Eric Perin, Marty Reasoner, Niclas Havelid and Mathieu Schneider.
My No. 3 answer would be pride. Sounds a bit corny, I know, but it has to feel a lot better to win a little more often, even if you know it’s almost certainly not going to be often enough to earn a playoff berth. This is what motivates a guy like Ilya Kovalchuk.
Kovalchuk, by the way, has scored three goals in the last four games. He said that doesn’t make him optimistic; winning would.
I give John Anderson credit for keeping his team’s morale from plummeting so low they don’t want to come to the rink. That’s all the more important when the pursuit of a playoff spot becomes less and less realistic as a goal. Today’s practice included a lot of work on fundamentals, passing the puck rapidly and accurately, shooting, stick handling. Two days ago, after the loss to Tampa Bay, Anderson had a practice that was all about accountability, about making clear what’s acceptable and what isn’t. But you can’t do that day in and day out without your team tuning you out.
Meanwhile, Anderson is trying to triage his team’s problems and patch the most serious ones first. For example, the penalty kill, which had been doing better, struggled again in Pittsburgh and has again become a priority.
Bryan Little (bruised ribs) did not skate today.
