AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September > 22
Friday, September 22, 2006
First impressions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been working on the playoff beard all summer, and I think by the end of April it should really be coming in nice. That I’m 37 and still can’t grow a decent beard doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the fact that I’m a 37-year-old hockey fan who can’t grow a decent beard come playoff time.
Thank God the Thrashers haven’t called my bluff yet. Maybe this season. Then again …
I hate to start off on a negative vibe, but as I take an objective look at this Thrashers team, my first reaction is that I don’t like it nearly as much as I liked last year’s Thrashers team. And last year’s Thrashers team didn’t make the playoffs. Why should this year’s? I know, I know … believe me, I know that last season was something of an aberration because of the Lehtonen injury. If Lehtonen misses only 20 games instead of 40, that team makes the playoffs and, quite possibly, does some damage. The way that team was playing down the stretch, there wasn’t a team in the East that wanted anything to do with the Thrashers in the first round.
But that was last year’s team. I think the loss of Marc Savard and, to a lesser degree, Peter Bondra really puts the offense back a step or two. And, unfortunately, Don Waddell didn’t do all that much to replace their production. I don’t know if he could have, salary cap and all. But I don’t think you can put a happy face on replacing Savard’s 90-some points with Steve Rucchin’s 30-some points. At least I can’t.
As for the defense, maybe it’s improved, maybe it isn’t. I see a long list of names for a shorter list of openings, so at least there is more depth. But it still strikes me as a long list of second-line names. There’s some skill there, there’s some hard hitters … but there still isn’t that anchor-type defenseman, who’s going to give you 30 rock-solid, dependable minutes. I know it’s unrealistic to say that we should just ‘go out and get’ a Nick Lidstrom or a Chris Pronger; those type of players don’t grow on trees. But that unfortunate reality doesn’t absolve the team for the fact that they don’t have one of those type of players. They just don’t. And that’s just how it is. So I’ll try to make lemonade with the guys we’ve got. My prediction is that while the defense will be better and while the defense will hit a little harder … the defense still is going to have its issues.
So without writing the sequel to “War and Peace” here in my first blog entry, let me just quickly hit on some other first impressions that we can get into a little deeper as the season goes on:
And you know it’s gonna happen, too.
That’s enough for now. I’ll be back.
