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DEL.ICIO.USNikulin Says “Nyet” To Thrashers?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
According to sports.ru, Russian defenseman Ilya Nikulin will be staying put in Russia. Now, for those of us who don’t speak Russian…I’ve taken the liberty of running it through freetranslation.com and have come up with this:
“The decision the Account in opposition between NHL and КХЛ has increased in favour of the Russian league. Defender Ilya Nikulin has decided to remain in ” Ак the Leopard ” for one season though it had a real offer from “Atlanta”. We, certainly, are glad - the good hockey player has remained at home. But here if to look at it on the other hand. Ilya had fine chances to play in Ilya Kovalchuka’s club. It could act in the best league of the world and receive invaluable experience. And if that would not turn out, having returned to Russia, Никулин all the same would not remain without work. But it has accepted the decision here such”.
Ummm…OK. I guess that’s why it’s “free”.
Here’s another attempt at it from one of our regular posters who seems to have a better grasp of the language.
Either way, if this report is to be believed…Nikulin won’t be in Atlanta this season. Don Waddell went down this road with Nikulin last summer and now here we are again.
My official position on this development is simply that I still hope the Russian player will indeed be a Thrasher soon. I think he could be a great asset to the blueline. But I’m not sitting around waiting for his arrival as if he’s the great savior of this team. If Nikulin does choose to remain in his homeland and complete the contract he currently is under, then more power to him.
One also has to take into consideration the situation the NHL and KHL are dealing with at this time when it comes to players currently under contracts with clubs in those leagues. I’m sure a lot of that has played a part here as well.
So, without Nikulin and barring any acquisitions by way of trade, the defensive corps of Havelid, Enstrom, Hainsey, Bogosian, Klee, XLB and Valabik will be the most likely to start the season.
Information Overload
Eric Boulton provides his first big assist of the season. He recently helped handout backpacks filled with school supplies at the Agape Community Center as well as present them with a check for $10,000 to support the center’s GOGIRLGO! Program from the Atlanta Thrashers Foundation.
Bryan Little is going to participate in a “Pros vs. Politicians” charity hockey game next week in Barrie, Ontario.
It was 20 years ago this weekend that “The Trade” went down sending Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings.
We’re are at the beginning of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games…but our neighbors to the north are already looking to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Honestly…I can’t say I blame them.
Apparently, Mats Sundin needs to check his phone messages.
Scott Burnside writes about Ray Emery’s attempt to right his ship.
And finally…I’ve been told that there is a really good article here by Craig Custance regarding the five things he would change about the NHL. I’ve tried and I’ve tried to read it…but every time I view it, all I can see is the picture of Erin Andrews…nothing else. It must be some sort of an optical illusion.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Smitty
August 8, 2008 8:42 AM | Link to this
The mouse on my computer would not let me scroll down to read the Custance article.
Are there any other defensemen that might be released from their respective teams. I think if Toronto releases McCabe ATL should take a look. A lot of pressure to play in Toronto. Over 40 years without a Cup or even to play in a final so they have to blame somebody. I think a change of scenery would help McCabe. Good skater, good size and he can help on the PP. Might not cost too much to sign him if he is released. Maybe he and Ex can rebound from bad seasons last year
By ThrasherNY
August 8, 2008 8:44 AM | Link to this
Rawhide thanks for taking the time to write this up but this should not be news to any Thrashers fans. If we cant overpay current NHLers to join the squad I dont know why anyone would have thought that we could underpay a guy to make the leap across the pond.
The marketing group was just trying to string along a couple extra fans with this pipe dream. They use the same ploy every offseason.
I think our defense is set, which means we made a slight upgrade, and we are hoping a new system will make the drastic improvement needed. At the very least we should improve on special teams.
I still have all my fingers and toes crossed that we will make a late acquisition to help bolster the top two scoring lines. The fact that it was not promised gives me hope it may actually happen.
“New senior hockey guy” NOPE
“Ilya Nikulin makes the jump” NOPE
“Top Dman signded in FA” NOPE
Seems like if they say it will happen it has little or no chance of actually happening.
By Christy
August 8, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this
Rawhide,
I read the CC article and the blog that followed it after. As many blogs as I’ve read over the years, hockey, baseball, football, whatever, I’ve never encountered that many idiots all at once who were too ignorante to recognize sarcasm and irony and good old-fashioned ribbing.
Hell not even the P&S was that bad when he visited CC’s blog…
By B. Thenet
August 8, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this
Well Nikulin coming over is a big disapointment. Bogosian and Valabik will struggle at points during their first full seasons in the NHL, as all young defenseman do.
Anderson is going to have his work cut out for him trying to turn around our defensive woes.
By Russian
August 8, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this
What do I have to say about Nikulin situation? They created a KHL. Tret’jak and Fetisov want to make competition between NHL and KHL. This is damn right. In 90 people really wanted to go to USA to got a better life, because lived in Russia was completely SUCK. That was reason Mogilniy, Fedorov, Larionov, Fetisov and others moved to NHL. Now things have been changed. Now if you have money and Nikulin has a Good contract with Kazan, you can live Happy Life.
By russian
August 8, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this
What do I have to say about Nikulin? They created a KHL. Tret’jak and Fetisov want to make competition between NHL and KHL. This is damn right. In 90th people really wanted to go to USA to got a better life, because lived in Russia was completely SUCK. That was reason Mogilniy, Fedorov, Larionov, Fetisov and others moved to NHL. Now things have been changed. Now if you have money and Nikulin has a Good contract with Kazan, you can live Happy Life. He does not want to leave a country, because he is going to lose money, need to learn different language, live with different traditions and change your life completely. Some people can, some people says No way! If you see news about KHL, they took Jagr and Jashin and bunch of other players. They want to in same level with NHL. Players like Nikulin and Morozov (Pittsburgh) or Markov (Detroit) did not see benefits to play in NHL. They said that NHL is not GREAT league ANYMORE. My suggestion to make a clear opinion: Who is a BEST? just play Games between NHL Champion and KHL Champion. I hope it will be happened soon and we can see which League is Best. Until it happened KHL will try to keep good players on Russia. Well come back to our team. We got 7 D-men for now. I am agreeing if we can get McCabe it will be very beneficial for us. Valabik is good man, but he needs to play one more year in Chicago. Bogus is young kid. He has a talent, but it will be very risky to put him on Roster this year. If we can get McCabe, he might be playing with Hainesy. Sweden will stay together. Bogus will skates with Ex or Klee.
By kracker
August 8, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this
Erin was the best reason to watch the Thrashers broadcasts a few years ago.
By Tony
August 8, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this
Rawhide I would like to follow up on some comments that Glovesave made on the last blog regarding some of the nhl players and then Brett Hull. A few years ago I read this article and it was talking about Rob Ray, another enforcer outta St. Louis like a Tony Twist and a third guy. It said how those enforcers had the hardest knuckles but the biggest hearts. You look at those guys and you say no freakin way, but sure enough they did the most community volunteer work. Maybe Smitty, Razor and Bob can talk about Ray and our St. Louis guy who listened to Carey there can talk about Twist.
Another thing is about Brett Hull. You know I dont want to call the guy names, but he was hired by NBC to be a lightning rod. The reason they thought he would be that way was because he had such a reputation for being that big loud mouth jerk. Sorry but that is a fact that he is known for that. And back in Nagano at the Olympics when Team USA got that bad rep because some guy threw a tantrum it was leaked that the crybaby was none other than Brett Hull who trashed that place. I said it on the another blog before that I think but he will always have that nickname of Brett one foot in his mouth and the other in the crease Hull. Im not trying to say anything about Buffalo getting robbed by him or the officials but he does have a foot in his mouth a lot it seems.
By Tony
August 8, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this
I hope the CBA experts here can weigh in on this, but if they signed Nikulin to a one year deal as proposed here in the media, wouldnt that mean he is in the last year of his contract and we can negotiate immediately, sort of how next summer is when we begin with Kovy (when he has one year left)?
Then we can give him that big extension and he would have to look at the total sum of the contract plus extension and it wouldnt be like he is losing money this year.
I know I am probably dumbing this down too much but it does seem to follow the rules.
By harleyman
August 8, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
I miss Erin.
By Alan
August 8, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
Tony - I believe 1 Jan 2009 is the first day we can begin negotiations with the guys who just signed one-year contracts.
By truth
August 8, 2008 1:39 PM | Link to this
The Memphis Grizzlies have just presented a $58 Million Offer Sheet to Atlanta Hawks RFA Forward Josh Smith. Smith has signed the Offer Sheet.
Atlanta Spirit has 7 days to match the offer.
By Alan
August 8, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
truth - Wrong blog. Here, I’ll point you in the right direction
By R. Stroz
August 8, 2008 1:55 PM | Link to this
Alan - Hopefully, truth was just pointing out another defection from an ASG team.
It appears the players for each franchise (Hossa, Childress, Smith) share a no confidence vote.
By Brendan
August 8, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this
I think the Spirit Group will match the offer. But if they don’t, what’s the NBA’s compensation back to the Hawks? Is it four (4) first (1st) round picks?
I only ask because … well … if the Spirit Group matches the offer, which I think they will, they’ve re-signed a player who didn’t want to play for them.
Yes, I’m making an assumption here. Perhaps FALSELY. But players who sign offersheets have one of two intentions: (1) They want their existing team to pay them more than what they’ve initially offered and this is the “high-stakes bluff” mechanism to do that … or (2) they want to play for the team that has offered them this deal.
Considering that Josh Smith didn’t re-sign with the Hawks of his own accord … and even toured the Philadelphia 76ers lockerroom, when that organization attempted to woo him away, my feeling is that Josh Smith doesn’t want to play for Atlanta.
And now, he might HAVE TO, like it or not. That is, if the Hawks match the offersheet. I’d bet they will.
By Alan
August 8, 2008 2:29 PM | Link to this
Stroz - Perhaps you’re right. I think a good many of us share that same “no confidence” vote.
The apparent demise of the Hawks might help the Thrashers, in the sense that more people will want to see a fast, action packed game of hockey instead. Even if the Thrashers lose, this year we at least come in a lot younger. Letting the kids play should prove entertaining for everyone.
Still… good luck, Hawks. Looks like you’re going to need it.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
August 8, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this
Brendan — Or (3) they like both situations and are accepting the offer the best suits them, knowing full well the offer could be matched and they’d still be somewhere they were happy with to begin with.
Perhaps Smith was never offered this lucrative contract from Atlanta, so he’s hoping they accept it but prepared to play in Memphis if they don’t (much like Vanek did).
I’m sure every RFA who has signed a offer sheet has known it’s a possibility the team matches, so I think it’s oversimplifying things into your two scenarios.
Bouwmeester is making it pretty obvious he doesn’t want to be in Florida any longer, so instead of signing an offer sheet (which we’ll never know if he received one), he simply signed a one-year contract and is likely going to test the UFA market in 2009.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
August 8, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this
Hokie — Carolina invited Jeff O’Neill to training camp.
By Tony C.
August 8, 2008 3:35 PM | Link to this
Again, shocker.
The guy who used Le Thrash to drive up his current contract decided not to play for us again?
Words fail to describe how shocked I am.
Really, I never even thought of this guy as a viable option when I thought about moves for this season roster-wise. I do not think that McCabe is a good answer either-I mean haven’t y’all had enough of Sutton/Modry-type plus-sized human pylons?
Granted he’s got a nice shot from the point on the PP, but so does Hainsey, so does Bogey, so does Tobi, and so does Williams. We need something other than size and a plus shot from the point. I’d much rather see us go after a RW (Teamu if the Hockey Gods SMILE on us-mebbe KL can sell us?).
Aaaaanyway, not to big a dissapointment, but certainly not what I had hoped for.
By Brendan
August 8, 2008 3:42 PM | Link to this
Perhaps oversimplifying things reinforces the principle of “Occam’s Razor?” No?
Just out of curiosity, Ranallo, what’s your stance on Josh Smith? Do you think he wants to play in Atlanta? As a follow up question, do you think the issue was just over money? Or, do you think he wants to play for Memphis? Or, perhaps, do you think he wants to play anywhere that offers $58 million over 5 years? Said another way, he’d play for L.A. Clippers, if they’d offered this much money? The Clippers didn’t, but the Grizzlies did.
And, as a final question, “Do you think Josh Smith is satisfied with the vision and direction of the Atlanta Hawks?”
By R. Stroz
August 8, 2008 3:49 PM | Link to this
Brendan - For what its worth, I think Josh Smith can’t stand Woody and wants out in the same manner Hossa wanted to get away from DW.
By Tony
August 8, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this
If someone is wanting out of the Hawks then Memphis isnt a step up from here. Somebody tell me so I dont have to go over to the Hawks blog for hours and figure it out. The Hawks just went to game 7 with the NBA champions. They are all young with a good nucleus of perimeter guys. Whats the big complaint. I have to think its money cause nothing else sticks out. If he does get matched on the rfa offer he can still go to another country whichever it was so this doesnt really solve the issue for them.
Alan, I like what you said. Since they are both owned by the Spirit they just cant let both teams take it on the chin in the same offseason. So the Hawks loss can turn out to be our gain. Wouldnt that be something. I know I know too many other moving parts to consider but hey you gotta hope that can happen.
By R. Stroz
August 8, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this
Tony - Josh Smith is one of several Hawks players that doesn’t get along with Coach Woodson. The net effect is Memphis may not be better than Atlanta; but, Smith sees the coach situation in Memphis as a better fit.
You wouldn’t have to read the Hawks blog very long to discover the discontent with Coach Woodson.
By Sunny
August 8, 2008 5:06 PM | Link to this
Where is Nascar Dave?! I eagerly await his comments.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
August 8, 2008 5:47 PM | Link to this
Brendan — Since obviously I don’t know Smith’s intentions, I guess my answer is kinda useless. I was merely bringing up another option that I felt you skipped over.
Vanek was my example…he liked Buffalo, he wanted to continue playing in Buffalo, so he decided to use his biggest piece of leverage (accepting an offer sheet) in a chance to make guaranteed good money for long time and possibly convince Buffalo to match said contract. Do you really think Buffalo is stuck with a player who truly “wanted out”?
Basically, I feel that no athlete would make the career mistake of accepting an offer in hopes that the team with the rights to match doesn’t. They’re giving too much control to their rights owning team, and would be committing career suicide if they signed a long-term contract in hopes that their current team let the go for only compensatory picks. If the player truly wants out, there are other ways to do so (mainly forcing a trade by holding out or signing a short contract and playing it out until you’re a UFA).
So yeah, for every offer sheet there are three options (at least): they want out (not likely in my opinion), they want more money (very likely), or they like the contract terms (obviously) and are prepared to be happy playing in EITHER city.
Personally I don’t care too much about the Hawks, but here’s my guess (since you asked) … I would guess he cares less about where he plays, and more about the contract terms. If I was guaranteed $58M over 5 years, and was at least content with where I was trying to be signed away from, I would accept it if I didn’t mind playing in the offering team’s city. So, my assumption is he’s similar, and is ready to play in Memphis or Atlanta, and is most interested in the contract length and potential destinations. As for the LA Clippers…they’re more attractive of a team than Memphis, from my little knowledge of the NBA (didn’t they sign Baron Davis?).
I’m guessing this was just the largest contract he got from a team on his “short list”.
By Tony C.
August 8, 2008 6:24 PM | Link to this
IT’S GOTTA BE A $$$ MOVE (RE:SMITH)
By kovy17
August 8, 2008 7:29 PM | Link to this
I though this was the thrashers blog????????
By Tony C.
August 8, 2008 7:47 PM | Link to this
Heyyyyyy
It’s just another glimpse at the (perceived -and IMHO probable) shortcomings of AtlantaSpirit LLC. Especially when you look at the wild promises they’ve made to their customers (i.e. us).
Don’t sweat it. We just don’t have much fodder for hockey talk right now.
Speaking of which, anybody know any Finns? Or read Finn? We need to figure out howto get Seleanne, if at all possible.
By Alan
August 8, 2008 7:51 PM | Link to this
kovy17 - It is. Sometimes, people go on a tangent when discussing the failings of the ownership. It happens.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
August 8, 2008 8:35 PM | Link to this
Here’s an interesting read from Spector, about when the best time is to trade a NHL star.
Since we’ve all discussed this before, and likely will again, I figured I’d put this on the blog for everyone’s consumption. It’s obviously just another opinion, but I think he does a good job going into detail to support his opinion on this one.
Anyways, enjoy.
By glovesave29
August 8, 2008 8:36 PM | Link to this
As long as we are off topic…is anyone else here watching the opening ceremonies in Beijing? That 300 foot long flexible LCD screen in the middle of the stadium kinda blows away the chrome plated pickup trucks we had here in 1996, doesn’t it?
By Tony C.
August 8, 2008 10:02 PM | Link to this
Yeah. The whole human-glowsticks thing was incredible.
And in defense of our opening ceremony-dude.-We had Ali light the torch (and who among you didn’t get at least a little bit misty?). Who’d they get?
But seriously that was the most incredible parad/pageant/”spectacular” I’ve ever seen. It was like the “Dragon Gods” were all former ravers.
By glovesave29
August 8, 2008 10:52 PM | Link to this
True…you could not believe the buzz in that stadium when Ali popped up. But those pickups…took a long time to live those down!
By Brendan
August 8, 2008 11:53 PM | Link to this
Apologies for mentioning basketball on this hockey blog. I only did so because the ownership is one and the same. And “player retention” is a hot button issue. On 680TheFan, today, “Buck and Kincade” were highly critical of the Hawks ownership. For as much as people rag on that show, there is some fire to go with the smoke.
Why is it that higher profile players seem to be leaving the ASG’s payroll? It’s not really a good sign that home-grown talent is seeking other pastures. The Hossa situation is a little bit different. Hossa was an Ottawa draft pick, who didn’t choose Atlanta as his destination. But Childress and Smith were Hawks draft picks. Now, I’ll at least listen to the argument that says Greece is a hotbed for basketball. Their Greek National team has had all kind of Olympic praise in the past. And if more players than just Childress wind up playing in Greece, it would make the ASG look a little better. “Buck and Kincade” insisted that the ASG was in “damage control” mode when Childress left. Sekou Smith, Hawks’ AJC beat writer, came on the show to basically advocate: “ASG, don’t wait. Just match. Match right now and be done with it. Don’t make Smith wait, and add fuel to the fire that you’re not serious about him.”
Now, I can see the ASG side of things, too. Childress wasn’t worth $10 million. And it’s a bad policy to overpay players, not only for your budget, but it raises the ire of the other GM’s out there in the NBA who’ll certainly claim that Atlanta over-inflated the market. Well, from what I gather, the ASG offered $9.0 million over 5 years to Josh Smith, and he declined. As per policy, as stated by the former CEO/President Bernie Mullin, “We don’t negotiate with ourselves. They have to counter-offer our offer, or we stand pat.”
Well, I can see the reasoning. But I’d insist that if the first offer wasn’t accepted, it’s because they (player and agent) wanted more. Well then offer more. The goal is the get the player under contract, without substantially overpaying him. So, now the question becomes, “Is Josh Smith worth $11.6 million per year?”
Stop. That is the question now. Others will say, “No, it isn’t. It’s about avoiding a P.R. disaster. This organization cannot lose both Joshes in the same offseason, after pushing the NBA Champs to 7-games in the playoffs. The Hawks Season Ticket holders will scream!” Well, I can appreciate that sentiment. But what if the Hawks took that $11.6 million and got a better player than Josh Smith for that money? In that case, I’d say the Hawks still did well. But if the “market value” for Josh Smith really is $11.6 million, then the ASG ought to pay it. Unfortunately, what I don’t know about basketball could fill a warehouse. I have no idea what Josh Smith is actually worth. But I do have to wonder … why the ASG isn’t aware of what he is worth? I mean, their offer got rejected. And it got rejected, I’m guessing, because it undervalued him. Or, I suppose, it could have been rejected because it WAS Smith’s market value, but Smith and his agent sized up Atlanta’s situation, and figured they could EXTORT more. If I’m wrong, and the actual reason it was rejected resided with Smith’s desire to leave, then Smith and his agent should have made that known and tried to work out some sort of trade. But if Ranallo’s point (3) that the player both likes the terms of the RFA contract and is prepared to play in both cities holds true, then Smith doesn’t really want out of Atlanta. He just wants a better offer to play in Atlanta. Your guess is as good as mine.
I can’t remember where I read it, AJC or ESPN or what … but I know I saw an article that said, “Smith hopes to receive RFA offer that Atlanta can’t match.” Who knows if that was a writer’s opinion versus an actual statement from the Josh Smith camp. But I know this. The Hawks GM said that the reason Atlanta didn’t match the Greek team’s offer for Childress resided in the belief that $10 million was too much to pay for Childress. On that score, I happen to believe the ASG is right. If the ASG feels Josh Smith isn’t worth $11.6 million, then I suppose they’re not going to match it on the basis of “Smith isn’t worth that kind of money.” However, the ASG is on record as saying, “We’ll match any offer for the Joshes.” Plural. That comment led to massive speculation that the Hawks wouldn’t be able to match two offers, but they certainly could match one of them. If the ASG fails to match EITHER offer, it’s just plain going to look bad. And for a lot of reasons. It makes it appear that players want out. That they don’t believe in the vision and direction of the team. That they, perhaps fairly or unfairly, believe the team is cheap or cash-strapped, or that it just plain doesn’t know how to oversee GMs and Head Coaches.
I’ve talked about how Bernie Mullin said that the ASG wanted to embark on a period of longevity at the GM and Head Coaching positions for their clubs, with an underpinning belief that job security is the best way for the encumbents to learn from their mistakes. Whereas every other team just fires Coaches and GMs over results in the standings. Well, maybe the players don’t want to participate in what they perceive to be “kooky experiments.”
All I can add is this: The ASG, in my opinion, is one of the least proactive sports ownership groups I’ve ever seen. They don’t lock up players early. They don’t seem to make the players feel like they’re really wanted. They procrastinate like I’ve never seen. Whether it’s goalie contracts … or naming a Head Coach … or failing to fire a GM. The bottom line is … it seems like “inaction” gets this ownership group into more trouble than it saves. I’d bet the ASG wishes they’d locked up both Joshes a year ago. I bet the ASG wished they’d locked up Hossa, or managed a trade once they realized they couldn’t re-sign Hossa last offseason, rather than have that giant matzoh ball hanging over their heads for an entire season. Bygones.
The Thrashers have the opportunity to lock up Toby Enstrom right now. I haven’t even seen so much as a mention of an “overture” towards his agent in the newspaper. Now, that could be FALSE. Maybe they have, but it just hasn’t been reported. Maybe Waddell and Enstrom’s agent have agreed that giving Toby another year to improve his value is the fair thing to do. Okay, so long as that’s true, been discussed, and that the ASG will pay Toby his “market value” as soon as the season ends. They haven’t yet signed Bogosian, who is thought to be a member of the team next season. I can’t imagine what the delay could be. I thought a 3-years at $850,000 per year is a pretty standard contract for a lottery draft selection, with incentive clauses up the ying yang. Now, there’s still plenty of time before the season starts, obviously. But here we go, again. More procrastination. And for what? Why? Let this guy know he’s a priority. What the ASG thinks at any given moment is a total mystery to me. Apologies if Bogosian has been signed, but I missed it.
By R. Stroz
August 9, 2008 12:21 AM | Link to this
Brendan - FIRST
to read the whole thing!
By Brendan
August 9, 2008 12:53 AM | Link to this
I got carried away. But I care about the Thrashers. And it starts at the top. And the top is ownership. What they do interests me, as a fan. Admittedly, I’m no Hawks fan. I was happy for their playoff run against the Celtics. I was stunned and amazed by it. But my interest lie primarily with the Thrashers. I guess … all I can really do is pray that the ASG also learns from their past mistakes, just like the Head Coaches and GMs they retain beyond a normal life expectancy for the results they obtained.
By R. Stroz
August 9, 2008 1:03 AM | Link to this
Brendan - Actually, it was pleasant to read some material from an individual who chooses to use his true identity.
By Alan
August 9, 2008 1:04 AM | Link to this
Stroz - You may be. I skipped the basketball stuff. Really, I dislike the sport. Put them on ice and allow them to “foul” each other, and then we’ll talk.
Sure, maybe it all goes back to “ownership” and all that, but it’s a non-story, as far as hockey is concerned. And I know the hawks have a couple blogs, but I wonder if one of them is past its expiry date. I saw one where no new post hadn’t been blogged by the writer since May… at least we’ve never gone more than a couple weeks without a new post from Craig/Mike or Rawhide.
Don’t consider this as me railing on good people like Brendan … I just tire of how other sports fans coming to these blogs to sound off about crap affecting their non-hockey club. We, in general, don’t care about the Hawks losing star players, or how the Falcons beat writer hasn’t posted a blog in over three months. Besides, don’t these people know the only sport worth watching is hockey? Geez, guys, whether it’s Braves, Hawks, or Falcons fans, those guys are missing out on some serious action.
Really, I didn’t care about Olympiakos, and I’m finding it difficult to care about Josh Smith — regardless of the link between the teams due to the ownership group.
By Smitty
August 9, 2008 8:25 AM | Link to this
Tony Rob Ray was and is one the most popular Sabres. He still is a part of the Sabres as he does color work for MSG cable which telecasts most of the Sabre games. If you get the NHL package you can see him on the Sabre telecasts. As for his communuity involvement, he was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for Leadership and Humanitarinism in 1999
By glovesave29
August 9, 2008 8:33 AM | Link to this
Brendan…seems pretty simple to me too…offer Enstrom a nice new contract NOW. Have it loaded with many *attainable * incentives. If he has another great season, tear it up and offer him a new one. We need to show our stars and emereging players a committment to them long term. Waiting around with the false pretense that the ASG / DW are hoping for the players sake for a good season so that they can give them more money is laughable.
By 74Dawg
August 9, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
Rawhide, I’ve clicked over to that CC link 3 times and I haven’t seen an article yet :)
By Tony C.
August 9, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this
eh…. I don’t know that I’d offer Tobi a really long contract. I really like his play (although somebody needs to tell the guy it’s OK-even a GOOD thing to shoot the puck), but I think I’m bigger than he is. While that’s not such a big deal between professional athelet vs. Comcast wage-slave, but 5’8” getting hammered night in, night out by 6’2”+ is going to show up. Hopefully it’s not something really bad like the hit on Bergeron this past season, but being realistic, you MUST take that factor into account.
Tobi did show incredible scrappiness and resilience (remember him taking LeCavallier down?), but I wonder if he’ll be able to bring it like that for the long haul. There’s more than one precedent for smurfy players having long, productive careers, but most of them are forwards. I can only think of one maybe two defencemen under 5’10” who have had long productive careers in the NHL. I mean isn’t Rafalski 5’10”? There’s a guy who was knocked on because of the size issue, but even he is much larger than Tobi.
I just don’t want to see ASG flip out and offer Tobi some super-long-term deal just to show that “We’re serious about keeping our home-grown talent”.
By Brendan
August 9, 2008 6:03 PM | Link to this
Glovesave, I agree. From the ownership/GM position, that last thing I’d really want to do is pay a player more than I have to. It’d be probably save them some money to offer Toby a deal now. I’m sure someone will counter-argue, “Toby’s only had one year in the NHL. Don’t roast Waddell and the ownership for wanting to see a bit more of him before they go longterm with him.” I can see that point. But Waddell’s policy (for everyone not named Hossa) is “not to negotiate during the year.” Meaning? Well, unless Waddell is willing to soften that stance a bit, he needs to pick up the phone, this offseason, and call Toby’s agent to see if the Enstrom camp is amenable to contract negotiations.
Again, I don’t if that’s happened. For all I know, Waddell tried that, and Enstrom preferred to defer to next offseason for contract negotiations. Or, throwing my hands wildly up their air, maybe Waddell really is trying to provide an incentive to Toby to have this super season. I can’t pretend to know what goes through Waddell’s head. All I can do is guess. For all I know, Waddell has begged and pleaded with the ownership to lock up Enstrom … and they’ve told him, “You’ll offer NOTHING and LIKE IT!!”
And, perhaps, Waddell has told the ownership, “Fine, if you want to pay more for Enstrom’s next contract, we can wait ‘til next year. You can commit now … or you can commit later, but either way, you’re gonna pay him. You’re the boss. I’m just the GM. I can lead you to information, but I can’t make you do the right thing. It’s YOUR money. Spend it how you like.” And then, Waddell, with head hung low, pulling out his greying hair, walks out of Levenson or Gearon’s office. If that’s his daily reality, he’s actually managed to garner my sympathy.
By glovesave29
August 9, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this
Tony…I am not suggesting 5 to 6 years, more in line of a 3 year deal. But think of this…Toby has another great season, and Don gets to call a press conference where he dramatically rips up the current contact and offers another, more lucrative one. This of the goodwill that creates…and finally some positive feelings about how Atlanta treats their players. We do this in late June, just weeks before the opening of Free Agency signing period. Think we’d have a better shot at the “big fish” then?
By Jethro
August 10, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
This hear blog needz sum humur uhgin. So like sum uther peepel on these hear blogz itz time fur sum multiple personality action.
We’ve all ready got one guy thatz pucked in tha head, why not anuther.
Speakin of hockey, haz any team ever failed to met the salree floor befour?
By Alan
August 10, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this
That would be a new thing, Jethro, but Atlanta, Phoenix, and Los Angeles sure are trying to become the first. It was a race to the bottom for them last season, and they’re still sorta stuck there.
By stendec
August 10, 2008 5:27 PM | Link to this
Screw the Russian! Thrashers have quota of Russian players already. Need no more. Nothing personal, Russian on this blog. Fare thee well, all. F++K FALCONS!
By Waffleboy
August 10, 2008 9:28 PM | Link to this
For the record, Enstrom is listed at 5’10”, not 5’8”. Though he definitely needs to put on a few pounds(listed at 175) he’s only giving up a few inches to most NHLers. At least those in the Eastern conference.
By bart
August 10, 2008 10:06 PM | Link to this
So AGS won’t get players to make a contending team. Could they get Erin and Craig back? Even if the team is not great more people would be interested in watching Erin and reading Craig. No offense to Ogie, I think he should have been given a chance to asst. coach.
By Bob
August 11, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this
Anderson is going to have his work cut out for him trying to turn around our defensive woes
That is the understatement of the offseason. I would hope that the owners know that it’s not Anderson’s fault this year, and let Don throw him under the bus when the club struggles. I would hope they’re all on the same page that this is a rebuilding year (or build year, I guess we never built the first time) and that it’s Anderson’s job this season just to let some kids like Little and Valabik see if they can’t turn into NHLers.
By ThrasherNY
August 11, 2008 11:22 AM | Link to this
Bob I also wonder how the ASG will choose to market this upcoming season. Those of us on this blog every day know it to be a “build year” but I am thinking they will not be able to afford to label it as such when selling the product to the general public. I think this will largely determine how Anderson is treated. With that being said I dont think that he would be fired even if the season completely tanks as the fan base in Atlanta has shown itself not to care for accountability.
Does anyone know the terms of Anderson’s contract? I am more curious about the length than the dollars.
Has anyone read anything with numbers related to the STH sales figures? I suspect they are down as I only know of 4 of the 10 friends/seats around my old seats that renewed. My brother (who now owns my old seats) did not renew so in my little section I am seeing a renew rate of < 50%.
By Erin Andrews
August 11, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
Rawhide, are the boys back in school yet? If so, can we meet for your old lunch from 12:00 to 12:02? Its been awhile.
By Mark
August 11, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this
Ok, two rookies, one very good 2nd year player, one horrible d-man in XLB, one solid overall d-man in Havelid and a offensive d-man that thrives on the power-play but does not contribute a ton beyond that. And you would take that d over any in our division? Thats just crazy.
Potential is great but counting on 2 rookies, one who is 18, to contribute in the NHL is a recipe for disaster. There is no gaurantee that Bogosian will even make the team out of camp. Not many 18 Year old draft picks do and most of them struggle big time if they do. Look no further than Bouwmeester for a perfect example of this. He had 16 points and was a minus 29 in his first season at 18. Those growing pains paid off later but to expect Bogosian to come into the NHL and contribute and be a positive player right off the bat is just not realistic.
Valabik has played 7 games in the NHL total. Chances are he is going to struggle on many nights too, until the learning curve kicks in. And dont use Enstrom as a counter point. What he did last season was tremendous and very rare among rookie defenseman.
So, basically we are hoping two green rookies and one free agent will turn around our d corps. Thats hoping for a lot. By the way, that free agent d man was -7 and had only 9 assists at even strength.
By Tony
August 11, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this
Mark, the two rookies not being a good plan is correct, but I also see Ken Klee being in the top 6 maybe still paired with Exelby again and then one of those rookies not suiting up as the 7th man. Then you can rotate them around as to who sits so we don’t have that risk.
Glovesave, you can’t just rip up a contract in the middle of it otherwise we could negotiate with Kovalchuk right now. Instead you have to wait when there is 1 year left then you can sign a new one. It sounded like a good gesture though.
By ThrasherNY
August 11, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this
Mark Tony has it right in that Klee will be a regular starter unless Valibik & Bogo show some unreal skills to compensate for their sure to be rookie mistakes. I would also contest that people think we have some addition by subtraction going on in losing Zhitnik. But I completely agree with you in principle this defensive group is not remarkably better than what we had last year. The future of the unit is 20x brighter but in the short run I dont see a drastic turn around. The exception being on the PK in that I think we have more than covered the loss of Hossa in that department and should see a nice uptick.
By Tony
August 11, 2008 2:26 PM | Link to this
ThrasherNY, I don’t think losing Hossa hurts the PK at all, losing Dupuis does though. But one of the guys from Pittsburgh can’t remember which lined up with Reasoner will do just as well.