Ice Man

By R. Stroz

November 23, 2008 1:14 AM | Link to this

Schneider is this year’s Zhitnik.

Burke is great at unloading defensemen on Waddell.

By Sage of Bluesland

November 23, 2008 1:14 AM | Link to this

Will the ‘real’ Thrashers stand up?

My feeling is that egg laid last night WAS the real Thrashers—and will be more apparent as the season progresses and the teams gain their ‘sea-legs’.

And so it goes…Get ready for more of the same…Kovy is gone—it’s so clear, isn’t it?

(Then again, just as obvious as the level of buffoonery of Donny Waddell)

By Thrashers27

November 23, 2008 1:48 AM | Link to this

Stroz, I actually wondered tonight if #18 was just #77 in sheep’s clothing. I say dump Schneider. I’ve seen nothing from him that’s been impressive…unless that is the plan to be the leader in the Tavares sweepstakes.

By Nikita

November 23, 2008 2:09 AM | Link to this

I thought Schneider looked o.k. this evening. But…

Good: 1. Some nice, hard play from our depth players. 2. Pavelec was stellar. 3. Nice, relatively physical play in general. Lots of chippitude, generally from Perrin and Hainsey.

Bad: 1. Princess Kovalchuk apparently had a pea in his bedding last night. He was HORRIBLE. And by horrible I mean he dropped passes, blasted passes past others on his team, missed passes aimed at him, and created chances and then dropped the puck. I have very little positive to say about his performance tonight. And I don’t like his attitude. Also, I’m sick of Kovy’s bad performances being all about everyone but Kovy — I think it’s time for him to step the ^%$# up. 2. WTF was up with the horrible coaching call at the end? Who pulls the goalie in advance of the final minute and with such obvious notice to the opposing team? Also, why change the lines if you don’t have to? And also, even within the game the lines changed.
3. Exelby was out of position a lot. Likewise , the goal that got called back rests solely on Perrin and co. for dumping the puck in order to change up (Perrin was last off the ice), and dumping it right into the waiting stick of a CBJ defender.

I’m totally frustrated — Thursday felt like we were close, and today felt like we were close to getting our asses kicked by the peewee players in the first intermission.

By Nikita

November 23, 2008 2:14 AM | Link to this

P.S. I also don’t understand why Anderson would choose to hold back his most physical players. The 4th line played very limited minutes, which I think was a mistake given the size of CBJ.

By LAC

November 23, 2008 2:15 AM | Link to this

I would agree, the numbers say it all.

Boris adds a VERY physical tough prospective to the team… This years #18, well not much.

Very listless, very uninspired and very BORING game to watch. This is an average team as Rawhide said, we should have been better… We were NOT.

When in the HELL are we going to go out and aquire some solid scorers ? This is getting way too old, but ole Dumb don thinks we have a winner here, get a LIFE don, you have no clue with this collection of cheap players, we should be a Whole lot better in what year of which 5 year plan is it now don ?

By LAC

November 23, 2008 2:36 AM | Link to this

Here is a quote from Exleby on the state of affairs going on right now.

“We are going to be in big trouble by Christmas, for the playoff picture, if we keep this up,” Exelby said. “Each and every one of us has to keep each one other accountable. It’s not just a turnover or a missed play. You’re letting your teammate down. We need to realize that we are playing for each other.”

This off the NHL.com site in the game recap… Hello Garnett… Wake Up !!!!

We are in a LOT of trouble trying to stay out of last place in the NHL, You can forget the playoffs…

Time for RAWHIDE night at a game, at least some comic relief !!!!

By B. Thenet

November 23, 2008 8:46 AM | Link to this

Christensen is Slater without the work ethic or grit. If he isn’t on the Top 2 scoring lines, he needs to be a healthy scratch.

Schnieder is a tolerable enough bottom pairing D. I just hope Anderson starts playing him that way, no reason for him to be on the ice when the game is on the line….at all.

By Hotrod

November 23, 2008 8:53 AM | Link to this

It is completely and totally unacceptable to fire only 15 shots in a home game!

Be very glad I am not the head coach. The whole team would be doing 15 minutes of suicides , get water, and do another 15 minutes.

Everyone needs to start playing above their natural skill level right now to compete in this thing called the NHL.

When you take your shift, you better have the mindset that ‘I’ am the leagues most valuable player and play like it; but as a team. Skate your fastest, hit your hardest, and shoot often.

By Thrashernut

November 23, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this

I take no pleasure in repeating my assertion since the second half of last season - “Kovalchuk is over-rated”. This will be proven by the sheer numbers of people who will attack any suggestion that he is no better than mediocre, using irrelevant statistics from seasons past. I expect the primary excuse to be that he has caught the Hossa disease, but so what - the description should still stick, and is not mutually exclusive to whatever excuse is made for his lackluster play. His shots are more apt to hit his own players than make it to the goal line. Trade him soon, while he still has good value.

By rj

November 23, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this

Kovalchuk, Koslov and all the rest of the highly paid players are just collecting paychecks and avoiding any situations where they might get a bruise.

I really liked Colby Armstrong’s play as a Penguin. He is basically invisible as a Thrasher.

The low paid guys are playing for their careers.

Thankfully there is Center Ice.

By PJ

November 23, 2008 12:41 PM | Link to this

Rawhide Oh what I wouldn’t give to see #61 in a Thrasher uniform….(sigh) As Brendan would say, bygones.

By Nikita

November 23, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this

I don’t know, man. Kovalchuk is certainly coasting or stewing or something — he’s not playing up to standard, and I feel like in some ways he’s bringing down the rest of the team.

But here are our top players, costwise:

Kovy — $6+ mill Hainsey — $4.5 mill and WEP, IMO Kozlov — $3.7 mill and not a bad investment Lehts — $3+ mill, eh. Havs — $2.9 mill and WEP White — $2.2 and currently WEP Williams — $2+ mill, and yet to be determined. Schneider — $a lot, and yet to be determined.

So, on why Kovalchuk is bringing down the team — more accurately the need to accommodate Kovalchuk is bringing down the team. No doubt Kovy is endowed with talent and physicality beyond that of most of the rest of the team. But no one has been able to bring that out consistently. No linemate has been a consistent success, except those who are large/scrappy enough to create chances and bad enough not to compete. But many of the players who are unsuccessful with Kovy have been consistently successful either on other teams or with other combinations of players on our team. Which indicates the problem is probably not them.

So…gonna get all crazy here. In the interests of balanced scoring, and what appears to be an unarguable fact that Kovalchuk will only score with linemates who are matched or better than him in grit and basic skills (a.k.a. forechecking, backchecking, passing), but not good enough to steal his thunder, the lines go like so:

Thorbs/Slater/Kovy Koz/White/Little (ain’t broke, don’t fix it) Perrin/Reasoner/Williams Boults/Armstrong/Hoffman

Incidentally, I think we should consider trading Erik Christensen. I think the potential is there, but I’m thinking we’re not the team to develop it. I think we need to trade him on a solid grinder with some offense.

I also think we need to consider bringing up Grant Lewis. Yes, we need physicality. But we also need intelligence and offensive ability — Schneids is looking better, and is fairly bright. But Exelby is slipping, and isn’t very talented or offensive anyway. And Valabik isn’t very smart, either. Oystrick’s working out great — let’s bring someone he knows to work with him.

Incidentally, yahoo sports shares my take on last night.

By Barry

November 23, 2008 12:58 PM | Link to this

I keep hoping Schneider will turn his game around and keep hoping that he’ll round into a decent pick up…I’m still waiting. I’m also waiting for Kovy to start showing up. That’s right. Kovy isn’t the same Kovy this year as in years past. Usually he’s the one leading this team and putting this team on his back when things get rough. He is not doing anything like that this season. I forgot the last time he actually scored a goal. Kovy last night was just awful. Constantly turning the puck over and no real strong puck possession. I think he needs to attend the Hossa school of puck possession.

By Nikita

November 23, 2008 1:17 PM | Link to this

P.S. Also, something I like about Anderson is that it appears he expects the players to take the heat as well as the praise. But who took it last night? Not one person with an A on their shirt. Eric freakin’ Perrin. Garnet freakin’ Exelby. In other words, the mid-level players who actually bothered to show up.

By polskidawg

November 23, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this

Rawhide – I take full responsibility for last night’s effort. It was my first game in 4+ seasons, due to health issues and the subsequent financial results that come with it. Well, maybe not full. It was great to see a live game again, even though the performance was listless as so accurately described by LAC.

I intended to give my unsolicited and hopefully realistic view of the team at 20 games, but 19 will suffice.

Ownership: an obvious mess. Underfinanced, no clear leadership, and no clear plan. Too many chefs in the kitchen.

Management: the organization is talent starved at all levels – NHL, AHL and ECHL. No NHL-ready scorers or defense. What talent that does exist seems to not be coached in-step with the NHL team. Scouting (for NCAA, Juniors) has been poor at best from day one. Euro scouting seems to be in line with most NHL teams. Drafting has been hit or miss, with a decidedly “miss” advantage. Reactive trading, rather than proactive since the lockout. Trades have been good (Savard), bad (Coburn) and even (Heatley, though bad circumstances). Free agents have been decidedly poor with few exceptions. RFA negotiations have been reactive/slow and paint a negative picture of the organization throughout the League. Current management (and ownership 4 years) has been afforded 10+ years to create a solid, consistent, winning, stable environment - and has failed miserably.

Coaching: it’s too early to tell. Anderson and his staff of highly thought of, young AHL-level assistants have not had sufficient time to instill the systems and thinking. Personally, as poorly as the teams record is, my opinion is that the team is playing far better than last season, which leads to…

Personnel: Let’s be realistic folks – not optimistic or pessimistic. There is a serious dearth of talent on your Atlanta Thrashers.

The team is weak at the C position, especially with Little playing at RW. However, it is better than last season, with EC being the weakest link. The best teams - playoff teams - are far better at C.

The team has average scoring on the wing on lines #1 and #2, but essential none on #3 and #4. The premiere winger has not been in a consistent trio since ‘03/04. It’s also been that long since he’s had a playmaking C on his line.

The team is small, intimidated easily, does not stand up for each other (why do I only see Kovy go after opponents when its call for??) and lacks any real physical play?

So far, the defensive unit is THE BEST IS TEAM HISTORY, both in talent and play. Let that sink in for a moment. With that said, the team D is faster (eXcluding X and Boris) and has more scoring touch, but sadly they lack presence.

The team also lacks a stopper in the net. KL has talent, size and occasionally performance that matches those attributes, His injury history and propensity to have mental meltdown makes him unreliable going forward. Moose is a good 8 – 10 game option only. Pavelec shows promise, but is highly untested. There are no viable options left.

Conclusion: What we have here is a 70 – 80 point team, with new coaches, poor management and poorer ownership. That is reality.

We also had a handful of good NHL players, both young and old (Little, Pavelec, Kovy, Kozlov, Hainsey, Armstrong) that we can support, while hoping for the best future adjustments in ownership and management. That’s what I’m going to do – I don’t want to lose another team, because I waited 18 years the last time.

Note: I apologize for the Brendanesque or Saraesque (truly, no offense intended) length of this post. I promise it won’t happen again. At least for several months.

By HookyBob

November 23, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this

Last night’s game was disappointing. The effort made me miss Serge Aubin and JP Vigier. However, I have to think Columbus played a Hitchcock style game quite well,…and made us play their game.

Columbus may be the most physical team we’ve played (at least that I have seen). Perhaps that is why I thought Thorburn was one of the few Thrashers who had a good game (actully the entire 4th line was good). Nikita, I’d be up giving him a chance w Kovy. By “a chance” I’m thinking upwards of 3 games. But, if I were king I’d try the line of Kovy, Thorburn, & Perrin. Perrin brings a solid effort every night.

Whatever,… coach must find something to ignite the fire in Kovy. Remember how he carried the team last year (until that cheapshot by RuTu)? He seems to lack that this year. I second your comments Barry & Nikita.

As for defence: Schnieder,…I keep hoping he’ll come around to the game he used to play (we know he can play). However, if he doesn’t I’d like to see Arturs Kulda given a chance. BTW, I like the play of Nathan Oysterick. He has been solid,… kind of like Hnidy was.

Hats off to X. It is about time we called the other team on something physical. It is a shame he and Kovy are the only ones who respond on this aspect.

Poliskidawg: Great analysis. The Cliff notes version might read,.. ownership won’t and mgmt can’t. Followed up by “small overall and weak at center.”

Toronto on Tuesday..please show up for this game… boys in blue. A 4 game losing streak with the last game being the Leafs would really try any fan’s loyalty.

Go Thrashers.

By Rawhide

November 23, 2008 7:13 PM | Link to this

polskidawg - That was an excellent post, indeed!! Very well writtena nd a very good read!

standing a applauding!

By Get The Puck Out

November 23, 2008 7:51 PM | Link to this

Polskidawg- you are totally correct. I think a blockbuster trade will be made sometime in the near future and it will be Kovy. Lets may also be part of the deal. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Sure hope they get their SOG up a little higher or it’s gonna be a long winter.

By Sage of Bluesland

November 23, 2008 8:06 PM | Link to this

Great post, Polskidawg. I wonder when those who think we have legitimate talent across the board will wake up to this silly thing called ‘reality’?

The organization, from top to bottom, is a mess of epic proportions. It has been built shoddily from the very beginning—and nothing has changed.

What a surprise, I know. Yet the sheeple will continue to be blind and do nothing but make pitiful excuses…

By TableHockey

November 23, 2008 8:21 PM | Link to this

Darn PJ - If I remember correctly we just missed Rick Nash getting on the bus after the All-Star game.

By PJ

November 23, 2008 9:41 PM | Link to this

Table Hockey Yes, good times… I had my hand on his sleeve, next in line for an autograph when the security guy lead him onto the bus. Day-um! I was too stunned to speak, kinda like the Custance - Alissa Milano interview.

By Tony C.

November 23, 2008 9:57 PM | Link to this

Wow.

For the 1st time I am not upset that my DVR malfunctioned and didn’t get anything past the 1st.

I’m taking it that it didn’t get any better.

By PJ

November 23, 2008 10:41 PM | Link to this

If I may come to Kovalchuk’s defense here…. in a recent interview he said something like, “I am the player, he is the coach. He (Anderson) is looking at the big picture and I trust his judgement, my job is to do what he says”. It’s part of Anderson’s “system” to teach Kovy to be a team player, given he has been called “selfish” on numerous occasions and a puckhog. I wonder if his recent outbursts are frustration in holding back his true nature, allowing others a chance to score and then getting frustrated when we lose anyway when he is doing exactly what the coach asked him to do. When you’re the alpha, it’s hard to not be the alpha. Now I admit, I don’t know what’s in his head but this is a blog and subject to speculation. Therefore given his actions, what he said in a recent interview and what Anderson said previously, I sumise, it’s possible. So give the man a chance, eh? After all, he did carry this team all last season. He may have learned, he can’t do it all himself.

By Nikita

November 23, 2008 11:21 PM | Link to this

There’s a difference between being restrained and frustrated because the restraint is not working, and being a piker who can’t sink an empty netter. Kovalchuk, on Saturday, was horrible. His play would not have been acceptable on a college club team, or in the ECHL or the AHL. If a Wolf played like that, we’d send him back. To make it even worse, he capped off sloppy play with asshat behavior. And this is our marquee player.

Basically, when the coach said he had an off night, that was the understatement of the century. He appeared to be completely mentally disengaged, with no interest in winning.

Also, I failed to give kudos to the swedes. They looked great last night — which is why they’re even.

By Brendan

November 23, 2008 11:21 PM | Link to this

In Saturday’s paper, there was coverage of the David McDavid lawsuit against against TBS. It was advanced that McDavid only had $80 million in liquid assets when $160 million was needed to secure the franchises. The paper advanced the notion that the Atlanta Spirit offer was better, and that the AS, LLC was able to put up more “personal assets” as collateral to complete the sale. And finally, the article alleges that the Hawks and Thrashers have been hemoraging money ever since they were acquired. I saw ridiculous figures, like between $100 to $150 million in losses from 2002 to 2005.

I don’t know how much of it, if anything, I believe. But I know this much. The ownership isn’t committed, financially, to putting forth the best possible product that it can in this market. Instead, what we’ve seen … is something tantamount to blind faith in Don Waddell, with reduced budgets and questionable vision for the future.

That’s a tough nut to swallow for fans of the Atlanta Thrashers. But there it is. And because of it, it’s been very difficult to lure household names to this market. Tier I free agents are leery of the “vision and direction” of the team. Sports agents who represent Tier I free agents are hesitant to recommend our market, given the instability and suspect finances of the ownership.

Until these circumstances change, we’ll continue to see what we have. Namely, our top players “walking for nothing” or forcing a trade as a result of the team’s inability to re-sign them. Waddell is going to have to be proactive with contracts to have any sort of chance at player retention. Ultimately, that’s the ownership’s call. They finance this team. There’s only so much a GM can do with a budget $10+ million under the cap. Even moreso, when that GM is named Waddell.

By ranallo10 (in AT)

November 24, 2008 5:00 AM | Link to this

So the gist is that ownership sucks, but was able to buy the team because they had more assets to put up as collateral (read: Daddy or Daddy-in-law has lots of money to support the venture)…and due to said crappy ownership, this team may not ever get any better than the playoff sweep of two seasons back.

By ranallo10 (in AT)

November 24, 2008 6:29 AM | Link to this

For the record, there is no guarantee that McDavid would have run this team any differently than the Atlanta Spirit Group has to this point. The reported financial losses are hard to overcome in a short time frame, and having a smaller bank account might have been more of a detriment than what we’ve seen with the current millionaires running the show on a relative shoe-string budget.

McDavid is no White Knight…but I would still rather have him running the show with the passion I feel he brings to the table. Now that the hearing is a bringing a little more information to the public, it seems to me McDavid was a very diligent person with his research and preparation for buying these franchises. In my opinion he either saw a great business opportunity (ex1: buy the team, right the ship, sell it for a massive profit, ex2: buy the team and keep it while making money hand over fist) or he saw it as a true passion, and wanted to own these teams.

Regardless, we’re stuck with the Atlanta Spirit Group for the foreseeable future. Regrettably so in my opinion.

By Sara

November 24, 2008 7:26 AM | Link to this

Brendan add to that a quote from Seydel in court about two weeks ago that he is no longer able to meet calls for capital by the team and you begin to realize exactly how deep this hole is.Nor will any GM change fix it. Ken Holland or Lou Lamoriello could come in here and still nothing would really change because even if great players were willing to follow them here, they aren’t going to follow them for essentially pennies on the dollar.

And since so many want to throw Kovy under the bus, why don’t you throw Slava under there with him…since he’s the one that took two different stupid frustration penalties, including one with basically 5 minutes left in the game when we were trying to tie it up?

The truly sad part of the loss the other night is that the Thrashers actually played a solid defensive game. 31 SOG isn’t ridiculous and they limited the Blue Jackets to one ES goal. There was lots of back-checking by the forwards (including by Kovy). Those aren’t results you can complain about. The ones in the O-zone however…blech.

The true frustration to all of this is that in the vast majority of the losses, the team was this close to a win. Or at least an OT point. I mentioned earlier in the season that just under half of the losses last year were by three or more goals and that is far from the case this season. It’s an unfair reality that the record doesn’t reflect the fact the team as a whole is playing better this season than last.

By ranallo10 (in AT)

November 24, 2008 7:45 AM | Link to this

There was lots of back-checking by the forwards (including by Kovy).

And this happened in the closing seconds of a period…a time in which the team has notoriously relaxed too early. It’s easy to blame everything on the superstar, he’s placed on the pedestal simply because he is so good. He’s not perfect, but he’s becoming more of a team player than a one-man show, and when the wins start coming I believe he’ll start showing much more enthusiasm about the game. I’d be frustrated too if I was the best player on my team, and no matter what I did the team couldn’t win consistently.

It’s an unfair reality that the record doesn’t reflect the fact the team as a whole is playing better this season than last.

As a whole, the team does seem to be playing better (from the little I’ve been able to see). The problem is that many fans expect to see monumental differences, not just incremental differences.

For those expecting playoff caliber hockey this season, the Thrashers aren’t the team to watch. For those content with watching a team hopefully grow together into a cohesive and eventually become a competitive club, then enjoy the little things you can from each and every Thrashers game.

By Jim

November 24, 2008 7:53 AM | Link to this

Anderson said it after the game. We have to fight for position,shots, etc. We’ve got a Gritless team. Exelby talks a better game than he plays. Schneider can be counted on to come up with a big mistake at just the right time. Boulton and Thorburn add zero.

By Tom

November 24, 2008 8:30 AM | Link to this

*Shanahan Fails to come to terms with Philadelphia. *

Would he be a benefit for the Thrashers or be another Klee/Schnieder?

I am not posing this question as whether he would want to come to Atlanta, but rather would he help the team at this stage of the season?

Odds are that he wants to be on a better team, but we are one of the few with cap room for him.

By docsbro

November 24, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this

I agree Jim!! This team just like every team before them has NO grit. Nobody to step up when it needs to be done. Kovy is pressing and it is what happens to him when he feels he has to do everything…including step in when team mates are getting knocked out(see Todd White)… I really think that a Captain needs to be named. Let the players vote and move on.

It is silly to me to play this..”somebody will step up game” get over it and let the players choose who will lead them. They are the ones who need a Captain not the coach.

Thorburn hasn’t done ANYTHING to contribute to this team…at least bolts trys to provide a physical presence…He is just too small. The bottom line is that all the good teams in this league are physical…exception is Detroit and they have ALL the skill players in the league on their team….

I know DW learned in Detroit… well I have seen Detroit sir and you are no Detroit!!

By Bob

November 24, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this

When there are this many problems up and down and across an organization, you can always point to the man in charge, and that’s Waddell.

Throw in our ownership cluster, and it’s all the more reason you need a GM that can lead on his own, the owners have no hands on in the day to day of this club, it’s all Donny, and it shows.

By Lew318

November 24, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

Terence Moore’s column says volumes. This is a team at best with an identity that needs to change: - 500 win/loss% at best

A team that doesn’t play a full 60 minutes of hockey

A team that is mediocore at best, does not know how to win and may not have a desire to win… and may not have the right players to win

A team with a coach with more deisire to win then the players AFTER NINE YEARS OF REBUILDING WE ARE STILL REBUILDING. TO SAY THIS IS A DISAPPOINTMENT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!!

By Alan

November 24, 2008 9:49 AM | Link to this

When Boris Valabik is in the lineup, Atlanta is 4-1-0. When Mathieu Schneider is in the lineup, Atlanta is 3-9-2. Valabik is +1 in five games. Schneider is -12 in 14 games.

I was thinking the very same thing. I mean, the very same thing. I have to wonder if he was in attendance at any of the Thrashers wins during out five game foray with what appeared to be a turnaround.

I would advocate sitting Schneider for a while. Whether he’s hiding an injury or he just sucks this year, he needs to sit.

By Get The Puck Out

November 24, 2008 10:04 AM | Link to this

Anybody besides me totally bummed because Sportsouth is missing so many games? Heck they broadcasted preseason Braves games and we can’t see regular season Thrashers games? Also what’s up with JP and Matt spliting broadcasting duties? Which one do you think does the best job? As to the problems with Kovy the biggest problem is frustration. Frustration with losing, frustration with not scoring, frustration with not gelling with other players. At your job if nothing is going right frustration will set in. This team can win when they are playing as a team as we have already seen. I realize that ownership is in it over their head and it trickles down to Don Waddell, but the team needs to focus on what they have to do and that’s play sixty minutes of hockey to the best of their ability. I just hope the owners will realize that only diehard fans will pay to see a subpar team and if they want to turn a profit you have to have a team that WINS. I’ll watch and go to the games because i love hockey,period. If it takes new owners then the current owners need to start shopping the team to new owners. I think they owe that to the fans that have had to endure the teams that have been here so far. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but the frustration may lead Kovy to want to play somewhere else where his true hockey ability can be let out. God help us cause it may take devine intervention to right this team. All i can say is as a fan is GO THRASHERS - I’M WITH YA!!!!!

By Alan

November 24, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this

Anybody besides me totally bummed because Sportsouth is missing so many games?

Yes, certainly. It’s frustrating…

As to the problems with Kovy the biggest problem is frustration.

Not necessarily. Methinks he’s trying to be too much of a team player now than he used to be. I for one think he should be a tad more selfish with the puck. Yes, he’s helped set up some beautiful goals with his passing, but I think he should also take some opportunities to shoot more.

I think the only people frustrated with Kovalchuk’s play right now are the fans, not the man himself.

I just hope the owners will realize that only diehard fans will pay to see a subpar team and if they want to turn a profit you have to have a team that WINS.

With all the early “sales” so far this season, methinks they’re realizing just that.

By Nikita

November 24, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this

In Schneider’s favor…he sat a while while in limbo, and is adjusting to a completely new situation. And he’s probably not going to get better if we don’t play him. I think the two are about even in terms of what they can do for the team at this point — Valabik can’t read the ice and takes stupid penalties, and Schneider is currently not in sync with the Thrashers system of play.

Terence Moore’s column is good, except I simply don’t agree that the team is talent-challenged. For one thing, I think we get in the position of thinking that the now is the ever, and it isn’t. Last season sucked horribly, and nearly everyone produced half of what they’re capable of. But take most of our players and ship them out to teams that are run better and you will see them go back to their statistically-average production. Which, if we can get that production here, is enough to make the team competitive, but probably not good enough to go into the playoffs without a few additional pieces. We also have a large group of young players who have the talent to be producing way more than they are now, and if we let them go I suspect you’ll see them do that elsewhere. In other words, we have plenty of talent for now and we should concentrate on deploying it correctly. Later in the season, we’ll need to add more.

So…I guess that brings us back to the Anderson system. Until it’s set and it’s clear who’s in it and who can’t adjust, and how the kids are developing within it. we’re probably going to have to suffer. And I can accept that. But I can’t accept non-efforts like Saturday, where the less talented players who strive to stay on NHL ice by playing hard do so and no one else bothers to show up. Our big boys, particularly our most treasured, need to step the f*** up.

Misc. other —

IMO, Shanahan is a great choice, and he’s a consummate punk and pro, but he’s unlikely to come here. He doesn’t want to go further than commuting distance from NYC/Boston.

And Perrin on the top line? Why not? At least we know Perrin will make something happen or die trying — maybe the attitude will rub off. Then we can secure a top LW or C for Kovy and move Perrin back down to let him rehab the Penguins. (Incidentally, I really don’t have any issues with Williams or Reasoner — I think they’re already doing well, and I hope we’ll be able to figure out where they do best.)

By ranallo10 (in AT)

November 24, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this

Get The Puck Out — If that was “Matt” who did the Columbus game, I can deal with him. JP Dellacamra (sp?) is not an interesting play-by-play man to me, and quite frankly does not bring anything resembling substance to the broadcast. His flirting with Darren Elliot gets nauseating. It’s not as bad as Kamal, but it’s in the neighborhood.

I’d say stick with Matt whatever-his-name-is just because it’s a change.

As for Sportsouth, I’m more disappointed by the lack of quality the channel brings to the broadcast. They are one of the only television crews that I feel makes VS look good! During the Columbus game (one of a couple I’ve been able to actually WATCH due to being abroad) they actually had the wrong graphic up while speaking about Ondrej Pavelec. The majority of the discussion they showed Mason’s stats, then popped to Pavelec for a second until the camera changed. That’s just bad, someone wasn’t prepared. Then, during the game there were MANY times where they decided to stay zoomed in on an individual player who no longer had the puck. We missed the Williams backhanded redirection/shot because of this, we missed Perrin’s one-two with Kovalchuk because of this…that’s simply poor broadcasting, in my opinion.

By Sara

November 24, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this

I think the only people frustrated with Kovalchuk’s play right now are the fans, not the man himself.

I strongly disagree with this statement. I think the most frustrated person with Kovy’s play is Kovy. But you are correct in that he is struggling to adapt to the team-oriented concept. The good in that is that Kovy tends to hurt the team more when he tries to be Captain America (hence the reason he is not Captain). He’s being taught to incorporate his linemates into the play more instead of doing it all by himself (because he shouldn’t have to do it all himself). The problem is that his linemates don’t get the job done. He makes beautiful passes to Williams or Crusher and they shoot wide, or miss the pass, or fumble with it, or a million other things besides putting it into the back of the net. Which then makes Kovy want to do it all by himself because he is the one who traditionally gets it done. Those two things are warring with each other and it’s making Kovy insane would be my guess.

Kovy essentially is trying to fill both his natural scoring role and Savard’s playmaking role and that’s just not happening. Frankly Kovy can fill either role and I don’t think he necessarily cares either so long as his line is scoring and the team is winning. So either he needs at least one other linemate that can finish plays or one other linemate that can create plays. Problem is thus far the only players exhibiting that on a routine basis are on the second line so to change them around would be robbing Peter to pay Paul so to speak.

The odds overall are better that the team can find someone to finish than create (given we haven’t come up with a playmaker in the 2+ seasons since Savard left). Problem is unless someone already on the roster has been holding back or some kid in Chi-town can step up to the plate, we’re out of luck cause going out and purchasing a top player seems to be out of the question.

By Alan

November 24, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this

I think the most frustrated person with Kovy’s play is Kovy.

He might be frustrated. He hasn’t exactly vocalized it (though, admittedly, I’ve been shying away from reading blogs and stories - especially on weekends and “days off”). Some of the comments on this and Knobler’s blog should shed some light on why that is.). Kovalchuk has also always slow to start.

We go through this song and dance every year. “Why isn’t Kovalchuk scoring?” or “Kovalchuk has been invisible so far this year!” Sounds a lot like fan frustration to me. The man has almost a point per game, although they might not be the points we want him to have, they are points nonetheless. It illustrates that he is, at the very least, generating scoring chances and finding an open man to get the chance… whether it be an assist on an open net goal, or a fluke chance by Slater during that Penguins game (personally, I think Slater’s falling down goal was better than Crosby’s falling over goal… but I might be biased).

By Brendan

November 24, 2008 1:21 PM | Link to this

A-men, Ranallo. That’s the nuts and bolts of it. Speaking of “Bolts,” did you see Tampa Bay’s 3rd jersey? I thought it might be a “scrimmage” jersey. Hey, I guess the die-hards will buy it, just b/c it’s out there to be bought.

Hey, since the Bolts fired $2.0 million-a-year Head Coach Barry Melrose and installed the arrested, indicted and convicted Rick Tocchet (Janet Betzky affair), how has Tampa’s record faired? Have they started winning game after game?

I hope Tocchet doesn’t drink and drive or possess a firearm while on “probation,” which is what he got sentenced to, or the Bolts will have to turn to some assistant Coach to run the practices and games. When Tampa eventually hires another Head Coach, it’ll be the third one that they’re paying this season. And, there’s also the possibility that the next Head Coach will only be a “20-game appointment.”

I didn’t think it possible, but Oren Koules actually makes the Atlanta Spirit, LLC, look good by comparison. He runs like the Tampa Bay Lightning as if it were an online “fantasy league.”