AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > November > 30 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USBlown Lead To Blues Give Blueland The Blues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK…say that five times fast!
Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Blues was billed as a “Red Alert” game as the Thrashers were wearing their red alternate jerseys. But after the game it was coach John Anderson that was seeing red as he voiced his displeasure in the way his Thrashers have been performing lately. So much so that he seems to be ready to shake things up.
“We’re going to look at the whole situation, look at what we have, what we have in the minors and figure out what steps need to be taken”, the coach remarked after watching his team waste a 2-1 first period lead enroute to a 4-2 loss to a Blues team that had lost to the Edmonton Oilers the day before in St. Louis.
There have been some minor adjustments that have happened recently, but reading between the lines I think those are minor tweeks compared to what is needed…and what Anderson may have in mind.
Flip-flopping netmiders hasn’t really yeilded any permanent results. However, Odrej Pavelec played well Sunday as he turned away 43 of the 46 shots taken against him. The Blues empty-netter at the end made for 47 SOG on the afternoon, a season high…or low if you prefer…for Atlanta this season.
Of the two…I would rather see more of Opie than Moose right now.
Erik Christenesen has watched the last two games from the comfy confines of the press box after struggling for the first quarter of the season. Joey Crabb has played in his place and, though not netting any points as of yet, he has played with a good deal of hustle.
But we should be looking at some different changes as this week unfolds. Maybe Colin Stuart or Brett Sterling could being seeing some action. Maybe we could be looking at more drastic modification as Anderson held a post-game meeting with general manager Don Waddell to discuss possile changes.
Personally, off the top of my head, there are two players that should have their playing time greatly reduced…if not eliminated altogether. Jason Williams and Mathieu Schneider. It’s a shame too because both are players that I thought were going to have a positive impact on this team.
Schneider left the game with what was disclosed as an upper body injury. So it is entirely possible that Boris Valabic could see some more action soon.
However, they certainly do not deserve to shoulder all of the blame for the team’s very un-good 8-12-3 record. The entire team is struggling to connect three consecutive solid period on a consistant basis.
“We’re not playing as good as we can play right now, and we’ve got to figure it out right away,” Anderson said. “It’ll get so far out of hand that we won’t be able to reel it back in”. Indeed. There have to be changes made, even drastic ones.
But to me, the most damning remarks from Anderson were, “We’ve got to compete more. We stopped competing.”
Getting beat because the other team out played you is one thing. But when your coach accuses you of not even competing, well, that’s the point at which players can start seeing their name removed from the regular lineup…or from atop of their lockers.
Combined with Atlanta’s defeat at Maroonland Sunday, Florida beat the Rangers 4-0 and Dallas slipped by Edmonton 4-3. Those results have left the Thrashers tied for last with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
And we’re not just just talkin’ last in the Southeast Division…or the Eastern Conference…but dead last in the entire leaue.
Oh, and the Bolts have already made a fairly drastic change already.
But here, I firmly believe that the coaching staff that is in place is the right group for the job. Where The Mullet was relieved of his duty primarily because ownership wanted their top draft pick to play more…I think coach Anderson and his crew need to work out who needs to play less. Maybe even who needs to never play again in Thrashers blue…or maroon.
Congrats To Tkachuk
Keith Tkachuk’s power play goal that tied the score at 2-2 during the second period was his 1,000th career point. Those in attendance gave him…a player who helped get the Thrashers to their one and only playoff apperence… a very warm and well deserved ovation.
Tkachuk is the 72nd NHL player to reach the 1,000 point mark and only the sixth U.S. born player to do so.
One Last Shout-Out For The Weekend
I had the unexpected pleasure of sitting near Hockey Biltong and the lovely and gracious Mrs. Biltong at Sunday’s game. They were with a small group in section 119. Very nice to have met these two wonderful Thrashers fans.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
November 30, 2008 9:59 PM | Link to this
I could’ve sworn that said “Combined with Atlanta’s defeat at Moronland”…
By d
November 30, 2008 10:42 PM | Link to this
Does coach Anderson’s comments about shaking up the roster put heat on the ASG to replace DW at this time?
By Stevo
November 30, 2008 11:05 PM | Link to this
Just throwing this out there. What about signing a free agent to help the team? Brendan Shanahan and Mats Sundin are still unsigned. The Thrashers have cap room. Would either one of those players help the team at this time? And which one would be worth signing?
By ranallo10 (in AT)
November 30, 2008 11:13 PM | Link to this
Stevo — I don’t think either would seriously consider coming to Atlanta, no matter how much money was thrown at them.
Two veterans on their last legs…neither have a reason to come to a losing team that is in the process of developing and building for the future.
By Brendan
December 1, 2008 12:03 AM | Link to this
Let’s not forget that there’s no way the Atlanta Spirit would finance the additional salary in a build year. The payroll is set where it is intentionally. If the Thrashers wanted to gun for the Cup, they could have tossed their hat into the ring for either UFA (Sundin or Shanny) last summer. Of course, Atlanta’s offer would be useful to both players in driving up the cost to their intended team.
By Nikita
December 1, 2008 12:44 AM | Link to this
Shanny won’t come here, and we don’t want Sundin. But it would be fantastic if we could lure someone like Spezza. (IMO, Shanny would be a great addition — but again, he’s not coming.)
My recommendations for tossing: 1. Erik Christensen — Mentally and physically delicate, and not contributing. Isn’t versatile enough to make it work in a less-than-ideal position. 2. Eric Boulton — does his job fine, but lacks the skills to make offensive contributions. Takes up a roster space better devoted to an up and comer. 3. Garnet Exelby — saying he’s better is like saying that a gunshot wound is good because it isn’t to a major artery. Also lacks offensive capabilty. Young enough to possibly be an attractive trade, though. 4. Schneider — he was adjusting, dang it. But now he’s injured. And he might be the best bait we have. We could get major value from trading him.
5. Thorbs — I would only want him thrown in if necessary, since I think he’s been in adverse conditions all season and hasn’t seen consistent enough duty to make a good contribution. But for a trade up, it’d be worth it.
I think for starters we need to bring up Grant Lewis and Mike Hoffman. I have generally not been impressed with Riley Holzapfel or Jordan Lavallee, but I think they could fill in if necessary. Ditto Kulda. Could we bring up Spencer Machacek?
Explain your Williams rationale, Rawhide? I’m cool with trading him for a better player, but I’m not unhappy with his performance so far. Particularly since he’s been in adverse circumstances as well.
By R. Stroz
December 1, 2008 12:48 AM | Link to this
Nikita - My problems with Jason Williams are:
1) He passes to the other team more than his own.
2) No guts
3) Lazy
I’d rather trade Williams for a bag of pucks and give Esposito a chance.
By Nikita
December 1, 2008 12:51 AM | Link to this
Oh, forgot…Joe Motzko. The important thing, I think, in addition to skill and fit, is size. Several of the teams we’ve recently lost to (Columbus, Nashville) were substantially larger and basically beat the Thrash down. We have other teams that we haven’t played yet that will do the same (such as the Canucks) — we need to get some offensively-minded large bodies on the ice to give weight to the existing roster. Unfortunately some of our smallest players are also our best contributors.
By swegs
December 1, 2008 1:18 AM | Link to this
i think if everyone(minus a select few players) just started skating and not standing around watching the puck we would improve right away. id like to see every player on their first shift of each period just go balls to the wall to get their juices flowing.
By Sage of Bluesland
December 1, 2008 2:43 AM | Link to this
Come on, folks—Don Waddell has been “building through the draft!” for nearly a decade now.
Have you lost faith in the “Legends of Blueland” that have graced several pages of the propaganda book given out at games?
I’m ‘sure’ that our minor leagues are stocked and ready to provide large numbers of reinforcements to the parent club any YEAR now!
(Wake up, folks! Stop subsidizing the incompetence…)
By Bob
December 1, 2008 9:05 AM | Link to this
Goodness, we have nothing to trade that anyone wants, except Kovy, and they’re not trading him, he’s the only thing selling the few tix they do sell. They’ll hold onto him until the last minute, like they did with Hoss.
I think they’ll call Stuart up, I liked his grit and effort for the Wolves in their run last year, I think Coach likes him as well.
But there’s no scoring to bring up, and that’s what they need.
So, just grin and bear it. It’s the build year, if you expected more, well, all I can say is that some of us tried to tell you not to get your expectations up, but try to temper them from here out. This team is only competing for one thing, the #1 overall pick.
If by some small miracle, the Spirit comes to their senses and fires Waddell, then a new GM could come in next summer and rebuild this thing. But under Waddell, it’s just going to be more of the same old mess.
By NASCAR Dave
December 1, 2008 10:31 AM | Link to this
Hmmm… So what did CHRISTENA do for us??? What about JENNY SLATER and ERICA PERRIN??? What did they contribute???
NUFF SAID.
By Nikita
December 1, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
Is that all you got, NASCAR? Insulting our players by comparing them to girls? Eff You. And by the way, I’m fairly certain that PJ, Sara, and I are all capable of taking you.
Exciting news on the lines. I see JA’s shaking things up and keeping people accountable.
By waddel
December 1, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
I know I suck as a GM but hey I am the puppet of the owners!!!! They tell me what I can spend and I say okey dokey =). I have consistantly screwed up the team but I am too much of a pansy to resign or to actually put a good team on the ice. All of you fans need to start a riot in front of my office and and demand my imediate termination on the basis of putting me out of yours and my misery. PLEASE GET ME FIRED I AM BEGGING YOU, I AM A SUCKKY GM WITH NO BALLS AND I AM CONSTANTLY BOSSED AROUND BY THE OWNERSHIP.
By Hockey Biltong
December 1, 2008 1:01 PM | Link to this
RH, A pleasure to meet you and your young’un. It’s always good to put a face with a name. Well it will be interesting to see how Kovy responds in the next two games.Hopefully he won’t be so demoralised that he turns into something he’s not. As Nikita has said, we need some beef and soon. I keep seeing Enstrom looking more and more like a flat Wil E. Coyote right after the Road Runner drives over him with a steam roller.
By Brendan
December 1, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this
Former Thrasher draft pick Patrick Dwyer got his first NHL goal for the Carolina Hurricanes. So, Don Waddell drafted another player into the league, albeit a call up player. I think Dwyer was a 4th round pick, taken in the viscinity of #110 to #120. I can’t remember which year now.
By PJ
December 1, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this
Nikita I’m in.
By Sage of Bluesland
December 1, 2008 4:28 PM | Link to this
I just listened to Coach Sunshine’s press conference after the Blues loss—and his body language says more than his words ever will.
Funny, this guy was talking about shooting for Stanley Cups prior to the big-boy games—he’s not looking so good now!!!
As with everything related to this organization, a complete and utter joke.
Stop subsidizing the incompetence…
By Steely Dan
December 1, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this
I’m glad KT got his 1,000th point here. I’m sure he would have loved for it to have been in St. Louis, but it gave us a chance to share the moment with him.
If there is a player that our group of guys could learn a lesson from in regards to hustle and effort 110% of the time, it’s Keith Tkachuk.
As for the lineup changes, I think it needed to be done. But, I really think the one change that needs to be made in this organization is Don Waddell. But the Spirit Clowns don’t have the nads to do it.
Shame.
By polskidawg
December 1, 2008 5:39 PM | Link to this
Bob - the more I read your comments, the more I think we (and RH) are essentially on the same page with this team and organization - its not pessimism to say that this team simply lacks NHL talent. Nor is it pessimism to reasonably discuss the failures of the GM/Ownership.
I think we all want the team to do well, and see JA make the most of his opportunity. Sadly, the deck was stacked against him from day one.
And you are completely correct in your thought about “trades” - You’ve got to have something that others value to make trades. Kovy, Little, Pav, Bogosian - who else?
By Brendan
December 1, 2008 5:50 PM | Link to this
Bob, you wrote, Goodness, we have nothing to trade that anyone wants, except Kovy, and they’re not trading him, he’s the only thing selling the few tix they do sell. They’ll hold onto him until the last minute, like they did with Hoss.
I definitely agree with you that Kovalchuk is the player who would bring the most value in a trade. But there are actually players the Thrashers could stupidly trade, unfortunately. I would think most teams would show interest in Bryan Little, Zach Bogosian and Ondrej Pavelec. The stupidest thing I can think of … in a build year … would be to trade the future of our team to marginally improve our current situation. It’s tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot. It accomplishes something close to nothing. It might sell an extra 500-800 seats per game. And, in the BIG SCHEME OF THINGS, what’s that worth?
This team might finish with 59-points. It might finish with 69-points. Or it might finish with 79-points. Any of that worth losing Bryan Little, Ondrej Pavelec, or Zach Bogosian over? This is the inherent danger that a BAD GM brings. I wouldn’t even trade lesser players than these. We don’t know what we have in Valabik yet. Kari has value, even if it’s only as a backup goalie. Enstrom is worth keeping. Sterling should be kept a bit longer. Ya know, barring someone handing us a much better player, under contract for another 3-5 years.
Kozlov has that NTC. And it’s tough to move guys like Thorburn and Boulton, other than as sweetener in a package deal. And what does that bring? Probably not even enough to cover their loss. Schneider and Havelid won’t be dealt until the deadline, when teams can take on their pro-rated salaries. Perrin might fetch something now. But it’ll be a lesser draft pick of some variety. It’d be better to package him at the trade deadline.
Bottom line, to me, is … we’re just going to have to improve with the players that we’ve got. Or we’re going to have to call up guys like C. Stuart, J. LaVallee, etc. If we trade Pavelec, Enstrom, Little or Bogosian, I’m gonna S-C-R-E-A-M.
By Jim
December 1, 2008 8:13 PM | Link to this
If Anderson can get Donnie Boy to move some of his old favorites- The Deadwood Duo of Boulton and Thorburn and the Dead End Kid- Exelby, we may get a little more excitement and certainly wasy less frustration. Boulton and Thorburn simply do have the offensive or enforcer skills needed to help an NHL team. Schneider is pathetic but Exelby is a major liability. Watch the guy- waves at the puck with one hand on the stick, hooks all the time. Folks remember his shots at guys skating head down, but when did he ever move someone away from the net or break up the cycle along the boards. Give Valabik and Lewis or Kulda a shot. Times for a major overhaul with both the automakers and Thrash.