THRASHERS FACE NHL TRADE DEADLINE: Rumors run rampant

Definitive answers come in the next three days, as the clock ticks to the NHL’s 3 p.m. Wednesday trade deadline. For now, though, here is a look at where things stand with the Thrashers, who are hoping teams with their eyes on the playoffs are willing to pay a premium for their players.

Don’t believe it, Part 1

Remember how Ilya Kovalchuk was supposedly headed to Toronto or Montreal or Minnesota in a deal for Marian Gaborik?

Those rumors didn’t originate here, but they were certainly out there. Hockey people love to speculate, and they’re at it again. One suggestion concerning the Thrashers: Goalie Kari Lehtonen to the Philadelphia Flyers, an idea that showed up on the Web site of TSN, Canada’s answer to ESPN.

The idea makes some sense, considering the Thrashers have top prospect Ondrej Pavelec waiting in the minor leagues. Pavelec was AHL goalie of the month in October and won player of the week in February. Depth at goalie might be an unaffordable luxury for a Thrashers team that has so many gaps at other positions.

But Thrashers general manager Don Waddell sees no urgency to cashing in one of his assets.

“I’m pretty content to leave our goaltending alone right now,” Waddell said this weekend. “I’ll deal with it at a later time. It’s all speculation.”

Don’t believe it, Part 2

Another name thrown around the Web last week: Ron Hainsey, whom the Thrashers signed last summer to a five-year deal at $4.5 million per year.

This one makes less sense. The Thrashers set out to plug the holes in their defense last summer, and Hainsey was a key part of that. He’s second on the team in minutes played and hardly old at 27.

“I don’t know where this stuff comes from,” Waddell said. “You’ve got to be smart enough to figure out, we signed Hainsey over the summertime and he’s an important part of our team right now moving forward. I’m not going to comment on the rumors out there.”

Believe it

Niclas Havelid is an alternate captain and one of the most respected players on the team. He’s also 35, an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and good enough that plenty of potential trading partners will give up something valuable for the right to have him wear their uniform for the rest of this season.

No Thrashers player is more likely to be playing somewhere else after Wednesday.

“He’s one of the guys that’s certainly got some value around the league,” Waddell said. “He’s certainly well-respected. He’s probably been our best defender over the last four years. It’s got to be the right deal; otherwise we’ll continue forward and see where that takes us in the summertime.”

Center Marty Reasoner also is an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and also has value, as a penalty killer, a faceoff winner, a two-way forward in the midst of one of his most productive offensive seasons.

Forward Eric Perrin has some versatility and some playoff experience.

“There’s some guys there that we’re definitely looking at,” Waddell said when asked generally about unrestricted free agents. “It’s not hard to figure out. If a guy’s got some asset value, we’d love to turn him into it.”

What Atlanta wants

The Thrashers got draft picks when they traded defenseman Mathieu Schneider to the Montreal Canadiens last month. The problem with draft choices is that very few players step straight from the draft to the NHL, and the Thrashers want to be better on the ice next season, not five years down the road.

“Draft choices probably isn’t my first choice at this point. I’d like to get live bodies,” Waddell said. “Saying that, if somebody offers an unbelievable pick for a guy, we’ll look at that. I’d like to get players who have already been drafted or are already playing pro hockey.”

But Waddell isn’t looking for guys in their late 30s, either.

“Our best players seem to be our younger players. We want to continue to build with that,” he said. “If we can move some guys along and pick up some assets that will help us immediately or in the very near future, we’re going to look at that.”

NEXT FOR THRASHERS

> Who: vs. Panthers

> When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

> TV; radio: SportSouth; 680 AM