Thrashers' season fast approaching

By CHRIS VIVLAMORE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The tinkering is done. Now, it’s time to see what happens when the skating starts.

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell spent the offseason — one of the busiest in franchise history — working on the roster. He needed to fix a team that missed the playoffs two straight years after its only playoff appearance. Just as important, he also needed to make the necessary moves to convince star forward Ilya Kovalchuk to re-sign.

As negotiations with Kovalchuk continue, the Thrashers open training camp this weekend. It’s time to gauge if the front office has been successful.

“I’m anxious to see if we can pick up where we left off,” Waddell said of the team’s 12-6 finish to last season. “ ‘Anxious’ is the right word. Until we get on the ice, in the back of your mind, you want to see if we made the right moves.”

Thrasher players report Saturday for physicals and begin on-ice workouts Sunday.

The goal is simple: return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Thrashers won the Southeast Division in 2006-07 but were quickly dismissed from the postseason with a four-game sweep by the New York Rangers.

“We spent a lot of energy and resources to make that run,’ Waddell said. “Now, we’ve put ourselves in position to make another run. Getting back to the playoffs is first and foremost in our minds.”

The Thrashers addressed two needs in the offseason by obtaining forward Nik Antropov and defensman Pavel Kubina. Both players give the Thrashers much-needed size.

Antropov, who played with Kovalchuk in Russia during the NHL lockout, was signed as a free agent. The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder played in Toronto for nine seasons but spent the final 18 games last season with the New York Rangers after a trade-deadline deal. He will open camp as the top-line center with Kovalchuk and Bryan Little. Antropov could help a team that ranked 11th out of 30 teams on the power play (19.5 percent) last season.

Kubina was obtained in a trade with Toronto for Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart. The 6-4, 245-pounder gives the Thrashers a top-4 defenseman. He figures to help a defense that was 29th in goals-against average (3.40) and penalty kills (76.0 percent) and 27th in shots-against average (32.7) last season.

The Thrashers also drafted Evander Kane with the No. 4 overall selection in this year’s draft and he will be given a chance to become the third 18-year-old to make the Thrashers roster. He would join Kovalchuk and Zach Bogosian, the No. 3 overall pick in 2008, to make the team at such a young age.

“We are going to give him every opportunity to make the team,” coach John Anderson said of Kane.

The Thrashers also added Rick Dudley to serve as an associate general manager, with primary responsibilities in scouting and player development.

Kovalchuk, who won a second straight World Championship title with Russia in the offseason, said he needed to see the team moving in the right direction before he committed a new contract. Negotiations have resumed now that the captain has returned to the United States. Waddell spoke to Kovalchuk’s agent on Wednesday.

Waddell said he planned to meet with Kovalchuk in person after returning from Michigan, where he watched Kane and other prospects in a tournament. Waddell remained confident a deal would get done, again categorizing discussions as positive.