THRASHERS: Waddell says defense is ‘100 percent better’

Say goodbye to the NHL’s worst defense … or at least half of it.

Three of the six defensemen who skated for the Thrashers most of last season no longer wear an Atlanta sweater. In their place: Two much more highly thought-of —- and more highly compensated —- players, plus the third overall pick in this year’s draft.

Friday’s acquisition of Mathieu Schneider from the Anaheim Ducks was the third step in an overhaul that appears to have transformed a team weakness into a strength. In less than four months, the team that ranked worst in the league in shots allowed and shared the bottom spot in goals allowed might have shaken its blueline blues. The trade for Schneider follows the free-agent acquisition of Ron Hainsey and the drafting of Zach Bogosian.

Thrashers coach John Anderson and general manager Don Waddell say there’s no guarantee Bogosian will stay on the roster this season. They have up to nine regular-season games to decide whether to send the 18-year-old back to juniors for a year. Regardless, there’s no longer any pressure to squeeze him into the top four if he’s not ready, not on a team with Tobias Enstrom, Niclas Havelid, Hainsey and Schneider.

“We’re 100 percent better,” Waddell said when asked about his top four during a Friday teleconference. He added that he didn’t mean that as a knock on his former players. “We were playing guys in higher positions than they should have been,” Waddell said. And now? “We have a legitimate top four,” he said.

Waddell bought out Alexei Zhitnik’s contract, didn’t re-sign free agent Steve McCarthy and sent Ken Klee to Anaheim in the Schneider deal, along with forwards Brad Larsen and Chad Painchaud.

The moves aren’t revenue-neutral. Hainsey signed for $22.5 million over five years. Schneider is in the final season of a contract that will pay him $5.625 million. But that money buys something.

“We’re adding a guy who’s an all-star, who’s put up tons of points over his career and has shown no signs of slowing down,” Hainsey said of Schneider. “It’s huge for our top four here. He’s going to be able to play a ton of minutes. You couldn’t ask for a better acquisition at this point for us.”

“He’s a great skater, strong with the puck and reads plays well,” Anderson said. “It definitely makes us a better team.”

Preseason roster gets an eight-player trim

The Thrashers assigned forwards Riley Holzapfel, Rylan Kaip and Spencer Machacek, defensemen Chad Denny, Scott Lehman and Grant Lewis, and goaltender Dan Turple to Chicago. They sent center Angelo Esposito to his junior team in Montreal.

 DEFENSIVE UPGRADE
Last season's statistics for the Thrashers' new and former defensemen:
They're new
Player..........Games....G....A....Pts....+/-
Mathieu Schneider..65 ..12....27....39....+22
Ron Hainsey........78....8....24....32 ....-7
Zach Bogosian* ....60 ..11....50....61 ....+8
*For the Peterborough Petes of the major junior Ontario Hockey League.
They're gone
Player..........Games....G....A....Pts....+/-
Alexei Zhitnik ....65....3 ....5 ....8 ....-8
Ken Klee ..........72....1 ....9....10 ....-5
Steve McCarthy ....55....1 ....6 ....7....-23