John Anderson waited so long to become an NHL coach that when it finally happened late Thursday night he went to his room and cried.

Friday, when the Thrashers made his hiring official, Anderson made it clear those were tears of happiness from a man who thinks he can do in Atlanta what he did for the team's top minor-league affiliate in Chicago: Win. In total, he coached 13 minor-league seasons, 11 with the Wolves, before getting his first NHL job. He doesn't plan to wait nearly that long to win his first Stanley Cup.

Anderson, 51, acknowledged some might laugh to hear him say it but insisted he sees no limits on what his team can accomplish or how quickly.

"My goal is to win, not just say, 'That was a decent year,' " said Anderson, who won five minor-league championships, most recently last week. "If you expect less, that's what you're going to get.

"The Stanley Cup is absolutely our goal. ... Good isn't good enough. Excellence is good enough."

The Thrashers finished second to last in the Eastern Conference in 2007-08 and have never won a playoff game. But Anderson pointed to Anaheim's 2007 Stanley Cup championship and Pittsburgh's 2008 Stanley Cup final berth as evidence teams can turn around quickly in the NHL.

Anderson plans to turn around the Thrashers with an up-tempo, attacking style. He said the way to fix the Thrashers' worst-in-the-league goals-against total is to keep the puck in the other teams' zone. That worked for the Wolves, the Thrashers' top minor-league affiliate, and Anderson said it can work in the NHL, too.

Other candidates were available with NHL coaching experience, including some who had been head coaches in the league, and Thrashers general manager Don Waddell considered them.

"Every time I turned back and looked at what Don's done in Chicago, it became pretty obvious he would be our first choice," Waddell said.

Waddell declined to disclose the length of Anderson's contract, which was signed Friday afternoon. Salary also was not disclosed.

Anderson replaces Bob Hartley, who was fired in October. Waddell had been interim coach since then.

Waddell got the chance to watch the Wolves play after the Thrashers season ended, and he was impressed with the way Anderson could make major adjustments during games. That not only revealed Anderson's skill as a tactician, Waddell said, but also the quality of his pre-game preparation.

Others without NHL coaching experience might have difficulty establishing their credibility with the players, but Anderson has two advantages. He played 12 NHL seasons, and he has coached a large number of players on the Thrashers roster during the six seasons the Wolves have been affiliated with the Thrashers.

Is this a hire the Thrashers can sell to their fans?

"I don't think this is about selling the fans. I think this is about winning," said co-owner Bruce Levenson. "We've seen from experience that fans respond to putting a great product on the ice."

Waddell gave two reasons for deciding to hire Anderson now rather than right after firing Hartley. Waddell wanted time to assess his team, and it would have been "a tough situation for a first-year coach" to come into the league in midseason. (Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, a good friend of Anderson's, did just that and became NHL coach of the year.)

Waddell didn't start interviewing candidates until June 12, two days after Anderson's team clinched the Calder Cup. The team's owners discussed the situation on Tuesday.

Levenson saw in Anderson "a winner who had great communication skills."

Anderson interviewed for a second time on Thursday. That evening, in a conference call with reporters, Waddell laughed off a suggestion a new coach might be sitting at the Thrashers' draft table for the first round Friday night, but he left himself an out by saying, "Never's a bad word to say in this business. You never know how things are going to work out."

Canadian network TSN reported the hiring at 10:10 p.m. Thursday. Waddell, through a team spokesman, denied that report. Friday, he said the offer occurred late Thursday night, and Anderson said he had accepted the job Friday morning.

Though Anderson was in Ottawa for the NHL draft, he said he would not be involved with the Thrashers' selection process. "It would be silly," he said, explaining that his job in Chicago gave him little chance to watch draft-eligible players and his hiring Friday morning gave him no time to take part in the evaluation process.

Next week, he'll begin the work of assembling a staff of assistants. Free agency begins July 1. There's a lot to do, and after 13 years in the minor leagues he's eager to start doing it.

"I'm so excited," he said. "I'd like to get down to the office and start working right now."