All's Quiet On the Thrash Front

Wow, has it really been more than five months since I've blogged about the Thrashers? That's mildly depressing, but given how the season ended, I'm not all that surprised, really. I mean, le Thrash handed over Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis (PWEE!) to the runner-up Pens, finished in the bottom three teams in the NHL, and pretty much bottomed out.

By the beginning of April (i.e. the end of the season), the Thrashers had zero identity. There was no coach to speak of, with no real hints as to who the replacement would be. One of the league's superstars (Marian Hossa) decided that Atlanta wasn't close to providing the winning environment he wanted dearly and departed. The "captaincy" of Bobby Holik was nonexistent. And no one on the team had anything to play for. Hell, they couldn't even play the role of spoiler because Washington was the real deal after the trading deadline in March and all other Southeast Division "threats" were nowhere to be found. It was terrible.

Needless to say, this off-season left a lot of room for changes. Literally. With the departures of Hossa, Holik, and the recent buyout of defensive pilon Alexei Zhitnik, the Thrashers had tons of money to spend with free agency signings occurring, starting on July 1. To add to that, the salary cap increased yet again for this upcoming season, and with that increase, the Thrashers had to spend a good amount just to reach the salary floor of $40 million.

So when July 1 came and went, nothing was accomplished. Sure, we probably attempted to bring in some of the bigger names that would've provided instant gratification (i.e. Wade Redden or Brian Campbell), but all was quiet. After July 2nd, all that we could muster up was a younger defenseman from Columbus, Ron Hainsey. Gone were the Campbells, the Reddens, the Rozsivals, the Commodores, and the Streits from the defensive pool that could've helped strengthen our blueline. To add insult to injury, we needed a good forward to help out Kovy (something that he's missed since Savard left two seasons ago). Did I mention that the only player we signed as of right now is defenseman Ron Hainsey?

Two areas that hint at promise for next season are the hiring of John Anderson as head coach and the drafting of defenseman Zach Bogosian. Anderson will attempt to coach the youth of the Thrashers, something that wasn't a priority while Bob Hartley was calling the shots. Considering how things have gone in the AHL with his old team, the Chicago Wolves (i.e. the Thrashers' farm team), I think Anderson is in a good position, along with most of the younger guys who attempt to land themselves a roster spot come October. Bogosian appears to be the next Ray Bourque, Scott Stevens, Bobby Orr, and/or Chris Pronger. For a kid who isn't even close to being past his teen years, he has a lot of weight on his shoulders already for this organization. With someone this young, there's absolutely no telling what's next for Bogo. He could bust out of the gates early and validate every bit of hype or he could take a while to mature. But considering that Anderson is the new head coach, I'm positive that the necessary steps will be taken for this kid's development into a full-time NHL defenseman for the Atlanta Thrashers. If Hartley was still in charge, I'd be terrified. I mean, look what happened to Braydon Coburn. Ugh.

So now that a few things are actually shored-up for the team, there are still holes that need to be addressed in order to calm the masses. Before noon on July 1st, there was a TON of promise with this team. While some had their doubts about the prospective dollars that could be handed out to certain free agents, the sky was the limit for the Thrashers. Technically, we could've signed two BIG NAME players on Tuesday and still probably had room for another slot, or maybe two, to fill. The real problem with this is, as The Falconer wisely stated on his blog, no one wants to come to the Thrashers. The ownership is in shambles and hockey isn't viewed as high on their radar. There isn't much respect (hockey-wise) for our General Manager, Don Waddell. And I'm sure that the drawn-out process of getting Hossa to re-sign last season (which led to his departure) didn't help things at all. Atlanta is not perceived as a winning franchise. As a result, no bigger named players want to come here because why play for a team that isn't committed to winning? It's a good point, and this is what makes signing players so difficult for the Thrashers. You then are at the point of baiting players with tons of money and open promises. If the Thrashers made the playoffs in the past few seasons, I'm sure that free agents wouldn't be so hesitant to sign with us because of that winning reputation (or at least hard-working). But with one post-season appearance in the team's history, no post-season wins, and nothing else to really show for it, it's incredibly difficult to persuade elite players to play here. It's a terrible position to be in, but the Thrashers have to make the best of it now and try to bring in the real players, the ones who will instantly make a difference, in the coming seasons.

So we'll see what happens in the coming days and weeks as the fall draws nigh. We still need to address the holes at defense and land a GOOD forward. Who from this list do you think provides the "best fit" for the Thrashers at this time? Personally, I wouldn't mind a Brendan Morrison, Paul Mara, or even trying to go after San Jose RFA Christian Ehrhoff (depending on how their cap situation is).

I don't know what to think anymore. I was definitely one of the people who was checking online constantly on Tuesday to see if we signed anyone notable. Then I was checking sporadically on Wednesday, only to find out about Hainsey. It's still non-stop checking just to see if we added ANYONE.

A bunch of drafted kids from last month (as well as older fellas from previous drafts) will attend the upcoming prospect camp next week in Duluth. I'll do my best to make it up there for a day or two and come back with some pics of the new-uns.

Happy Fourth of July!