Thrashers Update A-Roo

It's like the calm before the storm, really. There was a flurry of activity in June, with the draft taking place and then the free agency wackiness of early July. Now, it appears as if things have settled down a bit. Sure, the Thrashers signed some players (we all know this) and these players weren't the ones we had in mind initially (likewise), but the roster was finally taking shape for the upcoming season.

With the hiring of Coach Anderson, and the departure of Associate/Assistant Coach McCrimmon, many wondered who would help out the Coach behind the bench and try to rally with the team. The answer to this question revealed itself last week as it was stated that Randy Cunneyworth and Todd Nelson will now play the roles of assisting to the Coach. It was an interesting move simply because Cunneyworth's name has been tossed about with NHL head coaching vacancies lately and he's now secured an assistant spot with the Atlanta Thrashers. Nelson arrives because of his ties to Anderson in Chicago, which is a bit reassuring. Anderson knows Cunneyworth through his time in the AHL and he directly worked with Nelson on the Wolves' staff. It's good to know that there aren't three question marks that will be coaching the Thrashers next season (and beyond!).

Also, take this as you will, it was noted on the highly reputable (hmm...) hockey rumors website Hockey Buzz (OMG MATS HASN'T SIGNED WITH THE HABS YET, OMG) that there are plans for more jerseys, league-wide, for the upcoming season. This blurb fortunately isn't deemed an E3 or anything, so that's nice. The source of this is actually from Howard Berger, a top-notch radio persona and writer for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Apparently, he has seen a number of new third-jersey designs for some teams, including our Atlanta Thrashers. Here's what he had to say about these new "sweaters":

ATLANTA: The club will introduce a dark red jersey with the word “THRASHERS” on the front, just above the player’s uniform number, which will appear on both sides of the design. A broad white stripe will adorn each arm of the jersey with a dark red number in the stripe. A broad white-and-dark blue stripe will run down the sides of the jersey.

For more on this (as well as descriptions of a few other teams), the link is here.

As I said, it's getting slow, news-wise! Hopefully we'll hear of a trade in the coming weeks that will simultaneously bowl us over and bring some temporary disappointment (in that one of our favorites is sure to leave).