Right now, the Atlanta Thrashers sit with a league-worst 19 points. That's what a record of 8-14-3 gets you. Really, is there anything promising about this team at this point in time? I'd love to provide the light at the end of the tunnel, but this is the worst I have felt about this team since I started my fandom of the Atlanta Thrashers. The apathy is at an all-time high point and that realization is quite unsettling. You know it's bad when one of my cats starts heaving during a Thrashers game on TV.
Well, that hasn't happened... yet.
You won't find anything here that provides insight into the matter. I won't break down the logistics of a Kovalchuk trade or why our power play is great on the road (I think I heard that somewhere). I also won't whine about goaltending "issues" or defensive lapses or how the team only shows up to play competitive hockey for one minute of a 60-minute game. I've never claimed to be a hockey statistician and I've never stated that I have complete understanding of the game of hockey. I'm just one passionate fan of hockey and an undying supporter of the Atlanta Thrashers. And that's what makes the present so hard to swallow.
It seems like when the Thrashers win, they are put on a pedastal; everyone suddenly believes that Marty Reasoner is an offensive force to be reckoned with and that Erik Christensen finally tapped his potential and this game will be his start to a 25+ goal tear for the season. When they lose, however, it's worse than receiving news that the world is about to implode. TRADE KOVALCHUK FOR, UH, SOMEONE tirades run rampant and everyone seems to wonder why players like Eric Boulton or Eric Perrin have zero effect on the team what-so-ever.
The reality of the situation is that, UNFORTUNATELY, if you thought this current roster that makes up the Atlanta Thrashers is worthy of competing every night for something substantial (i.e. the playoffs AND BEYOND), you were dead wrong. The off-season leads to this kind of behavior because everyone thinks that their team is golden and ridiculously over-hypes players who are probably not worthy of that kind of talk. What the worst part about this is that a bunch of this unwarranted hype comes from the highest levels of the team - the owners and general managers. It's these people's job to sell the team and provide the absolute best product on ice. Judging from the reactions from fans, the Atlanta Spirit and Don Waddell did an AMAZING job of shining the spotlights on players like Erik Christensen and Brett Sterling.
While the Sterling thing is an attempt at me kinda-sorta reaching out there a bit, a majority of fans right now are up in arms about Christensen and how he's a non-factor in anything. This guy had tons of pressure on him early on, with talk about becoming the next great center that would finally click with Ilya Kovalchuk and provide a bunch of scoring that was lost in the Marian Hossa departure. This same player has also been a healthy scratch for several games in an effort to "try to get some competitiveness in him" perhaps. When an overhyped player like EC receives that kind of treatment in the first quarter of the season, it's drastic.
Basically, the point of my rambling here is that while I have a lot of displeasure with the team, I really cannot blame the players (that is if they actually show up to play a competitive game for 60 minutes). At least 10 to 15 games into the season, the team appeared and flashed moments that made you consider that this team was a little more than what was predetermined prior to the season. But the fact of the matter is that outside of Ilya Kovalchuk, serious secondary scoring candidates drop off quick. Bryan Little is having a fantastic season and so is, uh, Todd White? After that, who picks up the slack for a missing 90-point scorer like Marian Hossa?
With that, you also have to add in a new coach into the mix and the Thrashers are, well, really not that good on paper. Chemistry and some lucky breaks could come into play and have a nice effect for a while, but a NHL team cannot carry that for 82 games. Sad to say, but the Thrashers simply do not have the skill to compete with the rest of the league and, as fans, we've been had. Upper management made moves that hoped to plug holes in the ever-leaking dam and those moves have proved to be like a band-aid for problems that were apparent years ago after Marc Savard departed for greener pastures.
It absolutely sucks to write something so passionate and, ugh, bitter about your favorite team, but you cannot deny the glaring holes of this team and make ridiculous claims about who's going to play a certain role and who's going to produce, etc. Blueland deserves better than what is on display.
Here's a scenario for you to enjoy. Friday is my last day working retail. I spot a customer I've seen before because whenever he comes into the store, he wears an old Thrashers home jersey (the one that was replaced by the old "third jersey"). I've always wanted to strike up a conversation with him or just mention something Thrashers-related, but I never could because of something else going on at the time. But I finally had my chance now and I wasn't going to blow it, seeing how it was my last day. What do I say to the guy, hoping for a reaction?
"That's a sorry team right there."
He hesitantly agreed and asked who I pull for and I pointed right back to his jersey. That was met with a smile, but I guess I had to kill the moment and remark about how "I'm a glutton for punishment." He didn't like that too much, murmured something like, "Oh, c'mon now", and the conversation was over.
This conversation either mirrors other Thrashers fans' thoughts or means I'm a terrible conversationalist. Definitely a combination of both, I'd say!
