Eh, nothing ever goes according to plan. Yeahhhh.
The so-called "New NHL" (thanks Darren Eliot, and the majority of the hockey world, seriously... we definitely didn't hear enough of that) took its early toll on the vets and those who weren't suited to the faster rendition of the game (i.e. Modry, often dubbed as "Slodry"). Atlanta was a tough place to get used to for someone like Hossa, who was such a presence in the Ottawa Senators' lineup for years. And then there was Kari. Or was it Dunham? Or Garnett? Berkhoel? SHIELDS? There was no end to the Thrashers' goalie depth charts, it seemed. Things either didn't work out as was hoped, stability was never a sure thing, and leave it to a bunch of AHL/ECHL kids to do the work of NHLers. Granted, Michael Garnett somehow found a groove mid-season and held the Thrash up on two blades and played his heart out, including being the only goaltender in Atlanta history to post consecutive shutouts. Unfortunately, AHL development doesn't immediately spring greatness and "the next big thing".
And now we turn to this year. All anyone's heard about with regard to Atlanta is the seemingly-rapid departure of part of the power-play arsenal, center Marc Savard. Being too much to afford (which is still a little out of hand, if you ask me), Savard didn't bat an eye on July 1st when he unhesitantly signed on the dotted line with Boston. Well, maybe that didn't make much news because of Savard's play... not so much the scoring aspect (moreso play-making), but because of his sluggish responses to the opponent's opposition (i.e. not a good defensive forward) or because of his poor decisions with his play (i.e. penalties!). What everyone seems to be leaning on this summer in Atlanta is the status of Kari's abilities. We all know what he is capable of. Refer to the four games late in '03-'04 that Kari displayed dominance in for that. Or his 20-15-0 record after he returned from groin injury December 30. Or his great record in shootouts, in which he went undefeated in five appearances. So with all that we know about Kari's abilities, can he finally come through this year and really provide the team with the opportunities it needs to really make a play at being one of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference come April?
The AJC recently published an article about Kari's work ethic this summer and it really seems that this kid (who's only 22, remember) is becoming quite the crutch for this team. Is such a thing too much to ask though? He was supposed to explode onto the scene last season. He ended up blowing the opportunity, only lasting one period in the first game of the season in Florida. Yes, there is a lot of pressure on him and, yes, he is due some of it. But the rest of the team has to up the ante.
Once again, everyone in town thought the organization achieved such a goal by acquiring Holik, Dunham, and journeyman sniper Peter Bondra. All either spent an amount of time catching up to the rest of the league in terms of style of play, enduring injuries, or not meeting any expectations what-so-ever (yeah, and thank you, Mr. Dunham).
This season the team chose the more frugal route, especially after the spending spree of inking Ilya Kovalchuk and the acquisitions of Hossa, Holik, Greg deVries, and the incentives in Bondra's contract. Deciding to secure the goalie depth chart, Johan Hedberg and Fred Brathwaite hopefully will provide the insurance to mainman Lehtonen in case the guy loses a leg and an arm mid-season. Others brought into the fold include forwards Glen Metropolit (who's already a favorite of mine with that amazing last name), Jason Krog (in a close second behind Metropolit), Kyle Wanvig, and Darren Haydar (who I'm hoping makes the team because of what I've read about him and his Nashville perils). Reliable (to an extent) center Steve Rucchin is also the supposed replacement of Savard, but we'll see how that pans out. I remember Rucchin being a playmaker in Anaheim during their cup run a few years ago... hopefully he can return to that kind of a stature.
There's also a bunch of talk about the prospects in the Thrashers' system. With the surprise emergence of Jim Slater last season, it makes you wonder if there are any other candidates to be considered for the unofficial Thrashers Rookie of the Year title. Without a doubt, Slater took that title with his gritty style of play. Next in line could be Alex Bourret or Braydon Coburn, with some wishful thinking going towards recent draft pick Bryan Little or Boris Valabik, who I heard had a fantastic prospect camp last month.
It'll definitely be interesting to see how everything looks in a month after the start of the season. Or the first half. Or come April. While the playoff race was exciting last year, hopefully it'll be even more exciting knowing that the Thrash will finally make it in in '05-'06.
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Speaking of new acquisions to the Thrashers squad, their website has a profile on newcomer Niko Kapanen. Check it out here: http://www.atlantathrashers.com/View.aspx?CID01=8dc9fea9-bd39-4d20-946d-d2dff87f839a
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Oh, and lastly, Yahoo! has finally opened its fantasy hockey floodgates for the upcoming season! Anyone interested partaking in a league should let me know as I either plan on setting one up in the coming weeks or find a suitable commissioner for a league. I've had a blast doing it the past two seasons and I'm incredibly eager to get back into the obsession that is fantasy sports. It definitely won't be a repeat of last season for me, though. I just have a feeling Sidney Crosby won't be around in the later rounds of the draft (like last season, who would've thought?) and that Alexander Ovechkin won't go undetected in the draft (like last season as well, but no one expected him to shine as bright as he did... and subsequently will, as he is the real deal). I'll keep y'all posted on the status of this year's league.
For more on fantasy hockey, hockeybuzz blogger Adam Poirier recently wrote up a concise "how-to" for those uninitiated into the realms of fantasy hockey here: http://v2.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=2669
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