Team Preview - Atlanta Thrashers

2009/2010 Stats:
35-34-13 (83 points)
Eastern Conference: 10th; Overall: 23

    "If you cant beat 'em, join 'em"... err.. I meant "make them join your team". This is the way new general manager Rick Dudley approached his off-season game plan. In two separate transactions he managed to strip the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks of the important role players that helped lead them to victory. Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd, and Brent Sopel will all be wearing the powder blue to give the Thrashers an element they have lacked for some time, small stabilizing parts. In the past Atlanta has boasted the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley, Marian Hossa, Marc Savard, and Slava Kozlov only to fall short consistently. This was due mainly to having a thinned out roster after the first 2 lines, not anymore. Atlanta's bottom six will most likely be the reason they have more success in the coming season. In addition to the trades, Dudley has very recently made a pair of solid UFA signings to bolster the bottom of the line up acquiring Fredrik Modin and Nigel Dawes.

    The Thrashers are hoping to turn a new leaf with a new GM and head coach. longtime GM and coach Don Waddell has backed off for the better of the franchise and brought in new perspectives while being promoted to team president. After spending a season as the associate GM under Waddell, Rick Dudley is now the GM and made a splash with his Blackhawks deals to provide some toughness as well as stealing John Torchetti from the Hawks who was an assistant coach during thier cup run. Dudley was a head coach with the Buffalo Sabres from 1989-1992 winning 85 games over 3 seasons before being let go. He also served as an interim coach of the Florida Panthers, coaching in 40 games winning 13 of them. On June 24th, the club announced that three year assistant coach of the Boston Bruins Craig Ramsay would be their new head coach. Ramsay has had two interim stints as an NHL head coach with Buffalo and Philadelphia during the 1986-1987 and 2000-2001 seasons, respectively. Ramsay has been quoted as saying he wants his team to play a fast and physical forechecking style in the corners which shouldn't be a problem considering the large weapons he has at his disposal.

“I know Fredrik well from our time in Tampa and he is an experienced and talented veteran who is tremendously respected in the locker-room,” Thrashers general manager Rick Dudley said in a statement. “He’s won a Stanley Cup along with an Olympic gold medal, and possesses that winning mentality we are looking for.”

    One of Dudley's largest remaining tasks is to lock up promising young scorer Niclas Bergfors. Bergfors was part of of the package that sent Kovalchuk to New Jersey. In 54 games with the Devils, Bergfors notched 27 points (13-14) before the trade which saw him get more ice time in Atlanta to pot 17 points (8-9) in 27 games which is a trend that should at least continue if Atlanta can convince him to stay. If Dudley is unable to make this work then he will be staring at a wide open hole on his roster that can only be filled by a legitimate scoring forward. If this happens to be the case and a scoring forward isn't available, the Thrashers better hope their first round pick this year Alexander Burmistrov is ready to go after his lone OHL season in which he put up 65 points (22-43) in 62 games as well as 16 points (8-8) in 17 playoff contests. Burmistrov and fellow prospects Patrice Cormier, Akim Aliu, and Angelo Esposito are looking to make the jump this year but the Atlanta roster is pretty full. Dudley could end up seasoning them with more time in the AHL or juniors to make sure they are fully prepared because this team needs their up and coming talent to work long term to build a winner.

    Despite Atlanta losing two of its top three producers in Kovalchuk (31-27-58 in 49 games) and Maxim Afinogenov (24-37-61 in 82 games), thier top scorer remains in Nik Antropov (24-43-67 in 76 games). Rich Peverley had a surprise year putting up 55 points (22-33) in 82 games, and will only go higher if he plays with the second unit. After a 51 point season Bryan Little didn't fare so well this last go around only putting up 34 points (13-21) in 79 games, with more protection at his disposal and the possibility of the uprising Evander Kane (14-12-26 in 66 games) getting better, Little should be able to bounce back to fill some of the void. Kane was an 18 year old starter last season which doesn't always yield great results (i.e. Steven Stamkos). The question mark will remain the Thrashers scoring ability but I'm not fully convinced it will be a large issue as I predict that the clubs offensive power will be enough to contend at least within the division.

    One thing that shouldn't happen this season is their skilled forwards taking a physical pounding. Little, Peverley, Bergfors, and Kane are all smaller forwards with dynamic offensive ability. These young and hungry scorers should have plenty of moving room and the guardianship present to prevent them from being picked on. As previously mentioned, the same unit that protected Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Kris Versteeg are all now part of the Thrashers to protect these kids. Byfuglien, Ladd, and Eager will make a huge impact especially because they are comfortable playing with one another and know how to get it done, simply. Them along with Eric Boulton, Chris Thorburn, and Fredrik Modin provide a ridiculous amount of size and strength to the forward units while adding some scoring touch. Ladd, Byfuglien, and Modin are all known for their timely and clutch goals which nicely compliments their size.

    While I envision that Dustin Byfuglien would naturally play forward due to his performance during the playoffs and his emergence as a great power forward, there has been a statement issued by coach Craig Ramsey confirming that Big Buff will be starting out the season on the blueline. I don't anticipate this move lasting long, especially if scoring becomes a problem. This softens some of the logjam up front but presents a new one at the back end leaving the Thrashers with seven one-way contracts on defense. While there is a trend in the NHL now to carry extra healthy scratches, I am torn as to how the organization is ok with leaving Boris Valabik on the outside again after having very high hopes for him (10th overall in 2004 draft).

    Atlanta's blueline looks to be in very capable hands after a breakout season from Tobias Enstrom where he had 50 points (6-44) while establishing himself among the best in the NHL providing breakout passes on the rush (hence 44 assists). He should be on the top pairing along with young Zach Bogosian who had a rough season defensively (-18) but led the team in goals by a defenseman (10-13). The Kovalchuk deal yielded Johnny Oduya who is known for his stellar defensive play and should sit very comfortably on the second unit along with the grossly overpaid Ron Hainsey. Hainsey is a very serviceable defenseman but is a hard cap hit to swallow ($4.5m) which is almost teetering on Jeff Finger proportions. Like Finger, Hainsey had one great year with a weak club (Columbus) and was rewarded during free agency with the hope that the success would continue. This leaves Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Sopel on the third pair which could end up being a great shut down pair seeing as they are very comfortable with one another and play a tenacious game in the corners. Once a healthy scratch with Chicago, Sopel used the Blackhawks cup run as a way to solidify his value as a very effective stay at home defenseman. This leaves the likes of Boris Valabik, Freddy Meyer, Arturs Kulda, and Paul Postma looking in from the outside. I personally expected Postma to get a legitimate shot at starting this year after his unbelievable season for the Chicago Wolves that saw him net 15 goals and even a hat trick (there are plenty of AHL forwards who don't achieve this feat). But with Enstrom and Bogosian, it appears the Thrashers aren't in need of a PP quarterback style blueliner. With that said, the Chicago Wolves look to have a very strong AHL defensive unit.

    After selecting Kari Lehtonen second overall in the 2002 draft, the Thrashers gave him every opportunity for four season to establish himself and their goaltender of the future. He failed to fit that vision with his durability issues and Atlanta cut ties with him (sending him to Dallas, who signed him to a lucrative extension) after the emergence of young goaltender Onrdej Pavelec who went 14-18-7 with a .906 save percentage and 2 shutouts last season. Pavelec's numbers aren't incredibly impressive but if you watched enough Thrashers games you would know that he looks like the real deal, I project him to be a great tandem goalie at the very least (which brings me to my next point). After Johan Hedberg (21-16-6) bolted for his cushy new job as Martin Brodeur's backup, the thrashers signed Chris Mason, an outcast of the Nashville system (very popular theme i.e. Dan Ellis, Mike Dunham, Tomas Vokoun, Mason) who went an admirable 30-22-8 with 2 shutouts while playing the lead role in front of Ty Conklin (10-10-2 in 26 games) in St. Louis. After trading Tomas Vokoun, the Predators gave Mason the starting job and he did not respond favorably, proving he is best suited in a lead role as part of a platoon situation. This favors Atlanta as they want to give Pavelec a nice chunk of games but not overwhelm him as he is groomed to one day take over. Pavelec will have two years with Chris Mason as his partner to acclimate himself to starting status. Like Allstate, Atlanta's net is in good hands as this situation seems to mutually benefit both goaltenders involved.

The Thrashers may be one of those teams that has to get into a late stretch dogfight to make the playoffs, but they definitely have the size and ability to withstand a long playoff run.

Transactions to Date:

In:
Rick Dudley (GM)
Craig Ramsay (Head Coach)
Dustin Byfuglien
Andrew Ladd
Ben Eager
Brent Sopel
Akim Aliu
Patrick Rissmiller
Fredrik Modin
Nigel Dawes
Chris Mason
Freddy Meyer

Out:
Ilya Kovalchuk
Todd White
Colby Armstrong
Maxim Afinogenov
Clarke MacArthur
Evgeny Artyukhin
Tim Stapleton
Pavel Kubina
Anssi Salmela
Chris Chelios
Nathan Oystrick
Kari Lehtonen
Johan Hedberg
Christoph Schubert
Slava Kozlov
Mark Popovic
Steve McCarthy
Donald Brashear (bought out after Todd White trade)

-Dustin Lundberg