Should I Stay or Should I Go, Part 3

The Khaluha line!

13 LW Slava Kozlov (A)

Pros: Great leader; Great hockey sense; Workhorse player; Incredibly consistent; Solid shootout performer; Member of the most effective Thrasher line this year; On pace for a career-high in PPGs; Re-signed in Atlanta in '07, though he probably could've gone elsewhere; Has his name on the Cup. Twice.

Cons: Getting older (36)

I may be a victim of misunderstanding stats here, but I can't really see a lot of down side with Slava. He's a solid veteran presence, a consistent performer, and probably lends a lot of credibility to the Thrashers organization as a whole. Even if there was a total & complete meltdown next year, he would have excellent value as trade bait.

Verdict: Stay.

12 C Todd White

Pros: No longer "squeezably soft"; Not currently overpaid; Solid work ethic; Good for 17:00-18:00 minutes per night; dependable third/second-line center

Cons: Looked a little pricey for a 40pt/year guy until this year

Todd White is a solid hockey player. His contract might scare some trade partners away, but as long as this line keeps up the pace, that shouldn't be a problem.

Verdict: Stay.

10 RW Bryan Little

Pros: '07-08 Calder Cup winner under HC Johnny A; Excellent hockey sense; Offensive-minded, but not at the expense of his defensive game; Rose to the NHL pretty rapidly; Hard-working & energetic

Cons: (still looking)

I read somewhere that "Bryan Little is the real deal." Yes. Yes he is. In a perfect world, he would be Kovy's linemate (with, oh, I dunno, maybe a Marc Savard-type centering them). Lock him up.

No, you lock him up.

Verdict: Stay.

Bleated games thoughts, miscellany

Couldn't get to a computer this weekend - hooray for winterizing.

The best game summary came after Hamburglar potted his empty netter and my cat proceeded to vomit right in front of me.

But here are some thoughts:

Gamers (Rose-Colored Glasses Edition):
Ex - Trying to light a fire by dancing with Jared Boll in the second. You may call his offensive (and sometimes defensive) skills into question, but you can never question his heart. Once the team finds an identity (more on that in a second), that heart will serve us well.

Kozlov - A couple of roughing penalties late in the game say to me that he's frustrated. Frustrated is better than apathetic, which has been an issue team-wide for stretches (see: 2007-2008 season).

Todd White - The word "Charmin" shall be uttered no longer around here. Good to see him back & skating.

Other than that, the Jackets remind me of those 07-08 Thrashers, with a couple of key differences. They have attendance issues, a superstar in Rick Nash, cagey veterans (proved by a couple of non-calls on Friday), a couple of players that step up sometimes, and Leclaire, who shows flashes of being a pretty solid netminder. The differences? Work ethic and the trap, aka Ken Hitchcock.

Re: Terrence Moore's surprisingly insightful column from Sunday's AJC. This is the kind of piece we need to copy and mail 100,000 times to the ASG until they get the message. I think Terrance was fair and honest, and this is the kind of thing you see in "real" NHL towns as a calling-out of the powers that be. Hopefully the ASG will learn firsthand with the Hawks that, once you start winning, butts fill the seats. Yea, sure, it's probably easier to build a winning team in the NBA and easier to sell said team to a large group of fairweather sports fans, but with an average ticket price that is $10 higher than the Hawks (for a comparable product, in terms of win pct.), you'd think they'd follow the money. Anyway, back to the article. The only thing that concerns me is the Anderson quote at the end:

“We’re dealt a hand here a little bit... We can’t just say, ‘OK, this is what I want us to be.’ You look [at the Thrashers’ roster], and that’s not what it is. You have to adjust a little bit, and that’s what we’re doing.”

A little bit of "you go to war with the army you have"? Let's hope our fearless leader is not losing the drive & desire that motivates the guys on a good night. But is it true that the Thrashers are "talent-challenged"? I may have to think on that a bit...

Re: The Leafs on Tuesday. If any team has been as schizophrenic as the Thrash, it's been the Buds. Seems to me a major difference between the two teams has been Toronto's ability to pick up the charity point. Maybe we'll have a Burke sighting in Phillips. Maybe the ASG will have a moment of clarity and throw large piles of cash at him and put Don Waddell in charge of... I don't know... something else. Maybe Burke will sign a 52 & 1/2 year contract, make some shrewd deals (further enraging one Kevin Lowe in the process) and Atlanta becomes the 6th "sunbelt" team in 7 years to reach the SCFs.

Or maybe we get to see a shootout showdown between their Poni and our Pony.

Yea... cause that's the same...

Re: Dan Kamal on HTM/XM204 with Dulcet Tones & Big Country. Sounds like fun.

Re: Off-Topic

- It's amazing how much better NHL2k9 looks when you set your screen resolution to match your TV.

- Saw the new James Bond. +1

- Had personal rediscovery of Mitch Hedberg this weekend, and was thusly saved by the bouyancy of citrus. Hockey Luv.

Now I'm off to catch up on what everyone else has to say...

Notes on the Carolina Game

- Feels great to be wrong.

- Is it just me, or does Dan Kamal kind of give off a Uecker-type vibe? Not that that's a bad thing - I've always felt spoiled with Kamal. I don't think I'd rather have anyone else (other than Rick Jennaret or Mike Lang, maybe). Especially not the guy from Carolina... or the Islanders Guy... or the Detroit guy... or the Sharks guy...

Anyway, back to the subject at hand: Dan needs a colorman. Bad. I think the strain is getting to him. Witness the following from last nights broadcast:

On Enstrom's 1st period minor:
"'How was your trip, sir?'
'Pretty costly, now I'm in the box.'"

On a shot in the 2nd being deflected into the mesh:
"The shot deflects into the mesh... It's a fine mesh you've gotten us into..."

Dan, if you're reading this, I kid because I love. Don't change a thing. I mean it.


- OK guys, let's split up into groups, go door to door, and see if any of the other 29 teams have some PK we can borrow. Seems we're a little low.


- Nice goal by Perrin. I really hope he finds the back of the net some more; the man has MAJOR work ethic, and I always like to see those guys succeed. They're the backbone of the league.


- Boulton. +1A. Scoring machine.


- The third line looks like big, chippy guys with good hands. They'll come on soon enough and provide a little ancillary scoring. A little jobbing in the corner goes a long way.


- Boomer Gordon from XM204 says we're rolling two solid scoring lines - not faint praise from a man who knows hockey.


- Slava Kozlov: I may not agree with Rawhide's call to give Kozzy the 'C', but I don't think you could ask for a better player at this point. Experience, humility, and ability all in the shape of one Russian Professor. Gamer.


- I seem to remember reading Slava said something about this new system being similar to one they ran in Detroit. That's gotta be better than the dump-and-no-chase system from last year (cue rimshot).


- Is Hainsey worth the $4.5 mil? Yup.