Miscellany

Just some quick-hit blathering hockey thoughts on an all-too-hot Georgia afternoon:

I Love Stan Fischler. Seriously, you should really check out his Twitter feed. Some examples:

- Don't know all the details on Al Kovalev's failure to please the Habs. But he still has the goods. I'd take him for the right price.

- Here's an interesting candidate for comeback g.m. of the year. How about my buddy, Don Waddell. He's en route to securing Ilya Kovalchuk.

- Why the fuss over Dan (sic) Brashear (to the Rangers? All's fair in love and war and we all know the NHL is a war game on ice.

- I LOVE when John Tortorella tells his Rangers that they should appreciate the comfortable manner in which they're treated. Torts gets it!

It doesn't really hurt that this is how I hear it in my head:

Speaking of Kovy: Andy Strickland reports negotiations have begun.


Self-Promotionblog: I made the papers. Sorta.


Pronger to Flyers? Yea, this'll end well. They're gonna be more watched than the series finale of LOST.

Yes, I have been waiting to use that one. No, it may not have been worth it.


Grudge Match Outside the Aud! A Sabres fan named Vance takes Scott Burnside to task on some crap he wrote. Not that I have anything against Burnsie, just a fun read. Hey, someone should give ye olde internete smackdown to someone in Columbus. Maybe someone who's name rhymes with Aaron Portzline. Oh, wait.



It's just too friggin hot.

Okay, I've Made You Wait Long Enough...

...here's my take on the whole "Thrashers-to-Ontario" thing.

Will never happen.

Why?

Well, here's a big ole list of other people's research & opinions:

-Falconer @ BWA: Thrashers tied to arena deal, and, oh yea, you can't buy something nobody owns.
- Craig Custance @ SN: Seconded! And, oh yea, fans like winners.
- Mortimer & Co.@ the Chronicle: A fantastic angle to consider - Press? Responsibility? Nahhhhh!
- Vivlamore @ the ajc: Donnie says "Nu-uuuuh! We got dibsies and wrote it down!"
- Phil Foley @ the Examiner: A great list of reasons that just about boil down to "It's the economy, stupid."

Now, here's just a little bit of my own research.

I did some digging, (not much digging - I didn't want to strain myself) and looked at the populations of the two cities in question. (These numbers come from Wikipedia, so we can assume they're reasonably accurate.)

	City Proper	Metro Area
Hamilton, ON	504,559	692,911
Atlanta, GA	519,145	5,376,285

So, let me get this straight: you want to take a franchise out of a metro area of over FIVE MILLION PEOPLE and move it to a metro area that is almost EIGHT TIMES SMALLER?

Tell me again how that makes sense.

Granted, the Hamilton population is much more hockey-mad. Granted, with Toronto & Buffalo you would have 6 all-but-guaranteed sellouts. Granted, the rivalries would be intense.

But a difference of 4.5 million people?

That's a lot of Tim Horton's & bagged milk, folks.

Let's be honest here: as teh Chronicle pointed out, journalism ain't what it used to be. What sells papers? Headlines - or rather, peoples reaction to headlines. What red-blooded Canadian isn't gonna snap up a paper that loudly trumpets the possibility of one more Canadian NHL franchise (e.g. one more chance to fail in the playoffs)? Oh, in case you weren't aware, this is CANADA'S game after all - they just let us borrow it from time to time. Just like we let them borrow three quarters of the league's revenue. Like it or not, them's the facts. The NHL has a lot of money and potential gain tied up in American markets. And let's be clear here: I'm not blaming your average-everyday working-joe Canadian for being excited enough to buy said paper with said headline. That's his thing - he's Canadian. What's life without at lease a little civic pride? What I am doing is blaming journalists who don't fact-check, don't cite sources, and don't bother to hold enough integrity to not write a story without at least some shred of factual basis. And I'm also blaming these billionaire fanboys that play on the sensibilities of your average hockey fan to get the great new toy they've had their eye on. But, back on point...

Yes, if you're running a "simply numbers" game, it makes sense to move the Coyotes to Hamilton. I mean, you're talking about a city with NO hockey history whatsoever. But Atlanta does. Know what it also has? A population that is equal in size and greater in economic stability than Detroit. Oh yeah, and a huge Yankee-transplant population. What does that mean? A lot of potential hockey fans. Once someone with some actual assets figures out what a potential moneymaker this franchise could be and puts a quality product out on the ice (or at the very least, some quality marketing behind what's already there; have you seen that 10th Anniversary logo? I'm too ashamed to even post it here.) Atlanta will be a hockey town. Again.

So... a franchise in Atlanta is a bad idea why?

Oh yea. Forgot.

One more thing: this whole MakeItSeven.ca thing smacks louder of populist opportunism than one of Don Cherry's magnificently calamitous suits. To all those red-blooded Canadian citizens, make sure Jimmy B. leaves the money on the dresser on his way out.

HEY oh!!!

EDIT: Think I'm off my chump with this theory? Well, Lyle "Spector" Richardson hit this idea four days ago.

In Other News:

- In honor of tonights' game 6, we give you this: Christensen fails again, Selanne barely keeps head attached.

- I heart Adrian Dater. Why? Here, and here, for starters. You almost don't know what to do with all this honesty coming from a journalist. Sort of the Atlanta Spirit with hockey. (See what I did there? Full circle, baby.)

- Mike Modano decides for one more year. That sound you heard was... wait, you didn't hear anything. Mike Modano hasn't made any post-season noise for years.

- Have I mentioned Down Goes Brown lately? If you aren't reading this blog, you need to be.

Miscellany

Just so you don't loose respect for me 'cause I jumped the shark by using the same bit two days in a row, here's some rambling crap dredged from the recesses of my brain.

Who I'd Be If I Had Any Actual Hockey Knowledge: Down Goes Brown. To read him is to love him.

From The "Why Don't You Give Me A Nice Papercut & Pour Lemon Juice On It" Dept:

Ouch.

GMwatch '09:
John Manasso over at the Atlanta Business Chronicle (or, the ABC as the hipsters in L5P call it) has an interesting thought of John Risebrough and the Atlanta GM job. He makes fantastic points about Risebrough's success in MIN, and his ability to work with limited resources. This got me thinking about other possibilities:

Warning: what follows is pure speculation and may or may not have anything at all to do with acutal hockey knowledge.
You've been warned.

Risebrough: The question raised by Manasso is a vaild one: Who is responsible for the Wild's defense-first strategy, Risebrough or recently-deposed head coach Jacques Lemaire? If the trap begins & ends with Risebrough, he's an awful fit for HC Johnny A's system. But if the system came completely from Lemaire, well... that's a different story. It would be intruiging to see what John could bring to the table.

Bob Gainey: Gainey = Habs = Epic Mortal Fail, so thanks, but no thanks on this one.

Doug Wilson: This would be exciting. Douggie has a rep for building great regular season teams that don't quite get the job done come playoff time. With a group as young and hungry as the one here in Atlanta plus any key "hockey people" (i.e. scouts, management types) Doug might bring with him, it might be an explosive combination (In case you couldn't tell: yes, I am assuming Ole San Jose Doug gets the ax very shortly; what can I say? I'm a risk-taker).

And, of course, there's always...

Don Waddell

Hm. Wonder which one it'll be.

From The Grass Is Greener Dept:
Erik Christensen is averaging ~12min of ice time, and has 2 points to show for it. Jason Williams is averaging ~14min of ice time, and has 1 point to show for it. Oh, and his team just got swept out of the playoffs. Hm.

Hey. You with the "At least they were in the playoffs" crap. Shut it.


Useless Top 5 List:
It's back. With a vengance.

Top 5 Windows-Down, Ready For Summer Songs
5) Happy Day Mama - Better Than Ezra
4) D'yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin
3) American Girl - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
2) Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
1) September Gurls - Big Star

Bonus Hazy Summer Night Makeout Track: Girl From Ipanema by Getz/Gilberto/Gilberto narrowly edges Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man.

Yea, that'll all change by tomorrow.

Have a good weekend.

Gameday Panthers & Miscellany

Yea, I'm back. Jury duty is worse than I ever could've expected. Disrupts your life in every possible way. I'd rather not talk about it. Still slowly reintroducing myself into the world.

Thrash tonight. We got the Panthers. Their entire season evidently hangs on this one game. The Thrashers (through years of practice) have developed a keen knack for dashing playoff hopes - we got this one in the bag.

All trendy detached irony aside, I'm extremely excited for next season. The Toby-Bogo pairing is probably the best young D pair in the league. The emergence of the Chicago Pipeline, the miracle that is Rich Peverley, and the wonder that is Ilya Kovalchuk all point toward (at the very least) better things next year. Add some potential FA signings, and we may just have a playoff contender.

Some points to consider:
- The best UFA option not named Hossa (to my eyes) would be Mike Cammalleri. Bruce Boudreau once said that Cammalleri is "the smartest player I’ve had the good fortune to coach. He sees the ice well. He can take a one-timer better than any player I’ve seen. He reads plays like Gretzky and Lemieux.” If Cams looks for the upper-range of his assumed asking price the Flames may have to watch him walk - a situation now somewhat eased by the aquisition of Ollie Jokinen. C'mon, tell me a power play unit that could include both Kovy (shoots right) and Cammalleri (shoots left) doesn't make you salivate. Kovy's more than willing to pass, as we've seen all year, so this duo would be pretty exciting to watch. Some concerns: Chemistry, for one. How would he fit in this dressing room, and more importantly, on the ice with Kovy. Then there's salary. Word on the street is a range of $5-8 mil for Cams, and we'd likely be paying the upper end of such a range. Would the ASG assent to something like that? What do you think?

- As a side note, imagine this headline: Maxim Afinogenov Reinvigorates Career in Atlanta. I could see that happening.

Recipe of the Week. Next time you're out at Cracker Barrel (Craker Barrel? You brought her! Ba dum bum. Thanks, Derek.), ask the waitress for an extra plate of biscuits and a little bottle of that blueberry syrup. Drop those in a to-go container, and that's half a meal right there, brother.

Betty Crocker I ain't.

A Display of Manliness That Just May End Your Will To Live. Please pay a visit to the brethren over at the Chronicle. It seems these mythological Kovy commercials do exist. And they are cooler than anything you'll ever do. That's why he is the Ruler of These Parts.

Colby Armstrong is My Second Favorite Player. I thought that deserved a bullet point.

Jeremy Heilpern is smarter than everyone. If the Thrashers don't hire this guy, I'll be... fricken... suprised. (We'll have to put in the liner notes, "during this joke, he points to the back"...)

Boston Gets the Classic. On Frozen Blog with the big-time artists' conception. I'm still holding out for Pens/Flyers in Happy Valley. I can combine a trip home with some hockey madness. But at this point, I'm not so sure I'd have a team to root for.

What's This? Yup, call me Roger Swain, cause I got me a Victory Garden.

Tomatoes, green beans, basil, chives, and sundry other green leafys. Just doin my part to support the cause.

A year-end retrospective may be in the works. Let's see how I feel about that idea tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, anyone else going to the practice?

Peath out.

Go Thrashers.

I Been Thinking...And It Hurts

You can thank the good Mr. Timmy F over at Thrashing About for this next batch of lukewarm drivel. He did this great post about one-goal games the Thrashers have been involved in this year. He's got a chart. I can't even begin to fathom how one goes about making a chart, so I'm going to look at his data and add to it.

Me, thinking about making a chart.

I can tell you the exact date that I knew this season was a wash. October 25, 2008. The Thrashers were playing the Bruins at Boston Garden (TD Bankwhaaa? Never heard of it.). I was spackling the big chunk o wall I had just replaced in my music room (leaky roof, shoddy patch job, more leaky, more patchy, a little head-bashing & finally got it right). I had the Kamalian on my nifty Grundig crank radio (Srsly, get one. It could Save. Your. Life. Or you could just play with the crank-thing until you get tired of it; and, look! Fashion colors!). Covered in spackle dust, I listened as our Thrashers blew 2 leads, and frittered away 12:38 of the third period without even being able to mutser a tying goal to claim a pity point. The B's still hadn't figured out what kind of powerhouse team they could become, and we hadn't yet seen the depth to which we could fall. The sky was the limit. Until that horn sounded, and we left Boston with no points. Then, The Decline of Thrasher Civilization.

Yup. That just happened.

They skated to a 19-31-5 record until the West Coast swing that netted them an improbable (at the time) 3-2-1 record, and some serious confidence. What happened? Well, on 1/16/09, Jason Williams was traded to Columbus. I'm not saying that Williams was a bad person, never met him, have no clue what he's like. But let's play What If. What if I really like a certain kind of music. Like country, maybe - just picking a random genre out of thin air. What if, in the locker room before a game, somebody (who I otherwise would have no issue with) decides to play some crap like "Russian Privjet" - again, out of thin air. That doesn't put me in the calm zen-like state needed for me to be able to bang some bodies into the boards. Thusly, my play may, just may, be affected. And then, what if I'm hearing he's griping about his lack of power play time? Once more, out of thin air....
The record after the Williams trade? 6-7-0. With 4 of those losses being by 1 goal margins. Then Matthieu Schnieder went to Montreal. 3-2-1. Then Havelid to Jersey. Christensen to Anaheim. 7-3-0. You will not find a bigger Havelid or Schnieder fan than me: both seasoned vets, both assets to their new teams. But I noticed that they may not have been as keyed into the system as some of the other players, whatever "system" we were running at the time. Three players traded, and the record improves. I want to reiterate - these are probably solid, upstanding human beings. But at the same time, they're all human beings. They all affect the ebb & flow of a dressing room.

Look at Kovy. His stats soared after being given the 'C' (as chronicled on this very blog). A conicidence? Well, let throw this theory out at you: Kovy comes in this year, expecting to be named captain, and rightfuly so; I thought it was a foregone conclusion. But here comes HC Johnny A. He's just been named HC, as a matter of fact. He's bad, he's nationwide. He's gotta see how this team works. He's thinking, "Let's hold on just a second on the whole 'C' thing... let's see who steps up." Hence, four 'A's & no 'C'. If I'm Kovy, I might be thinking, "Whoa, new HC is not a Kovy fan." Maybe not in those words, and maybe not conciously at all, but I start to grip my stick a little tighter, second-guess myself before I shoot, etc & etc.

I don't know if luck is the right word. Maybe chemistry might be a better term. But yes, Timmy F, I do believe in this hockey team.

Now, back to the rehashed crap I usually pass along.

*sigh* Okay.... Seems that.... Scott Hartnell may be... *swallows bile* an alright dude. Fartsmell. That'll get you to click the link.

Kevin Allen details the wealth of talent available in this years' draft. What he doesn't tell you is how easy it would be to completely derail their careers due to improper development.

Habs tonight.

Go Thrashers.

Miscellany & Post 100!

Abel to Yzerman gives us the skinny on negotiations between Hossa & the Wings (if that doesn't sound like a mid-80's pop/rock group, I don't know what does). He's got a couple of quotes.

“To be able to stay as a Red Wing, I am prepared to take less money, but a fair deal, so both sides are happy. That’s what I’m looking for. I know if I go somewhere else, I could have more, but I’m willing to take less to stay here. Hopefully things work out.”

“I could be somewhere else, you know, but I came here because I like everything and I want to be a part of it,” Hossa said. “And that’s why I want to still be a Red Wing and stay here.”

Translation: "I really like it here, and would be happy to stay, as long as you pay me what I think I'm worth." Quotes could be out of context, etc, but I think in a little over 3 months we will be saying to Ken Holland

Worst. Shop. Ever.

Scott Cullen @ TSN ranks the top 100 rookies in the league. Who's the only 18 year old on the list? I'm looking at you, Big Zach!

Some joke from Toronto takes Chipper Jones to task, and calls Atlanta "just about the worst major city in America, where no one lives downtown except the homeless". I'd be offended, but the guy writes for a Toronto paper. Who's ever gonna hear about it?

Big up to the Lovely Ladies of Puckhuffers for mentioning the Outsider. It really is an honor to be endorsed by another blog, espcially when you spend a good portion of your time trying to find ways to 'shop the face of their teams' captain onto barnyard animals & small children (note to self...). An even bigger honor? We got mention right after Brooks Orpik. Here at the outsider, there's nothing we love more than some free candy.

Best. Shop. Ever.

Mike Knobler has some statistical hope for us pollyanna-isn't-it-a-glorious-sunshiny-day hopeful types. I'd be completely thrilled if we ruined Montreal's centennial "OMGZ look at us, w'ere teh awsum!" season. What's the French word for "fail"? And hey, a 9 game win streak isn't so hard. Is it?

This is post 100. Didn't think I'd make it his far. Being as it's a Thrasher blog, I give you Jean-Claude Van Damme. Dancing.

Yes.

Miscellany

Sureality In amongst the gmail this morning, I found something just a little surreal:

If Brian Burke has taught us anything, it's that REAL NHL HCs/GMs don't post on Twitter. But for just a split second, my pre-coffee brain went "Tortawhaaa?"

Personal Milestone Watch I believe this is post #98 for the ol Outsider. Upon post number 100, expect a heartwarming ceremony where I cut the cords off of the computer, and skate around the ice with it raised high above my head. Or, where one of my co-workers looks at me and goes "Um, are we to expect any work from you today?" And then coffee.

They're Back Bogo, Ron & Kovy were all on the ice in Duluth this morning - leading me to believe all three will go tomorrow against the Wings.

From The "Let's Get A Better Start" Dept Sucks that we can't just toss the whole first half of this season; we'd have a playoff spot.

NHL Records: Second-Half of Season (Through March 18)
TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PTS %
New Jersey Devils	29	22	7	0	44	.759
Detroit Red Wings	30	18	8	4	40	.667
St. Louis Blues	29	16	7	6	38	.655
Pittsburgh Penguins	31	18	9	4	40	.645
Vancouver Canucks	28	16	8	4	36	.643
Columbus Blue Jackets	30	18	10	2	38	.633
Ottawa Senators	28	15	9	4	34	.607
Washington Capitals	31	17	11	3	37	.597
San Jose Sharks	28	14	9	5	33	.589
Calgary Flames	29	16	11	2	34	.586
Florida Panthers	29	15	10	4	34	.586
Nashville Predators	30	16	11	3	35	.583
Boston Bruins	30	15	10	5	35	.583
Edmonton Oilers	28	13	9	6	32	.571
Philadelphia Flyers	28	15	12	1	31	.554
Atlanta Thrashers	30	16	13	1	33	.550
Toronto Maple Leafs	30	13	10	7	33	.550
Carolina Hurricanes	31	16	13	2	34	.548
Minnesota Wild	29	13	11	5	31	.534
Dallas Stars	30	15	13	2	32	.533
Chicago Blackhawks	28	13	12	3	29	.518
New York Rangers	30	13	12	5	31	.517
Buffalo Sabres	29	13	13	3	29	.500
Los Angeles Kings	28	12	12	4	28	.500
New York Islanders	29	12	13	4	28	.483
Tampa Bay Lightning	29	11	13	5	27	.466
Montreal Canadiens	29	11	15	3	25	.431
Anaheim Ducks	29	12	16	1	25	.431
Phoenix Coyotes	29	10	18	1	21	.362
Colorado Avalanche	30	10	19	1	21	.350

From Pierre LeBrun, over at the WWL.

O Kiptin, My Kiptin Do yourself a favor and check out the interview with Ilya. (Via the Chronicle, via Mirtle, via Japer's Rink/Tuvan Hillbilly, from Sport Express) Some favorite quotes:

"Crosby is Crosby and Kovalchuk is Kovalchuk. He got penalized, I made a goal and I was showing him 'Look, I made a goal'. That was all."

"You can't be an amoeba when you play hockey -- you have to be an emotional player."

"Krikunov says a lot of things. In Quebec he said that the Canadian National Team was guzzling through the entire championship. People talk about those things they are most familiar with."

That is why I'll take Kovy over Sid (or anyone else) any day of the week.

Whaddaya know... Marty IS a party...

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I do not gamble. I prefer my money in my wallet. For all of your hockey prognosticative needs, may I direct you to one Mortimer Peacock, Chronicle scribe & scary good future teller.

Mike Knobler has bonus features up from his Levenson interview. I believe I've officially changed my stance on Levenson. What I read in this and the original article tells me he's a guy who knows how to run a business, and is learning how to run a hockey team. Understanding that this whole interview thing is probably the brainchild of some PR person, there is still a tremendous amount of contrition and owning up to mistakes here; it takes some stones to go to a major print publication and say "hey, I screwed with stuff, found out that wasn't a good idea, and now we're trying to fix things." From the first article:

"I think you’ll see most teams be fiscally prudent because of the uncertainties of the economy. Just as we have done in past years, including right before this season, if there are opportunities that we think justify us increasing our spending, we’ll do that."

I read: this season is an anomaly as far as payroll is concerned. The ASG wanted to build a contending club, and then the realities of the Belkin situation caught up with them. In hindsight, I'd be in a pretty bad mood if I were in a similar situation; maybe even a bad enough mood to call a contentious STH a not-nice name. But hey, that's me. I'm a jerk like that. From the second article.

What kind of hockey team do you want the Thrashers to be? Do you want it to be a 2-0 team or the kind of team it was trying to be at the start of the year, when it was a little more open?

“I want them to win. That’s what I want. It’s the coaching staff’s job and the GM’s job to match the talent to the style of play. That’s another interesting mistake we may have made in the early days. Coming out of the lockout the rules were changed. It was going to be faster. It was going to be higher scoring. My thing was, let’s be the fastest highest-scoring team. It sounded good on paper. That’s not necessarily the right recipe for success.”

Either Brucie's copping to being the sous chef that spoiled the main course, or he drew the short straw in the fall-on-the-grenade lottery. Either way, I give him props. It doesn't take much of an active imagination to conceive of Levenson issuing orders to assemble a team he'd like watch, while Donnie's thinking "Are you kidding me??" Not to mention the absurdity of trying to build a team like that with Bob Hartley at the helm. Next year, the cap comes down, we lock Kovy up with a nice long deal, trade someone for someone else.... all is well in Blueland. Hey, we may even decide we want to keep Waddell around.

That sounded convincing, right?

Other Items of Note

They see me LoLin, they hatin....

John Anderson's comments on Kovy (AP Wire, via Yahoo Sports)

“We don’t want to say too much right now because we don’t know for sure,” Atlanta coach John Anderson said. “He’s day to day as we speak right now. He had a little problem yesterday and I didn’t practice him. He said he was OK to go today and obviously he wasn’t, but I’ve got to give him credit for trying.”

Scott Cullen over at TSN.com has a pretty comprehensive list of potential UFAs. Add that to your Armchair GM arsenal. (Hey Scotty, Re: Who has $12mil for two top-line players? Hmmm... lemme think about that...)

What?!?!?! A Canadiocentric media outlet reporting "Kovalchuk LIKES Atlanta"!?!?!? You made that up. (Thanks Wayne for hitting me up on that link).

Busy Already...

- Perrin on Waivers. That whole cause/effect thing again. But why didn't we at least offer him to other teams? If we lose him on waivers, we get nothing in return, right? A 4th rounder is worth more than only having to pay 1/2 of his salary.

- Avery back w/ the Rags. Rangers pickup Avery off of waivers. Not a surprise, but that doesn't diminish the possible entertainment value. 3.30.09. Fatso vs. Mr. Sloppy Seconds at MSG. Be there.

- One less goalie to shop. Nick Backtrom re-signs with the Wild. What does this do to Kari's value today & tomorrow?

- Big Waiver Day. Gary Roberts & Jon Sim among those available. Do we grab the Simmer again? I say "sure, why not?"

- Trade Speculation. Listening to the ole XM this afternoon, I heard Gary Greene, Boomer Goron & Joe Thistle idly speculate that Atlanta might be a good fit for Olli Jokinen- Thistle was positing that with the 'Yotes fiscal woes, it might be a good idea to move Jokinen and his one more year of $5.5 million dollars. At this point, it sounds like a prety appealing gamble to toss a couple of RFAs to PHX for Jokinen. Christensen & who else?

- Off-Topic. Whoah. Unwigged & Unplugged. Talkin 'bout a hell hole.

-One More Thing. Join us as tomorrow as we team up with NHLol to bring you "Don Waddell: Trade Day of Reckoning" - or some other event titled in a similarly dramatic fashion. We'll be giving you sneak peeks into the Don's thoughts all day.

Some Linkage

Craig is Back to Blogging. The dear and (nearly) departed Craig Custance is blogging again for The Sporting News. Wouldn't ya know, his first blog back was about some Thrashers }ahem{ flying the coop at the trade deadline. I'm fully aware that of all the rumors flying, only about .05% of them will end up playing out - but all the talk of losing Army bugs me. I'd like to see him stick around and build a solid career here. It's not often you can get a holt of a player who's phyiscal, can score 20 goals and has personality to spare, n'at.* Nic Havelid, on the other hand, he can go. I think he deserves a team that playes his style of hockey, and he's pretty valuable right now - like a 3rd rounder & a prospect valuable, in the right situation. Also, if you look hard enough, you'll find a Hossa post that'll stomp all over your sense of team spirit and general sportsmanship just by mentioning the name of Ritch Winter. That's always fun.

*Some yinzer-talk thrown in for old times sake.


More A$G Trial Info. Atlanta Business Chronicle's BallBiz Blog is heavy on the local litigation. Authored by one John Manasso, this should be a great place for info. The Feb 19th post did a good job clearing up (for me, anyway) exactly what each side was seeking; a little tidbit of knowledge that I had yet to grasp.


The First of the BIG DEALS. This one involving Comrie, Campoli, McAmmond and a very well-traveled first round pick.

Gameday v. Islanders & Nuggets

It's been a while since I've done one of these posts:

Re: Canadian Media Loves Atlanta. Darren Dreger recently posted one of those "Top 10 Players to Watch at the Deadline" things that get so popular 'round this time of year. The usual suspects: Tkachuk, Bouwmeester, the Toronto Maples Leafs...

...and Colby Armstrong?

C'mon, Dreg... seriously? He says:

"[Pittsburgh] would like to see him reunited with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby."

Um, so they can hang out on the weekends? I don't recall Army getting a ton of top line minutes in the 'burgh. I mean, at least make it plausible. Like: "The Pens would really like to have more guys to slam into Colton Orr during Ranger games."

Re: Great Diplomats - Roosevelt, Churchill, Kovalchuk...

First, we had the Malkin-Ovechkin Accords of 2009. Then we had high praise from one of them Kostitsyn boys. Now I find this thought running through my head: What kind of effect could Kovy now have on bringing Illya Nikulin into the fold? Hmmm...

(Yes, that bullet point was just an excuse to post that sweet 'shop.)


Re: Great Writing Speaks For Itself. From Puck Daddy: "Flyers Upset the NHL Thinks They're the Flyers." Great mysteries revealed within.

Re: The Isles Tonight. The frontrunners for the John Tavares Sweepstakes (i.e. "Yet Another Chance to Prove the Islanders Should Be Relocated Before the Thrashers") are in Phillips tonight. Lets review the checklist:

___ Move legs
___ Hit people
___ Shoot puck

Some (if not all) of these tricks may work against the Islanders.

But you gotta show up.

Go Thrashers.

What A Weekend & Tidbits

RE: This Weekend. Wow. All about chemistry, baby. Rich Peverley, stay. Big time.

RE: Isn't it ironic? David Climer @ The Tennessean thinks the Preds need more offense.

RE: The Can't-nucks. Huh. The 'nucks aren't really that much better, even with Sundin. Who called it? Yea, I know, me and everyone else.

RE: The Locals. For the Gwinnettians among us, a new Glads forum.


More Staying & Going later.

Tibits and such...

Just because I feel compelled to comment, and no one is around to stop me...

Re: Florida game. Y'know, I actually had hope after Kovy's goal in the third... the whole thing about not going quietly into that good night and such... but, too little, too late. C'mon Kari, time to put on the big-boy pads and play like a pro. No matter what time the game starts.

Re: Kovy's captaincy. If what Waddell says is true about the other A's giving him the thumbs-up, that's a tremendous vote of confidence. It also puts to bed the biggest fear in my mind: that Kovy was a locker room problem. Now, most games (especially the games that resulted in a win), that thought would never even cross my mind. But other games... The rap on him was that he was a selfish "showoffy" player. In my mind, that conjured up images of a locker room demeanor that would be less than productive. Not along the lines of a Sean Avery, but more like a bizzaro-Avery: so quiet and reserved that his on-ice celebrations and actions would cause others to avoid him. Throw in a lack of production from the rest of the team and a scoring slump, and that thought started to creep in more & more. So when the trade rumors stared to float around, I started to wonder, "Is this how he's gonna go?" Giving Kovy the 'C' (and more importantly his decision to accept it) is a huge bright spot in a pretty dismal time.

Re: Rich Peverley. On the ajc beat blog, a commenter made this statement:

It’s kind of embarrassing when you grab a waived guy and make him the first line center, eh?

I understand the point: how good can your team actually be when you pull a guy off the wire and then drop him on the top line for the very next game.

But then there's the chemistry. Just like Savard coming over from Calgary improved his point total considerably (btw... required reading: Mike Chen's article on Savard and the "unraveling"), this might be the move that Pevvy needs to jumpstart his offense. You can never make judgement calls on how a line will play together until they actually play together. Who predicted the success of the Kahlua line before the season started? If I remember correctly, it was Slava who said they were so successful because they think so much alike. Rich may have a mindset that fits Kovy's game perfectly. On paper, Kovy-Pevvy-Army makes a lot of sense. Super-offensive left wing, offensively-minded centerman, and gritty right wing. Let's give it a shot. Johnny A. may have some experience with/against Pevvy. Besides, it's not like there's another number one center kicking around to mortgage the farm for...

...oh, wait...

Re: Speaking of Johnny A... He and our esteemed GM were taking to the airwaves today. Check out Rawhides' recaps.

Re: "James Wisniewski, the Audubon Society is on line 1 for you..." The Blackhawks hate pigeons. Pigeons, stay away from the Blackhawks.

Re: The newest Thrasher/Wolf. Welcome Brett Skinner. Trade bait, or Chicago depth?

Tales of Blackhawk Kindess

Go read the story over @ Puck Daddy, if you haven't already. I couldn't find the video, but give that a look, too. I really like these guys - if my Thrashers moved, I'd move to Chicago.

Tidbits

A few things this afternoon:

Re: Retail. Don't. Do it. EVER. Rumors of a sagging economy make the belligerent even worse. Add Christmas, and stir 'til nauseous.

Re: Luongo. That woosh of air you heard was every Canucks' fans relief that their entire season isn't a loss. Alanah over @ Canucks and Beyond gives 5 reasons why the 'nucks can weather the storm. Ben Wright examines a possible All-Star Voodoo.

Re: Kovalchuck. You owe it to yourself to read the Falconers' calling out of Kovy.

Re: Finally. A suspension over an obviously cheap shot.

Tidbits

- Madd Dog Matt has some good stuff up today; like his thoughts on last nights' game, and a practice update from today. Particularly interesting was this:

The team placed goaltender Kari Lehtonen on injured reserve Friday, retroactive to October 31st.

I like Kari, I really do. But I think that Pavelic is a tougher individual. It looks as though he's going to be here for a little while. An extended evaluation period?

- I, too, am very excited about Kovy showing emotion and standing up for his teammates. I remember him getting pretty excitable during the '07 playoffs (among other times). But don't we have some guys on the roster to do that for him? ("Paging Eric Boulton... Eric Boulton to the white courtesy phone...")

- Todd White listed as day to day, Joey Crabb called up.

- Ryan Kennedy over at the Hockey News has an article about the captaincy. Why all the talk about the 'C' all of the sudden? I thought about writing a dissertation on Kovy & the C, but everyone had already said everything. Except this: I think Kovy is a player of exceptional talent balanced by exceptional self-awareness. You can tell in interviews; we've heard Semin's honest opinion, and then we heard Kovy's diplomatic response. It seems Kovalchuk has the unusual blessing of both extraordinary skill and a large heart - the ability to achieve great things, but the desire NOT to step on anyone in the process. I think he would rather the captaincy be given to him rather than risk the possibility of seeming like an egotist by stepping up and taking it. But my feeling lines up with "Mad Dogg" Matt's:

Leadership? No question.
Captain Kovalchuk? Without a doubt.
The need for the "C" letter? Whatever.

We saw last year what Kovy is capable of: putting an entire team on his back and carrying them as far as they will let him. But they didn't let him. They were disinterested and lackadaisical. Thay just flat out didn't care. But this year is different. This year, from the top down, there is heart. A belief that WE CAN, and the skill to back it up. Once the bolts are tightened and the tires balanced, we'll be off. So I want you to do this:

- Go to the Thrashers 411.
- Read this quote on the right side of the page:

When People Believe In Us, We Want To Play For Those Who Believe In Us. - I. Kovalchuk

- Turn on your TV, your radio, or even go to Phillips on Saturday night.
- Believe.

Daily Reading

From Kevin Allen:

Doughty draws comparisons to a young Ray Bourque.

Allen puts forth a list of 18-yr-old defensemen in the NHL and leaves it to the reader as to where Drew Doughty would fall. Kinda makes you wish Bogo was healthy.

Meanwhile, back at the Rawhide Ranch, questions are being answered....

...and at the Chronicle, those mad scientists drop the most unlikely NHL/blaxploitation combo to ever see the light of day.