Should I Stay or Should I Go? Part.... Something.

Just 'cause I can't stand leaving things unfinished, the short, short version of SISOSIG?


The Greek God Line

(Jim Slater/Chris Thorburn/Eric Boulton)

I'm gonna review these guys as a unit, because they've been together since what seems like the Carter administration.

Interesting stat:
07-08 Point Total: 40
08-09 Point Total (Thus Far): 34

That's exciting.

Excluding his fighting majors, Boults has racked up about 32 min in minors - That number could stand to come down. Slates & Thor are both big bodies with decent hands, and all three seem to be taking pretty well to head coach Johnny A's system.

Verdict: Stay.

The D

Ron Hainsey - Love him. Solid human being. Stay.

Nic Havelid - UFA this summer; getting older; lost a step or two; PIMs starting to climb; Toby seems to be doing pretty well, let him Go. The Isles always like picking up our slop.... wait, nevermind.

Mathieu Schnieder - No one is a bigger Schnieder fan than me (a good hockey-playing jewish boy from New York, what's not to love?). But, man, those PIMs are killing us. I'd like to keep him around to assist Hainsey at the kid's table, but his real value is in what he can fetch us at the deadline from a desparate bubble team. Go. Sad face.

Tobias Enstrom - AKA "The Future, Chpt. 1". Stay.

Zach Bogosian - "The Future, Chpt. 2" Stay.

As a matter of fact, the only other D-man that really needs to go....

Garnet Exelby. Yes, he's fun. Yes, ladies love him. Yes, he's an all-around fan favorite. But he hasn't been the same since the concussions. And his positioning... um, less than stellar. We need to ship him while he's got some value.


There. That's the end of that. I learned a bunch. Another shutdown D-man would be nice. Should Pev's not be the answer long-term, Andy McDonald is a UFA. Let's throw some of that unused Campbell money at him....

Then again, ask me next week, and this all could change.


I love hockey.

Should I Stay or Should I Go, Part 4

#9 LW Erik Christensen

Pros: Great stickhandling with the puck; Shootout stud; Plenty of offensive potential

Cons: "Crusher" tends to separate his shoulder delivering checks; hasn't really found a role in the lineup

Crusher's a funny one. It looked as if he was beginning to live up to his potential in Pittsburgh, only to be traded to Atlanta at the deadline last year. It seemed to unsettle him, and it looks as if he hasn't found his groove yet. He excels at the shootout, but it would be nice if he had the confidence to pull some of that stuff in-game.

Verdict: He's not a special teams pro or a banger/energy guy, but plays on those lines. He's got offensive potential, but hasn't hit his stride here. As much as I like him, I think he'd be better playing somewhere else. Go.

#19 C Marty Reasoner

Pros: Penalty kill; defensively responsible, Solid human being.

Cons: Not much.

Verdict: I think this is a rare example of a Thrasher being paid to do exactly what he does on the ice. $1 mil this year, UFA next year. Let's make every effort to get him to Stay.


#11 C Eric Perrin

Pros: Hardworking French-Canadian hockey player; 40pt/year potential; Small & speedy

Cons: Getting older (34); Points pace has slowed considerably this year

Verdict: Eric Perrin seems to be tailored to HC Johnny A's mongoosing system. I'd pass on him if he started looking for a significant raise this off-season. If his point prodcution picks back up, Stay.

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.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go, Part 2

Continuing the theme, I give you tonight's top line, left to right:

17 LW Ilya Kovalchuck (C)

Pros: 500 points in 500 games; unbelievable slapshot; even more amazing wrist shot; the celebrations:


Cons: Tends to cheat a little defensively.

Verdict: Stay.
Please, please, please for the love of hockey in this town, Stay.


47 C Rich Peverley

Pros: Almost a point-per-game in 4 years in the AHL; rated among the top 20 Preds prospects by HockeysFuture.com (great interview with the magnificent Holly Gunning to be found here); all stats point to a possible top scoring forward

Cons: "Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"Rich Peverley"
"Ummm.... who?"

Other than lack of name recognition, Peverley looks like a keeper. An RFA with a cap hit this year of $244,000, and 2 more years at roughly $500,00 each, Pevs looks like a forward who cold find space on not only this roster, but some others as well (ooooh, trade bait!).

Verdict: Stay.

20 LW Colby Armstrong

Pros: Great locker room guy; fan favorite (rumor has it, some Pens fans cried when they learned of Army's trade); has at least 20g/20a potential; pretty chippy, likes to agitate, but in a good way; massive hits; just a ton of fun to watch.

Cons: Still prone to making "young guy" mistakes; hasn't had a consistent enough role to establish an identity.

A hard hitter, a point-producer, fan-favorite, and locker room glue. As long as he likes Atlanta, I'll have him.

Verdict: Stay.

Tonights game v. Sens: The team we love to hate, the only team in the league more depressing to watch (c'mon, those preseason expectations were at least a little higher than 34pts at the midpoint). We can leapfrog 'em with a regulation win, boys. All eyes on Pevs. And Little. And Bogo. All hands on deck, full speed ahead.

Go Thrashers.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

January is Clash month here at the Outsider, so we're starting a recurring feature called "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" Not the great of the band's output (I prefer "Police On My Back" or "Train In Vain," myself), but a great title for this segment.

With a playoff berth looking less and less likely, lets take a moment and discuss who in the Atlanta Thrashers organization should stay and who should go during the inevitable off-season blowup (and, if we're really lucky, the start of a new five year plan). Some pros, some cons, some kibitzing, the usual. Let's keep it simple to start. Who's up first?

Yeah. Go.


Next:

HC John Anderson

Seriously, asking this guy to make a playoff contender out of this team is like asking Robert Pattinson to get out of the mall food court alive, unharmed and fully clothed. But still, some are already wanting to show him the door for the lack of progress.

Pros: Almost frighteningly upbeat; has (arguably) gotten more out of less than any other Thrashers coach (here's just one example, via Thrashers Recaps); not averse to a youth movement; lots of prior success with current & future NHLers; willing to take chances on strange line combos; the mongoose.

Cons: Almost frighteningly upbeat; still somewhat untested as the head coach of a real NHL team; no longer sports the sweet 'stache:

Verdict: Stay.

Tomorrow, more candidates!