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.

Good Job, B's.

Everything You Need to Know About Last Night's Game

Angry Russian, indeed.

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.

Gameday Rangers: An Open Letter to Ilya Kovalchuk

Dear Ilya,

Hey dude! Can't wait to see you guys tonight; I actually got really good tickets this time, instead of that icebox up in the 300s I usually sit in. Well, not that it would take much to get better tickets, someone's always giving away something some where....

But don't think about that.

Anyway, in case you weren't sure who you were playing tonight, it's the New York *expletive* Rangers. Yea, that team with the $20mil "top line" that's averaging 50 points each. Yea, I know, right? Total.... whatever that Russian word was. They're in and out of the playoffs depending on what time it is, and on whether or not King Henrik has had his Wheaties. I mean, c'mon.. they had to go and bring back Torts, for pete's sake...

But also on the FYI tip... I don't know if you noticed, but they got Sean back. Yeah, the America's Top Model reject from the playoffs. But hey, that whole "Avery Rule" thing was kinda amusing, just cause it's Marty, right?

No? Okay, moving on.

My point here is this:

See, that's the Angry Kovy. You know where angry Kovy sits? In the time out box. Yes. Shame. You know who we want to see more of? Good-Lord-Where'd-That-Come-From Kovy:

And that's the thing, that Kovy there is... no offense here... a teensy bit more productive than angry Kovy. But, hey, in the moment, I like Angry Kovy just as much as I like Boults and Thor, and even Oyster-man lately. But just cause it feels good, well, that doesn't quite make it right. Y'know, Ryan Kennedy over at the Hockey News actually had some pretty good advice. He wrote that after you & that caveman Ian White mixed it up a little. But if Crosby can get away with throwing an occasional trantrum like the straight-laced 9th grade honor student who just can't take the pressure (or the bullying) anymore, why can't you?

But I digress. Before you let Mr. Avery get under your skin again, may I make a sugestion? Here's what he looks like to you:


Yea, it'd be real is to give in to the Dark Side and wipe that smirk off his face. But two things: 1) that'd probably get you at least 2 minutes of shame, and 2) ewwwww, you don't know where that face has been. But here's what Seany-boy looks like to the rest of us:

Yup. A great big tool. This joker is a headset mic away from being a Backstreet Boy. And just cause I'm in a little 'shoppin kinda mood:

Srsly, this guy is more worried about matching belts & shoes that anything else. So when you see this:


Just think:


Ooo ooo ooo.... and then.... and then.... and then you could check him real hard into the boards, and say something like "Blue shirts are so last year" in that bad motha Russian accent and skate away and score, like, a bazillion hat tricks. That would be SO awesome.

Anyway, do good tonight, congrats on the new baby, and anytime you need to hug it out, I'm here.

Your friend,
Aaron @ Blueland Outsider


Other business:

- Pens fans, someone please explain to me what use Matt Cooke is to your team. Other than, you know, hitting people really hard in slightly dirty ways. Cause he can't hit the broad side of a barn.

(Any mentions of Patrik Stefan will be ignored. We have Don Waddell. You have Ray Shero. We get, like, 10,000 mulligans when it come to draft choices.)

- As if this post didn't have enough pictures. Here's a warning to all the refs out there:


Get that whistle ready. He'll say things, & you'll cry.

Buncha pansies.

Go Thrashers.
Rangers suck.

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.

I mean, honestly. Who throws a shoe?

So, last night, as I was falling asleep, I was forming in my head the post I was going to do this morning about how the Pens (and other teams) get away with so much crap against the Thrashers. It was going to be epic, guys... srsly... from Ruutu to Vetch to Cooke. But Rawhide Bill beat me to it.

On second thought, it is my blog.... so let's just add a little to Mr. Bill's thoughts.

Take a look at this little ditty from the Caps game on Monday (lower left, first two seconds):



Whadddaya know... Ovechkin. Leaving his feet. Hmm. Oh yea, and the Thrash/Pens game, 11.20.08. I seem to remember Kris Letang boarding Todd White, causing the Todd to head to the locker room for a considerable amount of time.



Speaking of video, check out the video at the Puck Daddy post about last night's Bogo hit.



Lots of Pens fans are calling this a clean hit. Lets take a look at another extremely hard, but clean, hit on a Thrasher.



Awww, look at Boris spreading a little Christmas cheer. I think he may be getting Chris Neil some kind of funk record or something, right? Lots. Of funk. Do you see the difference? Neil led with his shoulder, Cooke led with his knee. Even from the FSN/Pitt angle, this inarguable. Cooke knows better than that. At least, you'd think a 10 year NHL vet would know better than that.
Oh yea, just for Rawhide, video of last year's Ruutu hit:




Good lord, I need a mood booster. LoL time!

This Post Has No Title, Just Words and A Tune

Let's get this out of the way: if you can't find at least one song to love on Fulfillingness' First Finale, then you have no soul, and should probably have that looked at by some sort of specialist.

The Thrashers officially have a streak. This is very exciting.

John Manasso over at the Atlanta Business Chronicle is joining the chorus of voices chanting "Winning sells tickets," and illustrates the point finely with the Buffalo Sabers. He also shares the little tidbit that (according to American City Business Journals), the Thrashers have appreciated by 6% - thus proving the old adage "You can always make money, even if you suck".

If you haven't yet, go check out the interview with Bryan Little on the team site. Bry-Bry speaks very highly of Outsider-aproved activities like Call of Duty and playing guitar. And have you seen the vid of Lits with goal-calls by the Kamalian himself? Super rad.


But did they know the song is about heroin?


For this next item, I traveled down quite a rabbit hole, but the comedy gold at the end of this rainbow is worth it. Check out one of Bruce Garrioch's March 9th blog post regarding Ron Wilson, fearless leader of the hapless Leafs. the post in and of itself is quite funny. But it's the comments that made me almost wet myself. I like watching Ontario/Toronto flame wars. The only thing missing is one of them dropping the "Jane, you ignorant slut" bomb. Priceless. (Glove tap to Down Goes Brown, he of the "Brian Burke" Twitter account. Aces in my book.)


One of the best lines in recent memory, courtesy Mike Babcock (Via Kukla's).

When Did We Get a Hockey Team?

Friday Night's Game. Habs taking liberties; PIMs for everybody!; Habs watch playoff seeding (and maybe even hopes) fade; O'Byrne's a joke; X gets 10 for allegedly being a Francophobe. Oh yea, and a shutout for Kari.

Sunday's Game. Bry-Bry (again) with the leadoff tally; jobbing by CalGARY; Toby with a MONSTER shot; more jobbing by CalGARY; Kovy being Kovy; even more jobbing by CalGARY; and Bry-Bry (again) with the final word. Oh yea, and a Greek God goal thrown in for good measure.

Obligatory Stupid Question: Where was this team in October? With all of the different guys that have been moved from the team, I wonder how the chemestry has been affected. Did we dump some malcontents? Did we move some bodies that didn't jive with the of the team, not from any mental issues, but simply years of habit? At this point, you could ask these questions without having to name names, and I'd really like to know.

The Finer Points. Team play. That's the buzzword. Only Boris was a minus this weekend, and only Bogosian was over +1 (+2). There wasn't on line that led, or one line that let everybody down.

"Live together, die alone."

Um, thanks, Jack.

The cycles in both weekend games looked tighter & crisper, but the boys didn't back down from a physical game, either. I've had the recurring thought that we need a little more grit, but watching both games put that to bed. Friday night's backcheck looked a little sloppy at times. But when the average age of your defense is 24, that's gonna happen. Then came Sunday, and all fears were assuaged. Add the recently arrived Mr. Salmela, and we might just have a defense. Then again, that's what we said at the beginning of the year, too. But I choose hope.



Kovy Since the 'C'

Gms	G	A	Pts	+/-	PPG	SOG	Pts/G	S%	Pts/G
23	20	13	33	2	5	90	1.43	22.22%	1.43

Money. As in: "The man is." As in "Show him the." We know what he's capable of. Now, he's proving it. The crowd was LOUD Sunday, especially toward the end.

Goals. We has 'em.
The way I see it, this team is playing against itself. More specificly, the 5-9-2 record of last year's Thrashers. That's .375 points per game. For the remainder of the year, we have 16 games, 12 against playoff (or within spitting distance of a playoff spot) teams, 6 on the road, 6 at home. If we could pull off a 9-7 record over that span (.889 points per game), I will be convinced. I know, a lot to ask. The team that showed up this weekend could do it.

Miscellany

Putting Things Right. VERY inexcusably belated props to Here Come The Bruins for the recognition of the Thrashers' blogosphere. Big huge thanks.

Caption Contest. The crew @ Barry Melrose Rocks has a caption contest featuring our very own Eric Boulton. Go compete.

Good Numbers. Just doing a little statistical analysis (something I promised myself I'd do better with), and decided to examine Kovy's performance both before & after being awarded the 'C'

	W	L	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GTG	GWG	SOG	S%	P/G
Before	14	29	16	27	43	-13	31	5	0	0	2	137	11.68%	1
After	9	11	18	10	28	3	6	5	0	1	2	80	22.50%	1.4

I knew Kovy was playing well, but not goal-doubling well. And, yes, the argument of sample size is valid (43 games before, only 20 after). But you can say with surety: Kovy's playing like Kovy should play. But that brings me to my next point...

Where the crap has this team been hiding? Y'know... the team that may not win, but leaves it out on the ice a lot more than it used too. I'm sure you've all read the latest monologue from Jeff "I used to be a fan" Schultz. My issue is not with Jeff, though he should be taken to task for not making this point clearer in his season-long "throw the team under the bus" bit. My point is stated nicely by long-time commenter named GaVaHokie (solid commenter, btw):

I’ve always blamed the players… I think they could’ve played like this all year… there’s nothing wrong with this team but effort… if they gave this effort all year, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Nobody seems to play like they care until their job is on the line, or they’re trying to look good for a trade… look how Schneider is doing in Montreal now.

I don't know about the "not having this conversation right now" thing (we would've won about 5 more games, I believe), but the situation wouldn't seem nearly as dire. There has been a rotating list of players who've needed a fit lit under 'em, and it's only been recently that everyone's been on (anything close to resembling) the same page. I fully support the protest, the root of this issue is the ownership group that has taken buffoonery to a level unreachable by mortal men - but why are these players just now "gelling"?

Attention Canadiocentric Hockey Media: Kovy likes it here - SHUT UP and live with it.

From Puck Daddy:

Let's get back to talking about Atlanta. What is keeping you in the city apart from the contract? Would you live through a move with difficulties?

"I never thought about it. I like everything in Atlanta. The organization treats me very well. My daughter is in kindergarten. She has also started doing athletics. Nicole settled well: she became busy, got new friends. We expect an addition to our family..."

And then from Sovetsky Sport:

Q: General manager of Atlanta Don Waddell gave a guarantee that he would not trade you. Do you believe him? Do you sleep well at night?

A: I always sleep well. But trades - that is business. If it happens, it happens. But I wouldn't be happy to leave Atlanta.

Q: But if tomorrow you were to wake up and find out that they had traded you to Washington, would that be a good or a bad dream?

A: It would be a provocative dream. I like everything in Atlanta. I have played here since the first day of my career. I very much hope that we will build a respectable strong team. The city is wonderful, the fans are great. We must play significantly better.

So, guys, go ahead and make up some more crap about how Kovy desperately wants out of Atlanta.

Oh, and the always fabulous ladies of Puck Huffers are discovering what we knew all along. (Careful, that link might not be suitable for... well, anyone anywhere. But you just may become addicted to their wonderful, warped view of things.)

Off-topic. Anyone else remember this Kids In The Hall bit?


Good times.

God Bless the Circus - Thrashers Win

Editor's Note: We here at the Outsider believe in things like recycling, compost piles, and other tree-hugging crap like that. In that spirit, we present (in it's entirety) the post we wrote yesterday and accidentally clicked 'Save Now' instead of 'Publish Post'. As an added bonus, we give you some new useless meanderings as well. Remember kids: Give A Hoot - don't throw your crap on the side of the road. That creepy indian guy will find you. And you'll feel awful.

Old Crap, From Yesterday

I can imagine the thought process behind the Avs canceling their morning skate:

"The circus? No ice yet? Meh, we don't need to drive all the way out to the 'burbs to skate... besides, it's only the Thrashers; we'll use the first period as our gameday skate..."

Redemption, Thy Name Is Peverly



And with that, the Dispenser returns to his point-per-game pace since The Pickup.

Numbers That Make Me Happy:

- 4 The number of years on the extention signed by one Tobias Enstrom in September of 2008. (Quick Trivia: What's Enstrom's first name? According to his Wikipedia page, Ulf. I'd go with Toby too, if it were me).

- 61% Our faceoff win percentage last night. Now if only that could somehow translate into more shots...

- 3-1-1 Our record over the last five games.

- ~52 1/2 The number of minutes per game our team has played solid hockey over that span.

- 8 The number of days we have left to put up with annoying Canadiocentric hockey media speculating where Kovy might go on deadline day.


Numbers That Make Me Sad

- -5 Our current shots/game differential. That's just bad.

- 8 The number of days my gut tells me we have left to spend with Marty Reasoner Nic Havelid before they're headed to a contender. But the good news is, according to the Falconer, Toby plays just fine without Havs.

- 5-7-1 Our record since the All-Star break. Not much to get excited about, yet I'm excited that the team is playing better.


All New Crap From Today

- Welcome Back Marty!

I'm sorry, Brodeur fat jokes never get old.

- As The Blueline Turns... Whitney's out and Kunitz & Tangradi are in for the Pens. Poor Whits... comes back from injury, and now he has to move.

A/V Squad

Easing back into the process here...

Re: Jason Williams shootout magic



He's found a home. Good for him.


Re: NHL.com's Top 10 Goals of the Year

Thus far, anyway. The usual stuff: The Flying Zednik, a couple of snowplows from the 'Vetch. I would've futzed with the order a bit, but hey....



Tremendous effort by the team on this west coast swing. They look like they're having fun. The Lits-to-Kovy tying marker in the third looks very nice.

Re: Attention Movie People

A little off-topic goodness....

Nothing to do tomorrow? For the 2nd year in a row, AMC Theatres are holding a Best Picture Showcase - a marathon showing of all five Best Picture nominees back-to-back-to-back-to... you get it. Last year's showcase was tremendous. Movie watching for movie people: no talking, texting, people leaving at unfortunate points of plot development... $30 gets you a reserved seat & all the popcorn & beverage your big ole American self can consume. I'll be at the participating AMC Theatre here in Upper Gwinnettia, but other events will be held at Phipps, and that crazy restaurant/theatre conflagration in Buckhead.

Miscellany

- I don't even wanna think about the Devils game. Except to say this: Shanahan's still got it. For a geriatric. Ooooh. Snap!

- Best thing about the Flyers game: Watching Colby Armstrong's mouth moving non-stop through the whole Boulton/Cote scrap. I would pay money to be able to hear/read whatever Army was saying.

- And was it just me, or did Cote seem to reconsider after he figured out he wasn't going to pin Boults against the glass?

- I don't agree much w/ Pierre McGuire, just on general principle, but Master P with a good quote on Hockey This Morning on the XM:

"Scott Hartnell has become the best super-pest in the league."

Yes. Just yes.

- Another great thing about the XM: reliving how Urge Overkill's loving Neil Diamond tribute 'Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" shifted entire paradigms in my 15yr old world.



The boat. Is key.

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.

W-I-N

Shame on me.

Remember this: the most important part of the clip happens at the end. There are guys remembering what it's like to play together. And to win together.

Big Time Play: Toby Enstrom's positioning on Army's first goal, shoving the puck back into the zone. Huge.

Kari's performance is a big step toward regaining confidence & form. Yeah, I know, it was the Devils. But there have been nights when we couldn't stop anything thrown at us. Let's take it to Florida and build some more.

Feels good to win, doesn't it?

Why, Exactly, Is Sidney Crosby Hitting Boris In The Crotch?

From behind, no less?

I think it's safe to say everyone's favorite cherub-cheeked aw-shucks altarboy is not exactly as he appears to be. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone easier to hate than this wanker.


This is what I get for not watching the game.

For tomorrow, looks like Schneider's back, Kari's in, Pavs is down, X is out, and Lehman stays put. Does this all add up to a win against the more-hapless-than-us Bolts?

Stay tuned...

Good Lord.

Well, there's always Tampa.


Some good news did come last night. Finally, finally, FINALLY, Mats Sundin has figured out where he wants to work for the next, oh... four-and-a-half months. Now all that's left is the hand-wringing about the "under-performing Mats Sundin and the directionless 'Nucks" after an unceremonious first round playoff exit. Ah, but to dream...

I'm not a pro- or anti-fighting type, but I love me some Dennis Leary:

I don't like goons. But one of the great things about hockey is that, unlike anything else in life, if you're gonna be a jerk to my teammate, you're going to have to answer and you're going to have to answer right now in front of 18,000 people.

Freaking great.

While looking fo that Cam Neely/ESPN/"Why don't you kick my dog while you're here?" commericial (anyone got that, btw?) I found a sweet ad w/Kovy & Naslund. They really should air these around here...

Pens Tonight

According to Helene Elliott @ the LA Times, the Kings need help in net.

No way! Really?


Hmm....


If only we had an extra goalie we could send them... maybe we could pick up a Jarret Stoll or an Oscar Moller or ANYTHING TO HELP US WIN....


Anyway, Cros & Co. at Phillips tonight. Anyone remember this?

Someone needs to make sure Letang remembers.

I'm looking at you, Eric Boulton.

Let's see more of the team we saw in Ottawa.

The Flower is back in net for the Pens, Taffe & Stone are up from trolling the Wyoming Valley Mall. Let's hope Stone is wearing clothes. Some of our guys might remember them from a small series of games last year.

Anyone know a good place in the GA400/GA20 area to get a Guinness and watch the game?

Let's make tomorrow a bad day for some bloggers.

Go Thrashers.

Gameday - Boston Bruins

- First off, as sick as we all are of this "Trade Kovy" garbage, the media at large is just starting to catch on, so we may have to endure some more of this garbage (along with a good many ignorant Canucks submitting such bold and intelligent comments as "Atlanta sucks! Move 'em to Winnipeg/Kitchener/Hamilton/Toronto/Kamloops/Regina/Other Backwater Commenter Happens to Be From"). Puck Daddy has an article, and I encourage everyone that see to ignore said article. Instead, focus on the possibility of Kovy beating the league's current top netminder multiple times this evening.

- Yes, according to the Boston Globe hockey blogger, Timmy Tommy is the likely starter tonight. I like his 3-3 record (3.08GAA/.897 SV%) a whole lot better than Manny Fernandez's 5-0 (1.80GAA/.923) against the Thrash. But John Anderson was being a little cagey with the Boston media this morning; I don't put it beyond wily veteran coach Claude Julien to pull a little slight-of-hand, either.

- Welcome back, Savvy & Hnidy. Sav, we hope you continue your pointless streak (3 games, and no goals in the last eight? Hm.... maybe you should grip the stick a little tighter), and Shane, keep up that pace for a career-high 100 PIMs!

- Adam Proteau hates the Atlanta Thrashers. What better way to get back at him than to make the playoffs?

- Milan Lucic & Phil Kessel must be stopped.

- Sean Grace over at the Roar has an almost poetic statement as to why trading Kovy would be awful.

- Congrats to former Thrasher Pascal Dupuis on his first career hatter. Postgamer with Dan Potash, go to the 1:00 mark for creamy goodness.

Gameday Mongoose

The unequaled, the original...

Go Thrashers.

See you at the bulb...

Moose Is The New (Scape) Goat

- You really have to feel for the guy. Not once, but twice did the puck find the back of the net on Hedberg's watch. The argument could be made that they were, in fact bad bounces, but.... I dunno.

- Yay! No stupid penalties!

- Wicked bomb of an outlet pass from one Seafood Twin to the other to setup a goal. I'm with Maali on this one, bring up more Wolves - let's see how they do. Maybe they'll be to young and inexperienced to know they're Thrashers, they're supposed to suck.



- Now THAT was an Ilya Kovalchuk Goal Celebration:



- Fire & intensity, and a pretty big scrum. Gomez better watch it - he's not making any friends at Phillips.

- So, Waddell says he's not trading Kovalchuk. He repeats it three times: to Mike @ the AJC, our buddy Craig @ the Sporting News, and Dan during last nights' first intermission. So... why is it I still don't believe him?