Posts Tagged ‘Atlanta’

Russ Cohen: Prospect – From A Small Town To A Big City? Maybe Atlanta? Maybe New York?

8, Jun 2010

Many times the best NHL prospects are drafted to teams that are in a rebuilding mode. Some of them are original six franchises and some of them are located in some pretty big cities. Ryan Johansen is a very talented forward, almost a shoe-in to be a top 15 pick. He’s from Port, Moody, British Columbia where they are lucky if there are 30,000 people. This coming June he could end up in a metropol…

Eric Smith: NFL Draft Tips Off Fans On Who Their NHL Team Will Select

25, Apr 2010

The 2010 NFL Draft has come on gone with 7 rounds of hope and promise for both the teams selecting and the players selected. None of that will be different for the NHL Draft that will happen June 25th in Los Angeles.

The question is how can people tell what player their favorite NHL team will select by what NFL teams selected. Did you hear what coaches and general managers of NFL teams sai…

SBN Gameday: Everything You’ve Done Wrong

23, Apr 2010

Tonight’s soundtrack: Everything You’ve Done Wrong by Sloan — Montreal’s blown their lead and is on the brink. Favored Buffalo is staring at elimination. As for the West? Each team has had their ups and downs, and it’s time to put aside those mistak…

Coach John Anderson Fired by Atlanta Thrashers: What Does Team’s Future Hold?

14, Apr 2010

The Canadian Press broke a story confirming the Atlanta Thrashers have fired coach John Anderson and promoted GM Don Waddell to President of the club. 

Assistant coaches Randy Cunneyworth, Todd Nelson, and Steve Weeks were also released. 

Consistent with Waddell’s promotion, Thrasher co-owner Bruce Levenson also promoted associate GM Rick Dudley to the general manager position. 

The Thrashers finished the season in the 10th position, barely missing a playoff berth with a 35-34-13 league record.  

There is some irony in the fact that the moves come right after unkind remarks about Thrashers management by both former team captain Ilya Kovalchuk and veteran Slava Kozlov. 

After the Kovalchuk trade, the Thrashers did a good job of pasting the team back together for a playoff drive. 

With the additions of Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, Clarke MacArthur, and Evgeny Artyukhin, the Thrashers were able to make a surprise run, even besting the Philadelphia Flyers in a tough back-to-back series. 

Dudley begins his tenure as GM with several advantages. He has served as assistant GM for a considerable amount of time. He has travelled extensively scouting teams and is keenly aware of the available talent and the talents availability. Dudley also is in tune with Waddell on the needs of the team to reach playoff contention. 

With the eighth position in the 2010 NHL Amateur Draft and players like former first pick Patrice Cormier coming off a year-long suspension, the Thrashers do have some talent to work with.   

One of Dudley’s priorities will be to sign some of the club’s unrestricted free agents. 

Max Afinogenov, Pavel Kubina, Bryan Little, MacArthur, Colby Armstrong, Eric Boulton, Artyukhin, and several others will all either be restricted or unrestricted free agents.

The second priority will be to unravel the goaltending problem. Johan Hedberg cannot stand up to the pressure of the No. 1 spot anymore, and Ondrej Pavelec has proven inconsistent.

Waddell and Dudley and their new coach will have very little time to make key decisions, which will ultimately affect the Thrashers’ future next season and beyond.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

Tom Mast: I’m Dreaming of a Division Title: Pens vs. Thrashers

10, Apr 2010

The Penguins head into Atlanta to play the Thrashers still very much alive in the race for the Atlantic Division title. New Jersey has kindly allowed us to hang around. Both teams have 99 points and two games remaining. The Devils meet the Islanders Saturday night. The Penguins square off against the Thrashers at 7:00.

The Lineup

Alexei Ponikarovsky will sit out the final two games of the se…

Steven Hindle: Dollars & Sense: CDN-US $ at par – What Does it Mean for NHL?

5, Apr 2010

Will a Strong Canadian Dollar Lead the NHL back to Canada Sooner then Expected?

As of today, the Canadian dollar sits at 99.90 cents U.S..

This means that the NHL teams in Canada are now doing business at an even level with those of their American brethren.

Not great news for American teams necessarily, but for a country that thrives on the sport of hockey like Canada, hockey teams in t…


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