ATLANTA THRASHERS
Update: October 6/03 - Preparations for the season are overwhelmed by the death of forward Dan Snyder and injuries to forward Dany Heatley resulting from last week's car accident. Aside from the human cost of the tragedy, the accident leaves the team short at forward. But the emotional damage is likely much deeper and impossible to fathom.
September 27 -
It doesn’t take long to analyze these guys. When they get the puck, good things happen. When they lose the puck, the game turns ugly.
The hockey gods provided Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley on successive draft days (2000 and 2001), a pair of boy-geniuses to anchor a pair of excellent scoring lines. But the Thrashers give it all back at the other end of the rink. This is the NHL’s worst defensive team, has been since its inaugural faceoff back in 1999.
It would help if they found a goaltender who can handle the barrage. Atlanta is a goalie graveyard, swallowing numerous candidates over the past four seasons. Still standing are Byron Dafoe, an expensive veteran coming off a forgettable year, and the younger Pasi Nurminen, who survived his 46 games last season. The anointed Goalie of the Future, Kari Lehtonen, is only 19.
The goaltending cause is not helped by the Thrashers’ atrocious-to-pitiful defense. The only expected additions are Garnet Exelby, a rookie, and Ivan Majesky, a cast-off from the 27th place Florida Panthers. Goals against will come down only if the forwards are willing to help out a little more. In Colorado, Bob Hartley coached solid team defense without sacrificing scoring. He doesn't have the same tools to work with in Atlanta.
Trouble: With mavericks like Kovalchuk and Marc Savard getting plenty of ice time, coaxing a better defensive effort out of this team is a challenge.
On the Spot: Heatley is two years older than Kovalchuk, so it’s not surprising that he was the first to become a more complete player. Now it’s up to Kovalchuk – 38 goals and minus-24 last season – to respond.
The Forecast: The Thrashers were five games over .500 after Hartley was hired in January. A sign of things to come? Or a brief flurry to impress the new boss? Probably a little of both.
The Call: 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Who's in:
Defenseman Ivan Majesky (trade from Florida)
Left winger Bill Lindsay (free agent from Montreal)
Center Brian Swanson (free agent from Edmonton)
Center Randy Robitaille (free agent from New York Islanders)
Assistant coach Brad McCrimmon
Who’s Out:
Goaltender Milan Hnilicka (trade to Los Angeles)
Center Mark Hartigan (free agent to Columbus)
Center Tony Hrkac (unsigned free agent)
Left winger Lubos Bartecko (unsigned free agent)
Left winger Per Svartvadet (unsigned free agent)
Right winger Jeff Odgers (unsigned free agent)
Forward Ben Simon (free agent to Nashville)
2002-03 Regular Season Numbers:
Payroll:
$25,985,000, 28th overall
(Hockey News, November 15/02. Bonuses not included.)
- Record: 31-39-7-5 for 74 points.
- At home: 15-19-4-3.
- On the road: 16-20-3-2.
- Finish: Tied for 24th overall, 11th in the Eastern Conference, 3rd in the Southeast Division.
- Goals for: 226 (2.75 per game), 10th overall.
- Goals against: 284 (3.46 per game), 30th overall.
- Goal differential: Minus-58, 27th overall.
- Power play: 17.3 percent, tied for 12th overall.
- Penalty kill: 81.7 percent, tied for 23rd overall.
Goaltending:
- Pasi Nurminen, 52-21-19-5, 2.88 GAA, .906 SV PCT, 2 SO.
- Milan Hnilicka, 21-4-13-1, 3.56 GAA, .893 SV PCT, 0 SO.
- Byron Dafoe, 17-5-11-1, 4.36 GAA, .862 SV PCT, 0 SO.
- Frederic Cassivi, 2-1-1-0, 5.37 GAA, .810 SV PCT, 0 SO.
Leaders:
- Scoring: Right winger Dany Heatley, 77-41-48-89.
- Power play points: Dany Heatley, 77-19-20-39.
- Game-winning goals: Dany Heatley, 6.
- Ice time: Dany Heatley, 21:57 per game.
- Plus/minus: Dany Heatley, minus-8.
Defenseman Andy Sutton, minus-8.
