Hockey World Blog

All Things Hockey

Posts Tagged Atlanta Thrashers

Winnipeg Jets off to Slow Start

Oct 18

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | No Comments

Netminder Ondrej Pavelec needs to start stopping more shots to give the Winnipeg Jets a fighting chance.

The Winnipeg Jets are off to a rough start, going 1-3-0 in their first 4 games. The emotional homecoming to Winnipeg, the hype, has outweighed the product on the ice. Could this be a mere funk or could it be much more?

The Jets, once Atlanta Thrashers, has a lot of players under-producing. The list is as follows:

Bryan Little, a fifth year NHLer has 0 points in the first 4 games. Last year Little put up 48 points, a 14 point increase from the year before that. Although it is not expected of Little to make another 14 point jump this season, it is however expected that Little at least meet is last years point total.

Evander Kane is young with the speed and the talent to put up numbers. Currently 0 points thus far, Kane needs to start meshing with his line-mates. In his second NHL season last year, Kane contributed 19 goals and 24 assists. The 40 point mark should be obtainable, especially if he continues to skate second line minutes. Perhaps his day-to-day injury is the cause of his lack of production. Time will tell.

The fan favorite Dustin Byfuglien is perhaps the most surprising of all the players with his lack of production. Able to play both forward or wing, also getting a lot of time on the powerplay, Byfuglien has 0 points and a -4 rating in his 4 games. Averaging 3.75 shots a game, fans can only hope the dam breaks soon.

Two-time Stanley Cup Winner Andrew Ladd knows what it takes to be a winner, or at least be on a winning team. In both his Cup wins Ladd was a contributor but no the go to guy. After being traded to the Jets in the off-season after the 2009-2010 season, Ladd became that guy you could depend on. He put up a career high of 29 goals and 30 assists for a total of 59 points. Could that of been an abnormal season, sure, but with only 1 goal so far, the Jets still need more out of him.

It is said that transitioning and growing into a top-level NHL player is harder for defense. Tobias Enstrom is in his fifth season and is coming off of back-to-back 50 point seasons. Mainly a set-up man on the powerplay, Enstrom does not have a powerplay point as of yet.

A combined .880 save percentage between both Ondrej Pavelec and Chris Mason could be the real problem for the Jets. Letting in a combined 14 goals in 4 games, the two net-minders do not seem like either one of them wants the starting position.

It still could be just a rough start and they could make playoffs. It could also be the team is still not quite playoff caliber. Last year the Jets/Thrashers missed the playoffs and finished in 12th place. Either way, all the hype surrounding the homecoming is coming down to earth as fans see that no matter how much you want your home team to win, it just may not happen. Hopefully the players can start putting some more “W’s” on the board and give their faithful fans a ticket worth purchasing.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

NHL Stanley Cup Finals facts and other fun trivia

Jun 1

Posted by Chris in News, Soap Box | No Comments

The Stanley Cup playoffs are a long, exhausting grind. The process takes nearly two months to complete with teams playing every other night in hard-fought, physical battles where players are tested to the extreme both mentally and physically. It’s no wonder that some say the Stanley Cup is the toughest trophy to win in professional sports. With the Stanley Cup Finals set to begin tonight in Vancouver, here are some interesting facts about past Stanley Cup winners and losers – including some history about this year’s combatants.

  •  The Boston Bruins, one of the Original Six teams, have one of the worst Stanley Cup track records with a dismal .294 winning percentage. In 17 previous appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Bruins have won five times with their last victory coming in 1972. This will be the team’s sixth Stanley Cup Finals appearance since their last victory.  
  • The Vancouver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup. The team made two previous appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals since joining the NHL in 1970 – once in 1982 and the second time in 1994.
  • Only two teams currently in the NHL have never lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Colorado Avalanche made two appearances, winning the Stanley Cup in both 1996 and 2001, while the Tampa Bay Lightning won their only appearance in the Finals in 2004. 
  • Six teams have never made an appearance in the Finals: the Columbus Blue Jackets (nine seasons), Minnesota Wild (nine seasons), Atlanta Thrashers (10 seasons), Nashville Predators (11 seasons), San Jose Sharks (18 seasons) and Phoenix Coyotes (13 seasons, and 17 seasons as the Winnipeg Jets).
  • In addition to those teams, another seven teams have appeared in the Finals but never won the Stanley Cup: the Vancouver Canucks (two appearances), St. Louis Blues (three appearances), Buffalo Sabres (two appearances), Florida Panthers (one appearance), Los Angeles Kings (one appearance), Ottawa Senators (one appearance) and the Washington Capitals (one appearance).
  • The Montreal Canadiens are the most decorated team in the NHL with an incredible 24 Stanley Cup championships in 34 appearances. The last time the team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993, which was also their last appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals as well.
  • Henri “The Rocket” Richard has won the most Stanley Cups as a player with 11.
  • Mark Messier is the only player to captain two different teams to a Stanley Cup championship. He captained both the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers to championships.  

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

True North set to buy Thrashers, relocate to Winnipeg

May 31

Posted by Chris in News | 4 Comments

The wishes of fans in Winnipeg have finally come true – the NHL is coming back to the city that lost their beloved Jets 15 years ago.

The True North Sports and Entertainment group announced today that they have completed a deal to buy the Atlanta Thrashers with the intention of moving the team to Winnipeg. The deal comes after weeks of speculation that True North would buy the Thrashers and move them back to Winnipeg, a city that previously housed the Jets before the team uprooted and became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996.

“Hockey in Canada has never been stronger,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “We get to be back in a place we wish had not left in 1996.”

The deal is still pending on final approval by the NHL Board of Governors, something expected to happen June 21 at the board meeting in New York. The Board requires 75 percent approval to transfer ownership of the team while only a majority approval is required for the move to take place.

“We don’t like to move a franchise,” Bettman said. “We’re not happy about leaving Atlanta. This was never about whether Winnipeg is better than Atlanta. The decision to come to Winnipeg was only made after the Atlanta ownership made the decision they were going to sell even if it meant the team was going to leave Atlanta.”

True North acquired the Thrashers for $170 million, including a $60 million relocation fee. The team will play out of the MTS Centre, where the Manitoba Moose of the AHL currently play, which has a seating capacity of just over 15,000.

“About 15 years ago, it was like someone stuck a fist through your rib cage and pulled out your heart. The fan support in this city was phenomenal,” said Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz of the relocation of the Jets to Phoenix. “The only reason the Jets left here was simply because of the fact we did not have a proper facility and the powers that be at the time could not get their act together to build a new arena.”

The new Winnipeg team – it remains to be seen if they will resurrect the Jets moniker – will be the seventh Canadian-based NHL franchise next season. Speculation continues on how the relocation will effect division and league alignment, but with schedules already in place for next season the belief is that the new Winnipeg franchise will occupy the spot held by the Thrashers in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference for the upcoming season and then the league will realign for 2012-13. Rumors have even arisen that the league will completely restructure to a Northern Conference and a Southern Conference to make the travel equal between all teams.

Tags: ,

Could the Thrashers be on the Move?

May 17

Posted by Eddie in Rumors | 1 Comment

Chalk up the Atlanta Thrashers under the list of "Things that have failed under Gary Bettman".

In some news that has been brewing behind closed doors for some time now, the possible relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Canada has some momentum according to recent reports by various media. The two sides have not entered into an exclusive negotiating period nor has a deal been reached. But where there is smoke, there is fire.

TSN and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported today that Atlanta Spirit LLS is in negotiations to sell and relocate the team to True North. True North’s plan is to relocate the team to Winnipeg, Manitoba. This move is similar to when the Atlanta Flames relocated to Calgary, Alberta in 1980.

Under current rules, NHL owners do not have to get league approval to identify potential buyers and work out an agreement to sell their franchise. However they would have to get permission to negotiate with a party interested in relocation. Once an agreement in principle has been reached, the league’s Board of Governors would be asked to judge the acceptability of the new ownership. 

It is widely believed that the two sides are quickly trying to work on the move, as various deadlines regarding next season are right around the corner including the 2011-12 schedule being released traditionally during the Stanley Cup Final and division realignment logistics. True North attempted to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes over the course of the last five months, but those plans failed when the city of Glendale ponied $25 million to cover operating costs of a team that the NHL owns. The part of the process where there has to be Board of Governor approval for a team to relocate is why the move isn’t as quickly to happen as one thinks.

The chatter in Detroit sports talk radio is that it could be Detroit’s chance to finally move to the Eastern Conference. The Red Wings log more air travel miles than any other team as they and the Columbus Blue Jackets are the two franchises located in the Eastern Time Zone playing in the NHL Western Conference. Red Wing fans say the move could improve television ratings and pump more money into local bars and restaurants as they are more likely to go to a bar to watch a 7:30 road game on a weeknight versus a 10:00 or 10:30 p.m. game on the west coast when they have to work the next morning. The Red Wings and their fans at home were sparred the late starts in the recent playoff series versus San Jose, as Game 5 and Game 7 in California were played at 9:00 p.m. Detroit time.

The move could also reignite historical rivalries with Toronto and Montreal, teams they do not have the opportunity to play twice a season due to the current NHL schedule format where every team will play in every arena every-other-season at the latest. But do not be surprised if it is the Nashville Predators who will move to the Southeast division, while the Winnipeg franchise will play in the Central division despite geographically being closer to the Northwest division teams.

True North owns the AHL Manitoba Moose, as well as the 15,000 seat MTS Centre, an arena that opened in 2004. Besides being located in a small market that had less appeal to the NHL TV revenues like Phoenix had,  the inability to build a new arena to replace the aging Winnipeg Arena were reasons the Jets left for the desert in 1996. A source within the NHL told The Sporting News that the Thrashers were losing $20 million per season and are last in the league in ticket revenues.

Tags: ,

The Biggest Trade Deadline Deals

Mar 7

Posted by Matt in News | No Comments

To the casual NHL fan, the 2011 trade deadline was quite uneventful. The biggest move you might have heard about would be Dustin Penner to Los Angeles. But that’s not all that happened. Here’s a breakdown of some of the highlights from the 2011 NHL trade deadline.

To Capitals: Jason Arnott
To Devils: David Steckel, 2nd Round Draft Pick (2012)

The Capitals acquire a veteran to the game, and a player with the leadership qualities they will desperately need to make a run in the playoffs. Arnott has been in those situations before, won a Stanley Cup and he’s definitely going to be hungry to get back there. He’ll be a great asset to a team looking to make an impact in the playoffs.

The Devils make out pretty nicely from this trade as well. They get a younger player in Steckel, as well as a future draft pick to help their rebuilding process. While it remains unlikely that the Devils will be able to squeeze into the playoffs, they have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL as of late. Throughout February, the Devils picked up 11 wins, and points in 12 of 13 games.

To Sabres: Brad Boyes
To Blues: 2nd Round Draft Pick

Boyes, a right winger, will surely make an impact for a Sabres team who wished to add another potent scorer. While Boyes was stuck in a scoring drought last season, he has seemed to find his scoring touch again this year. Through 66 games, the winger already has as many goals as he scored in all 82 games last season, and has more assists and points. Good news for Sabres fans, Boyes has fit in and found chemistry right away, picking up four points in four games thus far with his new squad.

The Blues have all but given up on the playoffs this season. Injuries to T.J. Oshie for much of the season, as well as David Perron, who has not played since early November, have been a crushing blow. They’ll regroup in the off season, and the players will come back healthy and ready to make a push for a playoff run next season. The additional draft pick will help add an additional prospect for the future, which certainly never hurts, or can be used as trade bait itself later on.

To Thrashers: Radek Dvorak, 5th Round Draft Pick
To Panthers: Niclas Bergfors, Patrick Rissmiller

I’m going to call this one a win for the Florida Panthers. Picking up the talented young Niclas Bergfors will be a great move. In his rookie season, Bergfors snatched up 44 points playing 81 games for the Devils and Thrashers. This season, he started hot, but has lost consistency as of late. The good news, for Panthers fans, is Bergfors just turned 24 today. He still has time to develop, and if his work ethic is good, he’ll see plenty of ice time alongside Florida’s best players.

The Thrashers, on the other hand, have fallen pretty hard after a great start and there’s no shot at the playoffs now. They have pretty much thrown in the towel already, and Dvorak can’t do much to help.

We’ve seen bigger moves at past deadlines, but the impacts of this seasons deadline will be felt throughout the league. What team do you think made the biggest move at the deadline?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Thrashers Goalie Pavelec Collapses During Game

Oct 9

Posted by Eddie in News | 1 Comment

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated since original posting. Update is below.

Atlanta Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec collapsed on the ice early in Friday night’s game against the Washington Capitals. 2:25 into the first period, Pavelec tapped his stick to get the attention of the Thrashers bench during a stoppage of play at the opposite end of the ice. With no one around, he fell backwards and his teammates rushed to his aid and the training staff called for a stretcher to be brought to the ice.

thrashers

The second of two reports released during the game started that he was “awake, alert, and asking about the score of the game.” He underwent preliminary testing- it was unstated what for- that came back negative. He was also kept overnight at a local hospital in Atlanta for observation.

Goalie Chris Mason, who had to enter the game to replace Pavelec, said he had trouble concentrating at first and that his thoughts went out to the 23-year-old’s family in the Czech Republic.

“It was awful,” he said. “I just imagined like everyone else – his family’s across the sea. You just think they’re probably following the game and something like that happens and we don’t know what’s going on, it’s probably a helpless feeling. You can’t help it.”

The Thrashers play later tonight in Tampa. The video from the Comcast Sportsnet feed can be seen here. Stay tuned for updates on Pavelec’s condition as it develops.

UPDATE at 7:30 p.m. Pavelec was diagnosed with a concussion and remains in a local hospital in Atlanta. The Thrashers recalled goaltender Drew MacIntyre from AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves. The Thrashers released a statement saying that Pavelec “has a concussion and a subsequent headache but is fully alert and doing well. He remains in the hospital and will undergo further testing.”

Tags: ,

Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Atlanta Thrashers

Sep 12

Posted by Eddie in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Johan Hedberg, Colby Armstong, Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Kubina, Slava Kozlov

Key Offseason Additions:Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd, Chris Mason, Fredrik Modin, Dustin Byfuglien

Last Season Ranking: 10th place, East

Offense: This is a franchise that had superstars Ilya Kovakchuk and Dany Heatley, and they still couldn’t produce more than successful season. Bryan Little is the only player to score over 30 goals for the Thrashers. He scored 31 in 2009 and 13 last year. Which Bryan Little will show up this season? The top line is expected to be anchored by Nik Antropov and newcomer Dustin Byfuglien with Niclas Bergfors on the left wing. Antropov and Byfuglien will be counted on to have strong seasons like they did last season. It will be more difficult for Byfuglien because in Chicago he was surrounded by star players and could fly under the radar. In Atlanta, he will be one of the star players mostly due to his performance in the playoffs for Chicago. Look for fellow former Blackhawks Andrew Ladd and Ben Eager to make contributions to the Atlanta offense.

In his second year, Evander Kane will be one of the players to watch for Atlanta. Last season he played in 66 games, scored 14 goals and recorded 12 assists.

In his second year, Evander Kane will be one of the players to watch for Atlanta. Last season he played in 66 games, scored 14 goals and recorded 12 assists.

Defense: An area where the Thrashers needed to improve upon because they allowed 250 goals last season. That placed them 24th in the NHL, as their problem was letting opponents get quality looks at the net and being out-shot very frequently.  New coach Craig Ramsay will be implementing a 5-man defensive system. A former Selke award winner, Ramsay will depend on his forwards to backcheck on defense just as hard as they rush down the ice with the puck. They are lacking depth beyond the first pairing of Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian due to Pavel Kubina signing with Tampa Bay. One upgrade they received was trading with the Blackhawks for shot blocker Brent Sopel.

Goaltending: They say that the goalie is only as good as the team in front of him. So when the Thrashers allowed 250 goals last season, Johan Hedberg bolted to New Jersey where he can backup Martin Brodeur and backup Ondrej Pavelec was put into the slot as No. 1. But the team management figured that Pavelec wasn’t ready to handle top goalie duties full-time, so they brought in 34-year-old Chris Mason from St. Louis to split time with Pavelec. Mason went 30-22-8 with the Blues, while Pavelec was 14-18-7. The big difference is Mason’s GAA was 2.53 while Pavelec’s GAA was 3.29. Not bad for someone who competed their first full season in the NHL. If the defense can play better, the goalies will play better. In return, the team could win more games instead of playing from behind so often.

Season Outlook: The best news to come out of the ATL was that GM Don Waddell was moving up to Team President while promoting his assistant Rick Dudley to GM. What Dudley did was hire Ramsay and take advantage of Chicago’s salary cap problems to get quality players Chicago wasn’t able to hold on to. They have the pieces there to make the playoffs, which they have done only once in team history. This might not be the season Atlanta makes the playoffs, but expect them to be a force on the Atlanta sports scene and the Southeast division in a couple of seasons.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Kovalchuk Re-Signs with Devils

Jul 20

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

All Star forward Ilya Kovalchuk has re-signed with the New Jersey Devils. The drama is finally over where the winger was to sign in free agency, a much appreciated finally.

Kovalchuk and New Jersey have agreed to a 17-year, $102 million dollar deal. Kovalchuk is currently 27, putting him in the black and red until he is 44 years old. The deals get more creative every year that is for certain.

Kovalchuk posted 27 points with the team last year in 27 games after his trade from the Atlanta Thrashers. With the two clubs combined he totaled 41 goals and 44 assists.

The acquisition for the Devils will be a good one, as Kovalchuk is an elite scorer within the league. Still though, a lengthy contract is always difficult. Kovalchuk will definitely put points up on the board for the Devils, but the Devils are known for their solid defense and two way play, something Kovalchuk lacks and showed last season.

Tags: , ,

K-F-C

Dec 22

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

Captain Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atalanta Thrashers.

Captain Ilya Kovalchuk of the Atalanta Thrashers.

K is for Kovalchuk:

The All-Star left wing and Captain of the Atlanta Thrashers has come to a “snag” in talks for a new contract with his current club.

Next year, Kovalchuk becomes an unrestricted free agent. Kovalchuk entered the league in the 2001-2002 season with Atlanta Thrashers, and has played with them since. He has been posting up consistent numbers, averaging 79 points in the five completed seasons he has played. Atlanta has had trouble in the past completing deals. Atlanta was unable to sign Marian Hossa a few seasons back.

Kovalchuk is one of the big names this year for potential free agents. It is expected he will sign with Atlanta and become their franchise player, however if not, oh what a fun time it will be come trade deadline.

F is for Fisticuffs:

The Florida Panthers visited the Philadelphia Flyers last night for some good ‘ol hockey.

The meeting was their first since October 24th, where Flyer’s captain Mike Richards hit winger David Booth. The hit, which was controversial in being a head shot or not, received no disciplinary action, but has taken Booth out of the lineup for an indefinite period of time. Booth is the future of the Panthers, but currently is only participating in “light” skating.

The game began with a bang, as the first period consisted of 3 fights, one less than 2 minutes in. The total fight count ended with 4, yet the one to make note of was Panther’s captain Bryan McCabe challenging Flyer’s captain Mike Richards to a fight 3 minutes and 42 seconds into the game. The two dropped the gloves, circled briefly with both captain C’s bearing on their chest, and began to throw their punches.

It is not often you see two captains going toe to toe in a fight. Respect to both captains, McCabe for setting the tone and the score, and for Richards taking responsibility for his previous actions on Booth. Hockey is scrutinized for it’s fighting, however self regulation such as this makes the game safer than if fighting were to be removed.

The Panthers dominated the score board, winning 4-1, moving them to 8th place in the East, and sending the Flyers into a speedy decline to second to the bottom of the conference.

Martin Brodeur is interviewed after recording his 104th career shutout in an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh Monday, Dec. 21, 2009.

Martin Brodeur is interviewed after recording his 104th career shutout in an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh Monday, Dec. 21, 2009.

C is for Champion:

New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur broke the shutout record, posting his 104th of his career in a 4-0 win over the defending Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins. The record previously belonged to Detroit Red Wing’s Terry Sawchuk.

Brodeur, smiling from ear to ear took many photos with teammates and his puck inscribed with “104.” It is good to see the emotion and love for the game, and Devils forward Zach Parise said it best about the milestone, “I mean, it’s pretty fun. I’m sure it’s fun for him but it’s pretty cool for us too.”

The record stood for 39 years. Ironically, Sawchuk’s last shutout was against the Penguins on February 1, 1970.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,