Overhaul Needed!
May 31, 2009 18:05:27 GMT -5
Post by dustyrockon on May 31, 2009 18:05:27 GMT -5
Alright so the Thrashers are pretty sad. Lets face it, they have one amazing player and thats pretty much it. Alright thats a bit harsh but they definitely need to rebuild this team into something... better!
They have Kovulchuk who is a guaranteed 40-50 goal guy. Build around that for the offense and get some D going. There top Defense man for points is Ron Hainsey with 39 points. But he can not seem to play Defense. Hes -27 in career stats.
Here are there top 5 point getters this season.
Ilya Kovulchuk--------43G---48A---91PTS---79GP
Slava Kozlov-----------26G---50A---76PTS---82GP
Todd White------------22G----51A---73PTS---82GP
Brian Little------------31G----20A----51PTS--79GP
Colby Armstrong-----22G----18A----40PTS--82GP
It may look like there should be nothing wrong with this. All of them 20+ Goal scorers 3 70+ point getters. But something is wrong for a team with this much "offense" is finishing 13th in their division and 25th in the league with only 76 points. However they were ranked 9th in the league for goals for with 250. Yet they were also 2nd worst in the league for goals against with 279! They lack defense. Its at a critical level.
Heres what they should probably do this offseason...
Sign the following UFA and RFA's.
Colby Armstrong UFA------------------2 years for 1.5M and 2.0M
Jim Slater RFA--------------------------1 year for 1.0M
Chris Thorburn RFA--------------------3 years for 550K, 750K, 950K
Boris Valabik RFA-----------------------2 years for 1M and 1.3M 2 way contract
Anssi Salmela RFA----------------------3 years for 500K, 600K, 950K 2 way contract
Grant Lewis RFA------------------------3 years 500K, 550K, 650K 2 way contract
Kari Lehtonen---------------------------2 years 3.250M per season (Give or take)
Here's my reasons why...
Colby Armstrong--- Is still young, he plays a physical game and is very capable at scoring goals. Ideal as a 2nd or 3rd line winger.
Jim Slater--- Still young plays a physical game. He is more of a 3rd or 4th line center. 1 Year should be enough to test him out a little more.
Chris Thorburn--- You wont find your PP specialist with this guy but he will rock some boats along the boards while still contributing to the team offensively. Ranked 2nd for the thrashers in hits with 127 last season he should be capable of the physical play next season as well.
Boris Valabik--- Hes young, hes big, and he will shut you down. Hes been said to be one of the meanest Europeans defense man. Still needing to work on some discipline he will make a decent shut down 4th-5th D-man.
Anssi Salmela--- Quite opposite to Valabik, he is more of your offensive defense men. Hes still young and has alot to prove but should be able to make an NHL punch in the next few seasons.
Grant Lewis--- Another young D-man with good vision and anticipation. He loves to guard the net and yet with his offensive upside he has what it takes to be a top four on any team.
Kari Lehtonen--- Although injury prone this goaltender is very good at what he does. Stopping the puck. How ever his injuries have gotten the better of him therefore a small contract should suffice to keep him around.
With about the 4th or 5th overall draft pick they will perhaps draft one of the following.
Name: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson
Position: LW
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-1
Weight: 200 lbs
Birth date: 1991-04-12
He is a talented young LW with a bunch of offensive potential. Ranked 4th in the draft he could be had.
Name: Evander Kane
Position: C
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-11
Weight: 160 lbs
Birth date: 1991-08-02
Another great player, ranked 5th in the draft, Kane is a great center who is meant for scoring goals. He can take the physical pressure and is a very fast skater.
Name: Jared Cowen
Position: D
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-5
Weight: 218 lbs
Birth date: 1991-01-25
Cowen might be ranked 7th in the draft but that does not mean Atlanta would be doing such a bad move by drafting him. He is a large 6-5 defender who can throw his weight around as well as contribute up front. He could go well with Bogosian in a few years.
In fact Atlanta should attempt to actually move up in the draft to about 3rd, only a couple spots and try and draft Victor Hedman. Swapping first round picks and maybe sending back prospect Angelo Esposito to which ever team. Or a roster player.
Then comes Free Agent signing where there are quite a few decent free agents that will probably be hitting the market. With alot of cap space Atlanta has no reason to be going after some good players. Mostly in the defensive end. Someone like Rob Blake could be good veteran support back on D. There are also players like Francois Beachemain and Rob Scuderi that could be had for not to expensive even though cost should not be a problem for the thrashers. Also trading players like Todd White or Slava Kozlov could be used for bringing in more picks, prospects, young roster players etc. Especially after both having had good seasons. They should also be looking for a consistent start up goalie and perhaps trade out Hedberg and keep Pavelec as a backup.
So thats how I think the thrashers should play out. They should be focusing on rebuilding and reconstructing their team this off season. Let me know what you think...
They have Kovulchuk who is a guaranteed 40-50 goal guy. Build around that for the offense and get some D going. There top Defense man for points is Ron Hainsey with 39 points. But he can not seem to play Defense. Hes -27 in career stats.
Here are there top 5 point getters this season.
Ilya Kovulchuk--------43G---48A---91PTS---79GP
Slava Kozlov-----------26G---50A---76PTS---82GP
Todd White------------22G----51A---73PTS---82GP
Brian Little------------31G----20A----51PTS--79GP
Colby Armstrong-----22G----18A----40PTS--82GP
It may look like there should be nothing wrong with this. All of them 20+ Goal scorers 3 70+ point getters. But something is wrong for a team with this much "offense" is finishing 13th in their division and 25th in the league with only 76 points. However they were ranked 9th in the league for goals for with 250. Yet they were also 2nd worst in the league for goals against with 279! They lack defense. Its at a critical level.
Heres what they should probably do this offseason...
Sign the following UFA and RFA's.
Colby Armstrong UFA------------------2 years for 1.5M and 2.0M
Jim Slater RFA--------------------------1 year for 1.0M
Chris Thorburn RFA--------------------3 years for 550K, 750K, 950K
Boris Valabik RFA-----------------------2 years for 1M and 1.3M 2 way contract
Anssi Salmela RFA----------------------3 years for 500K, 600K, 950K 2 way contract
Grant Lewis RFA------------------------3 years 500K, 550K, 650K 2 way contract
Kari Lehtonen---------------------------2 years 3.250M per season (Give or take)
Here's my reasons why...
Colby Armstrong--- Is still young, he plays a physical game and is very capable at scoring goals. Ideal as a 2nd or 3rd line winger.
Jim Slater--- Still young plays a physical game. He is more of a 3rd or 4th line center. 1 Year should be enough to test him out a little more.
Chris Thorburn--- You wont find your PP specialist with this guy but he will rock some boats along the boards while still contributing to the team offensively. Ranked 2nd for the thrashers in hits with 127 last season he should be capable of the physical play next season as well.
Boris Valabik--- Hes young, hes big, and he will shut you down. Hes been said to be one of the meanest Europeans defense man. Still needing to work on some discipline he will make a decent shut down 4th-5th D-man.
Anssi Salmela--- Quite opposite to Valabik, he is more of your offensive defense men. Hes still young and has alot to prove but should be able to make an NHL punch in the next few seasons.
Grant Lewis--- Another young D-man with good vision and anticipation. He loves to guard the net and yet with his offensive upside he has what it takes to be a top four on any team.
Kari Lehtonen--- Although injury prone this goaltender is very good at what he does. Stopping the puck. How ever his injuries have gotten the better of him therefore a small contract should suffice to keep him around.
With about the 4th or 5th overall draft pick they will perhaps draft one of the following.
Name: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson
Position: LW
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-1
Weight: 200 lbs
Birth date: 1991-04-12
He is a talented young LW with a bunch of offensive potential. Ranked 4th in the draft he could be had.
Name: Evander Kane
Position: C
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-11
Weight: 160 lbs
Birth date: 1991-08-02
Another great player, ranked 5th in the draft, Kane is a great center who is meant for scoring goals. He can take the physical pressure and is a very fast skater.
Name: Jared Cowen
Position: D
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-5
Weight: 218 lbs
Birth date: 1991-01-25
Cowen might be ranked 7th in the draft but that does not mean Atlanta would be doing such a bad move by drafting him. He is a large 6-5 defender who can throw his weight around as well as contribute up front. He could go well with Bogosian in a few years.
In fact Atlanta should attempt to actually move up in the draft to about 3rd, only a couple spots and try and draft Victor Hedman. Swapping first round picks and maybe sending back prospect Angelo Esposito to which ever team. Or a roster player.
Then comes Free Agent signing where there are quite a few decent free agents that will probably be hitting the market. With alot of cap space Atlanta has no reason to be going after some good players. Mostly in the defensive end. Someone like Rob Blake could be good veteran support back on D. There are also players like Francois Beachemain and Rob Scuderi that could be had for not to expensive even though cost should not be a problem for the thrashers. Also trading players like Todd White or Slava Kozlov could be used for bringing in more picks, prospects, young roster players etc. Especially after both having had good seasons. They should also be looking for a consistent start up goalie and perhaps trade out Hedberg and keep Pavelec as a backup.
So thats how I think the thrashers should play out. They should be focusing on rebuilding and reconstructing their team this off season. Let me know what you think...