As I said earlier in the week, NHL.com is doing features on all 30 teams over the course of 30 days and today is Atlanta’s day. Mike Morreale’s recap and analysis are pretty solid and I can’t say I disagree with anything he has to say, even if most of what he says sounds pretty familiar to anyone that’s a regular visitor to this blog and the team site.
When it comes down to it these features are a lot more informative for fans of other teams. You’re probably not going to learn a whole lot from a feature on your favorite team, but if you haven’t been paying close attention to what the other 29 teams have been up to these pieces are great offseason primers. I plan to read them all. You can start with yesterday’s story about the Ducks.
Coinciding with the Thrashers feature is this piece (also by Morreale) about the ageless wonder known as Slava Kozlov who is every bit the gym rat that the kids like Jim Slater and Zach Bogosian are. The guy is 18 years older than Bogosian but is just as fit. The man has missed 10 games in six seasons with the Thrahsers. 10 games. He played through a busted up shoulder and knee just because he didn’t think it was a big deal. He’s an underappreciated wonder.
Speaking of underappreciated, what does Todd White have to do to get mentioned in a Thrahsers story? Both NHL.com and Bleacher Report are doing rundowns of every team and neither one mentioned White who had 73 points in 82 games last season. He has 110 points to Slava Kozlov’s 117 over the last two season but he’s getting no love from anyone. He’s the best veteran center money can buy in this salary cap world. Seriously- find me a better center over the age of 30 who gives you more bang for your buck than White who made about $2.35 million last season. He’s actually more underrated then Rich Peverley, and that’s saying a lot.
Finally, Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy has a blog post up about Ilya Kovalchuk’s future in Atlanta. It’s pretty balanced and not filled with any doom or gloom. It’s refreshing. Leahy actually went back and dug up things Ilya himself said about how much he likes playing in Atlanta, which is more than a lot of other writers have done, so good for him.
What Todd White did last year was amazing, but nobody can honestly expect that he will put up career numbers again this year.
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That was actually a decent summary on Atlanta… that’s what they SHOULD be… most of those write-ups have so much misinformation, like “Atlanta will most likely pair Exelby on the top line with Bogosian”
I’m a huge supporter of Kozlov… it’s amazing that we got him from Buffalo because they thought he was damaged goods… he’s only missed 10 games ever since.
I’d like to see him stay another 3 years and get his number in the rafters.
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I love Slava Kozlov…
We need to start up the Kozlov chant again.
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You can’t expect White to put up career numbers again, but I’m penciling him in for 60+ points.
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White will always be worth more than we’re paying him… I’ll say that at the very least… he was a steal.
You can never have enough guys with “hockey smarts”. The Little White Russian line could be one of the “smartest” lines in hockey.
On a side note, I’m more worried wither Bryan Little can repeat HIS numbers… White can always fill in on a checking line and PK… what do you do with Little if he gets in a slump?
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I’m not sure why Bleacher Report think we’ll be “offensively challenged.” We rank 9th in the NHL in goals scored. We no detraction’s from the offense and the addition of Antropov, I don’t see a reason why we couldn’t move up in that stat category. Also the main reason the team had trouble was allowing 32+ shots per game and giving up second most goals in the league. And I believe the team address these issues, with a year more experience for Bogo and Enstrom. And I know Kubina isn’t the most the defensive defenseman but I see him as an upgrade to Exelby. We also added size and that will help with shot blocking and being more physical.
I’m ready for this team to get on the ice and surprise the NHL and play some playoff hockey!
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Frank… that’s because Fraser Elliot didn’t do any research… THIS is the typical write-up I expect from 30 Teams in 30 Days… that’s why I commend Mike Moreale.
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Hokie… I’m starting to notice research is not a strong point among some of these writers. It took me about 5 seconds to find out where the team ranked among goals scored.
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Likewise!
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Bleacher Reports prediction for Thrashers:
Prediction: I foresee the Thrashers finishing in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and last in the Southeast Division. With the improvements in Tampa Bay and the high likelihood of Kovalchuk and Kozlov both being dealt before the trade deadline, if an extension can not be reached with both of them. It will be a very long winter in Atlanta.
What does this author see that everyone else is missing about Kovy and Kozy not getting resigned??
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