What's Next for the Thrashers?

Here Come The Thrashers?

After thumping Tampa and upsetting the Blues at home, John Anderson's team may have the prognosticators re-jiggering their picks.

Ilya Kovalchuk has already scored four goals, and Rich Peverley, one of the league's most productive players in the second half of last year, is continuing his trend with two goals and an assist in the Thrash's 6-3 home opener over the Bolts.

A glance at Atlanta's depth chart indicates they can roll four strong lines, with quality players like White, Kozlov, Little, Antropov, Afinogenov and rookie Evander Kane; a solid top 4 with Enstrom, Bogosian, Kubina and Hainsey; and an Ondrej Pavelec who has, if the results are indicative, started his season delivering on the promise he has showed.

http://forecaster.canada.com/faceoff/hockey/depthchart.cgi?Atl

Critics of Atlanta GM Don Waddell may be eating crow if the Thrashers continue this pace...though he and Anderson would probably rather focus on just winning the games.

But if the Thrashers, along with Tampa, prove they're ready to compete, the Southeast Division just got a lot more interesting.

Critics of Waddell were waiting for him to do something - anything to better the franchise. Getting Kubina, singing Antropov and drafting Bogosian, Klingberg and Kane are a starting point to turning things around for sure.

Next - trade Lehtonen for whatever you can get and start OP as much as possible - possibly even platooning with Hednerg.

SpezDispenser wrote:Critics of Waddell were waiting for him to do something - anything to better the franchise. Getting Kubina, singing Antropov and drafting Bogosian, Klingberg and Kane are a starting point to turning things around for sure.

Next - trade Lehtonen for whatever you can get and start OP as much as possible - possibly even platooning with Hednerg.

Yes, Antropov's singing, along with the voices of Afinogenov, Kozlov, and Kovalchuk, give the Thrash a musical lineup that rivals the Red Army Chorus.

I think they are going to run into a team that is, in my opinion, far superior defensively to either of the teams they've played so far. There won't be as much free wheeling going on as before.

PKC wrote:I think they are going to run into a team that is, in my opinion, far superior defensively to either of the teams they've played so far. There won't be as much free wheeling going on as before.

OK, so the Thrash isn't going to score 5 goals against us. I'm on board with that. But will the Sens be able to score more than 2 regulation goals themselves? Where's that powerplay we were salivating about before the season started?