Looking for Direction: Atlanta Thrashers Franchise (NHL2k10)

[thrashman]

Will Ilya Kovalchuk be headed out of Atlanta or towards a massive new contract?

The Atlanta Thrashers head into year two under John Anderson with the elephant in the room being that captain and face of the franchise Ilya Kovalchuk's contract is up after this season. GM Don Waddell has tried to please Kovalchuk with the offseason acquisition of Pavel Kubina and the free agent signings of Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov, both of whom Kovy played a role in getting to Atlanta. Still, contract negotiations are up in the air for Atlanta's #1 overall pick from 2001, and the Thrashers will need to put a solid product on the ice and be willing to open the bank to keep the world class Russian sniper entertaining fans at Philips Arena.

[thrashman]

2009-2010 OPENING NIGHT LINES

Ilya Kovalchuk - Nik Antropov - Maxim Afinogenov
Bryan Little - Todd White - Vyacheslav Kozlov
Colby Armstrong - Rich Peverley - Evander Kane
Chris Thorburn - Marty Reasoner - Jim Slater

Pavel Kubina - Tobias Enstrom
Ron Hainsey - Zach Bogosian
Christoph Schubert - Anssi Salmela

Kari Lehtonen
Johan Hedberg

Scratches: Eric Boulton, Mark Popovic

[CStateAttack]

Good start, hope you can keep Ilya! I know alot of people from Buffalo who have a pipe dream he goes there this offseason IRL

[thrashman]

Quote: Originally Posted by CStateAttack

Good start, hope you can keep Ilya! I know alot of people from Buffalo who have a pipe dream he goes there this offseason IRL

Thanks, I hope I can too. Yeah most fanbases have ventured to Thrashers boards with trade offers...we'll just see what happens. I'm not optimistic personally.

[thrashman]

PROMISING START TURNS AVERAGE


Ilya Kovalchuk has had no problem lighting the lamp so far this season.


TAMPA BAY 1 ATLANTA 3
- Nik Antropov game winning goal
- Ilya Kovalchuk and Todd White 1 goal each
- ATL power play 0/7
- Jeff Halpern shorthanded goal

ATLANTA 7 ST. LOUIS 2
- Ilya Kovalchuk 2 goals, 1 assist
- Evander Kane and Vyacheslav Kozlov 2 goals each
- Maxim Afinogenov 1 goal
- Tobias Enstrom 3 assists
- Brad Boyes and Paul Kariya 1 goal each

ATLANTA 3 OTTAWA 4 OT
- Jason Spezza 2 goals (OT winner), 1 assist
- Daniel Alfredsson 2 goals, 1 assist
- Ilya Kovalchuk 2 goals
- Jim Slater game tying goal with 41 seconds left

ATLANTA 2 NEW JERSEY 6
- Travis Zajac 2 goals, 2 assists
- Jamie Langenbrunner 2 goals
- Patrik Elias game winning goal
- Jay Pandolfo 1 goal
- Zach Parise 3 assists
- NJ led 5-0 after 1st Period
- Todd White 1 goal
- Ilya Kovalchuk shorthanded goal
- Kari Lehtonen pulled in 1st period, 4 GA on 14 shots

ATLANTA 2 BUFFALO 3 OT
- Tim Connolly 2 goals
- Derek Roy game winning power play goal
- Bryan Little and Pavel Kubina 1 goal each


THRASHERS RECORD: 2-1-2 (9TH IN EAST)

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SNIPING START
Ilya Kovalchuk has wasted no team in asserting his dominance and striking fear into defenses all around the NHL with 6 goals in the first 5 games of the season including a 4 game goal streak and back-to-back multi-goal games. Captain Kovy even netted a rare shorthanded goal, the fourth of his career, against the New Jersey Devils.



SOME GROWING PAINS
18-year-old rookie Evander Kane has showed good promise so far this season including a 2 goal effort in a 7-2 Thrashers win at St. Louis, but he's having some trouble staying out of the sin bin. Kane's 8 penalty minutes are second highest on the team behind tough guy Chris Thorburn, and the Vancouver native was in the penalty box when Derek Roy scored the OT winner in a 3-2 Sabres win over Atlanta.

[GoldenJet]

Great job, Ilya Kovalchuk and Evander Kane has been promising for you.

[thrashman]

Quote: Originally Posted by GoldenJet

Great job, Ilya Kovalchuk and Evander Kane has been promising for you.

Yeah. Kovy, Kane, Little, Bogosian, and Enstrom are the core of this franchise.

[thrashman]

THRASHERS SKID GOES TO 7 BEFORE FINALLY BEING SNAPPED


Thrashers' goalie Kari Lehtonen has found himself hung out to dry on many occasions.


ATLANTA 1 MONTREAL 2 OT
- Brian Gionta game winning goal
- Mike Cammalleri game tying goal with 6.9 seconds left in 3rd Period
- Rich Peverley shorthanded goal

WASHINGTON 3 ATLANTA 1
- Brooks Laich game winning goal
- Brendan Morrison 1 goal
- Jason Chimera shorthanded goal
- Simeon Varlamov 32 saves
- Rich Peverley 1 goal

SAN JOSE 4 ATLANTA 1
- Brad Staubitz game winning goal
- Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Torrey Mitchell 1 goal each
- Ilya Kovalchuk power play goal

WASHINGTON 4 ATLANTA 1
- Matt Bradley game winning goal
- Brooks Laich, Brendan Morrison, Alexander Ovechkin 1 goal each
- Ilya Kovalchuk 1 goal

* THRASHERS trade RW Colby Armstrong to WILD for C Andrew Ebbett; THRASHERS sign free agent RW Nikolai Zherdev to 2 yr/$2.83M per deal

ATLANTA 4 OTTAWA 2
- Ilya Kovalchuk 2 goals (1 empty net), 2 assists
- Todd White power play goal, 1 assist
- Nikolai Zherdev power play goal
- Daniel Alfredsson power play goal, 1 assist
- Jason Spezza power play goal


THRASHERS RECORD: 3-4-3 (11TH IN EAST)

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UGLY NUMBERS
Christoph Schubert hasn't exactly gotten off to the best start since arriving in Atlanta. The German defenseman has a frightening -9 plus/minus rating in just 8 games with 0 points to boot. The other 2 games Schubert has been a healthy scratch. Head coach John Anderson still likes the bruising hits Schubert can throw but has to get the 27-year-old to be more sound in his defensive positioning.



WHERE'S THE OFFENSE?
Coming off a stellar rookie campaign last year, hopes were high for 19-year-old defenseman Zach Bogosian, but like most of the Thrashers, Bogosian has struggled mightily. In 10 games Bogosian has yet to register a point playing on Atlanta's second defense pairing. However, instead of becoming frustrated, Coach Anderson will likely move Bogosian to the first pairing due to the youngster's excellent skating as well as to spark some offensive punch by playing alongside Toby Enstrom.