A Letter From Don Waddell (and reaction)

"After several months of negotiations toward a long-term contract with forward Ilya Kovalchuk and his agent, we were unable to reach an agreement and elected to trade Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and a first round draft pick in 2010.

"We want you, our fans, to know that throughout the negotiation process, the Thrashers organization remained committed to offering Ilya a contract that exceeded those of the league’s best and highest paid players, and was commensurate to his skill level and performance history.

"To that end, we offered Kovy several lucrative packages in an effort to meet his financial objectives. One offer that we extended to Ilya would have made him the highest paid NHL player on a per year average with $10 million per year for seven years. Another offer totaled more than $100 million over 12 years, and it, combined with the previous contractual commitments that were made to Kovy, would have earned him more money than any other NHL player in the history of the league.

"If we had met Kovy’s ultimate demand, we would have jeopardized our ability to build a competitive team around him and retain our other young players as they became eligible for new contracts in the seasons ahead. At the end of the day, we couldn’t close that gap and simply reached a point at which we couldn’t reasonably go any higher.

"We’re excited about the addition of all three players and feel that Johnny and Niclas will quickly complement our team of budding young stars, highly-skilled veterans and elite players. We also look forward to having Patrice join us in the near future. Our goals for this season have not changed—to make and advance as deep as possible in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs—and we move ahead with a new sense of purpose that is energized by our continued climb in the standings as we position ourselves to compete with the best in the NHL.

"We will maintain the option of bringing in more players, in addition to the ones that we have acquired in the trade, to make sure that we are fully competitive for the remainder of the season and the postseason.

"We thank Ilya and Anssi for all they have done for our organization and wish them well. And we thank you, for your continued support, and look forward to your enthusiastic presence in Blueland to help drive us into the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs."



Don Waddell
Executive Vice President and General Manager
Atlanta Thrashers




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Okay, that was the exact letter Don Waddell sent out. And my take?

Sucks for the Thrashers. But expected. That "C" on jerseys generally stands for Captain. On an Atlanta Jersey, it means "Cleared for Departure".

How so? Let's look.


Kelly Buchberger, 1999–2000


Steve Staios, 2000–01


Ray Ferraro, 2001–02


Shawn McEachern, 2002–04


No captain, 2004–05 (Lockout)


Scott Mellanby, 2005–07


Bobby Holik, 2007–08


No captain, 2008-09


Ilya Kovalchuk, 2009-10

By the way, when it says 2009-10 (as an example), it means that the player was the captain for the 2009-2010 season, not two years. So that's 7 captains in 10 years (one year without a captain).

I wonder why they Thrashers play without any leadership on the ice.

"Whose's wearing the 'C' this year?"

"I can't remember. Let's ask Garnet Exelby. He's been a staple of this team for years."

"Didn't he get traded to Toronto?"

"That's right!"

Sadness.

Perhaps the worst part is we'll never know what Kovy looks like in a kilt. We can dream can't we?



Ok, enough dreaming about that. Manly thoughts. Manly thoughts!

Uh, uh, what to think of...Disney mermaids....



...femtroopers...



The Atlanta Braves Tomahawk Team...



The Thrashers Blue Crew!



No, no, no...The Red Uniforms.



Much better...

No more deviant thoughts.

Just keep thinking of attractive Disney characters, maybe a Star Wars alien with big, seductive eyes and mouth, and shorty-short-sport-shorts and I'll be fine.





Dang it!

What was I talking about?

Oh yeah, Kovy is gone.

That's going to be a big loss for the Thrashers. I don't think they have a realistic shot at the playoffs without him. Not to say I won't be pulling for them and cheering them all the way, I just don't have a lot of faith at this point. After seeing a few games, I didn't have a lot to begin with.

So, who are we getting?

Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier in exchange for Samela and Ilya. Read about it here from atlantathrashers.com.

Here's the break down. Basically, it's not too great. Oduya did lead the Devils in points by a defensemen last year, but he only has 4 this year. He will play on the Swedish Olympic team. Oduya has been playing since 2001 so he could add some seasoned depth at defense, but I don't like it at the expense of number 17. Bergfors is doing well, particularly for a rookie. But it's more new talent that I hate. The Thrashers are ALWAYS building towards the future, trading away seasoned talent for a brighter future that never comes. Not to say it never will, but so far it hasn't paid off. Example: Cormier. A young talent that has performed well on the minor level, but this is the big leagues that makes and breaks players. We shall just have to see.

The Devils did give the Thrashers a first round draft pick, but AGAIN, this will only give new talent not veterans. Ho-hum.

Alright. Before I leave, I have to sanitize my mental picture palate.



That will work just fine...

TTFN