The Transition Begins: Waddell Out In ATL-WPG

From Sportsnet's Roger Millions, via Twitter:

Don Waddell is officially out as President when Thrashers move to Wpg..will do draft and then that's it.

The next stop in the hierarchy is at GM where Rick Dudley, by all accounts, a great hockey mind and builder is next up for a 1x1 with True North. True North is of the belief that they're GM, nine-year vet Craig Heisinger, is ready for the NHL. Will True North have Dudley work with Zinger or not...???

That's the next question...

Here's the announcement, thanks to our friends at TSN...
Word was, when Bettman's face showed up on the jumbotrons outside the MTS Centre, he was roundly booed... not shocking...
((HT: TSN/youtube))


More, importantly, here's how it broke in town...
This sounds a lot better...
((HT: Shaw Communications/CJOB-AM/youtube))


Waddell is set for a conference call within the hour...
More when we know more...

1615 UPDATE: We know more...

"If you have success, I think we were set up to build on the momentum in the market place," Waddell admitted in the conference call. "If you can win more, you can get people excited. So it played a part- a lot of things played a part- our lack of success may have contributed to that."

Waddell doesn't know what his own future holds, but he confirmed that he will be working with the franchise for the next month until he "turns over the keys." True North's Mark Chipman has told Waddell that there is an interest to fill some Winnipeg organizational positions and that there would be some interviews scheduled in the near future. He admitted that there would be some job loss inside the current structure, but there also would be some sliding over of personnel into open positions in other aspects of Atlanta Spirit.

"I want to make sure we hand the organization over in the best position we can," he said. "We had a lot of ups and downs, but when I put my head on the pillow at night, we did our best. We tried to make it work the best we can. I always say to our staff that we make the best decisions for the short-term, and long-term, for the best interest of the franchise. Unfortunately, we're to the point where it didn't work here and we have to move on."

Waddell is excited about the team Winnipeg is getting... they have a lot of good players as the franchise moves forward in good shape. He doesn't know about the coaching staff and they're future. Chipman knows Rick Dudley from their IHL days, and he's going to talk to scouts and other personnel. Until the franchise is "closed," they're prepping for the draft.

"It's better that there's a change there," in referring to his own job dissipation. "They're in very good hands up there."

Bloodletting In Blueland, Atlanta Thrashers Clean House

After another disappointing season, the Atlanta Thrashers have fired the coaching staff, promoted their general manager and his lieutenant.

The Thrashers fired head coach John Anderson and his assistants, Randy Cunneyworth, Todd Nelson and Steve Weeks.

Anderson said in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Wednesday morning, “Absolute disappointment. From last year, I don’t like to use the word rebuilding mode, but that’s what we were in. Two years later, I think we left the house in pretty good order. We almost made the playoffs. I wish we had. It might have been the difference in my job and some other guys’ jobs."

Don Waddell got a promotion (well deserved or not) to team president and his minion Rick Dudley gets one to as Thrashers general manager.

Those of us at the OSG HQ have our collective eye on former Tampa Bay head coach and current TV analyst Steve Ludzik.

Also keep an eye on Kevin Dineen, current Windsor Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner, and former Edmonton Oilers head coach and GM Craig McTavish.

More when we know more.

"Satellite Hotstove" Takes On Coyotes Situation

((HT: CBC/NHL/Hockeyhaven76))

The "Satellite Hotstove" on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" is required viewing for the ins-and-outs for the NHL.

Ron McLean, Pierre LeBrun, Mike Milbury, and Glenn Healy lay the land for the deal. The prevalent opinion is that Glendale brought in Reinsdorf and not the other way around. Naturally, a lot of the league owners aren't happy...

Healy was really fired up... as well he should be...

Here's the segment, thanks to our friends at the CBC...
Healy starts at 2:40


And the Atlanta Thrashers discussion is vital after the Coyotes discussion as well.

Oh, Kovalchuk You Devil: The First Game Without...

So, the deal was done... and a town was less than pleased...

The HQ could have told you a year ago that Ilya Kovalchuk would not remain as an Atlanta Thrasher after his current deal would expire. He was, according to reports from both sides in the negotiation, offered either 3 years/$30M, 5 years/$50M, 7 years/$70M, and/or 12 years/$101M to stay.

The agent for Ilya Kovalchuk, Jay Grossman, said the Thrashers dilly-dallied in talks and really didn't seem serious. The Thrashers GM, Don Waddell, said he tried, but couldn't mortgage his future in one player to put the team in financial peril after the year was finished.

11 players are under contract for the 2010-2011 season for a total of $28M toward a salary cap. If Kovy would have signed for a $10M price tag that meant, for all intents and purposes, Waddell would have had only $16M for upwards of 15 players to have under contract later on.

It, simply, couldn't have been done unless others were moved in the process in an effort to go "younger and cheaper." But the team carries on as a .500 club without any real offensive punch or name to hang your proverbial hat on to. The first game out was a game against division rival Florida ((pictured at Philips Arena, thanks to me))

The team had to escape Washington DC first to even make the game happen. They drove to Richmond, Virginia, flew out of there and made it back to Atlanta by 5:15 for a 7:00 puck drop. That wasn't gonna happen, so the game was pushed back to 7:45.

The team was chippy, tired, and cranky and so were the fans. Most of the fans blame Kovalchuk in this one instead of the front office ((pictured, sweaters adjusted to fit public opinion of some, thanks to me again)).

The sweater contingent was mostly un-adjusted, but you had some who let their feelings known. They would take masking tape and cross out Kovalchuk's name in favor of other things.

Admittedly, it was an odd feeling seeing Johnny Oduya and Niclas Bergfors take Kovalchuk's place- which is one helluva misnomer.

His place can't be taken...

But the team has a tall order in front of itself for the season and time to follow. There is no star, short of a trade at the deadline to bring one in, to put the team on his back.

Unless, the Thrashers win a lot of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-1 games down the stretch it'll be a long ride. And the team's future in the city hangs in the balance. Regardless of what people think and where they assign blame... there's more pressure now than when Marian Hossa was dealt away.


Fans in Atlanta will support a winner, and in the interim, will apparently root for a team who won't quit, and will give their best effort. It's reminiscent of the first years of the franchise when a team was willed to succeed when they were clearly outgunned night after night.

But it's year ten now, and not year two or three...

If the efforts aren't made upstairs now, the team won't work downstairs.

At that point, the "For Sale" and "Moving Sale" signs will quickly follow. The NHL gave the town a second chance after the Flames left for Calgary. There will be no third chance if the team has to move to Winnipeg, Hamilton, or any other place that can give the team a better home than the one they're in now...

Statement From Don Waddell On Kovalchuk

From the Atlanta Thrashers their own selves...

Ahem... quote...

"Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract. During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to be a Thrasher for life. We’ve spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we’ve reached an impasse and at this point he has declined all of our proposals and we can’t reasonably go any higher.

Ultimately, we offered Kovy more than $101 million over 12 years, which would have been the highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent in the history of the league. If accepted, this contract would have been the second highest offer ever to any NHL player. We also met his desire to be the highest paid player based on average annual salary with a separate offer of 7 years at $10M per year ($70M). This offer is $0.5M higher per year than any other player.

If we went beyond these offers, we would not be able to retain the young players on our roster when it came time to sign them, or invest in other top tier players needed to assemble a truly competitive team. Therefore, we are aggressively exploring all of our options as we move forward."

And if that doesn't amplify the idea of him being moved... nothing else will...
Paging Tom Gagliardi, and the cities of Winnipeg, and Hamilton...

Anyone...??? Anyone...???

Looks Like Kovalchuk is a Goner

It looks like the biggest potential free agent in Hockey will be traded before the Olympics even get started.

Two reports have surfaced that Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell has informed star player and captain Ilya Kovalchuk that he will be traded. Waddell has been negotiating with Kovalchuk's agent for the past several months and there have been numerous reports of an impasse.

Today's story from TSN in Canada RIGHT HERE

And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution RIGHT HERE

((IlyaKovalchuk will be leaving the//Courtesy tsn.ca))

There has been a lot of speculation that a few of the contending teams and a few of the bottom dwellers are interested in the Russian sniper. According to reports, the Thrashers had offered as much as a 10 year $100 million offer. If true, it is hard to believe that they would turn that down. Unless Kovalchuk decided that despite comments to the contrary, he didn't want to play in Atlanta, a team that can definitely be catagorized as a "Bottom Dweller".

With the OSG being based in Atlanta, we have seen and covered Kovy and the Thrashers for years. Kovalchuk will be fine wherever he lands, though he is best utilized as a sniper and not a team leader and captain. As for the Thrashers, they have been rebuilding pretty much since the day they started in the NHL and really never have gotten much better. There seems to be little committment by ownership to spend what is necessary to compete and most of the acquistions by Waddell seem to be either washed up or just not very good.

With a small fan base, the team is in deep trouble. Yes, Atlanta is a large market and they will support a team that wins. But the Thrashers are very reminiscent of the Braves teams of the mid-1980's. In today's NHL, that may not be enough to keep the team in the South's largest city...only time will tell.

Two Words You Don't Want To Hear Together: "Kovalchuk" and "Snag"

((HT: TSN/AJC-Vivlamore))

Those of us at OSG HQ have long maintained that the Atlanta Thrashers have always played with fire. On a sport played with frozen water, that's never a good combination. It looks like Atlanta Spirit, LLC is on the verge of alienating their fan base once and for-by-God-all...

It happened in the past when the team could not spend any money and was at the bottom of both the NHL spending basement-ranking 3rd lowest toward the bottom cap number. The team's on-ice performance matched that monetary output.

It happened when they traded Marian Hossa for half of the Pittsburgh Penguins roster- only Colby Armstrong is an active part of that move.

And now it could happen as the team's version of Armageddon now that Chris Vivlamore is revealing an impasse, disagreement, stopping point, or any other poor combination of words in regard to the negotiations for a new Ilya Kovalchuk contract.

"Our position is different than his position right now," Waddell explained to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Their position is fixed years with money and we have a different side of that.

"That's what we have to work through. We've gotten through every thing else, now we have to make it through that."

Oops...

According to the Journal-Constitution, Kovalchuk's agent Jay Grossman met with Waddell in Atlanta over the weekend to continue talks. Kovalchuk is scheduled to become a free agent on July 1.

The HQ warns a this point on two fronts...
Beware the trade deadline and beware the fan base...

"It's a business," Kovalchuk told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I think every player goes through that. It's the first time for me. It's (management's) decision, but I like everything here. Like I've said a lot of times, I want to play with one team all my life, but you never know."

For, what seems like, the 3,800th time here at the HQ, if the Thrash don't re-sign Kovalchuk the franchise is done in Atlanta. We don't mean to be that harsh for, what has proven when the team wins, to be a supportive-bordering-rabid fan base. But it's that whole "fool-me-once" thing...

They won't take it anymore and the Spirit may as well check in on Hamilton, Kansas City, or Winnipeg for buyers...

Yes, it'll be that bad...
And this is what the town will be missing...
((HT: RDS/NHL))

Waddell Dismisses Thrashers Move

((HT: AJC/Chris Vivlamore))

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said the NHL franchise will not be moving any time soon.

A Canadian newspaper reported Saturday that a Vancouver-based group is interested in buying the Thrashers and moving them to Hamilton, Ontario ((Copps Coliseum pictured, thanks Doug Pensinger/Allsport)).

“There is no truth to it,” Waddell said Saturday night. “We are not a movable franchise. I have talked to our owners, and no one has had contact with any group.”

Waddell cited several reasons the Thrashers won’t move. The Atlanta Spirit is currently involved in litigation with co-owner Steve Belkin that must be resolved. The naming rights to Philips Arena are tied to it housing both an NHL and an NBA franchise. Also, according to Waddell, the ownership group signed a commitment letter to the league to keep the team in Atlanta a specified number of years. Waddell would not disclose the number of years left on the letter but said it was “multiple.”

“I’ve been through this so many times, but the truth is there are too many obstacles,” Waddell said.

The Hamilton Spectator reported that a group is interested in buying the team and relocating it in time for the 2010-11 season.

The newspaper also reported that there are rumors that several other groups are interested in bringing a team to Hamilton.

According to the paper, the city is already working on a proposed lease of the Copps Coliseum to billionaire Jim Balsillie, who hopes to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move them to the city for the 2009-10 season.

The Globe and Mail's David Shoalts reports that Nelson Skalbania may be a part of the Gagliardi group looking to pick up the franchise.

"Gaglardi, who is president of Northland Properties, a family-owned company that operates a chain of hotels and restaurants, is said to want to move the Thrashers to Hamilton by the 2010-11 season. He could not be reached for comment and Skalbania, now involved in real estate in Vancouver, refused to comment.

"I'm in the Napa Valley right now drinking wine," Skalbania said Saturday afternoon. "I have zero comment. Goodbye."

But sources in the investment banking community say Skalbania has been eyeing the Thrashers for some time."

"Skalbania, 61, has a checkered history not only with the NHL but also in the business world. He gained fame in the late 1970s when he bought several sports teams, including the Atlanta Flames, which he moved to Calgary in 1979. He was also known for selling a teenaged Wayne Gretzky from his Indianapolis Racers in the now-defunct World Hockey Association to his friend Peter Pocklington, who owned the Edmonton Oilers.

However, Skalbania flamed out in 1982 in a spectacular bankruptcy which saw him lose all of his businesses. He then was hired by his creditors to rebuild some of them.

Skalbania managed to work his way back to solvency and even bought the B.C. Lions of the CFL in 1996. But that venture soon collapsed and he lost the team. One year later, Skalbania was convicted on a charge of stealing $100,000 from a real-estate partner but avoided jail time by going on parole and wearing an electronic monitor for almost a year."

Hamilton Negotiating With Balsillie

((HT: Hamilton Spectator/Nicole Macintyre))

The mayor expects Hamilton to lock up an arena deal with Jim Balsillie this week, saying the Blackberry billionaire is the only one with a concrete proposal before the city.

Fred Eisenberger ((pictured, thanks The Spec)) said he is communicating with an anonymous second suitor, but he doesn’t expect those talks will deter the city from reaching an agreement with Balsillie.

“Our main focus is and continues to be Mr. Balsillie. We intend to follow through and create an agreement with him that services his interest and the city of Hamilton. Any other discussions are, at this point, content,” said Eisenberger.

“As far as I’m concerned there is nothing as real as Mr. Balsillie's proposal and that’s the basis we’re moving forward on.”

The Spectator reported on Saturday that a Vancouver-based hockey group is also interested in relocating the financially strapped Atlanta Thrashers to Hamilton. An inside hockey source stated the group is lead by Vancouver developer Tom Gaglardi.

Thrashers’ general manager Don Waddell denied the NHL franchise is moving in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this weekend.

“There is no truth to it,” he said. “We are not a movable franchise. I have talked to our owners and no one has had contact with any group.”

Waddell said there are too many obstacles to move the team, including an ongoing lawsuit over its ownership and commitments to the city’s arena and the NHL.

Gaglardi has not commented publically since his name was raised in media reports last week. He has not returned calls for comment.

Eisenberger refused to identify the second suitor, saying only that he has talked with another interested party. He added no meeting is planned this week.

“I will be communicating with them” he said, adding he couldn’t say when.

Eisenberger described the talks as “information gathering” and stated he didn’t expect the dialogue would change the city’s plan to sign a deal with Balsillie.

“He is the only bona fide proposal that’s on the table right now and that’s the one we’re going to work with and put to bed by the middle of the week.”

Balsillie hopes to buy and relocate the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton for the 2009 season. He is battling the NHL in court to control the bankrupt franchise.

Waddell Discusses Kovalchuk's Future

Atlanta Thrashers General Manager Don Waddell was a guest on Rogers Sportsnet's HockeyCentral at Noon with Nick Kypreos on Sportsnet and the Fan Radio Network.

Waddell obviously wants to keep Kovy around by the time his contract is up at the end of next season. He says all the right things...

For now...

This is all of us holding our collective breath for the next year as Kovy plays out the string in Atlanta and the franchise then moves to another city altogether.

You can listen to the interview with Kipper and Sportsnet's Daren Milliard by clicking in the black...

((HT: Fan590.com))

UPDATE: Bruce Garrioch from the Sun Newspapers north of the border is reporting the possibility of a Kovalchuk-Marian Gaborik blockbuster swap with the Minnesota Wild.

The principles would be Gaborik and Kim Johnsson for Kovalchuk and Colby Armstrong.

The issues: Gaborik's injury history and his desire to be locked in for a long-term deal.

The numbers: Gaborik makes US$6.5-million and US$7.5-million for the next two seasons. He then becomes an unrestricted free agent. Johnsson will make US$4.8-million, US$5.2-million, and US$5.3-million the next three seasons. He becomes a UFA after the 2009-2010 season.

Kovalchuk will make US$7.5-million this year and next.
Armstrong is the bargain for the whole deal- US$1.2-million this season, and then he becomes a restricted free agent.

The decision: Does Don Waddell trade his signature franchise player and alienate the remainder of a dwindling fan base knowing he won't be able to re-sign Kovalchuk for major dollars after the end of next season...? And does Waddell take a flyer on Gaborik with his injury history next season and try to re-sign him knowing Gaborik may not want to stay after his southern experience...?

The other decision: How quickly can Wild GM Doug Risebrough get Waddell to pull the trigger...? Risebrough gets a sniper and an up and coming forward in the deal. Waddell gets a wonky, moody ((at times)) star-quality player and a solid defenseman.