All Sport Report

The Atlanta Thrashers had a pretty big lead, poised at the top of their division almost assured of an easy playoff berth, their team full of talent being led by the likes of Marion Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov… So much for a sure thing.

The Thrashers began a devistating downward spiral including 9 loses in eleven games coming into this past weekend, falling to sixth in the Eastern Conference struggling to stay above the teams breathing down their necks in the playoff hunt.

The trade deadline was rapidly approaching, something needed to be done for this team to turn around. The Thrashers have a dismal 5-12 record during regulation since the start of the new year, their powerplay is among the worst in hockey. They were in a position where drastic measures were required to fix whatever had broken and GM Don Waddell took those potentially drastic measures.

First up, the aquisition of veteran defenseman Alexei Zhitnik from the Philadelphia Flyers. Waddell sent 21 year old Braydon Coburn, the 8th overall pick in the 2003 draft to Philadelphia to make this deal happen. Zhitnik is 34, but proven, he was the most solid player on the Flyers defensive corp. This trade is a potential win for both teams, the Flyers are in a stage of rebuilding and Coburn certainly has the potential to be a solid defenseman when he gets some more games under his belt, while Zhitnik will sure up Atlanta’s defense and adds a lot of playoff experience.

Forward Kieth Tkachuk was the number two on the drastic moves list. Waddell sent Center Glen Metropolit and a couple draft picks to the also rebuilding St Louis Blues for the veteran forward. In my opinion this was a much better move for Atlanta than the Zhitnik deal, Metropolit isn’t any spring chicken at 32 years old, he may bit a little above average, but he’s not likely going to get a whole lot better as the years go on. Tkachuk is a big, rough forward who not only throws the body and plays physical, but can put the puck between the pipes, he’s got twenty goals this year eight of which have come on the powerplay.

Tkachuk, like Zhitnik is thirty four years of age, neither one is going to be around into the too distant future, but all things considered they only need to be at their best for a few months for these trades to work out.

Thrashers, Tkachuk, Zhitnik