As I was watching the Caps and the Predators in Washington last night, I couldn't help but keep an eye on the Flyers and Thrashers as they played in Atlanta. Of all the teams in the NHL, it seems as if the Thrashers have had nothing but hard luck in recent memory. It's hard to believe it's only been about 18 months since they qualified for their first playoff appearance -- one that ended in a four-game sweep to the New York Rangers.
The parade kept going downhill last season as the team dropped six straight out of the gate and head coach Bob Hartley was shown the door. GM Don Waddell stepped behind the bench, but he couldn't stop the bleeding as the misery culminated in the trade of Marian Hossa to the Penguins and the Thrashers limped to the finish.
Following up the franchise's first ever playoff appearance with such a disastrous performance couldn't help but have an impact at the box office, but even I was shocked when I started to see how much bleeding there was in Atlanta. Like a lot of other folks, I first noticed something was amiss when the Devils came to visit on October 16 (pictured above).
With the KHL season only five games old, it looks like Jaromir Jagr is making his presence with Avangard Omsk quickly felt. An early season dispute between him and coach Sergei Gersonsky looks like it may lead to the Gersonsky's ouster in favor of former NHL coach Bob Hartley, who's going to Omsk within the next week to meet with the team's GM. FanHouse heard this rumor a bit earlier and we've got something solid to report, as Beyond the Blueshirts has spotted it on two different Russian sports sites. They summarized the situation thusly:
Leonid Mikhailov of Championat.ru suggests that a dispute between former Ranger Jaromir Jagr and Gersonsky earlier this week hasn't helped the coach's already-tenuous position. According to the Mikhailov, the disagreement centered around Gersonsky's refusal to allow the team to return home to their wives, girlfriends and families after their week-long season-opening road trip. In Russia, it's not unusual for teams to mandate that players stay overnight at what's called the "baza", a sort of hotel/dormitory complex, on nights prior to games. It seems Gersonsky opted to require his team to report to the baza upon their return from Togliatti earlier this week, rather than allowing them to go home after a week away.
Maybe Jagr's to blame for this and maybe he's not (other players are upset but the team is indicating a slow start as the official reason for the firing), but maybe the most interesting aspect is that the KHL is not only looking to poach players from North America, but they're gunning for coaches as well. The KHL/NHL rivalry is far from over. As for Jagr, well, if Omsk didn't know an mysterious, often malconented superstar when they signed him, they probaby have a much better idea of it now.
The New York Islanders have quietly and methodically going about their business of choosing a coaching replacement for Ted Nolan. Given how Puppet GM Garth Snow and Charles Wang Dang Doodle have managed the team in the past, I'm rather surprised that the Isles have been so patient in their process.
After a painstaking interview process in which he spoke with eight known candidates and contacted a few others, an NHL source indicated Snow has narrowed his list to three finalists. Former Atlanta coach Bob Hartley (pictured), former Toronto coach Paul Maurice and current AHL Providence coach Scott Gordon still are in the running, and Snow is expected to name one as the Isles' next coach early this week.
So, we have two retreads and an unknown (to most of us) coaching prospect. How do the candidates stack up?
Waddell is scheduled to meet the media this afternoon, so I hope one of the Atlanta hockey writers asks him the obvious question: If the Thrashers turn this thing around while he's behind the bench, is Waddell prepared to pull a Lou Lamoriello and remain head coach/general manager/ruler of all he surveys for the rest of the campaign? It's not like the Thrashers don't have talent on this roster; it's just that Hartley couldn't figure out how to get an Atlanta team that's all offensive flourish to play Tkachuk hockey.
With the young season well underway, some trends are starting to develop. And while no one's hitting the panic button quite yet, it's never too early to speculate as to a man's job security, is it?
With that in mind, I thought we'd take our first look at the bench bosses who might be starting to feel the heat as the temperatures outside start to drop.
1. Bob Hartley, Atlanta. When I previewed the Thrashers back in late August, I mentioned Hartley as the man "on the hook" in Blueland, noting that "should Atlanta get off to a slow start, don't be surprised if someone else is behind the bench come Christmas." And while it's still very early and the Thrash are struggling through perhaps the most difficult month on their schedule (and without their best player, to boot), the Thrashers haven't even really been all that competitive in any of their four games yet.
It was a brief run indeed for the Atlanta Thrashers, but a giant step forward for the organization. Now, if they'll just have the courage to do what the Columbus Dinner Jackets did and fire their Don, as in Waddell, and bring in some people who really know how to build a winning team they'll be onto something. You don't throw away as much of the future as Waddell did just to get swept by a lower seed in the 1st round without consequences, or, at least, you shouldn't. But, we'll see if Waddell can convince the ownership in Atlanta that the current team in Blueland really isn't the 2nd coming of the pre-lockout St. Louis Blues.
So, one series is over and for the Rangers the waiting begins, 2 more were pushed to 3-1 with the Sabres and Sharks itching to join them. While the first OT game in the East pulled the Devils even with the Lightning, that series has all the markings of a 7 game slugfest.
Points of Interest:
For a guy that can't land on the scoresheet without a superhuman effort, Mike Grier gets a lot of press. I think the world of him as a hockey player, but there's no anticipation at all anymore when he's on a breakaway. 1st star, game 3, 3rd star, last night. The Bay Area press understands playoff hockey.
I think it's safe to say that Bobby Holik was not too pleased with Kari Lehtonen. For the commenter yesterday who took exception to my crack about the Thrash's locker room, here's this tidbit from Steve Ovadia. Based on how much better they played in front of Hedberg, one should look squarely at Bob Hartley as well as Waddell. They weren't prepared for the playoffs. Period.
The NHL actually protected the goal crease last night, too bad it happened late in the Isles/Sabres game and caused some controversy. The right call was made. The goalie can't be pushed into the net. Now, the Isles certainly have a case based on inconsistent application of the rules, but not on the text of the rulebook itself.
Regardless of the outcome, the Islanders continue to play very impressively. Yashin even showed up last night. I guess being called out by the entire hockey world finally did the trick. I'm sure Nolan is taking notes.
Jason Pominville has been completely invisible for the Sabres, playing so bad actually that he's been dragging down Briere and Hecht 5 on 5. The goal he scored late last night was the kind of work that netted him 34 during the regular season and ousted Ottawa last year.
Evgeni Nabokov is the only goalie in the playoffs whose team is leading their series and has less than a .900 Sv%, while guys like Turco and Basckstrom are standing on their heads and losing.
With the KHL season only five games old, it looks like 
The New York Islanders have quietly and methodically going about their business of choosing a coaching replacement for Ted Nolan. Given how Puppet GM Garth Snow and Charles Wang Dang Doodle have managed the team in the past, I'm rather surprised that the Isles have been so patient in their process.
I covered the Bob Hartley/Don Waddell Death Watch in 
With the young season well underway, some trends are starting to develop. And while no one's hitting the panic button quite yet, it's never too early to speculate as to a man's job security, is it? 
It was a brief run indeed for the Atlanta Thrashers, but a giant step forward for the organization. Now, if they'll just have the courage to do what the Columbus Dinner Jackets did and fire their Don, as in Waddell, and bring in some people who really know how to build a winning team they'll be onto something. You don't throw away as much of the future as Waddell did just to get swept by a lower seed in the 1st round without consequences, or, at least, you shouldn't. But, we'll see if Waddell can convince the ownership in Atlanta that the current team in Blueland really isn't the 2nd coming of the pre-lockout St. Louis Blues. 
