Almost every article about the Atlanta Thrashers (post-Kovalchuk) has recently been critical of Don Waddell, the GM and coach John Anderson. One blogger even suggested the team should pack it in and vacate Atlanta.
Although interesting, this is a bit premature. Emotions and disappointment have run high since the trade took place. Kovalchuk, after all, had been with the team since he was an 18-year-old number one draft selection.
Attendance at the Thrasher games was nothing to write home about when Kovalchuk was on the team, so you can imagine what it has been like since he departed.
Don Waddell has been first criticized for not being able to strike a deal to keep Kovalchuk and later for not getting good enough value for him. The Thrashers received solid players but none the caliber of Ilya Kovalchuk.
It is fairly well known that the Thrashers tried everything they could to keep Ko ...
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Article written by Warren Shaw