It’s no news the Atlanta Thrashers are in the final stages of being sold to a group from Winnipeg, but if you’re a fan, or as I like to call them, Casual Observer’s, you think that whatever you post on the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s website will have some sort of impact on this deal. Well I’m sorry to break the news to you, it won’t. So what I’m going to do is address all of your concerns from threads I’ve read in a Letter To The Thrasher Fans!

Dear Thrashers Fans,

In the last few weeks I’ve had the pleasure to read with great interest all your takes on the current scenario that has the team moving north of the border to Winnipeg. I’ve watched as “Peg From Winni”  explained that hockey in Atlanta was doomed from the beginning, only to have her parents placing certain foreign objects in various orifices of their body by “Sage In Blueland”. (And what the fuck is “Blueland”?) I found myself rolling on the floor last night when PJ suggested how both cities, Atlanta and Winnipeg could make this a win-win situation for both cities, their idea? Have Atlanta play the first half of the season here and the second half of the season in Winnipeg. Like I said, I fell to the fucking floor LMAO over that one. Talk about desperate.

 I've enjoyed the constant ranting by all of you, blaming the Atlanta Spirit Group for their shortcomings as owners for not putting a championship team on the ice, even though you had the likes of Hossa and Kovalchuk , both who couldn’t get the fuck out of town fast enough, made the playoffs in your 6th season but were swept by the Rangers. Even after a great season it didn’t take long the following year for ticket sales to plummet, crowd music to be piped in during the announcements of the players only to have the lights go up and see half a stadium empty, and those in attendance outnumbering the locals by donning Flyers garb or the Bruins or any other away team. I found that you all had a lot of gall to sit there and feel slighted you didn’t have a Stanley Cup team in the short nine years the team existed, coming off with that mightier than thou attitude that this is a great hockey city and the fans deserved to have a winning team while places like Boston, Chicago and even San Jose and Vancouver have diehard fans supporting their teams winning and losing, but you feel slighted because you hadn’t hung a banner yet..let me just say this - FUCK YOU!

 What’s really been the most fun however, is the never-ending cheerleading whenever Chris “I Kiss Thrasher Brass Ass So I Don’t Lose My Press Pass” Vivlamore posted his updates on the pending sale and you all insisted there had to be a new local owner to step up, like Anson Carter (and yes “LadyThrasher” that one) who has stated over and over he was interested about a year ago and has no desire to lose 170 million ducats he didn’t have any way to keep the team here. Arthur Blank, founder of Home Depot and owner of the Falcons turned off his hearing aid too, he has no desire to lose hard earned millions made off of hardware and Makita drills to give all 37 Thrasher fans a place to play 2-3 nights a week. And then there was Tom Glavine, the Braves All-Star Pitcher and former Billerica Mass. hockey star who came to the table with the desire to keep the team here, that is until he opened the books and they bled all over him and the group he assembled. From what I heard the scene resembled something out of the movie Carrie. I’ll keep in mind this is all management's fault and the fans are being shafted, you certainly should never have to lose a SECOND team due to ticket sales and lost revenue.

 And finally, to the ONE Thrasher fan that actually went to “Select-A-Seat-Day” and purchased a season ticket, I say you’re the biggest fucking dope of the bunch. You do know there are no refunds and you’ll now have to attend all the Winnipeg home games right?

 Signed,

You’ll never See Hockey Again in Atlanta 

  Yeah, I said FIVE_HOLE

I'm gonna get into a some Hockey talk, but first I have to mention the Preakness Stakes...Once again I have been bested by one of my kids...The wife, my daughter, son, and I all picked our horses...My Wife had Flashpoint, who lead most of the race, so we figured he'd run out of gas...My daughter had Dance City, who was in the mix the whole way and finished 5th...I had Dialed In, who came from dead last and worked his way up to 4th...And that little shit you know as The Little Beeze had the big winner, Shackleford...Even worse, my wife said he had Animal Kingdom for the Derby...I gotta get this kid to the track!

Now onto some Hockey...How the fuck do the Boston Bruins take a 3-0 lead, and flush it down the shitter...Just two nights before Tim Thomas shutout the Lightning, and looked like the Tim Thomas that we had seen all season...Honestly, I was glad I didn't get to see the game...Watching teams blow a commanding lead really pisses me off...Now the series is tied up 2-2, and it's clearly anyone's to win...

Now let's head down South to the hot-bed of Hockey...Oh, wait, that's not the hot-bed...That would be up North...And up North is where it looks like the Atlanta Thrashers will be going...After much rumor, and speculation that the Thrashers are being sold and moved to Winnipeg, we still have much rumor and speculation...

Every party involved, and even not involved, are all leaking bits of information...The team is sold...The team is in the process of being sold...Negotiations are still going on...Season Tickets for Atlanta are being sold, the team isn't leaving...I have read more shit on this asshole organization in the last 24 hours, then...Fuck, I got nothing...I just know I have read too much, to walk away with so little information...

The NHL is denying the deal happening, but behind the scenes they are pushing hard for it...In their most successful season the Thrashers lost $20 million...Of Course the fans and city blame ownership!

If the deal does happen, and it will, this will be the second time Atlanta will lose a Hockey team to a Canadian city...The Flames left Atlanta for Calgary in 1980...Umm, by the way, I'm okay with that...The Jets should have never left Winnipeg for Phoenix...Yeah, Coyotes, you're next to move! Canadian cities have always supported their teams...Much more than many U.S. cities...(I'm Looking at you Atlanta)

Sure, Thrashers fans came out in full force Saturday to show their support for the team...All 250 of them!
How often do we see people show up only when they are faced with losing something...
From what I have read, Management is still planning on selling ticket packages, and there are actually some fans who are planning on buying...My God it must be nice to be such an optimist!

Speaking of being optimistic, As I figured, the world didn't end Saturday...The Earth is still spinning, I'm still writing, and the fuck-tards who predicted this bullshit, are looking for the next day on the calendar that they should try to stir this shit up...

I'll be back tomorrow to shit on more people I'm sure!

Later The Beeze.
 

When I think of this year’s NHL playoffs I think of the teams that normally end up in the second season, Pittsburgh, Washington, Detroit and New Jersey and with them the poster boys of the NHL Crosby and Ovechkin. But this year we’ve seen a turning of the tide, no more Nicklas Lidstrom vying for another Cup, no white towels will be waved in Pittsburgh, the Capitals once again showed they are one dimensional and ride the back of one line and not a whole lot more and the Devils are rebuilding. Yeah, this post season we’ve got Bergeron and Thomas, Lecavalier and St. Louis, Thornton and Marleau, the Sedin’s and Luongo…for some these are household names, for the casual fan it’s more like WHO are these guys?

The two teams from the West have never won a Stanley Cup, the two from the East each have, with TB doing so in ’03-’04 and Boston winning there last of 5 Cups in the ’71-’72 season. To this point we’ve enjoyed great matchups with tons of terrific hockey, what else do you expect from the fastest game on two legs? The Bruins had to deal first with their arch rival and Original Six nemeses the Montreal Canadians, who stole the first 2 games in Boston, the Bruins then went on to win the next four of five, three in OT including game seven in Boston. Following that Boston knocked out the Flyers in four straight to erase any memory of that implosion last year when Philly came back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the series. Now they enter the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since ’92 and host the Tampa Bay Lightning beginning tonight at 8 pm. Both teams swept their final series and have been off for close to 2 weeks, needless to say they’re itching to get back in action.

In the West it’s the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks, who never seem to do anything the easy way, had a 3-0 lead on the Red Wings, lost the next three and took game seven Thursday night in a tight fought game in San Jose. They had gone six games with the L.A. Kings in the first round. Vancouver another of those teams who look like a pretender more than a contender usually, found themselves making their path to the Conference finals difficult doing the same as San Jose in the first round having a 3-0 lead only to cough it up against the defending Stanley Cup champs and winning in seven at home, they followed that up with a six game series against the pesky Nashville Predators.

San Jose found a way to pull out of a grueling series with the Red Wings, I’m just not sure they’ll have the gas or the luck for that matter to go that kind of distance again with the Canucks, but if Roberto Luongo performs like he did against the Black Hawks the Sharks might just find themselves moving onto the finals. It’s clear that how the goaltending goes so goes the series for both of these teams. The west series begins Sunday night in Vancouver. In the East the homer comes out of me and I’ll take Boston in 6 games, for the West I’ll go with Vancouver in 6.

In other news, last night NY Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, 28, was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment. There have been no details given as to the cause and it may not be known for weeks.

The NY Islanders signed rookie Michael Grabner today to a 5 year $15 million contact, he had 34 goals and was 3^rd on the Isles with 54 points. Grabner is one of 3 finalists for this year’s Calder trophy which is given annually to the league’s top rookie. Other finalists this season are San Jose’s Logan Couture and Carolina’s Jeff Skinner.

It’s looking more and more like the Atlanta Thrashers won’t be in Georgia next season, regardless of what the few Billy Ray Jim Bob’s down here who go to the game would like to believe. An article posted in today’s Toronto Sun has quotes from Atlanta owner Bruce Levenson saying before the Bulls-Hawks game (who he owns as well, along with Philips arena and are being sold as a package deal if possible) that they are no closer to finding a local owner than they were a year ago. Here’s that interview, watch and listen to this tool, particularly when he answers the question about what is it he’d say to the fans, I’ll give you a hint, he’s not going to be begging them to buy season tickets to help the cause. Talk about wanting to get out of town.

Hotch will return next week! Enjoy the playoffs Gabbers!

Key Additions: D.J. King

Key Subractions: C Eric Belanger, D Joe Corvo, C Brendan Morrison, D Shaone Morrisson, G Jose Theodore, RW Scott Walker

With Washingtons early exit from the postseason in the spring, the Capitals could be looking at a refocused and more determined Ovechkin.  However, Ovechkin wasn’t the Caps problems during the playoffs last year.  Secondary scoring killed the Caps.  Aside from Ovie, Backstrom and Knuble, no Caps registered more than 5 points.  Semin was non-existenet, registering only 2 points in 7 games.  Washington has proven that they have a very potent lineup and can roll through the regular season, but there has been a history where they are looking like the Sharks of the Eastern Conference.  With the departure of Theodore, the Caps nets are going to be filled with Varlamov and Neuvirth.  Varlamov had a great year last season, losing only 4 times in regulation.  This is Varlamovs opportunity to show the Caps that he can be their goalie of the future.  The Caps led the league last season in goals scored.  With Neuvirth, you have a backup goalie that won 9 of his 13 starts last season.  If Washington continues to receive secondary scoring during the regular season, they will finish at the top of the Eastern Conference.  The Caps still have some young players that we will need to watch this season.  Lots will be expected out of Carlson (I’m still angry about that OT goal in the WJHC), and with the departures of Corvo and Morrisson, he will have plenty of ice time to make his mark.

Prediction:

1^stin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: D Joe Corvo, D Bobby Sanguinetti.

Key Subtractions: C Rod Brind’Amour, G Manny Legace, D Brian Pothier, LW Ray Whitney.

Carolina lost the majority of their leadership over the summer with the loss of Brind’Amour and Whitney.  Going into this season, Carolina is going to be fairly thin on their back end.  How far the ‘Canes go this season relies heavily on Ward.  Ward will be called upon to steal some games for them this season.  Carolina cannot repeat their poor start of last season, or else they will be on the outside looking in early in the season.  Carolina was amongst the worst in the league last season for goals against, mainly due to the injury to Ward.  If Ward stays healthy this season, you can look for the Canes to move up in that area.  Backing up Cam Ward this year are the two Justins, Peters and Pogge.  Pogge has not found his stride that made him highly touted in some GM’s eyes, and unless Ward goes down with an injury or starts off rusty, Pogge will not see too much ice time.  That opportunity will probably go to Peters, who had 6 wins in 9 starts last season.  Carolina is going to be hitting the ice this season with many of their prospects of drafts past finally getting a chance to show their stuff.  Jamie McBain had 10 points in 14 games last season playing on the Canes back end, and with their younger d-core, McBain is looking to improve on his ice time.  Carolina was hit hard on their back end last season, with no defenceman playing more than 71 games.  Carolina needs a great season from Ward this year, or it will be a tough season.

Prediction:

12^thin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: D Brett Clark, G Dan Ellis, LW Simon Gagne, D Pavel Kubina.

Key Subtractions: D Kurtis Foster, C Zenon Konopka, D Andrej Meszaros, G Antero Nittymaki, LW Alex Tanguay, D Matt Walker.

Tampahas a lot going for them this season.  Things started to turn around for them when they signed GM Steve Yzerman.  Yzerman brought in Simon Gagne, and that should help Steven Stamkos further.  Stamkos became the 3^rdyoungest player last season to break the 50 goal plateau, behind Wayne Gretzky who did it twice, and Jimmy Carson.  Last season goaltending killed the Bolts.  Mike Smith did not have the greatest year of his career, winning only 13 of his 42 games.  With the departure of Nittymaki, the Bolts quickly snapped up Dan Ellis.  Who will start the season in Tampa?  I can’t tell you that, but Tampa will possibly alternate goalies until one of them starts to produce and win some games.  Stamkos continued to get bigger and stronger, and the addition of Gagne should help Tampa close the gap for goals scored in their division.  Tampa scored more than 100 goals fewer than division leader Washington, and as a result, Tampa will need more scoring from their secondary lines.  Younger players such as Paul Szczechura will need to contribute more effectively to the offense on a regular basis.  Tampas young d phenom Hedman will continue to grow and develop, and looks to be one of the top players on the Tampa blue line.  If Tampa cannot get their goaltending situation shored up, this could be a long season.  First year NHL coach Guy Boucher may try to change things up with their approach to defensive play.  Tampa may be looking at utilizing a 1-3-1 forecheck, and if it is effective, it should help them defensively.

Prediction: 14^thin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: RW Steve Bernier, D Erik Gudbranson, LW Michael Grabner, LW Christopher Higgins, D Nathan Paetsch, C Marty Reasoner.

Subtractions: D Keith Ballard, LW Gregory Campbell, RW Nathan Horton, C Kamil Kreps.

Floridas back end needed lots of work this offseason.  Florida GM Dale Tallon helped that situation by moving Nathan Horton to Boston for Dennis Wideman.  Florida allowed 244 goals against last season, which was a three year high for the team.  As well, Florida only scored 208 goals last season.  With the subtraction of Horton, the Panthers are losing some offence.  However, Tallon brought in Chris Higgins and Michael Grabner.  Those two players combined may not be able to equal the void in scoring that left with Horton.  Expect top draft pick of the Panthers Gudbranson to get lots of playing time this season.  Another player that is expected to grow exponentially this season is Dmitry Kulikov, and the Panthers are very large on their back end with none of the D under 6’1”.  Their defense is going to get lots of work this season, and the learning curve is going to be fairly steep.  Clemmenson is an effective backup goalie, and will be ready to take the reigns should Vokoun have to miss any time.  The Panthers are also going to be looking to get goaltending prospect Jakob Markstrom some time in the pipes.  Panther coach Peter DeBoer has plenty of experience dealing with a younger team, seeing as how he has spent 13 seasons coaching junior.

Prediction: 15^thin the Eastern Conference 

Key Additions: RW/D Dustin Byfuglien, LW Ben Eager, LW Andrew Ladd, G Chris Mason, LW Fredrik Modin, D Brent Sopel.

Key Subtractions: RW Colby Armstrong, G Johan Hedberg, LW Slava Kozlov, D Pavel Kubina, C Marty Reasoner.

Will the decision to use Big Buff on defense help out the Thrashers this season?  Only time will tell.  Anyone that watched the Blackhawks on their run last season realized how effective Byfuglien was in front of the net.  However, having a player with that type of versatility will only help the Thrashers this season.  Atlanta is going to be a much tougher team to play against this season, since they have added more grit and toughness to their lineup.  Atlanta had 3 20 goal scorers last season, and will need more players to step up and contribute.  Fortunately, Atlanta will need Bryan Little to regain his 31 goal form of a couple of seasons ago, and Evander Kane will only continue to develop positively this season.  Atlanta may be the second most powerful team in this division behind Washington.  On their back end, Enstrom will continue to improve and the addition of Oduya will help them substantially.  Atlanta fans also need to remember that Bogosian is still fairly young, and he will help the Thrashers blue line this season.  Pavelic should recover nicely from his poor showing last season, where there were times that he looked uncomfortable with the number one role in the nets.  One thing that will help the Thrashers in their own end, is the addition of Chris Mason.  Mason has proven that he can help a team steal some games, and this should help the Thrashers reduce the number of goals scored on them.  Atlanta dropped the number of goals scored on them last season, and bringing in Mason will only help drop that number again this season.

Prediction: 9^th in the Eastern Conference

Now, your hockey fight of the week!

WHALE TAIL OF THE WEEK!

Thanks for stopping by.  I will be wrapping up the Western Conference in one foul swoop and will post it under the NHL section.  Stay tuned!

Hotch