How Many Years Must Atlanta Wait?
How many years must Atlanta wait for a Stanley Cup Contender?
1999-2000 Payroll Rank: 27 Standings Rank: 30
2000-2001 Payroll Rank: 28 Standings Rank: 28
2001-2002 Payroll Rank: 28 Standings Rank: 30
2002-2003 Payroll Rank: 28 Standings Rank: 23
2003-2004 Payroll Rank: 26 Standings Rank: 21
2004-2005 Lockout: no season
2005-2006 Payroll Rank: 2 Standings Rank: 20
2006-2007 Payroll Rank: 17 Standings Rank: 12
2007-2008 Payroll Rank: 23 Standings Rank: 27
2008-2009 Payroll Rank: 29 Standings Rank: 30
1999-2000 Payroll Rank: 27 Standings Rank: 30
2000-2001 Payroll Rank: 28 Standings Rank: 28
2001-2002 Payroll Rank: 28 Standings Rank: 30
2002-2003 Payroll Rank: 28 Standings Rank: 23
2003-2004 Payroll Rank: 26 Standings Rank: 21
2004-2005 Lockout: no season
2005-2006 Payroll Rank: 2 Standings Rank: 20
2006-2007 Payroll Rank: 17 Standings Rank: 12
2007-2008 Payroll Rank: 23 Standings Rank: 27
2008-2009 Payroll Rank: 29 Standings Rank: 30
posted by The Falconer at
1:08 AM
5 Comments:
There certainly is a correlation between spending and success. Yet even among his peers in the "Skinflint Division" (Nashville, Florida, Phoenix, Columbus, St Louis, Minnesota) Waddell ranks next to last (ahead of Columbus) in on-ice results. My guess is that if he was given the budget of the Toronto Maple Leafs he would produce, well, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I'm getting concerned that the organization may be setting up Kovalchuk as a scapegoat. To me it's a lot like the Manny Ramirez situation (without Manny's attitude). You get the bonehead defense and lack of attention to detail but you also get a wonderful offensive player. I suspect sometime in the near future Kovalchuk will traded and will be seen leading a team other than the Thrashers on an unexpected playoff run.
By
Big Picture Guy, at 9:29 AM
Being a Thrashers fan is the equivalent of being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Not enough money being spent, missing on high draft picks(Kovalchuk being the exception), trading young players too soon(Coburn), not being able to resign their own free agents(Savard), and missing badly when trading stars for prospects(Hossa). I'm actually a NY Mets fan, and I can only wish the Thrashers were even in a position to choke away a playoff spot. At least then they would probably have a winning record...
By
Anonymous, at 10:32 AM
I wonder why we had such a huge bankroll after the lockout?
By
Anonymous, at 2:13 PM
Big Picture Guy: My biggest problem with Kovalchuk is that he is a surprisingly inefficient player. If you want elite players like Zetterberg, Iginla, Datsyuk, they make a good play 90% of the time they have the puck and they make a great play perhaps 40% of the time.
Kovalchuk makes many inferior plays with and without the puck. Every mistake he makes prevents the Thrashers from going down the ice and putting pressure on the other goalie. His counting stats have been inflated by all the PP TOI for years--which causes everyone to over-rate him a bit.
"He scores 40+ goals every year!" and he should given that he leads all forwards in PP TOI most seasons.
By
The Falconer, at 5:22 PM
I was listening to a Podcast with Bob McKenzie and he said that in the next few years there could be a real possibility that the Cap goes DOWN due to the economic situation. A team that has a $56M payroll might have to get down to $50M. They will have to get rid of some pretty good players. The Thrashers are so far under the cap, that even if it does come down, they would still have an opportunity to pick up a real good player or two. Do you think that this is a possibility?
By
Anonymous, at 2:25 AM
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