Thrashers Trade Talk/DW about to be fired?

Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post-Dispatch beat blog writes:

Howson has spoken with numerous GMs around the league, letting them know what the Blue Jackets have to offer and what they want. Toronto, Ottawa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders have been contacted by Howson. It is likely that other teams have heard from him, as well.

The problem is that center is a prime shopping target for Columbus and the Thrashers have their own needs at that position. Aaron Portzline then goes through each of these teams and tries to sniff out what might be up. His comments on Atlanta are most interesting:

Atlanta: This one doesn't make much sense, plus there's lots of talk that Atlanta GM Don Waddell is soon to be fired, that he can't make any moves right now if he wanted to. The Blue Jackets don't want Todd White. The Thrash won't move Brian Little, a 21-year-old with 19 goals.
(emphasis added)

If ownership is thinking about making a change at the top of the organization (and why wouldn't they at this point) that certainly makes the trade deadline more complicated. Would they tell DW he can only move veterans for draft picks? If you don't have full confidence in your GM's ability to evaluate talent (and who would) then you might not want him dealing Thrasher veterans for prospects/players either.

In terms of trading with Columbus the Blue Jackets sit just 2 points out of a playoff spot today (although their playoff odds are just 34%). In seems more likely that Columbus has made phone calls about pending UFA wings and defensemen such as Jason Williams, Nic Havelid and Mathieu Schneider who might be added for the playoff push in that city.