The Atlanta Thrashers are a team in transition. In their 10 year history they have yet to win a playoff game so two years ago they brought in General Manger Rick Dudley. Now he has brought in former Buffalo Sabres teammate Craig Ramsay to be his Head Coach. Ramsay has developed a lot of talent in this league and now he will need to work his magic on Zach Bogosian to insure long term success for this franchise.
Dudley was able to take advantage of the Chicago Blackhawks who were looking to shed a whole lot of salary. The Thrashers added four players who just hoisted a Stanley Cup. The team also acquired an enigmatic prospect in the process. While the forward roster has been restocked it looks like the Thrashers will rely on an underrated Defensemen corps and a goalie tandem that was helped a lot in free agency.
This team’s breakout candidate may just be Right Wing Niclas Bergfors. He came to Atlanta via the Ilya Kovalchuk trade, and he was on a 25 point pace then. If the Thrashers can get him on the ice more, he is very capable of scoring 30 points in a NHL season.
Key Additions- D Brent Sopel, LW Ben Eager, RW Dustin Byfuglien, LW Andrew Ladd, G Chris Mason, D Jamie Sifers, C Jared Ross, and RW Akim Allu
Key Subtractions- RW Joey Crabb, C Marty Reasoner, RW Colby Armstrong, G Johan Hedberg, D Pavel Kubina, D Mike Vernace, D Ivan Vishnevskly, LW Jeremy Morin, and LW Brett Sterling
