ATLANTA – It seems like an eternity ago when the Atlanta Thrashers’ roster was overflowing with high-profile, star-caliber players, won the Southeast Division and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. 
Philips Arena was rocking with wall-to-wall fans in blue with dreams of their team orchestrating a long playoff run . . . a run that could possibly lead to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.
It may feel like distant history but that was actually April 2007 and that dream ended abruptly when that star-studded roster was easily swept by the New York Rangers 4-0.
Just like that, four games and out! Barely a week into the playoffs and the high-salaried, underachievers from Blueland had an early exit onto the golf course.
GM Don Waddell carefully built that roster around proven veterans with tons of playoff experience and leaders who had been on Stanley Cup winning teams. The main acquisitions were Bobby Holik who signed for 4.25 million per year and Marian Hossa, one of the brightest NHL stars, who went on to tally a club record 100 points that season.
In addition to Holik and Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov, Alexei Zhitnik, Keith Tkachuk and captain Scott Melanby wore Thrashers blue that year but a lot has changed in Blueland since then.
After under-achieving again last season and unable to make the playoffs, this year’s 2008-2009 roster is looking quite different. When the Thrashers take the ice at Phillips Arena this October, all the above-mentioned stars have exited through trades or free agency except for Kovalchuk and Kozlov.
Last year’s Thrashers Mark Recchi and Pascal Dupuis have also moved on. The only transactions worthy of mentioning since the ‘garage sale cleanout’ are the signings of puck-carrying defensemen Ron Hainsey and Mathieu Schneider and forward Jason Williams.
Hainsey, a former first-round pick and Schneider are expected to add much needed help on the blue line on this roster packed with young less experienced players, including No. 3 overall pick, Zach Bogosian.
Waddell made an aggressive attempt to sign premiere veteran free agents like Brian Campbell and Brian Rolston before they decided to sign in NHL cities where it snows several times a year. Working against him was the fact Atlanta is considered one of the least desirable places to play in the NHL.
A few months ago, Lightning’s Dan Boyle who loved it in Tampa finally agreed to waive his “no trade clause” when he was threatened with being placed on waivers and landing on the Thrashers. He was then traded to the San Jose Sharks.
The bottom line here is approximately 60 goals departed with Hossa, Dupuis and Holik and in today’s low-scoring NHL that’s a huge void to fill.
Kovalchuk is one of the most talented players in the league but he will be forced to carry a majority of the load, game in and game out, and with a grueling 82 game schedule, it may wear him down to the point of inefficiency.
With this current roster, an injury sidelining Kovalchuk could put an immediate end to any hopes of the Thrashers having a productive season.
With a new man behind the bench, John Anderson, who has never coached at the NHL level, it will be interesting to see how the team responds. Thus far they are 1-3 in the preseason and have some final roster moves to make.
The regular season opens against Washington on Oct. 10th at Philips Arena. With mountains to climb and the outlook bleak, the biggest challenge facing Waddell and the Thrashers organization may be trying to NOT make the arena feel like a ghost town; they need to sell some tickets.
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