Heartless Thrashers, Leaves GM Waddling

After a 0-6 start Bob Hartley was fired as coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. It does not come as a surprise seeing how his team gave up playing for him. I thought Hartley did a fine job in bringing a team from an untraditional market and making them a playoff team. I don’t see this as being Hartley’s fault by any means. I look at the roster of the Thrashers and I don’t see a leader. There are some talented players in Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovlachuk they are not leaders. Holik is a solid vet but has never been captain material, yet he wears the C. The loss of players in the offseason of Keith Tkachuk and Greg De Vries to free agency, along with the retirement of Scott Mellanby left this team without any leaders. The person I see responsible for the disaster that is Atlanta is GM Don Waddell.

Take a moment, look at Waddell and the team he built. Other than Kari Lehtonen and Ilya Kovalchuk both top 3 draft picks, not one of their other first round draft picks are on their roster. When having the first overall draft pick in 1999 their inaugural year, Waddell choose Patrick Stefan to be the face of the franchise. He passed up the chance to have either Sedin brother or Tim Connolly on his roster. The track record of his draft history should have cost him his job years ago. Let alone his inability to sign a veteran leader to replace his former captain Scott Mellanby. How long was Mike Peca out there waiting? He probably would fill the role more admirably then the likes of Bobby Holik or Slava Kozlov. What Waddell has failed to realize over the years, you need more than talent to have winning team. You need players that have a never give up attitude that will man up when their backs are against the wall. It was evident in last year’s playoffs Kovalchuk and Hossa did not have this intangible. Waddell should have made it priority to find these types of players to lead this franchise. Instead he went into the season worse off than he was before. It is always easy to use a coach as a scapegoat as a GM. However a carpenter is only good as his tools and unless he is supplied with a hammer he will be rendered useless.

Now there is talk of Pat Quinn coming south. Atlanta wants a big name coach whose name will bolster ticket sales. Do they think this is the answer? How many people south of the Mason-Dixon have heard of Pat Quinn? Those that have are diehards who are already attending games. Waddell is going to hire the coach for the wrong reasons. It will go well with his track record of making bad decisions and terrible mistakes. Quinn and Waddell a match made in underachiever heaven. I hope for you Atlanta fans that the ownership opens its eyes and realizes that Don Waddell should be held accountable for his inability to build a team.

As for Hartley, he has a pretty solid resume. A CUP and solid credentials, he will resurface, probably before season’s end. My guess is Wayne Gretzky is ready to step aside and use his old boy’s network finally to his advantage. Hartley is the type of coach a young Coyotes team can use. I am calling it here by Jan 1st; Bob Hartley is the new coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.


About Chris Wassel

Simply I am a sports writer whose first loves will always be hockey and food. As we attempt to fix the site which has fallen into some disrepair (okay a lot), any and all help is always appreciated. For now, everything will channel through on a post by post basis. As always, let's have some fun!

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