With the off season comes the end of contracts, and their subsequent renewal or the player's release. The Thrashers are on the brink of a huge turnover, with 10 rostered players and 6 farm system players up for free agency. Let's take a look at the rostered players and make some predictions on which are going and which ones are staying, and if they are staying..what their price may be. I'll go over some pros and cons for the players and try to detail why I think the Thrashers should either bid them goodbye or sign them back up.
Slava Kozlov - The 38 year old winger is gone, we all know this. There is now a public feud between head coach John Anderson and Slava, along with an all too apparent directions to not resign the veteran winger. Pragmatically I think this is the right decision, even if Slava would resign. He's in decline and I think his best hockey is certainly behind him and we need to move on. Sentimentally I hate to see both the public rift between the player and the coach and I hate to see one of my favorite Thrashers move on...but it is best for all parties. I hope he catches on at another club and has a good year next year.
Colby Armstrong - Colby is a physical 3rd line winger with a decent scoring touch, good for about 12-15 goals a year on average, he plays very physical and could be considered an agitator along with his grinding skills. He has a very upbeat personality and fits in with just about any locker room. I think if the Thrashers make a run at him they have about a 25% chance of landing him. Basically, like Marion Hossa before him he was traded to Atlanta and watched the team he used to be on win a Stanley Cup while he played early off season golf. I'm sure he has doubts as to the club's ability to make a serious playoff run after seeing this season unfold and I'm betting he'll want to find a team that will be playing April hockey next season. If I were Rick Dudley I would certainly make a run at him, and I'd make a serious offer, one that made him have to think and I'd do it before the end of June. The Thrashers should offer him a 4 year deal at 3.5 per year, that's not to say he'll sign...but anything less and he wouldn't even entertain the offer.
Evgeny Artyukhin - Aquired from Anaheim in a trade with Nathan Oystrick, the 6'4 255 pound winger is surprising fast for his size and brings tenacity and grit on the ice. Evgeny is good for about 20 points a season total, so he's not a scoring machine. He's shown a willingness in the past to drop the gloves and go at it and his size and speed bring a certain amount of intimidation. The Thrashers have a big decision to make with regards to him and Eric Boulton as the team will be looking to pare down the number of tough guy types it has on the club. I'm thinking that the Thrashers would be better served offering a contract to Artyukhin rather than Boulton. He has size and speed and a tad bit better scoring touch over Boultsie along with a couple of years. The Thrashers should offer a 3 year deal for about 1.5 to 1.75 million per year. This past season he was earning 950k so this would be a slight pay raise without breaking the bank.
Jim Slater - The former 1st rounder began this season as a press box regular, and didn't really get an opportunity to show much until after Kovy broke his foot and they needed to fill the hole. Jim showed why he belongs here by making it almost impossible for John Anderson to send him back to the box once Kovy had recovered. Slater had a career year in goals, with overall point production being at his previous levels. Jim also showed fire and determination by a willingness to get physical and throw some punches when needed. Overall I think the club was thoroughly impressed with Slater's year and will offer him another contract. I expect the term will be 2 years with a possibility of as many as 4 years. He made 840k last year, I would say a modest bump to say 900k or so would be in line. I think he wants to stay here...this should be an easy one.
Eric Boulton - The gritty 33 year old winger has been the Thrashers enforcer for the last 5 years. Highly respected in the locker room and a fan favorite. He's improved his fighting skills and his scoring skills are pretty consistent with about 10 total points a season. Of course he's not here for points, he's a physical and gritty skater with average speed. As a pure business move I think it's time for the Thrashers to move on. As a fan I like him and wished there were room for him on the roster, but the fact is that Artyukhin does everything that Boulton does, only faster and with a little more skill and he has size on Boultsie. Therefore, I would let Boulton explore other options on July 1 and thank him for his service to the Thrashers and Atlanta. As a fan I hope he catches on with somebody else and he's able to play more NHL hockey.
That's it for this post...with so much commentary this thing will run way too long if I keep going. Look for Part 2 when we talk about Max, Kubina, Schubert and Popovic. Part 3 will be a look at Moose and the prospect UFA's and then we'll finish up with Part 4 looking at the UFA market as a whole and see who the Thrasher might want to target for signing.
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2 comments:
Good post! I'd hate to lose Boulton though. I see him as more of an enforcer than Arty, but maybe he could step it up in that regard. He's certainly no stranger to fighting, just ask Thorburn! I'm delighted with Slater and absolutely think we should sign him.
The AJC said this about Army, so maybe there is hope:
Also, Armstong said that he was told by associate general manager Rick Dudley to expect a call in the near future.
“I don’t really know what to expect [being an unrestricted free agent],” Armstrong said. ” I’ve never really been in this situation before. I spoke with Dudley the other day. He pretty much said he’d been in touch with us and talking with us. I guess that’s as far as it goes right now. I just wait around and see what happens. They gave me an indication that they were going to get a hold of my agent, so I’ll let my agent handle all that.”
I read that too...I'm skeptical on what Armstrong's reaction is going to be though. This will be his first opportunity to shape his destiny, and especially remembering he got traded off a team that went to the Stanley Cup finals that season he got traded had to sting...he may look for somewhere that will give him a more concrete possibility to get to the big dance.
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