Posted by 
Could Erik Christensen be on the move?
Thrashers Beat Lightning 3-1 in Tampa
In games where Kari Lehtonen makes 40 saves or more, the Thrashers are 3-1. Maybe they should play less defense and let their goaltender do all the work.
Lehtonen looked spectacular in net the game after being benched from starting against the Flyers, making acrobatic saves and saving the game in the process on a penalty shot attempt by Steven Stamkos.
Stamkos was convinced that the puck crossed the line, and Lehtonen insisted that the puck was in his glove near his wrist, and therefore not completely across the line. Either way, the refs called it a no-goal on the ice, and the evidence wasn’t conclusive to overturn it, so the call stood, much to the Thrashers’ delight.
In the post-game press conferences, interim Lightning coach did his best impression of John Anderson when he was talking about his team’s lack of early effort.
“Just not interested,” Tocchet said. “Maybe it’s the coaching staff’s fault. I don’t know. We’re pretty disappointed in some guys.”
The Lightning may be 12th in conference and fading fast, but the fact that Atlanta went into Tampa and beat them there for only the third time in the last nine meetings shouldn’t be viewed as any less of a victory for this struggling team. They put together a good team effort, and didn’t get discouraged when they went down early.
Ilya Kovalchuk got an empty net goal in the game, and Colin Stuart and Slava Kozlov (playing in his 1100th career NHL game) added the others.
Trade Rumors Abound for the Thrashers
According to an article featured on Yahoo! Sports, the Thrashers are exploring their options on the trade market. Having one of the worst records in hockey will certainly make a team a seller instead of a buyer, but some of the names featured in the report are interesting.
There are rumors of Mathieu Schneider moving to the Red Wings, but the site calls the deal unlikely because of Detroit’s salary cap situation.
There are also talks in other cirlces of Colby Armstrong going to Pittsburgh in a deal, and another player obtained in the Hossa trade last year, Erik Christensen, is also rumored to be on the block. He wouldn’t yield a ton of value with his 15 points in 36 games, but he’s still young enough to warrant consideration.
Also, in the Yahoo! piece, Niclas Havelid has been mentioned as a potential victim of the team’s poor season, with the Flames showing a good amount of interest. He is a little old to warrant a huge flow of prospects, but he could still yield a decent bounty for his services.
All Things Ilya Keep Blueland on Its Toes
The continuing saga of Kovalchuk has certainly been a long and arduous process so far, and it’s doubtful that anything will be resolved any time soon.
Multiple reports coming out of Atlanta suggest that the ownership is firmly behind the idea of keeping Ilya around for the rest of the season, and trying to re-sign him when free agency starts on July 1st.
In an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ilya seemed pretty confident that he will be with the team next year.
“Hopefully, Kozy (Kozlov) is going to play on the right side, because I think if we play together, we’ve got a good chemistry”, Kovalchuk told the paper. “Maybe next year, he’ll go on the right side, and we’ll play together all year.”
Now, forgive me for reading too much into a statement, but it seems like Kovalchuk is pretty confident he will be with the team next year. I’m thinking that he probably got a vote of confidence in-house, and is playing a little more loose and free now because of it.
I think that the Thrashers are doing the right thing for their franchise by trying to re-sign Ilya in the off-season. The fans are not going to take a team seriously that keeps dumping its higher salaried players, and the team needs a player like Ilya to be its face. Like Shane Doan in Phoenix, a player with longevity breeds confidence in the fan base, and that’s what Atlanta should try to sell Ilya.
Pierre LeBrun, a writer on espn.com, agreed with my sentiments in a chat earlier today, saying that “things are bad enough in that market, and they’d be even worse without him.”
Now, I know that most athletes aren’t suckers for sentimentality when it comes to negotiating contracts, but if the Thrashers can convince Ilya that they will put more pieces around him, and they give him an opt out clause in three years so that he can leave if they can’t follow up on this.
It would give some fantastic hope to Thrashers fans, and I think that Ilya is happy in Atlanta, so it’s a win-win if the two sides can get something done.
Some Other Articles That You May Enjoy:
Atlanta Thrashers
Ilya Kovalchuk, Thrashers Give Atlanta Fresh Hope with Solid Win
Edmonton Falls to Atlanta; Thrashers Win Streak Extends
Fact: The Atlanta Thrashers are the bane of the Buffalo Sabres Existence
Warning: Don’t Take These Thrashers Lightly
Strangers in Their Own Home: Thrashers Aren’t Keen on Returning to Atlanta
We hope you enjoyed this post. As always, leaving a comment below is both appreciated and encouraged. Thanks!
