2006-07 record: 43-28-11, 97 points.  1^st in division/3^rd in conference.  Lost in Eastern Conference Quarterfinal to New York Rangers.

Head Coach:	Bob Hartley (5th season)
General Manager:	Don Waddell (8th season)
Home Arena:	Philips Arena
Capacity:	18,545

Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell’s job was on the line last season if the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time in team history.  A year earlier, Waddell had promised the Atlanta faithful a trip to the dance, and his Thrashers fell apart late in the season, missing the mark and making Waddell’s ‘guarantee’ look foolish.  A year later, Atlanta made good on the promise by winning their first-ever Southeast Division title, making the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s third seed.  The only trouble was doing something once they got there.  The Thrashers lost in four straight games to the much better New York Rangers, leaving fans and players alike wondering what went wrong. 

This season, as the Thrashers try to take the next step and win their first playoff game, they will have to do it without the help of a few key players.  Longtime captain Scott Mellanby retired from the NHL during the offseason, and deadline acquisition Keith Tkachuk bolted back to St. Louis as a free agent.  The team also lost defencemen Greg de Vries and Shane Hnidy, as well as forwards Jon Sim and Eric Belanger.  However, despite the losses, Atlanta still boasts of a pretty good hockey team.  With top-end scoring talent and a young all-world goaltender, the Thrashers hope to avoid injury this season and continue to grow on last season’s—ahem—success.  

Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Ilya Kovalchuk	Todd White	Marian Hossa
Slava Kozlov	Bobby Holik	Eric Perrin
Pascal Dupuis	Jim Slater	Chris Thorburn
Brad Larsen	Steve Rucchin	Eric Boulton
Darren Haydar	Jason Krog	Brett Stirling
Defence	Defence	Goaltending
Alexei Zhitnik	Niclas Havelid	Kari Lehtonen
Garnett Exelby	Ken Klee	Johan Hedberg
Steve McCarthy	Mark Popovic	Fred Brathwaite
Boris Valabik	Tobias Enstrom
Nathan Oystrick

Forwards

When Ilya Kovalchuk was drafted first overall in 2001 by the Thrashers, the thinking was that he would be their best player year-in and year-out.  The fact that he is not is no detriment to Kovalchuk or to Atlanta’s drafting ability.  Kovalchuk’s numbers did take a downturn from last season, going from 98 points to just 76 this season, and more will certainly be expected of him, but in the meantime, a teammate has shouldered the load.  Marian Hossa, brought to Atlanta in the Dany Heatley trade a few seasons ago was head and shoulders the best Thrasher offensively last season.  Hossa scored a career-high 100 points last season, including 43 goals and a +18 rating for a below-average Atlanta club.  And if his 17 powerplay goals was not enough last year, Hossa also recorded three shorthanded tallies to lead the team.  Veteran winger Slava Kozlov also had an awakening of sorts last season, scoring 80 points while playing on a line with Hossa and Belanger.  Now that Belanger has moved on to greener pastures, look for newly acquired Todd White to get a chance to center either the Kozlov-Hossa line or play with Kovalchuk.  Either way, White figures to be in for a nice year.  Veteran Bobby Holik disappointed last year with just 29 points, despite playing with the big offensive guns on more than one occasion.  If Holik cannot pick up the pace, look for third-year center Jim Slater to fill his spot on the second line.  The Lapeer, Michigan native has the offensive tools to become the pivot the Thrashers are looking for to play between their dynamic wingers. 

Eric Perrin and Chris Thorburn were signed as free agents during the offseason, and both hope to chip in offensively likely from a third or fourth-line perspective.  Brad Larsen, Eric Boulton and Jason Krog also figure to get some playing time on the bottom lines.  Boulton is known as the tough guy of the bunch, and could get some penalty minutes when he plays.  The only problem from a fantasy standpoint is that Boulton is not a guaranteed everyday player.  The wild card of the Thrashers offence, however, appears to be veteran center Steve Rucchin.  Known in his younger days as a premier penalty killer and secondary scorer, Rucchin has suffered his fair share of injuries since coming to Atlanta.  After missing nearly half the season, it will be interesting to see where Rucchin fits in to start the year.  If he can stay healthy, he could find himself on a line with Kovalchuk and/or Hossa, but that’s a big ‘if’.  The only rookie that figures to have an impact is winger Brett Stirling.  Stirling was the AHL’s rookie of the year last season, and could make the jump to the NHL with a solid training camp.

Defence 

The Thrashers have never really had a true No. 1 defender, but Alexei Zhitnik could come as close to filling that role next season as anyone.  Splitting his 2006-07 season three ways between the Flyers, Islanders and Thrashers, Zhitnik put together the second-best point total of his career with 38 points, and is easily the best offensive threat Atlanta has from the blueline.  Niclas Havelid carried the torch for most of last season for the Thrashers before Zhitnik came to town, and will likely continue to play a significant role this year.  Both will see the majority of the powerplay ice time for the team, although Zhitnik probably has a little more offensive prowess.  Rock solid Garnett Exelby will return as the defence corps’ primary penalty killer, along with import Ken Klee.  26-year-old Steve McCarthy could be a powerplay quarterback in the making, but his development has been slow.  McCarthy has shown flashes of scoring ability from the point, but has coupled them with bad defensive lapses.  He figures to see his role expand next season after the Thrashers lost a couple of regular defencemen in de Vries and Hnidy.  The final spot on defence will won by one (or more) of a group of four rookies consisting of Mark Popovic, Tobias Enstrom, Boris Valabik and Nathan Oystrick.  Popovic is the most tenured of the group, having spent several seasons in the AHL and flirting with NHL action.  However, the edge will probably be given to Valabik, a first round pick in 2004.  Valabik is mature for his age and plays with a nice combination of puck-moving ability and defensive awareness.  Still, whoever takes the final spot will have to earn it in training camp.

Goaltending 

Former second overall draft pick Kari Lehtonen is clearly the No. 1 goaltender and will be for a long time to come, but he still needs to work on some aspects of his mental game.  After injuries took a major toll on Lehtonen early in his career, last season seemed to take a small toll on the young Finn.  Playing in a career-high 68 games may have been a little bit of overkill, but the season wasn’t all bad.  In fact, all things considered, Lehtonen played remarkably well considering his new work load.  A 34-24-9 record, 2.79 GAA and .912 SV% are nothing to slouch about, but Lehtonen did seem to lose focus at times last year, especially when faced with long stretches without a break.  Still just 23 years old, Lehtonen has plenty of room to grow and mature, and will benefit from the experience he gains along the way.  Backup Johan Hedberg is a capable veteran NHL netminder with starting experience under his belt, and he provided quality outings for the Thrashers when he played.  However, because Lehtonen is expected to carry the team, the number of starts Hedberg will receive is likely to stay around 10-20. 

Outlook 

The Thrashers’ success next season will be as much dependant on the other teams in the Southeast Division as it will be on them.  Atlanta for the most part will be the same team on the ice next season, while divisional rivals Washington and Florida have made some significant moves and could steal a few more wins away from the Thrashers.  Despite making the playoffs last season for the first time, the general feeling is that Atlanta just is not a well-balanced enough team to make the jump to the NHL’s elite.  They will likely finish middle-of-the-pack in the Southeast.