File this under “things that make you go ‘hmmm…’”

It’s quite intriguing that the National Hockey League has decided to put its foot down with the Ilya Kovalchuk contract. There are several contracts similar to his, though not as long. I doubt they have a legal leg to stand on. Even if the New Jersey Devils and Kovalchuk himself knows this contract was written in such a way as to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement, how can they prove intent? Is it that he’ll be 44 years old when the contract expires and, basically, nobody (let’s say 0.005 percent of players) plays past 40-ish?

Even so, how do you prove intent to circumvent? And even if you do prove it, if the current CBA has that loophole, how do you retroactively close it? And where do you draw the line? Fifteen years was OK for the Islanders’ Rick DiPietro. Marian Hossa signed a big front-loaded contract. Robert Luongo is on a monster deal. Where is the line? Why bring the hammer down at this point?

I am very curious as to how the league thinks it can get away with this randomness — either you can or you can’t do something under a contract. And, while I am not a lawyer, if those other contracts were not in violation, how can this one be?

The Kovalchuk drama continues!  He always was a diva — this somehow fits.  (No really … don’t you think?)

What are your thoughts?

Photo:  Ilya Kovalchuk by Getty Images.

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice…

So sings the great Geddy Lee. So what’s up Kovy? Nothing yet? I must confess, this Thrasher fan is waiting in suspense with the rest of the hockey world, though I am not sure why. Maybe it’s the true child that lurks in all of us — that part of you that really believes ice cream for dinner is, indeed, a fine idea. The naive child who hopes against all hope. And, shhh … I still hope for Kovalchuk to come back to the ATL. I said shhh! Stop laughing! It could happen. Hope springs eternal, after all. Now if you are here and laughing at me, just get on with it. Meanwhile, I will give you a few shots of Kovalchuk that I’ve taken over the years. I’ve practiced my hockey-shooting skills on Kovy and the Thrashers for years, so herewith are just a few of the many. By the time you get to the end maybe you’ll have stopped smirking at me. Feel free to let us know you were here (even if you came, you saw, you laughed) — holla!

Though he’s just a memory…
Some memories last forever.

OK. That was cheesy. But you know what? I don’t care. We, in Blueland, loved Kovalchuk. There’s no sense denying it, as many try to do these days. Anyway …

Wow! Going through my old photos, I can’t believe how long it’s been. I see progress in my photography and also in Kovalchuk. Thinking back on all of the games I’ve watched him play — hundreds live — some of that spunky, devil-may-care attitude (pun intended) still exists, but over the years he has grown up a lot. He’s still occasionally temperamental. He’s still a cherry-picker at heart. But still … He would absolutely rip up the Kontinental Hockey League if he chose to go there. Without the bone-crunchers of the NHL to stop him, he’d dance and deke and run up the score. I can tell you from having seen KHL action live, defenders wouldn’t know which way was up. He’d be unfettered and free to dazzle. They do that in the KHL. Lots of fancy moves — and Kovalchuk has moves stored away that he hasn’t even used yet.

In my heart, I think I’ll always love Kovalchuk a little bit. It’s going to be so hard to see him in another NHL uniform. I am looking at the news with my hands over my eyes, knowing that once he signs, he’s really gone … even if, in reality, he left us a long time ago.

Photos: All photographs by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2006-2010. All Rights Reserved.

As I’ve watched the Kovalchuk bonanza (note slight sarcasm), the thought has occurred to me repeatedly that perhaps he will be the next Alexei Yashin. Some of the warning signs might already be there.

Yashin. Awesome player, but a guy maybe too many people expected too much out of. Maybe they expected more leadership than he could give. Hey, some guys just aren’t made that way. Maybe he was overpaid. (Maybe, they all are, but we won’t go there.) But being deemed an “overpaid” player brings massive pressure and expectation. Yashin was a captain for two different NHL teams — that’s a heaping helping of stress and responsibility for pretty much anyone, but for some it’s like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Some guys are best left doing what they do best and no more. In Kovalchuk’s case, wind up, shoot, score, sneak out of the area and slip off to Morton’s in your sweet baby blue Bentley. No questions asked. As captain in Atlanta, he was never the media guy or the go-to-for-a-quote guy, which is part of the captain’s gig.

But what does Kovy have to do with Yashin? You’re probably thinking I am crazy. Maybe you’re right, but I am thinking several steps down the line. Let’s say Kovalchuk signs with the New York Islanders as is now the tasty rumor of the day. (The Islanders are, coincidentally, Yashin’s last NHL team. I won’t even mention the coincidence that Kovy and Alexei have the same patronymic, er, middle name: Valeryevich) Anyway. So, he signs with the Isles, he gets massive dollars, massive term. With it he gets the scrutiny of the New York media. He also gets the love (and hate) of the New Yawk fans. Whereas in Atlanta, he could slip out the back door without answering questions, in New York (or any other hockey haven) he’ll be held to account. A quiet night at The Cheesecake Factory (a Kovy fave)? Fuggetaboutit. In New York the fans will put him to the test even as he tries to enjoy that triple turtle cheesecake with extra whipped cream. Nobody will be polite. Nobody will call him Mr. Kovalchuk. It’ll be right up in his face with something like this: “What the [bleep] were you [bleeping] doing in last night’s [bleeping] game you [bleepity-bleepity-bleep]?! You bum!”

Kovalchuk has said in the past that he prefers anonymity and after years of watching how he handles himself around Atlanta, I am inclined to believe it. He’s spent years ducking the two or three reporters who make the ATL locker room scene. How will it feel to have a face full of ultra pushy reporters every single night and no way to sneak off into the darkness? Will he wilt? Thrive? Get angry? Or get “Yashin-ed” (that is to say, blamed for everything)?

Let’s say he is made captain of his new team. Can he handle the pressure? People might argue that sure he can. Of course! He’s held up under the gun of the Russian national team. He’s even excelled. But I argue, this is different. Much different. As a member of the national team, he’s among friends and fellow countrymen. He’s at home. In North America, he’s a bit of a fish out of water. He doesn’t seem to have the same comfort level here as, say, an Alexander Ovechkin (or his NHL-trailblazing forefather Sergei Fedorov), for example. He’s a bit of a homebody. Married young, with three young kids. Yet … like Yashin, he has a wife who was somebody once. Where Yashin has former supermodel Carol Alt, Kovalchuk has Nicole, who sang in a popular Russian, all-female group before settling down. Maybe she’s pushing to jumpstart a career here in the U.S.? If that’s the case, L.A. or N.Y. would be A-OK from her standpoint.

Alexei Yashin was vilified for holding out for more money when he was with the Ottawa Senators. Kovalchuk is painted by many here in North America as a “greedy bastard” — all about the money, not about the winning. Is it true? The jilted Thrasher fan in me has a tiny “yes” peeping inside. If he wanted to win, he could have done what Marian Hossa did: Hand-picked teams he felt had excellent chances of winning. Instead, if rumors are true, and that he’s asking for the sun, the moon AND the stars, he will have a limited number of teams able to pony up that kind of money. And, by all accounts, the number of teams is quite limited (teams in the Kontinental Hockey League notwithstanding). At the moment he seems to be proving the all-he-cares-about-is-money crowd to be correct. People said that about Yashin too.

Yashin was a solid player, really, but he could not shoulder the heavy burden of expectation that his contract placed on him. Some players thrive under such burdens, some break their sticks in frustration, cast them into the stands and get suspended by the league (hello Kovalchuk!).

Let’s say he gets his big NHL pay day. He gets his long-term contract. He gets the sought-after no-trade clause. Let’s say he’s playing in the pressure cooker of a New York or under the bright lights in Hollywood. How will he hold up? One could argue that he didn’t hold up particularly well in Atlanta, where the spotlight isn’t as bright and the pressure is, well, close to nil. Sure he got his goals, but he was prone to brooding and fits of immaturity, particularly when things weren’t going well. (He was prone to moments of brilliance as well, no doubt about it.) One could argue that he didn’t lead Atlanta to glory. As a matter of fact, one wouldn’t need to argue that. It’s a fact. One could argue he’s a sniper, pure and simple, not a leader. One could argue — and many have — that he’s obsessed not with winning, but with money. Time will tell the true tale.

Five or six years down the road, I think we could be talking about one of two things: Kovalchuk being “Yashin-ed” — bought out and essentially forgotten by the league; or he experiences a modicum of success, but not as THE leader of whatever team he is playing for. If Kovalchuk wins anywhere, he will be a key piece, but not THE piece that seals the deal. He’s just not that kind of guy.

A third option — and one I still consider a possible scenario — is that he does go ply his trade in the KHL, spurning whatever offers come his way here in North America and going for the really big dollars the KHL can offer. I believe superstars like Kovalchuk are leaned on heavily by the powers that be in Russia and Kovalchuk recently supplanted Alexei Morozov as the captain of Team Russia. I could see Kovalchuk returning in glory to play in the KHL. Coincidentally, the KHL team said to be the front runner for his services? SKA St. Petersberg — Alexei Yashin’s team.

Photos: Ilya Kovalchuk; Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk; and Alexei Yashin by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2007-2010. All Rights Reserved.

“Loco del calor!” as David Lee Roth once sang (and as we in the South are experiencing). Plus, I refuse to use the word “frenzy” today. Here comes a blog-along, like NHL Draft Day. So bear with me as things get crazy!

*  Wow!   Dan Hinote an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Guess he’s retired.  Unless he’s going the player-coach “Slap Shot” route!

*  More once it hits noon!

* Michael Leighton re-signed in Philly. (Two-year deal.)

* Paille re-signs Boston. Savvy can address later!

* It’s noon.  Let the game begin!

*  Sergei Gonchar moves to Ottawa!

* Former Thrasher Braydon Coburn stays with Philly (two year deal, per Craig Custance). Thank you D-Wad for losing him for Alexei Zhitnik! Grrrr…

* COME ON THRASHERS!!!!!

* People who do on-air fonts need to remember the difference between a person who “resigns” and a person who “re-signs.” HUGE difference, loves. /copyeditor rant

* Alex Tanguay (back) to Calgary Flames. Wow.

* Philly VERY busy! They got Andrei Meszaros from Tampa.

* BABCHUCK’S BACK. The ‘Canes pick up their on-again, off-again, sometimes troublesome Slavic baby.

* Wheee! Guillaume Latandresse re-signs with Minnesota Wild. Get WILD!!

* Marty Biron leaves Philly for New York Rangers — will he be the next Kevin Weekes — never able to secure that No. 1 goalie situation. I think he already is the new Kevin Weekes.

* Come on Thrashers — if you can’t get the Moose, get DAN ELLIS! YEAH! Come on!

* Former prime minister Paul Martin to Pittsburgh!? What’s going down with NJ?!

* Does letting Paul Martin go mean a Kovalchuk signing is nigh?!?

* Dying to see where Kovy goes — is he a greedy bastard? Or does he just dislike Atlanta’s direction? Does he go to LA to revive his wife’s singing career?!

* Little Philippe Paradis traded! Awww Mr. Glasses from last year’s draft to Blackhawks. Versteeg going back to Leafs.

* Zybenk Michalek to Pittsburgh. (Five years, 20 mil.)

* COME ON THRASHERS GET SOMEONE GOOD!!!

* Colby Armstrong to Toronto — three years, $9 million. That’s a lot, I think.

* Dan Ellis goes to Atlanta rival Tampa Bay. On the plus side, no more Niitty in Tampa (for those who don’t know, Atlanta has never beaten Niittymaki). On the minus, oh Dan Ellis would have been a fabulous bit of marketing for the Thrashers.

* Olie Jokinen back to the Flames — really? Is that possible? Hard to believe that rumor.

* Jody Shelley to Flyers. Gosh. Excitement today. The Flyers are going wacky today?! No?

* Tough guy-o-rama: Derek Boogaard to New York. Yowza!

* I guess it’s OK to mention here that deep in my heart I still wish for Kovy back in Atlanta.

* Where will Slava Kozlov end up? I am afraid it might be the KHL.

* Surprisingly unsurprising or unsurprisingly surprising. Colby leaving ATL. No surprise. Everyone, myself included, figured he’d go rejoin the Penguins and his bromance-worthy pal Crosby. I wish him all the best in Toronto. He’ll be entertaining to the media if nothing else, because of, you know, who he is. ;-)

* Not all that surprising that Kovy is still unsigned. I am sure he has a million and one options to go through. But, wondering, if at some point he doesn’t start getting into a pickle in which teams keep spending and have less room for him. Therefore, he ends up with fewer choices?

* Chris Viv (@ajcthrashers on Twitter) reports that the Thrashers are “working” on their goaltender situation. Oooooh. I wonder if that just means re-signing The Moose. Or bringing back Michael Garnett?!?! (Whose hockey cards I still collect incidentally, and who has really done well in the KHL.)

* I like the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signing Martin St. Louis. He’s solid. He’s a Thrasher killer, but he just works there. Way to go Tampa on Marty and getting Dan Ellis, whom I coveted for the Thrashers.

* Where will Goddess Sasha fave Paul Kariya go?!?

* So Dan Hamhuis (great last name) to the Canucks. Interesting. I never thought Dan Hamhuis would be an edge-of-your-seat, where-will-he-go?!? kind of guy. No offense to him, but it’s wacky.

* So Thrashers free agents: Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Kubina, Eric Boulton, Evgeny Artyukin, (my dear and beloved) Vyacheslav Kozlov, Chrisoph Schubert, Chris Chelios (LOL), Marc Popovic and Johan Hedberg. NONE of these guys is signed. Yowza! Maybe Goddess Thorkhild has some scoop from Russia about Afinogenov, Kozlov or Artyukin (??).

* D-Men in hot demand today.

* Some of these deals just don’t thrill: Jeff Tambellini to Vancouver. Maybe if it was my team. Hmph.

* Chris Mason signs with Thrash — wow. I am going to need a few seconds/minutes/days to think about this, particularly the loss of fan-fave Hedberg, which this certainly means.

* Yowza — Chicago South for the Thrashers with Andrew Ladd coming to the ATL for a pick. Go Dudley??

* I haven’t mentioned Volchenkov. I guess I am lazy. Volchenkov to New Jersey. Blah, blah, blah.

* So from the Bizarro World Olie Jokinen goes back to the Calgary Flames. Interesting. Anyone have any thoughts?!

* As an aside, the Bizarro World is a place in DC comic book land where the inhabitants do the opposite. Of course anyone who watched “Seinfeld” is somewhat familiar with this world.

* Ivan Vishnevskiy we hardly knew thee. He goes back to Chicago in the Andrew Ladd deal. Weird.

* The dismantling of the Blackhawks begins. The Blackhawks do stock up in so doing. Goddess Savvy foresaw this in a wonderful post just days after the big victory.

* I am a bit sad that Thrashers pretty much ended up with nada for Kari Lehtonen, a former first-round draft choice, going second overall (after Rick Nash!!!).

* Two-year deal for Chris Mason from Atlanta Thrashers. I am not as excited about this as I might have been about Dan Ellis, though, it might turn out better? Thoughts anyone?

* If Olie Jokinen can go back to Calgary, how ’bout the Thrashers bring back Marc Savard! (Just kidding, Goddess Savvy.)

* @benthrashers tweets: “Chris Mason was 13th in the NHL in wins and GAA and finished all 61 games he started.” NICE!

* @craigcustance reports Johan Hedberg is likely headed to New Jersey. I feel a bit sad, despite the post above.

* If you made it this far in the post, thank you for reading. How about giving me a shout out? Leave a comment and say, “I read this post and I didn’t even get a stinking T-shirt.”

* Hey! The Sabres are going to sign brave, brave Jordan Leopold. And there was much rejoicing. (Later, they will eat Sir Robin’s minstrels.)

* Curious about Garnet Exelby — a former Thrasher and huge fan favorite in Atlanta. Also wondering about Manny Legace and Jose Theodore.

* We need some more bloggers — are you reading this? Interested? Message Goddess Kaatiya.

* If “frenzy” didn’t start with an “F” would it always be a “frenzy” on free agent day?

* Now that the Thrashers have raided the Blackhawks’ closet, when are they going to nab John Torchetti?!?

* It’s been uncannily quiet on the Kovalchuk front. KHL rumors — no? Any rumors? Only the tired LA one. Let’s hear something on Kovy!

* Selfishly, I want Kovy either back in ATL (not gonna happen, I know) or in the K. That way I can still cheer for him.

* Turco? Nabokov? Theodore? Toskala? What’s up boys?

* As a Thrasher fan I am thrilled that Thrasher killer Antero Niittymaki is OUT OF THE EASTERN CONFERENCE! Yes! (As I mentioned above, the Thrashers have never beaten Niitty.)

* Awww … the Ducks re-signed Saku Koivu. Now I can continue to never see him anymore (alas).

* Saw that people call Dustin Byfuglien “Buff Daddy.” Now this I love. Perfect for ATL, yo.

* A source is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings are now the only suitors left for Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils are out — he’s too rich for their blood. I still have an inkling that the KHL could be calling. But maybe Kovalchuk’s wife wants to renew (?), rejuvenate (?), or in the eyes of some start a career in L.A. Hmmm…

* Where might a personal favorite of mine — Darcy Tucker — go?

* Gotta give props to @TSNBobMcKenzie — that dude’s got sources and sources and more sources.

* Well, that about wraps this up for me. What are you thoughts on the NHL’s free agent day? Share ‘em with us!

3 … 2 … 1 .. Action!

Good day. Kaatiya here, reporting for Goddess Sasha. Looks like the prospects and team personnel are gearing up for an exciting day. Goddess Sasha has checked in with a few of her snapshots from around the hotel where she is staying. It also happens to be the place were many of the prospects and team big-wigs are staying as well. Here are a few of the pictures our roving goddess captured.

So there are just a few of Goddess Sasha’s pictures. I am sure she will have more as the day progresses. As for me, your humble Goddess Kaat, I have to miss the draft this year. My sister is having a baby and I am hopping a flight tonight. The newest Thrasher fan should arrive any minute now (and despite his being born in Raleigh, he will be a Thrasher fan or else!).

Signing off for now. Goddess Sasha takes over in earnest with live Tweets and blogging from the draft. Go Sasha, Go! (Other Goddesses may join in, as well as a surprise guest blogger, who will blog in my place.)

Let us know what you think. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated!

Ah! The Russian prospects. They come with so many questions nowadays. One thing there is no question about is Alexander Burmistrov’s skill. The 5’11″, 157-pound prospect was unquestionably one of the bright lights of the 2009-10 OHL season, playing 62 games with the Barrie Colts. And like the brightest of stars, he dazzles all who observe him.  With his sparkling ability to dance with the puck, deke his opponents and score with incredible flair, he’s pure excitement on skates, drawing comparisons to players like Alexei Kovalev and Maxim Afinogenov.

E.J. McGuire, Director of Central Scouting imaginatively describes him thus:

He’s like a water spider out there on the ice. Light on his feet, but he’s got a venomous strike like a snake when he goes on the offense.

Wow! He sounds like my kind of player. Explosive. Dynamic. Eye-popping and heart-poundingly exciting.  As a devoted Thrasher fan, I say bring him on!

Burmistrov is probably the best-known Russian name in the draft, having showed his stuff in North America this year. He’s one of the most highly touted prospects overall and is at the top of every mock draft, but like every Russian in recent years, he comes with the unspoken asterisk. Will he play for whatever team drafts him? Will he stick it out in the NHL like his hero Pavel Datsyuk has? Or, like an increasing number of exciting Russian players, will he leave after a few years in favor of home cooking?

For what it’s worth, he seems sincere in his desire to play in the NHL one day. He is on the record as saying he wants to stay in North America, that the NHL is his dream and that North American hockey “is my type of game.” But, as seems to happen with all Russian players, rumors have surfaced in the run up to the draft that he might return to the KHL for a year or two. However, Burmistrov was quoted in May in the National Post saying it was the NHL do or die for him — money be damned:

The KHL [could] give me lots of money, but for me it doesn’t matter money, I want to play in the NHL. When I’m older maybe I move back, but now I want to play in the NHL and that’s my dream.

Scouts have knocked him for his size. One anonymous NHL scout quoted in The Hockey News 2010 NHL Draft preview issue grumbled, “I don’t care how dynamic you are, he’s 146 pounds and built like Gilligan.” Funny and honest, but a little unfair. He is, after all, only 18 and like most 18-year-old kids, he has a lot of growing to do yet.

The Russian factor seems to be the biggest deterrent to teams that would draft him. It’s popular now to stamp all Russians with the “wildcard” label. (Again, the unspoken asterisk.) This Russian, really, is no exception — though to a lesser extent than some since he’s developed cred, having played in Canada this year and having said all the right things to the media.

The asterisk I’d like to put next to every name on the board this year would say: ” * ALL prospects are wildcards.” None of us knows how any of them will turn out — no matter how highly they are touted. If you remember Alexandre Daigle or Rico Fata or Patrik Stefan (yes we Thrasher fans do), raise your hand. Going high is no guarantee of stardom. Conversely, going low is not a guarantee you’ll become a used car salesman in a one-horse town in Canada or a widget maker somewhere  in Siberia.

Time will tell the tale. In the meantime, let’s cut the Russian players a little bit of slack and stop being so cynical. Let’s take Burmistrov at his word and imagine he’s the next Pavel Datsyuk. Not the next Pavel Brendl (a bust) or Alexander Radulov (KHL defector).

Photos: Alexander Burmistrov at combine from Getty Images; Alexander Burmistrov at World Championships from Wikipedia Commons.

Excitement for hockey fans tomorrow: The 2010-11 NHL schedule comes out. I love “schedule day” — you get a chance to daydream about road trips. You get to lament the injustice of too many back-to-back games. You get to plan the season. In short, you get to revel in the possibilities.

This year, we’re getting to revel in the possibilities much earlier than usual, and I love it. The schedules have usually come out later in the summer, giving people less time to plan. I think the NHL is even beating the Kontinental Hockey League this year — and they start play earlier. Goddess Sasha and I are awaiting the release of the KHL schedule almost as eagerly, as we will be back in Moscow in the fall. Which teams will we get to see? Will my favorite player — need I mention his name? (Slava Kozlov) — be over there this year? Will I get really lucky and get to see Richard Zednik while we’re there? See, for me the daydreams have already begun.

It’s that time of year for fans of all teams, when anything is possible. For us Thrashers fans, I think enough time has passed that the disappointment of not making the playoffs (again) last season has dissipated and we’re able to be hopeful (again!). The schedule, the draft, free agency, a new general manager, a new coach, a new staff! Thrashers fans: Dare to dream! Because, it’s that time of year when, gosh darn it, in spite of past and present problems, everything seems to be looking up.

Image: NHL logo from NHL.com.

Let’s get silly shall we?

I was just reading through the Atlanta Thrashers’ site, checking out various items. Pondering the true deal that is a $100 Home Depot gift card with any season ticket plan. Avoiding the Blue Crew audition nonsense. Checking out some mock draft-type stuff.

Then, on the front page, an ad caught my eye — an ad promoting the Thrashers’ draft party. All good. It’s at Philips Arena. One big party. June 25th. Etc. But then there was this subhead that just made me cringe and giggle at the same time: “Meet Bogo and Kane at Draft Party!”

Maybe it’s the the sign of a weird mind, but the acronym “BOGO” has kind of taken off in marketing circles — short hand for “Buy One, Get One.” I don’t know why it bugs me that Zach Bogosian’s nickname is “Bogo.” It would be nice if the Thrashers got a two-fer on Zach — two of him for the price of one. (Wouldn’t that be right up the penny-pinching ownership’s alley?)

Maybe all these years of grumbling about the Thrashers has led to this. But certainly there’s a better nickname than that. I thought the rule on NHL nicknames involved shortening and adding “r” or “s” on the end. So we’d have a “Kaner” (and I think that might just be his nickname, along with the more famous Kane in Chicago) or a “Kanes” by default right? That means “Bogs”? “Bogger”? Jeez, I don’t know, but “Bogo” rhymes with pogo, and it reminds me just a little too much of the cheesy adverts for Payless Shoes. Thus, “Bogo” must go, go.

(As an aside, I always thought Bobby Holik’s last name, when the standard NHL nicknaming conventions are applied, would be especially funny: “Holes” or “Holer.” I believe he was much too serious for such appellations, though I did read he loved listening to The Zambonis before games when he was in New Jersey, so go figure.)

Hey, I know it’s silly, but it’s the offseason … and a weekend. We need something to talk about. So let’s talk…

Not so fast, you! Glory be, ya’ll as (some) Southerners might say. (Probably not, but in the popular imagination, that’s what we would say.)

Is this a time of trepidation for Atlanta Thrashers fans? Should we be afraid (once more) that the Thrashers will be moving? Is the report out of New York correct? Are the Thrashers (and Hawks!) for sale again? It’s been rumored for some time that one or both franchises (and beautiful Philips Arena) could be on sale. Now, cue Jim Balsillie: Back up the moving van, The Thrashers are for sale! Let the rumors fly! But before you go crazy, do read the Atlanta ownership group’s statement:

As has been shared publicly for more than a year, we are interested in finding minority investors and have engaged a firm to assist us in that effort. We have no plans to move either team, and remain committed to the Hawks, the Thrashers, Philips Arena and the city of Atlanta.

Now that we’ve done due diligence, let’s assume the team is for sale, there are several reasons it would be difficult, though not impossible, to extract the Thrashers from Atlanta, the most important one being the naming rights agreement with Philips. It requires both an NHL and NBA franchise playing in the building. As with any contract, there are likely some ways out, but those ways would be quite expensive.

There are lucrative sponsorships to be considered, as well as long-term leases on luxury boxes that were signed with assumption that both hockey and basketball would be played in Philips Arena.

Atlanta IS a Hockey City

There are numerous reasons that Gary Bettman is right in his desire and commitment to make hockey work in “non-traditional” markets. Atlanta, contrary to what many believe, is a fantastic hockey city. It’s a city with a metro area of close to 5.5 million. It’s a city with deep pockets and a great, great many of those, ya know, hockey-loving Northerners who have relocated down South. It’s got a lot of Southern hockey-loving people too — don’t let the popular image of what Atlanta is (and isn’t) fool you. The problem has been lackadaisical ownership, the NHL lockout (which came at a horrible time for burgeoning franchises), and unfortunately, the economic downturn, which hit some cities worse than others.

When the Thrashers ice a quality, winning team, fans come. That’s been shown in the past. You are lying to yourself if you think Atlanta is the only place where fans don’t show up to see losing teams. Remember the Pittsburgh Penguins a few years ago? Were they selling tickets like Sno-Cones on a summer day? No. Remember the Chicago Blackhawks? I sure do. The AHL Chicago Wolves iced better teams and had more buzz in the city until the philosophy changed with the younger Wirtz taking over in Chi-town. But I remember many games at the United Center that were empty, empty, empty! (My sister was in Chicago for many years and for many years we attended games with extremely sparse attendance.)

I know Canadians like to dream of plucking one of the Southern franchises (said with disdain) from its home and moving it back up North where hockey really lives. Winnipeg is a popular choice and rallying point for these Canadians. But, can that city — or many of the others (some in the U.S. as well) whose names pop up (ahem, Kansas City, Hamilton, Ontario, Kitchener/Waterloo, Milwaukee, etc.) — sustain a team? Does it have 13 Fortune 500 companies headquartered there (as Atlanta does)? Does it have the all-important ability to sustain corporate sponsorship? Does it have a state-of-the-art arena with all the bells and whistles that people demand today — particularly those corporate sponsors? Does it have a huge potential market? The potential to bring NEW fans to the NHL’s table? Yes, we know our friendly neighbors to the North have the fans, but that’s only one piece to the extremely complex puzzle that is professional sports today. To put it another way, why would you court the lady you already have?

It’s marketing. Marketing, that, (for all his flaws) NHL Commish Gary Bettman understands. If you already love any product, you are not the target of that company’s ads and marketing. The goal is NEW fans. Canadian hockey fans are a given. If you love Coca-Cola, you aren’t necessarily the target audience of Coke’s ads and marketing. The goal is new drinkers of that product. That’s why Bettman is gung-ho about non-traditional markets, he’s courting new fans. Where Bettman is failing is in ensuring the right ownership in these markets. With the right ownership, marketing and success on the ice, hockey can not only survive, but thrive in these markets.

So bring on new ownership. Ownership that cares about cultivating this growing fanbase and nurturing lost relationships with fans. The Atlanta franchise can be turned around. What was Yoda’s most important lesson to Luke Skywalker? Patience.

It won’t happen overnight.

Photos: Ondrej Pavelec and Philips Arena by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2007-2010. All Rights Reserved.

Maybe the headline should have read “Hockey Gods, er, Goddesses Lift ‘Hossa Curse’”? Nah! Too easy.

Readers of this blog no doubt know of my great love and admiration for Marian Hossa. I’ve believed for years he didn’t deserve all the crap he’s taken from Pittsburgh Penguins fans who somehow feel he jilted them (get over it, you had him for three months!) and Detroit Red Wings fans who derided him as nothing but a mercenary (maybe that’s true, but it was his right — right?). It’s us Atlanta Thrashers fans who could really make a case for being the jilted ones. The ones he up and left as soon as the gettin’ was good.

But I’ve never thought of him that way. As I talked about in a previous entry, Hossa gave Atlanta many good years — years he never asked for (please recall he signed a long-term deal with the Ottawa Senators and was traded the same day for Dany Heatley — after being denied a no-trade clause). While he was in Atlanta, he became a huge fan favorite and, in my observation, got a heck of a lot more love on many days than did the ultimate Thrasher Ilya Kovalchuk.

So with a tiny bit of sadness, I watched Hossa finally raise the Stanley Cup. I am happy for him. Short of some horrible misdeed, I will always cheer for him. I just wish, as I cheered him, he would still be wearing that glorious (!) Thrasher blue. Cheers Marian!

Photo: Marian Hossa by Getty Images.

Attention all ye graybeards (in sports terms, that’s anyone over the age of, say, 34): Let it be known that one of your own is back. That’s right, Dominik Hasek, at the downright ancient age of 45 is strapping on ye olde pads and returning to hockey.

Well, sort of.

Most NHL fans will recall his retirement from the league in 2008 shortly after helping the Detroit Red Wings return to Stanley Cup glory.

So that’s it for him right?

Well, he did sit out a year, doing whatever it is quirky retired goalies do in their Golden Years. He came out of retirement last year playing for HC Moeller Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga — the team where he got his pro career started. Now — drum roll please — he’s taking on the Kontinental Hockey League. He made it official today at a presser in Russia, donning yet another red-and-white jersey, this time the crimson “C” of HC Spartak of the KHL.

Claiming he wants a new challenge, here comes “The Dominator” (again), set to steamroll — or at least use his patented flip-flopping, rollicking style — against teams in the KHL. I can’t wait to see how he’ll hold up against the tougher competition of the KHL. I plan to check it out myself when Goddess Sasha and I hit Moscow again in November.

Can he still play? I can’t attest to it personally, but Spartak must see something in his play that made the risk of taking an old fellow like Hasek worthwhile. And he did, after all, backstop his Czech league team to the Extraliga championship this year. Perhaps he can do the same for Spartak. If so, could another NHL comeback be far behind?

If so, I daresay all of the over-the-hill, over-30, “old-timers” will be cheering for him. Hasek joins a handful of other like-really-old players we can’t help but marvel at — we marvel at their ability and will to continue on, as well as their apparent pride and unwillingness to let the kids have a shot. On the other hand, if you’ve still got it, baby, flaunt it. All the geezers who woulda, coulda, shoulda will be watching.

Photo: Dominik Hasek by Alexey Sazonov/AFP/Getty Images.

Oh Chris! Yes, I mean the Chris of the Philadelphia Flyers: Pronger. I have to hand it to him for bringing the controversy to the Stanley Cup Finals. I love that in losing efforts he raced over to snap up the “winning” (er, losing?) puck after both games in Chicago, then claimed he threw them in the trash can “where they belong.” Total asshole thing to do? Maybe. But it’s also a dash of genius in a weird, twisted Dr. Evil kind of way.

Pronger has always known how to poke and prod and push his way onto the “hate” lists of opposing players on the ice. Now, here he goes doing the same thing skating off the ice — and I love it.

I am a firm believer that pretty much any press is good press. If this gets people talking about the NHL — great! If it fired up the Flyers for Game 3 (which they did win in overtime) — also great! If it got under the skin of the Blackhawks and caused them to lose focus — way to go Chris. The mind of an NHL agitator works in mysterious ways.

NHL players say Pronger is one of those guys you loathe — unless he’s on your team. Now he’s making off with pucks and infuriating certain members of the Blackhawks (hello Ben Eager!), going so far as to remark to the media (in regard to Eager’s eager interest in his puck-snatching ways) that “apparently, it got him upset. So I guess it worked, didn’t it? It’s too bad. I guess little things amuse little minds.”

Oh Chris! You are truly evil! With such a remark, you zing not just Eager, but all of us who find your unique brand of gamesmanship so amusing.

(No word yet on who grabbed the Game 3 puck.)

So gamesmanship or disgrace? We want to know what YOU think!

Photo: Chris Pronger by The Associated Press.

The Sporting News wrote a quick and dirty piece with this juicy nugget: Ilya Kovalchuk is close to signing with SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League.

The article also mentions Alexander Frolov will follow as well. My favorite player, Slava Kozlov, too, is reportedly going to be headed to the K (as Goddess Sasha and I took to calling it when we were in Moscow). Frankly, I think it’s sad to see this exodus — and I’m only exaggerating a little when I use that term — of Russian players back to their native land.

Sergei Zubov, Sergei Brylin, Sergei Fedorov (any other Sergeis I am missing?), Viktor Kozlov, Dmitry Kalinin, Nikolai Zherdev, Anton Babchuk, Oleg Saprykin, Oleg Kvasha, Alexander Radulov, Alexei Morozov, Alexei Yashin, Alexei Zhitnik (could Alexei Kovalev be far behind?!) not to mention non-Russian Richard Zednik, a Slovak, who broke my heart when he left last year. Add Kovy and Frolov and Slava Kozlov and you’ve got a pretty impressive list there.

I am sure people will say “good riddance.” That it will give good, old-fashioned North Americans more jobs. Maybe that’s true, but I think the league, in many ways, will be less interesting without them. What do you think?

Image: Ilya Kovalchuk by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2008-2010. All Rights Reserved.

My dear Marian (Hossa, of course!) has once again made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. That’s three years in a row, with three different teams — and that’s a pretty incredible feat. As someone who was lucky enough to get to watch Marian for many years in Atlanta, I know how good he can be. It’s time for him to step it up in the playoffs and get over the yips or whatever it is that has him underperforming. He’s better than his playoff stats show. He’s magical when he’s on. It’s time for him to bring out the magic stick and show everyone what I think we all know he’s capable of. I can’t help but think that, although the Blackhawks got this far in the playoffs without — for the most part — his otherworldly skills, Marian has to be more than a mere mortal before the hockey gods (and goddesses!) will allow him to lift the Cup. He just seems to have a curse on him.

I find it rather intriguing that Hossa, who was signed by, and traded from, the Ottawa Senators (to the Atlanta Thrashers) before the ink was even dry on the contract, was going up against the guy — Dany Heatley now of the San Jose Sharks — he was traded for way back when. For all of the gaffes Marian has made in the media over the last several years and for all the things he’s said that have pissed people off, I think he’s been nothing if not honest and hard working. I will sound like a bitter Thrashers fan but I think the exact opposite of “the Heater.”

I’ve always understood Heatley’s desire to depart from Atlanta and try to cobble his mind back together without the daily, sorrowful reminders the city held for him. But he’s shown himself to be kind of a louse. Quitting, not just on the city of Atlanta and the fans who stood so firmly behind him, but on the Swiss team he signed with during the NHL lockout (to head to Russia to play for Ak Bars Kazan, a team loaded with NHL talent), then on the Senators last year, demanding a trade after signing a big old contract, which, of course, contained the dreaded no-trade clause. I’m not going to go so far as to compare him — either jokingly or seriously — to Stalin as one somewhat amusing columnist did back during last summer’s “Dany-gate.” But maybe the hockey gods have spoken after all. Hossa’s in, Heater’s out.

Or maybe I am just being ridiculous. Maybe it’s just the way Lady Luck danced … the cookie crumbled … the puck bounced. Whatever it is, I have always admired Marian Hossa as a person and a player. As a Thrasher fan, it sucks he’s gone and it hurts to know he didn’t want to be in my city on my team, but he didn’t choose Atlanta and I respect his decision to seek his fame and fortune elsewhere. In short, I wish him well and hope that, the third time is, indeed, a charm. There is a Russian proverb that asserts “God loves the number three.” Maybe this is Hossa’s year after all.

Photos: Thrasher fan by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2007-2010. All Rights Reserved. Marian Hossa by Chris Stanford, chrisstanford.com.

For Thrasher fans it’s the thing to do nowadays to pretend they never loved you. That they don’t have your jersey hanging in the back of their closet. That they didn’t pay to see YOU. That they didn’t want you anyway. That we’re better off without you.

I confess it is with a tiny bit of satisfaction that, despite your trade to what you called a “class organization,” you, my dear Kovalchuk, went out much like you would have with the Thrashers — except that with the Thrashers you probably wouldn’t have won that one playoff game.

That being said, I loved you Kovy. Part of me always will. Just like all the others who have come and gone: Hossa (a personal favorite of mine and the only Thrasher jersey this non-jersey wearing Goddess has ever donned), Marc Savard, Peter Bondra, Slava Kozlov (I could post forever about how much I love him and how he, along with the Red Wings’ Russian Five, are the ones who really solidified my love of hockey), and now you, Kovy.

With a bit of shame and a dash of schadenfreude, I can honestly admit that your tasting defeat in another uniform made me smile a little — but sadly. Sadly because I did love you. And despite what Thrasher fans say, they loved you too. I wish you well, wherever you land. I do believe you did a lot for the city of Atlanta. You provided hockey’s version of the Human Highlight Film on many occasions. You were always accommodating and polite to fans (this year’s Casino Night notwithstanding, in which you were a bit “off”). So adieu Ilya Kovalchuk and best wishes.

And, please forgive my little grin. You don’t really deserve it, but I can’t help it.

Note: This post was written by a completely biased Thrasher fan who, deep in her heart, really wishes him back. No objectivity implied, striven for, or accomplished.

Photos: Ilya Kovalchuk; and Ilya Kovalchuk and Vyacheslav Kozlov by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2009-2010. All Rights Reserved.