Winnipeg, Atlanta, and a roster on the move
Are they or aren’t they? And when?
Those are the questions circulating through the minds of Winnipeggers as they await the future of the Atlanta Thrashers organization.
Rumors surfaced after a May 19 article by the Globe and Mail‘s Stephen Brunt detailing what seemed to be an inevitable move. Chaos ensued through social media, as experts and fans argued over its merit. It claimed that a deal was already in place to move the Thrashers up to the 49th parallel.
Not since 1996 have hockey fans in Winnipeg, Manitoba had an NHL franchise to call their own; and with all the uncertainty surrounding the Phoenix Coyotes, as well as the Thrashers, it’s been a touchy topic for many years.
While the move isn’t set in stone or 100 percent official just yet, the general consensus believes that the MTS Centre will be the new home for the Thrashers eventually.
What is for certain is that if they are northern bound, Winnipeg could have a good young hockey squad to look forward to embracing and growing with.
“Winnipeg fans will have a great, fast, hardworking team to cheer for. The Thrashers are filled with young talent,” said Todd Cordell, NHL writer for Sports Haze.
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“Once [Evander] Kane, [Alexander] Burmistrov, [Ondrej] Pavelec, [Tobias] Enstrom and so forth fully develop, they will be a dominant team for a long time.”
Loaded with a plethora of young forwards, Atlanta looked like a playoff team for a good chunk of the 2010-11 season, before falling back to Earth. As a complete team, they show flashes of skill, yet tend to portray more of a lunch pail style of hockey.
On the blueline, the Thrashers boast three defencemen to build around. In a trade with Chicago last offseason, they were able to pry away the 6″4′, 260-pound beast that is Dustin Byfuglien. The forward/defenceman was in the Norris Trophy conversation for a good chunk of the season, until faltering down the stretch.
His partner on the ice, Tobias Enstrom, at the age of 26, has shown a lot of promise. In his fourth season with the Georgia-based franchise in 2010-11, Enstrom put up 51 points and played a solid two-way game for a diminutive defender. The slick Swede is durable as well as he has missed just 10 games total since entering the league back in 2007-08.
Zach Bogosian, a 1990-born, 2008 third-overall pick, looks like the team’s cornerstone defenseman of the future. However, when or if he reaches his potential has yet to be seen. There have been considerable rumblings about a possible Bogosian move since as far back as February, 2011, which makes Bogosian more of a question mark than anything.
Up front, the Thrashers boast a bevy of large forwards on the wing, who can all play a physical brand of hockey. From captain Andrew Ladd, to young Evander Kane, there isn’t much to dislike about their “never quit” attitude.
Centers Bryan Little and Alexander Burmistrov have shown promise, but neither look to be No. 1 quality going forward, which is an obvious area of concern for team management.
All of their young products are backstopped by Czech goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, who has a career save percentage of .908 and GAA of 3.03. Even though he missed a chunk of time, Pavelec was able to secure 21 wins to go with a .914 save percentage in 2010-11.
With some financial backing, the Thrashers — or Jets, or whatever they’ll be known as — could take a large step forward in the right direction as they hold the seventh overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Whatever the case may be, Winnipeg has waited long enough for a second crack at an NHL franchise and deserves to inherit a respectable roster.
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