After missing playoffs again, Thrashers make major changes

By Bud L. Ellis

Four days after another season ended with the Atlanta Thrashers looking from the outside at the NHL playoffs, the franchise made wholesale changes in the hope of skating past game No. 82 next spring.

The Thrashers fired head coach John Anderson and the entire coaching staff after two seasons. Much maligned general manager Don Waddell, who held the position since the franchise’s inception in 1999, was moved into the president’s role, and assistant GM Rick Dudley was promoted to replace Waddell.

The Thrashers hope the moves will reset a franchise that has missed the playoffs in nine of their 10 seasons of existence.

Atlanta, which traded superstar Ilya Kovalchuk at the trade deadline following a contract extension impasse with the Russian sharpshooter, actually played one game over .500 after dealing Kovalchuk to New Jersey in February. But a five-game losing streak in late February and early March put the Thrashers in a hole from which they could not recover.

Two or three wins more would’ve put the Thrashers in the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and just the second time in franchise history. But after Atlanta was eliminated from postseason contention with a home loss last Tuesday to New Jersey, many figured changes would be afoot.

Dudley does bring a positive vibe to a franchise desperately in need of something positive. He helped built successful teams in Tampa Bay and Chicago.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 10:12 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Chicago Blackhawks, Don Waddell, Ilya Kovalchuk, John Anderson, New Jersey Devils, Rick Dudley, Tampa Bay Lightning