It’s been a little quiet around here due to school, work, and other stuff. Part of that “other stuff” is that I’m now the Thrashers representative at The Hockey Writers. Great site, great writers, great people. Check it out. Oh, and check out my posts, too, because you love me that much.

Anssi Salmela, 24, Finland, 5'11", 191lbs

Niclas Havlid, 35, Sweden, 6'0", 200lbs

Niclas Havelid has been traded to the New Jersey Devils for 24 year-old Finnish defenseman Anssi Salmela.

Salmela’s stats are neither impressive or unimpressive. And re-signing Havelid may be a possibility over the offseason.

My pessemistic side says, “I’m not crazy about it,” but I’ll need to see some games before I judge.

I was always a big proponent of Kari Lehtonen getting his groove back, but he’s had his groove most of the season. I think it’s time to recognize the real lost-and-found superstar of the NHL. His name is Ilya Kovalchuk…you know…that guy who is constantly appearing in the Scotiabank star of the night? You know that guy who was second to Alex Ovechkin last season? You know…the first ever Russian drafted first overall? Kovy!

And not only are his numbers showing it, watch a game. I have to admit, watching Kovy earlier in this season would sometimes leave me smacking my forehead. I think many of us felt like he was being a one-man show or “dogging it” to get out of Atlanta. It’s amazing what captaincy and having a new baby can do. Since then, only a handful of games he’s failed to score. He’s helping his brothers out, too, especially with the game versus Carolina last weekend with three assists. Kovalchuk is the exciting player that he used to be, and it’s showing for our team.

So, Kovy’s gotten better. How are the Thrashers doing? Well, looking at the team stats, I notice that everybody’s +/- is improving nicely. Todd White has the same amount of points as Mike Green, Henrik Zetterberg, Patrick Kane, Dan Alfredsson, Mikko Koivu, and Mike Ribiero. Slava has more points than Anze Kopitar, Eric Staal, Jason Spezza, Ryane Clowe, and the same amount of points as Phoenix captain Shane Doan and Jamie Langenbrunner. As far as individuals, we’re at the same level or better than some big names. The Defense, though. Man, it has to improve. Our only defenseman in the top 30 defensemen is Ron Hainsey at #26.  After that, scroll way down to #91 and you’ll see Niclas Havelid. He’s tied with Tobias Enstrom with 15 points.

I’m not about to identify the exact holes we need to fill, but with our defense as nice as it’s been, we can’t be too far off from a team that wins a playoffs game or two. I do know there’s a couple things to address: consistency, dedication, and getting our fans back.

But for now, let’s take pride in a real NHL leader: Ilya.

Edit: And after posting this, Ilya Kovalchuk is the #1 NHL star for February. Thanks for the update, Ben!

Here is a list of every Thrasher who has played at least one game in the NHL and their contract status. Any observations?

Now hopefully we can see just a glimpse why John Anderson compares the line combinations to Keno. A lot of centers. Anyhow, this is what we’re looking at during the offseason. Let me be honest, we might be a few steps away from being a team that enters the playoffs, but we’re not even close to being a team that actually competes. God knows how long that will be.

What worries me is how Atlanta is a notorious sports sewer, and players like Dan Boyle have implied that signing with Atlanta is…well, “oh God, no!” We seem to be paving the way for free agents to come, but we’ve had little luck in getting real talent this way via free agency. We’ve done a good job of letting talent walk, though. For those who support the “flush the team down the toilet and start over” idea, I’m warming up to that. I warm up to it because I look at what we have, what may walk out the door after this season, and what assets we have to rebuild the team.

So let’s assume the worst. Let’s assume we let every single free agent, restricted or unrestricted, walk out. How do you work with this roster?

That leaves gaps in line combinations that will roughly look like this:

Kovalchuk—Little—___________
Kozlov—White—___________
Sterling—Peverley—___________
Boulton—Stuart—___________

Bogosian—Enstrom
Hainsey—Exelby
___________—___________

Pavelec
Hedberg

And that does not eliminate any one roster player under contract next season. What RFA’s do you make offers for? Who from Chicago makes the full-time roster next season? Which of our draft picks from this year will be ready next year? And who do you put out of their natural position?

Well, Armstrong, Reasoner, and Havelid are high on the trade rumor mill, so I’ll eliminate them from the re-sign equation. I’ve also heard that White might be on the block, but it makes no sense to move him. He’s a 2.5 mil/year contract until 2012, and that’s not a contract other teams are eager to eat up unless if a high return is in the works.

Who do we move out of their position? The only one I want moved out of position is Bryan Little. With the line combinations above, I’d like to see Peverley back on Kovalchuk’s line. He had the speed to keep up with Kovy, and the chemistry was just beginning. I personally believe Anderson was too quick to pull the plug on those two. Knowing Little built amazing chemistry with Kovy on the west coast trip, I’d have to settle with:

Kovalchuk—Peverley—Little

When the Little White Russian line was hot, I really enjoyed the clean passes and smooth plays between Kozlov and White specifically. This would be the spot to put a top-notch free agent or make a well-thought out trade. We’re not a team to obtain a superstar, so the second line will have to do. I’m not comfortable with any of our boys from Chicago thrown into an NHL top 6 quite yet. I see a Kotalik, or Afinogenov coming here. We could make an offer to Vancouver for Bernier or, even greater, San Jose for Clowe. If we’re looking for more of a committed RW, we could grab Svatos out of Colorado.

Kozlov—White—Free Agent/Trade

The third and fourth lines are where we start giving some Wolves their big break. I haven’t been overly impressed with Lavallee like I thought I would be, so he’s not a top 6. I think it’s time to give Machacek and Holzapfel their break in the NHL. Thorburn can come back, too, and play RW.

Lavallee—Stuart—Machacek
Boulton—Holzapfel—Thorburn

There exists one gap still in our second line, and many questions about the rest of the lines. We’re desperate for talent, and I hope the organization doesn’t stand stagnant in the free agent market.

As far as defense, this ideally would be a quick fix. We could assume Hedman, but I absolutely do not think we’re doomed to a #1 or 2 pick at this point. Ryan Ellis has been compared to Rafalski, but we’re likely to land a forward in a deep draft of forwards. How do we fix defense? Arturs Kulda, my friend. Extend Valabik. Give Lewis a look during training camp.

Bogosian—Kulda
Enstrom—Hainsey
Exelby—Valabik

With the dealing of Jason Williams and Mathieu Schneider, we’ve made it clear that we’re sellers. I hope this means we’ll finally have the assets to bring in true talent to the team, but any talk is pure speculation. I’m not about to put pipe dream superstars into my projected lines. At this point, getting superstar talent is unrealistic with the assets we have. Let’s just hope Peverley turns some heads, Bryan Little continues to be a rising star, Kozlov finishes out his career with heart, and that our farm system will work to our advantage. Other than that, have a lot of faith. A real lot.