Surprise of surprises, I was wrong about this team being a playoff team. I'm not entirely sure the team that finished the season was the same team that started the season, but that's neither here nor there. I still believe that the October-November Thrashers, before the contract talks broke down and the wheels fell off in December, were a playoff caliber team, but things change and wistfully ruminating will achieve, exactly... DICK. And there's no question the Thrashers were not a playoff team down the stretch (my semicolon key seems to be defective right now, so insert a semicolon here and remove the space before this strangely long parenthesis) consequently, the Thrashers are, yet again, damnit, on the outside either watching the playoffs on the telly or just flat ignoring them.
... Which brings us to the offseason. With plenty of better analysis than I could provide (and free of charge!) from the usual suspects, The Blueland Chronicle, Rawhide, and Bird Watchers Anonymous, I won't make a fool of myself by looking into possible lineups, free agent signees, draftees, or trades. It is written, "'Tis better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
However, I must admit to being rather intrigued about who will next captain the Atlanta Thrashers. There are the guys who have received some attention for such a role, namely Hainsey and Antropov, with either of which I would be satisfied. Then there's the less likely captain but very good team guy in Slater. However, the name I hadn't considered until the latest Ten Gallon Dick installment is Rich Peverley. I wouldn't mind seeing a quiet guy who plays hard every game and has some measurable leadership qualities who took about 1/2 what he probably could've made as a UFA to stay in Atlanta and put up 55 points this season as the next captain. (To every English teacher I've ever had or known, I sincerely apologize for that run-on sentence, but a meaning needed to be conveyed) Certainly, he's worthy of an alternate in my book, though I'm not the coach, which is a damn good thing for the franchise.
Um, as this is supposed to be about the offseason, I suppose I should talk about well, the offseason, a little more. I will say this: I am fairly optimistic about the Thrashers' 2010-2011 campaign, if the right moves are made. That's not to say the moves have to be moves that result in immediate playoff success, though that would certainly be nice, or even moves that I would make per se, because I am no great hockey mind. But if the Thrashers have at least a decent draft, bring back at least some of the right guys, and maybe but not necessarily bring in a free agent or two or trade for a player or two to fill out the roster, I expect the Thrashers to be in a better position to make the playoffs next year than this year. As LA GM Dean Lombardi said, teams have to go through those growing pains before they can be a true winning team. I think the Thrashers built a lot of character this season despite choking and coming up short for important games with playoff implications. Also, the Thrashers almost certainly will never be a team that can afford for a key contributor like Little, Bogosian, Hainsey, or Armstrong to have a down season and still make the playoffs. If this offseason is respectable and the expected contributions are turned in from throughout the roster, I easily could see the 2010-2011 Thrashers making the playoffs.
Or not. Up to them.
