Happy Memorial Day hockey fans. Did you know that today is the first day of the NHL Draft Combine in Toronto? It gets about one one-hundredth  the publicity that the NFL Combine gets, but it's more or less the same thing- a battery of physical and psychological tests as well as interviews with team management. The Thrashers tend to place a lot of emphasis on the interviews, which last about 20 minutes each.

The top 100 prospects will be at the combine, and I'm hoping NHL.com's draft microsite will have plenty of coverage of both the written and video variety.

The draft, of course, is one method for improving a team over the offseason. Another is through free agency, and Jamie Fitzpatrick has a list of the main unrestricted free agents from each team in the NHL. Who do you think would be a good fit for this team? Don Waddell has said he'd like to add a top-four defenseman and a top-six forward. See anyone that makes sense?

A couple of things today...

Clay Wilson has been reassigned to the Chicago Wolves after playing two games with the Thrashers. That does two things. First, it lets Wilson get back to Chicago to finish the season with the team he played for over the last few months of the season. Second, it frees up a spot for Nathan Oystrick who can now play in the home finale after spending the entire season in the NHL- something few people would have predicted in September. Good for Oystrick. According to Mike Knobler both Oystrick and Kari Lehtonen will play in tomorrow night's home finale.

On the prospect front, the Thrashers have signed defenseman Paul Postma, which is a much bigger deal than your average signing of a seventh round draft pick would be. Postma had a decent season after getting drafted in 2007, scoring 14 goals and 44 points in 66 games with the Calgary Hitmen after getting traded from Swift Current two games into the season. Those are solid numbers in the defense-first WHL, but they were just a glimpse of what was to come. This year the Hitmen were supposed to be a rebuilding team but thanks in part to a breakout season by Postma they absolutely dominated the WHL. Postma finished 13th in WHL scoring with 23 goals and 84 points in 70 regular season games and has since scored two goals and seven points in eight playoff games as Calgary has run through the competition, compiling an 8-0 record in back-to-back sweeps. for comparison's sake, Mike Green- arguably the best offensive defensemen to come out of the WHL in the last decade, and this year's Norris Trophy favorite- had 14 goals and 66 points in 67 games in his last year of junior hockey in the WHL. Dion Phaneuf had 56 points in 55 games his last year before going pro. Postma' weakness has been his size and strength but he's growing into his 6-2 frame, having gone from about 175 lbs in training camp to 185 lbs now. Postma will go pro this fall and add to an already deep pool of young defensemen that is steadily building up in the organization.

Finally, the draft drawing (the NHL doesn't like to use the word lottery) positions are more or less sewn up with the fifth spot being the only one up for grabs. The Thrashers will draft either first overall (if they win the lottery), fourth overall (if someone between 1-3 or 9-14 wins it) or fifth overall (if team 5-8 wins it and leapfrogs them). With the draft being as deep as it is the Thrashers should get a very good player no matter where they draft. You can watch the drawing on Tuesday night at 8 pm on Versus. Central Scouting will unveil it's final ranking of the draft eligible prospects on Tuesday in anticipation of the drawing.

As you may have already seen or heard, the Thrashers have recalled defenseman Clay Wilson from the Chicago Wolves. Wilson was acquired in the Jason Williams trade and has 24 points in 35 games with the Wolves and 44 points in 68 games overall in the AHL this year. Wilson will get into at least a couple games and is being given a prime chance to show what he can do in the NHL. He has 12 games total NHL experience, all with Columbus. the Minnesota native and Michigan Tech product will wear #40 with the Thrashers.

At 26 Wilson is still a young player and he could end up being a diamond in the rough, much like Rich Peverley, if he's given a chance to stick in the NHL. It's pretty obvious that youth has been served here in Atlanta, and there's nothing wrong with taking a look at another young player, especially since the Wolves are officially out of the playoff hunt.

Speaking of the kids, here's a video feature on the role they've played this season:

In other news, Philips Arena was officially certified as a LEED building today, becoming the first sports arena in North American to earn the distinction. LEED buildings have to meet very rigorous standards for environmental friendliness and getting the arena LEED certified has been long-standing goal for our owners. Getting an existing building the size of Philips Arena certified isn't easy- most certified buildings are designed with LEED standards in mind. You can read more about all of that right here.

A press release will sent out shortly announcing that the Thrashers have recalled goaltender Dan Turple from the Chicago Wolves. I haven't received an update on Kari Lehtonen yet, but my assumption is that if Lehtonen was going to be out for any significant period of time then Pavelec would likely have been recalled. The presumption is that Hedberg will start tomorrow night against Ottawa and that Turple will serve as the backup in Lehtonen's absence. The Thrashers won't play again until Wednesday's home game against the Sabres, so if Lehtonen's injury is relatively minor that gives him a few days to rest up and recuperate before a decision has to be made for that game.

This is Turple's first NHL callup.

Spencer Machacek and Brett Sterling have been reassigned to the Chicago Wolves and Joey Crabb has been called back up. Crabb has 17 points in 22 games in Chicago since being reassigned to the Wolves in late January, and given that he is slated to become a Group IV unrestricted free agent on July 1 it's not a surprise that the team wants to take another close look at him. Expect to see Crabb with Stuart and Reasoner tomorrow while Jim Slater continues his recovery.

Both Machacek and Sterling did while in their time in Atlanta and there's no doubt in my mind that you haven't seen the last of them, but this time of year is all about examining your assets. Crabb has earned another look, so he's back for a little while at least.

Some Thrashers fans may have been expecting management to blow the team up at the trade deadline, but if they were they are likely very disappointed tonight, but the fact of the matter is that this wasn't the time to make any drastic moves. The team has been playing solid hockey of late and given how young the core is it made sense to stay the course. The Thrashers went 6-5-1 in February against solid competition and if they had played at that pace all season they'd be contending for a playoff spot right now. Still, some changes were made with an eye on tweaking the team now and adding some pieces for the future.

When it became clear to GM Don Waddell that pending unrestricted free agent Nic Havelid could fetch a valuable asset he moved him for 24-year old defenseman Anssi Salmela, and at the same time gave a dedicated and loyal player the chance to compete for a Stanley Cup before he decides if he's going to play in the NHL again next year or move home to Sweden.

With Havelid gone the Thrashers were left with two pending UFA's (Marty Reasoner and Eric Perrin) and a slew of RFA's who didn't need to be moved. Eric Perrin made it clear that he would be open to a change of scenery and the Thrashers tried to accommodate him, via trade and then waivers, but when the trade deadline passed at 3pm he was still on the Thrashers roster. Perrin spoke candidly to the AJC yesterday and said that he would give his best effort for whatever team he was playing for after the trade deadline, whether it was the Thrashers or someone else, so now that he has cleared waivers he'll remain in Atlanta and continue to be a member of the active roster. Don Waddell said today that he fully expects Perrin to be in the lineup on Friday night against Perrin's hometown Canadiens.

Marty Reasoner surely drew some interest on the market but wasn't moved. As a reliable and versatile veteran with plenty of gas left in the tank there's a good chance the Thrashers will try to re-sign him and bring him back next year.

As expected, the Thrashers didn't deal any of the big name players who were being mentioned in trade rumors, including Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov, Ron Hainsey and goalies Kari Lehtonen, Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec. Instead Waddell and his staff made just one roster move, but made sure it was a quality one.

Forward Erik Christensen was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks for the rights to center Eric O'Dell, who was drafted 39th overall by the Ducks in last year's NHL Entry Draft. Christensen is a talented and hard-working forward, but for some reason his effort and skill didn't quite translate into results and with the emergence of Rich Peverley it became easier to deal Christensen when a strong offer came along.

In O'Dell the Thrashers get a solid prospect with top-six potential who Waddell and his staff are very familiar with. They took the time to interview him at least year's draft combine and the draft itself, and O'Dell clearly made enough of an impression to stick in their minds.

"He's an offensive player who is one of the top scorers on his team in Sudbury," Waddell said this afternoon. "He'll play junior again next year and we look forward to watching him develop."

When evaluating the trade fans should ask themselves if they would have been happy with a second-round pick in return for Christensen. That's what Ales Kotalik and Dominic Moore each went for today, and that's essential what Eric O'Dell is, except he is a second-round pick that was used already drafted by a team known for finding drafting extremely well.

Asked whether he received any tempting offers for other roster players Waddell responded with the following:

With the trade deadline in the books NHL teams are not bound by the 23-man roster limit, but they are limited to four non-injury callups for the rest of the season. The Thrashers will use one of those after the weekend, according to Don Waddell, when the newly acquired Anssi Salmela is brought up from the Wolves. The other three will be used as need dictates. Right now there are no plans to carry extra players, and that's why Grant Lewis was reassigned to the Wolves this afternoon. Lewis was brought up to fill in for an ill Nathan Oystrick, but Oystrick is on the mend and is expected to play on Friday. How the defense shapes up once Salmela arrives remains to be seen, but we could see him in action for the first time as early as Tuesday night when the Thrashers visit the Avalanche.

Much ado about not very much? It was a pretty quiet trade deadline around the NHL, and like most teams the Thrashers were relatively inactive. TSN is reporting that we made one deal at the deadline, quietly trading forward Erik Christensen to the Anaheim for prospect Eric O'Dell- a 6-0, 175lb center who the Ducks drafted 39th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The 18 yr-old Ottawa native has 30 goals and 59 points in 59 games with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL. He should have at least one more year of junior eligibility left. Here is his brief Hockey's Future writeup.

**UPDATE**

Here is O'Dell's draft profile from last June. the news tab includes a variety of articles about O'Dell and his Sudbury teammate, Jared Staal. June 21 was an emotional day for O'Dell last year- he turned 18, was drafted in the second round, and then his grandfather passed away, all in the span of a few hours.

Here is what the NHL's scouts said about him almost a year ago:

Is there any non-game event in any other sport that come close to matching the excitement of the NHL's trade deadline or first day of free agency? In all seriousness, I think NHL fans get more excited about these two days than they do about the Stanley Cup finals, or any on-ice event during the season. Why? Because on these two days every fan believes that their team is going to make significant strides towards improving their team, whether it's stocking up for a run this year or adding prospects, draft picks, and depth players for next season.

The key to enjoying trade deadline day in my opinion is managing your expectations. Take a look at your team's wants or needs, take a look at what pieces they can afford to move, and figure out what the max return is for those players. If you're a Thrashers fan and you're expecting a fourth line player to bring a return of a first round pick or a top six forward, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. There's nothing wrong with being hopeful, but you have to be realistic.

The deadline hype has been building all week, and despite plenty of evidence to the contrary you're going to see the names of four Thrashers players bandied about today in trade rumors who I don't think are going to get moved. Frankly I'll be shocked if any of the four get dealt, and here's why.

Happy deadline day, and stay tuned to the blog and Twitter for any thrashers trade news. We'll find out shortly after noon whether Eric Perrin cleared waivers or not, and beginning at noon you'll be able to watch live streaming video from the NHL Network's trade deadline shows. It should be a fun day.

Nic Havelid has been a rock for this franchise for four years- a quiet, reliable leader on a very busy blueline, and he weathered the storm with no complaints. Now he gets to play for a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, and the Thrashers add a mature prospect with a wealth of pro and international experience who is expected to step in and contribute in the very, very near future.

GM Don Waddell made himself available to Mike Knobler and I via phone this evening to talk about the trade and he had some very interesting tings to say.

First of all, Anssi Salmela wasn't a player that New Jersey just threw out as someone they were willing to part with. Waddell and his staff targeted certain players in the organizations of each of the teams interested in Havelid and Salmela was someone they really liked from New Jersey. They didn't want to part with him according to Waddell, but they knew Havelid would be a valuable piece in a Cup run.

"What's nice about him is that even though he's a first year player he's 24 years old," said Waddell. "He has a lot of experience behind him- he played in the elite league in Finland and has a lot of international experience.We'll think that immediately be a guy that can help us on the blueline and be a guy that we can continue to move forward with next year."

Salmela is a puck-moving defenseman that Waddell says has a great shot.

"He's somewhat offensive minded but strong in his own zone. He doesn't mind the physical part of the game."

The young Finn played for his country in the World Championships in 2008 where he was watched closely by Thrashers scouts. He also played with a pair of Atlanta prospects- Niklas Lucenius and Jonas Enlund- and as The Falconer pointed out earlier today, odds are Thrashers scouts noticed him when they were scouting those players for the draft.

Salmela was also closely watched while playing in Lowell this season in the AHL and Waddell figures he's gotten 35-40 scouting reports on him in all.

Some people may wonder why Havelid was moved almost 48 hours before the trade deadline, but Waddell felt that he was getting a player he wanted while other teams were only offering draft picks- picks as high as second rounders, but picks that wouldn't turn into NHL players for at least another few seasons. Salmela is a player that can join the lineup, and that is what the team was looking for.

Speaking of being in the lineup. Salmela took a hit last week that knocked him out of the lineup for Lowell's games on the weekend, and he's just returning to the ice now. He'll join the Wolves in Chicago, play with them this coming weekend, and then get called up to Atlanta on Monday where he'll join the Thrashers in time for their trip to Colorado, Edmonton, and Buffalo.

Havelid's trade and Salmela's assignment to Chicago leave the Thrashers with six defenseman, but Nathan Oystrick has a bout of the flu. He was sent home early from practice today and is questionable for Tuesday night's game versus the Panthers, so Grant Lewis was called up this evening. If Oystrick can't go, Lewis will play, but given that Oystrick has patiently waiting to get back in the lineup, don't expect him to sit if he's well enough to play.

A few other notes:

hTSN is reporting that we have traded Nic Havelid to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Annsi Salmela. Salmela is 5-11, 190lbs, 24 year old Finnish blueliner with strong offensive leanings. This was his first pro season in North America and he split his time between Lowell (AHL) and New Jersey where he had 3 assists in 17 games for the Devils. He averaged just under two shots per game in the NHL (33 total shots), which is about the same rate as Ron Hainsey. By comparison, Toby Enstrom has taken 62 shots in 63 games. In the AHL, Salmela had 8 goals and 16 assists for 24 points in 38 games with the Lowell Devils.

Salmela is a native of Tampere, Finland and spent his European career in the Tappara Tampere system where he was a teammate of Thrashers prospect Niklas Lucenius. He also spent two years with the Lahti Pelicans- a pro team partially owned by former Thrashers netminder Pasi Nurminen.

No word yet on if Salmela, who happened to wear #28 with New Jersey, will report to Chicago or Atlanta. Here is what Hockey's Future has to say about him.

I do believe I've set a new record for errors in a trade announcement (mostly on Twitter). That's what I get for focusing on getting news out fast versus getting it right. Oh well- it's Monday and it's a holiday. I'm off my game. My apologies.

The official press release about the Mathieu Schneider trade to Montreal is right here. I don't have the details about the conditional pick, so I don't know what it is based on. When it's all said and done we'll get Anaheim's 2nd round pick in this year's draft and Montreal's 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft. Anaheim is looking like they'll finish lower in the standings than Montreal, so that works out well for us.

No word on the lineup for tonight yet, and my man on the ground in LA (PR guy Brian Potter) is probably working on the aftermath of the Schneider trade, so I don't know when I'll hear anything. I haven't gotten an update on Ron Hainsey, who left last night's 8-4 win in the second period with a lower body injury, but even with Schneider traded we have extra defensemen on the road, so I won't be surprised if Oystrick and Valabik both play.

**UPDATE**

Nathan Oystrick will fill the hole left by Mathieu Schneider's departure. Hainsey is probable for tonight but if he can't go then Boris Valabik will step in. Johan Hedberg is likely to start in goal.

As you may have seen on the homepage, on the message boards, or on Twitter, we've called up Jordan LaVallee and reassigned Joe Motzko to the Wolves. Motzko didn't play poorly but didn't stand out either, even though he got quality ice time on a scoring line with Peverley and Kozlov.

Now it's time for someone else to get a look, and LaVallee's size will certainly be a nice addition as the team heads out west to face the Ducks, Kings, Coyotes and Sharks. LaVallee has15 goals and 23 points with the Wolves this season to go with a healthy 44 PIMs. He also has a confidence that's refreshing for a call-up. When he got brought up last year he had a goal and an assist in his second game- a 3-2 loss to the Panthers, and while the rest of the team was down after the loss he was unabashedly excited about the game he played- a goal, an assist, a+2 rating, and he wasn't on the ice for a goal against. there's nothing wrong with enthusiasm, and LaVallee brings it in buckets. He's also arriving just in time to chip in for the rookie dinner next week on the road trip, so his fellow rookies will be happy to see him.

It looks like it's trade season. Don Waddell and his staff made another move today, dealing Jason Williams to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Clay Wilson and San Jose's sixth round draft pick in this year's draft.

Williams didn't quite meet expectations here in Atlanta and was having trouble finding a role on John Anderson's squad. Wilson will be assigned to Chicago where he will help out a dinged up Wolves blueline that was bolstered yesterday by the acquisition of Brett Skinner. The 6'0", 195 lb defenseman is a Michigan Tech product with three points in 12 career NHL games, all with Columbus. I'll see if I can get Don Waddell's thoughts on the deal later tonight at the game.

The gist of the deal is that the Thrashers moved a player who wasn't a key cog and added a prospect, a draft pick, and perhaps most importantly, freed up a roster spot. The roster spot will come into play when Garnet Exelby is activated from the IR, if not sooner.

After a quiet first half of the season the Thrashers have become active on the player movement front. First there was the waiver acquisition of Rich Peverley on Saturday, then there is today's trade. The Thrashers have traded forward Junior Lessard to the Islanders for defensemen Brett Skinner. Skinner is a University of Denver product who had 47 points in 68 games for the Providence Bruins last season. 25-year-old Skinner has 11 games of NHL experience (all with the Islanders) and is a former third round pick of the Canucks.

With the Thrashers roster being at the maximum 23 active players, including seven healthy defensemen, Skinner will be assigned to the Wolves.

The Thrashers have claimed center Rich Peverley off of waivers form the Nashville Predators. Peverley was going to be reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals if he cleared waivers according to John Glennon of The Tennessean.

Peverley is a 6'0", 185 lbs native of Guelph, Ontario and played for St. Lawrence in the ECAC where he averaged over a point per game in his sophomore, junior, and senior years before going pro as a free agent. He played for South Carolina  and Reading in the ECHL before joining the Predators organization and playing for Milwaukee in the AHL where he again scored about a point per game.

Peverley has 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists) in 77 career NHL games, all with Nashville.

More on what role he is expected to play later.

According to nhlnumbers.com Peverley makes just over the league minimum and is under contract for next season.

o Over the past week or so speculation has run rampant about what trade options might be available to the Thrashers. No trades have been made and it's extremely unlikely that any will before tonight's roster freeze kicks in, making trades impossible through December 27, but there is plenty of hope for Thrashers fans.

Kari Lehtonen was activated from the IR today and is expected to start tomorrow and Mathieu Schneider is expected to play as well. So while no trades were made, the Thrashers have essentially added a veteran former All-Star to the blueline and upgraded the goaltending. No disrespect to Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec (who was reassigned to Chicago today), but Kari clearly has the best numbers of the three (a .912 save percentage and 2.85 GAA) and is the franchise leader in games played by a goalie, wins, shutouts, and save percentage. It might take him a game or two to get on track but he should give the team a boost. He has been practicing for about 10 days but hasn't seen game action in over six weeks, so there may be some rust to shake off.

Likewise, Mathieu Schneider should be able to help out on the blueline, whether it's playing on the power play or acting as a calming influence. We learned today that Garnet Exelby is out for up to three weeks with a fractured leg and Schneider will fill that hole, though it remains to be seen what the defensive pairings will be. If, for some reason, Schneider isn't ready to play tomorrow, Scott Lehman is still on hand. Contrary to what was reported to the AJC, he has not been sent back to the Wolves.

Whose return do you think will have a bigger impact- Kari Lehtonen's or Mathieu Schneider's?

I suspect that Anderson saw enough from Stuart to know that he's ready to come up the next time there's an opening or a need. Now Stuart just has to bide his time and be patient. I'm sure he was given plenty of words of encouragement before he left for the airport.

If you keep an eye on the Thrashers homepage (and you should) or subscribe to an RSS feed for the Thrashers news page (again- you should) than you probably already know that Colin Stuart has been recalled from the Chicago Wolves. There are two reasons for the call-up. First, Todd White has some stiffness in his neck from the game last night and he may or may not be ready to play tomorrow night. Second, the Wolves are taking a bus to Des Moines Iowa for a game against the Chops tomorrow night (their ice girls are called the Baby Backs- seriously). With White doubtful and the Thrashers playing back-to-back games against the Bruins it makes sense to bring someone up now just in case their needed. If the Thrashers waited until a need was absolutely certain it might not be enough notice for a player to get to them from Des Moines.

Where will Stuart fit if he plays? I have no idea. Odds are someone would move up from the Perrin, Armstrong, Williams line to fill in for White (Little could play center if Armstrong got the nod to move up) and Stuart would fill in for that player. Or Stuart could play on the fourth line in the place of someone who got bumped up to the third to fill in for someone who was moved to the second. Crystal clear, right?

You may recall that Stuart's first two career NHL games were last December against- the Boston Bruins, and his brother Mark. Déjà vu?

I don't know about you but I'm still trying to sort through the ramifications of the Schneider trade. Up front a spot has been cleared for a new forward to join the team and if you assume that the incumbents are keeping their jobs there should be two spots up for grabs. A group of 12 players are fighting for those two spots- Stuart, LaVallee, Sterling, Stevenson, Lessard, Hoffman, Motzko and Crabb with Esposito, Holzapfel and Machacek being longshots as rookie pros (as of 2:15 that trio has been reassigned- Holzapfel and Machacek to Chicago, Esposito to Montreal in the QMJHL. Four toehrs were reassigned too).

On the back end Coach Anderson is suddenly faced  with the enviable 'problem' of having to figure out how to adjust his pairings to accommodate his new acquisition. Based on comments Don Waddell made yesterday on 680 The Fan and on a conference call with reporters we know a few things:

1.Schneider will likely run the power play as he has done everywhere else he had played.
2. Waddell will be shocked if Valabik doesn't make the team out of camp.
3. The Schneider acquisition does not lessen the chances of Bogosian sticking with the team. If anything it increases him because Bogosian won't be forced into playing a top-4 role if he isn't ready.

The big questions now are:

1. Do Havelid and Enstrom stay together as a pair?
2. Who do Schneider and Hainsey play with?
3. Who constitutes the pair?

As for the departed players, I wish them well. Brad Larsen was one of the first Thrashers I ever talked to and he was always good to me. I think he struggled at times to find a role for himself and hopefully the change of scenery will do him good. Ken Klee should be a dependable third pair defenseman in Anaheim where the Western Conference style is a bit more suited to his skill set. Painchaud was having a great camp and is another player that could just use a fresh start.

Moving on to tomorrow evening's game in Detroit, here is your roster:

Forwards (14)
Boulton
Crabb
Hoffman
Kovalchuk
LaVallee
Lessard
Motzko
Perrin
Reasoner
Slater
Stevenson
Stuart
White
Williams

Defense (7)
Bogosian
Enstrom
Havelid
Kulda
Oystrick
Rivers
Valabik

Goalies (2)
Lehtonen
Pavelec

This is a one-game trip and there are a few extra bodies- two up front and one on defense. I didn't make the trek to Duluth this morning to get the scoop but I suspect a couple guys are banged up and questionable for tomorrow. It could be that the coaching staff want a couple of guys to get the benefit of watching the game too.

Assuming Kovalchuk, Motzko, Perrin and Williams play every forward in camp will have gotten into a game except Kozlov who Anderson said would sit for the first three. Denny, Lehman and Turple aren't making the trip and haven't played any preseason games. Don't be surprised if they get reassigned today or Monday. Schneider should be in Atlanta today but he might not play for a few more games. He's been working out with the Kings midget team in LA (he says he's been dominating them) and he expects to be up to speed by opening night at the latest.

I'm off to Detroit in a few hours. If you have any suggestions for places to hang out handy Joe Louis Arena let me know. I had planned on doing some sightseeing yesterday but the trade kind of interfered with that.

The 39-year-old Schneider is a two-time Olympian, two-time All-Star, and a Stanley Cup winner who has averaged almost 50 points per season over the last five years. Last year he had 12 goals and 27 assists (39 points) in 65 games. The previous season he had 11 goals and 41 assists for the Ducks. A premier puck mover, Schneider was a valuable player in Anaheim but he was caught up in a number crunch when the Ducks needed to drop salary and get below the cap. Even though he's 39 he's still talented enough to be top-four or top-two defenseman on many NHL teams, but the Ducks are in the unique position of having two elite defensmen like Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer on their squad.

With the additions of Schneider and Hainsey during the off-season and the returns of Tobias Enstrom and Niclas Havelid the Thrashers now have a very respectable group of top-four defensemen that is arguably the strongest foursome in the Southeast Division. Schneider, whose brother lives in Atlanta, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $5.75 million. The Thrashers add close to $4 million in salary through the deal. Schneider is a native of NYC and has played for the Canadiens, Islanders, Leafs, Rangers, Kings, Red Wings, and Ducks. He won the Stanley Cup in 1992-93 with Montreal and represented the United States at the Winter Olympics in 1998 and 2006.

I've made it known in this space that I don't put a lot of stock in what most writers write about the Thrashers because so few of them bother to really pay attention to the team. Craig Custance is one obvious exception and another is Kevin Allen from USA Today who has a great track record when it comes to this team. Well, today he came up with a list of ten things you should expect to see in the next week before training camps open and right at the top of his list is this nugget:

I have no idea who Allen has talked to or how much truth there is behind what he's saying, but he has piqued my curiosity. Would Malik fit here? And who could some of the other options be? Later in the same article Allen speculated that the Sharks might trade defenseman Kyle McLaren. My 'Jump to Conclusions Mat' is packed away but if one team is looking for help on D and another team is shopping a defensemen...

And if Allen is right and we're looking for help on the blueline who is the odd-man out? We have six defensemen under contract counting Bogosian. Seven if you think Valabik is ready. Kulda, who is probably a longshot to make the jump, is an eighth. Throw in Jamie Rivers who signed an AHL contract with the Wolves and who is attending training camp (I'll post the training camp roster tomorrow) and there isn't a whole lot of room for a new guy unless someone gets shipped out.

I wasn't expecting any moves between now and training camp but now Kevin Allen has me wondering.

During a summer in which players signed mammoth contracts for exorbitant sums of money you have to give Don Waddell credit for keeping a cool head while still managing to upgrade his roster with quality pieces. Yes, he swung for the fences with Brian Campbell, and when that didn't work he had a good back-up plan in the form of Ron Hainsey. Then he went shopping for a forward and signed Jason Williams, who James Mirtle referred to on Saturday as one of the best forwards left on the market.

Neither player has ever been an All-Star, but both are young (27) and both are power play experts. Neither one is past his prime playing years and both of them were signed to very reasonable contracts. To mix sports metaphors, home runs are flashy but it's tough to build a team based on them. You need singles, doubles and triples as well. Hainsey and Williams should turn out to be solid extra-base hits for the Thrashers.

So what do you need to know about Jason Williams? He's 27, he's from London, Ontario and he can play center and right wing. He played almost exclusively on the wing in Chicago and that's where he'll probably fit here since we have Christensen, Little, Slater and White down the middle already (note that I listed them in alphabetical order, not in order of where I expect them to play).

Williams was a member of the 2001-02 Red Wings Cup team, though he only played 25 games in the regular season and nine in the playoffs. He was undrafted and signed with the Red Wings as a free agent in 2000. He played his junior hockey in Peterborough (as did Zach Bogosian). He was traded to the Blackhawks in 2006 and 13 goals, 23 assists and 36 points in 43 for Chicago last season. He missed all of December and most of January and February with a sports hernia but came back with a vengeance, scoring 17 points in the last 23 games of the season, including a six-game nine-point scoring streak. Four of his 13 goals were game-winners and he led the Blackhawks in PP time-on-ice per game when he played. He's 5-10 and 194 lbs, so he's an averaged sized NHL forward. He has a nose for the net and doesn't mind going into the corners. He had a 12.9 shooting percentage last season, better than all Thrashers except Kovalchuk.

As for where he'll fit, pencil him in on one of the top two lines as a right wing. It's way too early to play the line combination game but Williams could replace Recchi on Kovy's line. Recchi had 40 points in 53 games as a Thrasher. Williams had four fewer in 10 fewer games. Recchi had five goals and 14 assists on the PP with Atlanta. Williams had six goals and 13 assists with the man advantage (again in 10 fewer games). So while you shouldn't compare Williams to Recchi in terms of experience and presence, his numbers match up favorably and he's 12 years younger. Williams could turn out to be a great, affordable piece for the Thrashers, and if not he's only on a one-year deal (according to TSN) so there's really no downside.

Last summer the average age of the Thrashers went up through free agent signings. This year it has gone down considerably, and that's something for fans to be excited about. I still don't think Don Waddell is finished upgrading the roster, but so far I'm very pleased with what he has done upgrading the defense with Hainsey (and Bogosian) and the forwards with Williams.

A couple of quick notes:

• Free agency will start on July 1 once again. The NHL wanted it moved to July 7 to move it away from Canada Day (July 1) and Independence day but the NHLPA shot the idea down pretty quickly. Once again I'll be spending Canada Day on my couch with my laptop, waiting for our PR guys to call me with free agent news. Thanks for nothing NHLPA.
• Montreal, Detroit and San Jose have all clinched playoff spots. Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Anaheim can join them tonight if the chips fall just the right ways.
• Don Waddell is talking to his coaching staff about using the last callup spot. He said we have enough defensemen for the rest of the season but that they might opt to look at another forward. If the Thrashers want to look at someone who hasn't gotten any NHL time under their belt then Jordan LaVallee is probably the leading candidate. He has 19 goals and 20 assists in 69 games with the Wolves. Nothing spectacular, but he's 6'3" and 210 lbs, so he's a big body that can bang and grind.
• Speaking of prospects, Riley Holzapfel is playing in the opening round of the WHL playoffs with Moosejaw. If the Warriors get bounced could he be sent to Chicago to get some pro experience? That's what happened to Bryan Little last spring, and Holzapfel is under contract.

Now that the trade deadline has come and gone trade breakdowns are popping up. You can never filly judge a trade until you see how the acquired pieces fit into their new roles but the early reviews are good based on the quotes below:

Ross McKeon on Yahoo!:

"[Don Waddell] said he wouldn’t deal pending unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa unless he could get players who could help right now, and he did that in fleecing Pittsburgh for Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen, which doesn’t mention prospect Angelo Esposito, who could emerge as a player in a year or two."

From TSN:

"Considering the virtual inevitability that Marian Hossa was heading for unrestricted free agency, the Thrashers brought in a substantial haul of talent
in return."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (it's always a good sign when the paper in the other team's city is unhappy):

"This flies directly in the face of the philosophy the Penguins supposedly have as far not giving up too much of the future for the present."

ESPN's Scott Burnside (who doesn't routinely go out of his way to compliment Don Waddell):

"As for Atlanta GM Don Waddell, he pulled off a strong deal in difficult circumstances."

Sportsnet's Jim Kelly-

"That's a great player for Pittsburgh and Atlanta got two good players off a very good roster, a highly-regarded prospect in Esposito and a
first-rounder for what could well be a rental player if the Penguins can't find the money to sign Hossa. When it comes to players you can't sign that's
good value indeed."

AP via SI.com:

"Still, the price Pittsburgh paid for Hossa was unusually high on a day when name players were routinely dealt for draft picks. The Penguins, for example, also picked up 6-foot-7 defenseman Hal Gill from Toronto for second- and fifth-round picks.

For Hossa, the Penguins gave up two quality young forwards in Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen; 19-year-old Angelo Esposito, last year's first-round pick and this year's first-rounder. Once the draft is over, Atlanta will have acquired four players from Pittsburgh who are 25 or younger.""

Toronto Star:

"Pittsburgh sent forwards Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and a first-round pick to Atlanta, a team that didn't want to see Hossa walk for nothing this summer. The Penguins also picked up Pascal Dupuis. The price for Hossa was steep." (Emphasis added)

Chicago Tribune:

"The Penguins paid a big price to get a player who will become a free agent on July 1, dealing two of their top forwards, plus 2007 first-round draft pick Angelo Esposito and a future first-round draft pick" (Emphasis added)

Boston Globe:

"It's expensive," [Boston GM] Chiarelli said of the price Pittsburgh paid. "[Hossa] is a very good player. It's expensive. It rivals, if not exceeds, the going price for [Keith] Tkachuk and [Peter] Forsberg last year."

Breaking things down on the statistical level is the ever reliable Falconer who has a nose for numbers. He takes a look at both the roles of the new players and the monetary implications of the trade. His first post on the trade was titled "Two Thumbs Up" so it's pretty clear how he feels.

Some more news- as you may have heard three players were called up from Chicago today in case they were needed. all three of them will play tonight. Watch the game on SportSouth to see what the lines are going to look like, but Bryan Little, Colin Stuart and Joel Kwiatkowski will all play. Little and Stuart fill the forward spots vacated by Hossa and Dupuis and Joel Kwiatkowski steps in on defense. Mark Popovic and Alexei Zhitnik Steve McCarthy will both be healthy scratches.

Flying under the radar was a deal between Atlanta and Washington swapping Alex Giroux for Joe Motzko. Motzko was Hershey's leading scorer this season (21 goals, 27 assists) and should fit right in with the high-octane Wolves in Chicago where he's headed for now.

Here are the player pages for the new acquisitions from Pittsburgh so you can read up on them. Armstrong and Christensen are tentatively expected at practice tomorrow (pending travel arrangements) while Esposito will stay with the Quebec Remparts where he's playing out his junior career.

• Colby Armstrong
• Erik Christensen
• Angelo Esposito (Hockey's Future profile)

More analysis will come, but so far I'm thrilled with this deal. Hossa was and is an incredible player, and Pascal Dupuis added a lot to this team, but you have to step back to really analyze this trade. Waddell was able to deal two pending unrestricted free agents for two young roster players who are under contract through next season and who are restricted free agents after that. To get a top-level prospect and a first round pick in a deep draft on top of that is some high quality gravy. Hossa's offense (and defense) will be missed but don't count out what Armstrong and Christensen can add. I've been listening to TSN all day and they're questioning whether Pittsburgh paid too much to get Hossa and Dupuis. Likewise with Sportsnet. Various sites will publish their trade report cards over the next 48 hours and I have a feeling they will speak highly of what Waddell accomplished.

• Atlantathrashers.com- Streaming video of TSN's trade show, compliments of the NHL Network.
• NHL.com- Completed trades list (they won't break stories but it's a handy list)
• TSN.ca- Jay Onrait's blog (the man is funny and it'll be a nice distraction from the chaos)
• NHLnumbers.com- Salary and contract length breakdowns for every team
• Thrashers message boards- A lot of crazy and wildly inaccurate things will be said on there today. It's my job to make sure people don't get too crazy.

I'm going to be doing my best to get you Thrashers trade news before it gets to the media, but given that the team is in Montreal that's going to be tough. I can't make any promises.

It's the most exciting time of the year and at the same time the most maddening.

We all know that trades are going to be made around the league and odds are the Thrashers will be involved to some degree. With a week to go until the trade deadline something could happen at any time. Don Waddell could wait until next Tuesday to pull the trigger on a deal or he could pull something off by the time you finish reading this post. You never know.

And that's just it. Rumor hounds are having a field day trying to predict who will end up where and who's available versus who isn't, but when it comes to the Thrashers nothing is clear. That's Don Waddell's style.

In the three seasons I've been doing this job I can't think of a single time when the Thrashers were heavily rumored to be involved in talks for a player that they actually got. Maybe Keith Tkachuk, but nobody thought Atlanta was a front-runner in that bidding war. Don Waddell has a knack for keeping things under wraps, and that's why I don't put any stock in any of the rumors swirling around the Thrashers. Odds are the deals you read about ahead of time aren't the ones that are going to happen. That's the rule of thumb in general with the NHL and it definitely applies to the Thrashers.

The only reason to leak a possible trade is to drive up the price general managers will pay to get a player, but the price for a guy like Marian Hossa doesn't need to be inflated. If he hits the trade market there's going to be a bidding war whether Waddell tries to build it up or not.

So while I'll be keeping an eye on the rumor sites from now until the trade deadline passes I won't put much stock in anything involving this team, because the more you read about a deal the less likely it is to happen.

I do feel confident that the Thrashers have the green light to go out and make something happen. Billy Knight pulled of a great trade on the weekend, picking up Mike Bibby and turning the Hawks into a legitimate threat, and there's no reason to think our owners wouldn't sign off on something of similar magnitude for the Thrashers if the opportunity was there.

It's going to be an interesting week.

I don't have a lot to say about last night's game aside from this- I'll take that forecheck and defensive effort over anything we've seen from the Thrashers in the last week or so. Maybe that stats folks were a little trigger happy with their buttons, but wow- 42 hits for the Thrashers? When was the last time you saw them come out hitting like that? There could have been more shots and there could have been more scoring chances, but New York played well. the Thrashers stuck to their game plan and played a solid road game in a tough building against an amped up opponent. If they play exactly the same at home next week against Pittsburgh there's a pretty good chance they'll win. I would have liked to see something other than wrist shots from our guys in the shootout, but that's life. The Thrashers picked up a key point, but more importantly they put in a solid effort. I'll take it. Hats off to Bobby Holik (8 hits), Alexei Zhitnik (20:46 of ice time) and Todd White (4 shots and 3 hits) who all stepped up their games noticeably. There were improved efforts all around, but those three stood out for me. Johan Hedberg was spectacular in net, putting the Buffalo loss squarely behind him and keeping the Thrashers in the game when the Rangers pressured.

There's no update on Ken Klee yet, but based on what Craig Custance wrote in the AJC it sounds like he'll be okay.

In roster news, three players are in transit to Chicago. The Wolves play three games this weekend including one tonight to it's a chance for them to get some action in while the NHL takes a break. No news on if any of them will come back immediately after the break, but Brett Sterling, Joel Kwiatkowski and Colin Stuart have all been reassigned for the time being (look for a press release later). They all played well in their time in Atlanta and made it easy for Waddell to give them another call-up if they're needed. Sterling and Kwiatkowski will both be at the AHL All-Star Classic on Monday and Tuesday though, so they'll be participating in six games/events in six nights. That's a lot of hockey.

Stay tuned to the blog this weekend as we try our best to give you exclusive stories from behind the scenes at All-Star Weekend.

Don Waddell has been a busy man lately, even though he's been keeping a pretty low profile. He's been spending a lot of time in Lake Placid, NY where he has been watching the 2007 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp (NHL.com coverage) and he's been in talks with Marian Hossa's agent as well as Mike Vanelli- the Thrashers' only unsigned college prospect. In the midst of all of that he fond the time to sign free agents Karel Pilar and Milan Bartovic.

Both deals are two-way contracts, so both players can be sent to Chicago if they don't make the team out of training camp. Bartovic also has an option to return to Europe if he is so inclined.

Pilar is a big defenseman (6-3, 210) who has averaged .333 points per game over his 90 NHL games, and those were all played pre-lockout. If he kept up that pace over the course of an 82-game season he'd pick up 27 or so points. Not bad. He also played close to 18 minutes per game in Toronto, so he can log decent minutes when called on. If he doesn't make the team he could be a valuable depth player in the event that one of the veterans gets hurt. And he's 29, which isn't bad for a depth signing.

Milan Bartovic is a former early second-round pick who was mis-cast as an offensive player. He's quick, gritty, and works hard, as he demonstrated while playing on the Slovakian national team at the World Championships. He's also from Trencin, Slovakia, home of the Hossa family, Andrej Meszaros, Marian Gaborik, Zdeno Chara. Not bad for a town of 56,000. At 26 he still has time to develop and it's not a stretch to see him as an energy player and/or penalty-killer. He's a low-risk singing that could pay dividends.

You may have seen the news last night on Sportsnet.ca or on various message boards, but it's official now- Ex is back. There was never really any doubt that he'd be a Thrasher next season, but he and Waddell were able to work out a deal before Exelby's arbitration hearing (which had been scheduled for July 31). Ex might be young (he turns 26 in August) but he's already a leader in the locker room and he's not afraid to speak up when people are pulling their weight. He loves Atlanta and before everyone packed up for the summer back in April he said that he considers the city home now. The fact that he's locked up to a long-term deal for a reasonable price is an added bonus for a guy that doesn't seem to have any plans to leave.

He won't put up big offensive numbers and he's probably not going to play top-pair minutes, but Exelby will be a key to this year's defensive squad. He'll be counted on to bring his usual toughness and bone-jarring hits, just like he did back n Feb. 8 in Colorado. You know what I'm talking about...

And don't be surprised if Ken Klee takes the young blueliner under his wing over the next year or two. They play a similar gritty style and off the top of my head I can't remember Ex ever having someone like that around who could teach him the tricks of the trade (aside from assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, but it's different when it comes from a teammate).

Welcome back Ex. Here's to plenty more highlight reel hits.

Chris Drury and Scott Gomez are still available, as is Slava Kozlov, but otherwise the madness is in full swing. How else do you explain an eight-year contract for Daniel Briere and $18 million for Corey Sarich? How about $30 million for Brian Rafalski?

The most interesting part of the spending spree so far is that non-playoff teams are buying up most of the talent while the perennial powers and big spenders are staying quiet. I imagine that'll change soon, but Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, San Jose, New York and New Jersey have all been pretty inactive. Gomez and Drury anyone?

The clock is ticking.

NHL free agency begins at noon on Sunday, and like past years it ought to be a wild day. Where will Drury, Briere and Gomez end up? How about Schneider and Souray on the blueline? And perhaps most importantly, how busy are the Thrashers going to be?

It's unlikely that GM Don Waddell will be going after the big names that will be commanding top dollar. It's just not practical given that both Kari Lehtonen and Marian Hossa are going to need new contracts after next season. As Craig Custance said on his blog last night, Slava Kozlov remains the wildcard. If he stays with Atlanta then we can do fine with an additional center and some depth players. If Slava leaves then Waddell is going to have try to find some more scoring, whether it's through free agency or trades.

Either way, don't expect to see any signings for $5-6 million a year in Atlanta this summer. So-called second-tier players are much more likely to end up here, especially guys who are looking for a new role or a chance to play with a top-flight winger like Ilya Kovalchuk. That's a huge bargaining chip for Waddell, and there should be some mid-range centers out there who would be licking their chops at the thought of setting up Kovy on a nightly basis.

If you're like me you'll be glued to your computer tomorrow, waiting to see how things play out. Remember- just because the Thrashers haven't locked up any of their UFA's yet (Kozlov, Belanger, Dupuis, Sim, Boulton, Vigier, MacKenzie, Sutton, de Vries and Hnidy) it doesn't mean they won't be back. It's not unusual for free agents to test the market (to be honest, I wouldn't pass up free agency if I were in most of their shoes) and then come back to their team and say that they'd like to stay. Some guys will use free agency as leverage and others want to see what the market says they're worth. Some might take less money in Atlanta than they're offered elsewhere because they don't want to uproot their families and learn a new system with a new team. If the money is the same or close it's not hard to choose stability over upheaval.

Here are some handy free agency related links to get you ready for tomorrow:

Scott Burnside's Free Agency Preview:

• Top Forwards
• Top Defensemen
• Top Goalies

TSN's Free Agent Lists:

• Eastern Conference
• Western Conference

NHL Numbers- Salaries, Cap Hits and Contract Lengths
Spector's Trade/Free Agent Rumors

I'll be online all afternoon tomorrow, waiting to post any Thrashers news, but keep in mind that NHL team sites can't post about signings until they're official whereas sites like TSN and ESPN can stick stuff up as soon as an agent calls them and says his player is signing with team X. Hopefully I can break some news, but if I don't you'll know why.

After checking some of the message boards and  blogs it's obvious that a lot of people are confused about the consequences of today's trading of Keith Tkachuk back to the St. Louis Blues. Let me try to clear things up.

Tkachuk and a conditional draft pick were sent to the Blues in exchange for the Thrashers' conditional first-round pick in 2008. That pick was sent to St. Louis in the February deal that brought Tkachuk here.

Here are the various scenarios that result from today's trade:

1. If St. Louis signs Tkachuk before or after July 1 the Thrashers keep their first-round pick in 2008 and keep the conditional pick that was sent to St. Louis today.
2. If any team other than the Thrashers or Blues sign Tkachuk the Thrashers keep their 2008 first-round pick and the conditional pick sent to the Blues today.
3. If the Thrashers sign Tkachuk after July 1 they owe St. Louis a fourth-round pick in 2008 or a third-round pick in 2009 instead of a first-round pick in 2008 (the conditional pick they would have owed before today's trade)

In other words, no matter what happens the Thrashers now own their first-round draft pick in 2008, and that's a good thing. The odds of Don Waddell signing Tkachuk after July 1 knowing it would cost him a first-round pick were pretty close to zero. Now it's within the realm of possibility, but St. Louis obviously has plans to sign him or they wouldn't have made this deal in the first place.

It's time for all the stats and rumor junkies to update their free agent lists. Teams had until 5pm today to give their restricted free agents qualifying offers. Without going into too much CBA talk what that means is that if a team qualified a restricted free agent they retain their rights to that player. If the player accepts the QO they've pretty much signed a new contract. If they don't they can negotiate a better or different contract, but the team still retains their rights regardless. If the team opts not to qualify the player the player automatically becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and can negotiate with any team they want to.

For the most part this only effects younger players (usually in their early or mid 20's) who are coming off of their first, second or perhaps third contract and who don't qualify for unrestricted free agency.

The following players in the Thrashers' system received qualifying offers before the deadline today:

Kevin Doell
Garnet Exelby
Jesse Schultz
Jim Slater
Colin Stuart
Chris Thorburn

That doesn't mean they're under contract yet, but it does mean that the Thrashers have retained their rights and that the players will remain restricted free agents until they sign a contract. If another team decided to offer them one or more of them a contract the Thrashers would have the right to match the deal and would receive compensation in the form of draft picks if they didn't match the offer.

The following players in the Thrashers' system were NOT given qualifying offers and are now unrestricted free agents:

David Caruso
Andre Deveaux
Michael Garnett
Lane Manson
Brad Schell
Adam Smyth

It's possible that some of those players could remain with their current minor league teams without being under contract to the Thrashers (like Colton Fretter did this past season) and it's possible that the Thrashers could still try to sign one or more of these players later on, but as it stands they will all become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

TSN has some more information about qualifying offers in this article.

The Thrashers don't exactly have a stock-pile of draft picks for this year's NHL Entry Draft to be held in Columbus on June 22 and 23 and the first one they do have is in the third round,, so you could be forgiven for thinking we're in for a quiet draft weekend. I wouldn't count on it though. Why?

Because you'd have a tough time finding an NHL General Manager that has pulled off more draft day deals over the last eight years than Thrashers GM Don Waddell. Let's take a look at what he's done.

Thrashers Draft Day Trade History

June 26, 1999: Acquired the first overall selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft from Vancouver for the second overall selection and a third-round selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft; acquired RW Per Svartvadet from Dallas for a sixth- round selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft; traded RW Phil Crowe to Nashville for future considerations.

June 24, 2000: Traded second-round selection and third-round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft to Vancouver for a second- round selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft and a third-round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft; traded ninth- round selection in 2000 NHL Entry Draft to Chicago for the rights to C Ben Simon; traded fourth-round selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft to Carolina for a fourth-round selection, a fifth-round selection and an eighth-round selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft

June 24, 2001: Traded fourth-round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft to St. Louis for RW Lubos Bartecko; acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft and a seventh-round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft from New Jersey for a third-round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft; acquired rights to D Jeff Dessner from the NY Rangers for an eighth-round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

June 22, 2002: Acquired RW Vyacheslav Kozlov and a second-round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft from Buffalo for a second-round selection and a third-round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft; acquired a third-round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and a fourth-round selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft from Florida for future considerations; traded a second-round selection and a third-round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft to Columbus for a first-round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

June 21, 2003: Acquired D Ivan Majesky from Florida for a second-round selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft

June 26, 2004: Acquired D Niclas Havelid from Anaheim for D Kurtis Foster; acquired fourth-round selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft from Carolina for a third-round selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft; acquired G Adam Berkhoel from Chicago for future considerations.

July 30, 2005: Traded first-round selection in 2005 NHL Entry Draft to San Jose for a first-round selection, a second-round selection and a seventh-round selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft; traded first-round selection in 2005 NHL Entry Draft to the NY Rangers for a first-round selection and a second-round selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft; acquired D Shane Hnidy from Nashville for a fourth-round selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

June 24, 2006: Acquired C Niko Kapanen and a seventh-round selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft from Dallas for C Patrik Stefan and D Jaroslav Modry.

As the record shows, Waddell isn't afraid to wheel and deal to move up, move down, grab some extra picks, deal picks or add roster players on draft day. On seven out of eight draft days Waddell has acquired a player who filled a regular roster spot with the Thrashers and most of those player were picked up for nothing more than draft picks. Here is what the most significant of those additions contributed during their tie in Atlanta:

Per Svartvadet Thrashers Totals: 247 GP, 17 G, 34 A, 51 PTS
Lubos Bartecko Thrashers Totals: 108 GP, 20 G, 2 3A, 43 PTS
Slava Kozlov Thrashers Totals: 318 GP, 94 G, 179 A, 273 PTS
Niclas Havelid Thrashers Totals: 159 GP, 7 G, 46 A, 53 PTS
Shane Hnidy Thrashers Totals: 138 GP, 5 G, 10 A, 15 PTS
Niko Kapanen Thrashers Totals: 60 GP, 4 G, 9 A, 13 PTS

While he may not have been a superstar, adding Lubos Bartecko for a fourth-round pick in 2001 has to be considered a steal. So does picking up Slava Kozlov for what amounted to a third-round pick and and a move down in the second round. That might be the shrewdest trade of Waddell's career so far. And where would our defense have been the last two seasons without Niclas Havelid and Shane Hnidy? They filled very different but very important roles and combined they only cost Waddell Kurtis Foster and a fourth-round draft pick.

Then there was 2005 when the Thrashers traded down twice in the first round and picked up two second-round draft picks in the process. They turned those picks into Ondrej Pavelec and Chad Denny- both of whom should play significant roles in the Thrashers' future.

So does Waddell have anything up his sleeve for this year? We won't know for sure until June 22 and 23, but history shows us that he's not likely to stand pat.

Well, now that Tobias Enstrom is officially under contract let's talk about these prospect signings and where they fit in the grand scheme of things.

First up- Myles Stoesz. It's pronounced like the word "stays" from what I've gathered, and the kid is tough as nails. He's listed at 6-2 and 190 lbs in his profile but he's up to 210 and is a nice physical winger if you catch my drift. Look him up on YouTube. He's not going to be a goal-scorer or a playmaker, but guys of his skill set will always be in demand in the NHL as long as they aren't a liability when they're on the ice. The only time I've seen him play was at prospect camp last summer, and he didn't stand out as being behind the others when it came to puck-handling and skating. As a seventh round pick that was taken to beef up the grit factor he'll be considered a resounding success if he plays in the NHL. From what I've read Gladiators coach Jeff Pyle wants his ECHL club to be grittier next season, so he should be a welcome addition if he lands there. His "enthusiasm" would probably be welcome in Chicago too, though Guillaume Desbiens does a fine job for the Wolves.

Next- Tomas Pospisil. I liked what I saw from his last summer at prospect camp. He's a skilled forward who averaged more than a point per game in the OHL. Don't expect him t be a superstar but he could be a good depth guy wherever he plays. He  signed a tryout contract with the Wolves after his OHL team got bounced form the playoffs and while he didn't get to play he did get a taste of life in the AHL. I would expect him to start his pro career in Chicago where he could help fill any holes created by other prospects making the Thrashers squad out of camp.

Third- Chad Denny. I've written plenty about this kid and there's nothing not to like. He does it all. As Dan Marr says, he could play forward or defense in the NHL thanks to his combination of speed, size and offensive ability. The Thrashers have plenty of prospects who will be impact players in the NHL, but Denny might be one of the most exciting, and he's the defensemen we've needed for a while. When he makes the team his slapshot and passing ability will be invaluable on the power play. Is it a coincidence that he's from the same neck of the woods as Al MacInnis? Did you know that the Thrashers have never had a defenseman score 10 goals in a single season? Hopefully it happens before Denny gets here, but I'd expect him to break that dubious mark if it doesn't. Not many defensemen make the NHL straight out of junior hockey though, so Denny has his work cut out for him. Never say never, but don't expect him to be on the Thrashers opening night roster. There are a lot of guys in front of him on the depth chart (Popovic, Valabik, Oystrick...), but Denny should be fun to watch in the preseason.

Fourth- Ondrej Pavelec. I'll be honest. We dodged a bit of a bullet here. Based on Craig Custance's AJC article it sounds like Pavelec considered going back in the draft instead of signing with us. If he had he likely would have gone reasonably high in the first round since so many of the teams at the top of the draft order (Chicago, Philly, LA, Phoenix, Washington) could use a hot goaltending prospect. He might have even had a chance to play in the NHL this year. Instead he signed with the Thrashers after meeting with his agent and Don Waddell face-to-face in Toronto. Getting him signed was a huge accomplishment for Don, and he deserves plenty of credit for pulling it off. Pavelec definitely has all of the tools to be an NHL starting goaltender, and a year or two from now he could be in Atlanta playing alongside Kari Lehtonen, giving the Thrashers two of the best young goalies in the NHL. Pavelec is tall (6-2), quick, and fundamentally sound and the sky is the limit for the young Czech. Like Pospisil he made the wise decision of coming to North American to play junior hockey before turning pro and that should pay off fairly soon.

An interesting fact about Denny and Pavelec- both were taken by the Thrashers in the second round of the 2005 Entry Draft before the Thrashers used their third second round pick to take Andrew Kozek (who is entering his junior year at North Dakota). The picks used to draft Denny and Pavelec were acquired from Philly and San Jose when Atlanta traded down twice in the first round before taking Alex Bourret. Only one of the players taken between Atlanta's original pick (8th) and their actual pick (16th) has played significant time in the NHL (Anze Kopitar) and meanwhile the Thrashers snagged two top prospects who are going to be impact players in the NHL.

Finally- let's talk about Tobias Enstrom. How badly does this team need another defenseman capable of carrying the puck out of the zone or of making a crisp outlet pass to a streaking forward? Don Waddell himself says that he's excited about him and it's being assumed by a lot of people that Enstrom will start the season in Atlanta. That's a lot to expect from an eighth round pick (there aren't even eight rounds in the draft any more), but Enstrom's play in Sweden has raised the expectations. He's been called the best defenseman in the Swedish Elite League, and though 28 points might not sound like a lot it's an impressive total for a defenseman in a low-scoring league. I'd expect Enstrom to be given every opportunity to make the team coming out of camp.

So that's five players signed and none that got away on signing deadline day. Because Russia didn't sign the IIHF transfer agreememnt the Thrashers retain the rights to Andrei Zubarev and Ilya Nikulin. Waddell has until August to take care of any NCAA prospects who graduated this year.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- the future is looking bright for the Thrashers.

There was an NHL trade today, but not many people will notice. The Columbus Blue Jackets dealt junior defenseman Adam McQuaid to the Boston Bruins for a fifth-round pick. Why does this matter?

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't. But it's interesting for a few reasons.

1. Former Columbus GM Doug MacLean drafted McQuaid. McLean is gone and now so is one of his draft picks.
2.. MacLean is from Prince Edward Island. So is Gerard Gallant- the coach MacLean fired during the season. So is McQuaid. Is there a PEI purge going on?
3. McQuaid was drafted in the second round (55th overall) in 2005. Columbus essentially traded down three rounds since they're dealing a former second rounder for a fifth round pick.
4. Teams have until June 1 to sign any players drafted in 2005 (does not apply to NCAA players or Russian draft picks) otherwise they can go back in the draft. I assume the blue Jackets were having trouble signing the Adam McQuaid. Otherwise they must have soured on him because they practically gave him away.
5. If I'm not mistaken McQuaid is my former landlord's nephew. I doubt anyone cares about that though.

All of this is a very roundabout way of both mentioning my home province of Prince Edward Island and of making you aware that the Thrashers have roughly two weeks to sign the following players who were drafted in 2005 or else they lose their rights:

Ondrej Pavelec
Chad Denny
Tomas Pospisil 
Myles Stoesz

I'd have to check the CBA to see what the rules are for Europeans (other than Russians) are, but I was told today that Tobias Enstrom's rights also expire if he's not signed by June 1. This list may or may not be exhaustive. I'll try to find out if I'm missing anyone, but I don't think I am.