I said yesterday that there would likely be a domino effect once somebody made the first move and hired  ahead coach. Well, if I was right we'll know soon. Colorado has announced that Tony Granato will once again be their head coach after serving in that role prior to the lockout. He's been an assistant for the past three seasons. what effect that has on everyone else's searches remains to be seen. A high profile vacancy has been filled but it was filled by a candidate that probably wasn't high on anyone else's list. I was half expecting Ron Wilson to end up with the Avalanche so it's going to be interesting to see where he lands now.

In related news, the Vancouver Canucks have signed head coach and 2007 Jack Adams Award winner Alain Vigneault to a contract extension, ending speculation that there could be an opening there. In a bit of an odd move they dismissed assistant coaches Mike Kelly (who coached Chris Thorburn in North Bay) and Mike Barry Smith. I can't remember the last time a GM extended a head coach and fired the assistants at more or less the same time. Maybe it's not that unusual and I just have a bad memory.

From the press release:

"The National Hockey League Alumni Association is pleased to announce its partnership with several NHL alumni to bring you the NHL Alumni Signature Wine Series. The NHL Alumni Signature Wine Series boasts 12 different bottles of wine, 6 Chardonnay and 6 Cabernet Sauvignon, all bearing a beautiful gold-relief likeness of some of hockey’s greatest legends. These limited edition wines are sure to attract both the wine enthusiast and the hockey fan alike."

The wine series will be launched this Thursday, right here in Atlanta, at TJ’s Sports Bar & Grill, 2880 Holcomb Bridge Road, Alpharetta, Georgia. The doors open at 2 pm and 680 The Fan will be there broadcasting live from 3-7 pm. Numerous NHL greats will be on hand for the event from 3-6. Players expected to attend include Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito, Rob Ray, Bobby Clarke, Dave Schultz, Clark Gillies, Frank Mahovlich, Johnny Bower, Pat Quinn, Scott Mellanby, Willi Plett, and Eric Vail.

If you plan on attending you may as well stick around afterwards and take in the Thrashers/Rangers game which starts at 8 pm (previously scheduled to start at 7, but changed to accommodate Brian Leetch night).

Proceeds for the wine series go to the charities of the player's choice as well as NHL Alumni Association charities and the NHL Alumni Association’s “Hockey’s Greatest Family Fund”. For more information check out the Signature Wine Series web site.

That's clutch, and that's why Rick Nash is an All-Star.

All's quiet on the Thrashers front for the time being, so here's some light reading for you to kill some time.

• From Jon "J.P." Press at AOL FanHouse- Wayne Gretzky's top five single season records. Think anyone will touch them?
• Capschick has a post on Southeast Shootout that does a nice job of breaking down the national TV schedules that were released this week. Personally I think the Thrashers did alright. Four games on VERSUS is nothing to sneeze at and then there's an option for an NBC game. Throw in two games on Hockey Night in Canada and three more on TSN and we're getting pretty good exposure on both sides of the border.
• Darren Eliot has a nice rundown of some of the bigger off-season moves and what they mean  in his Sports Illustrated column.
• Robert Picarello's NHL.com Southeast Notes focus on the Thrashers. there's probably not much there that you don't already know but it's nice to see us getting some ink.

If you come across any other interesting links post them in the comments below.

Is there anyone more uptight that hockey fans in July? Everyone's panicking because their GM didn't make the rights move in free agency and entirely too many people are trying to figure out how their team will do next year without even knowing what the final roster will look like. Who are the division favorites right now? Who are the Cup favorites right now?

Breath. Rosters get set in September and October- not July.

In the midst of all the hand-wringing and rumor mongering it's nice to have fun sites like LCS Hockey that keep us grounded. If you have a few minutes to spare take a look at their "More Than Meets The Eye" post about similarities between Transformers (awesomely fun movie) and certain NHL players and staff. The Thrashers escape unscathed, so it's all good. Here's a quick preview that I think most Thrashers fans will appreciate:

A few thoughts heading into the weekend...

Like everyone else in this country that doesn't live close enough to Canada to pick up CBC I missed the NHL Awards last night because there was an issue with the satellite feed from the CBC. It turns out the broadcast truck in Toronto overheated. So says the Globe and Mail (via Deadspin and Off Wing Opinion). If you could have watched it, what would you have seen? The same old players winning the same old awards, aside from Crosby taking in everything he was nominated for. Datsyuk for the Lady Byng again. Brodeur with the Vezina. Again. Lidstrom taking the Norris. Again. Brind'Amour with the Selke. Again. And so on and so forth. Here's a question- how many Selke voters (for best defensive forward) do you think wanted to take back their vote after watching Sami Pahlsson shut down the competition's top line all through the playoffs? Playing in the West definitely hurt him and he should have won it over Brind'Amour. It's an unwritten rule that MVP awards don't go to players on non-playoff teams. Why wouldn't the same apply to defensive awards like the Selke?

Moving on to the NHL Draft, Hockey's Future has a bit of a preview up on the Thrashers needs going into the draft. Seeing as we don't pick until the third round its tough to speculate about who might be available at that point, but it's still good to know where we stand. I'm going to have to agree with holly and say that we're well stocked at defense and a bit thin up front. If Bryan Little and Brett Sterling make the jump to the NHL in the near future there won't be much offense left in the minor-league system, though Riley Holzapfel is a solid prospect who should shoot up the HF ranking soon. Holly suggests that we could use some re-stocking in the goaltending department but between Lehtonen and Pavelec the future looks pretty good. Depth is never a bad thing, but goaltending shouldn't be an area of concern. It feels nice to be able to say that for the first time in franchise history.

In other news, information about Blue Crew auditions will be posted on the website very soon. The Blue Crew is a combination of the interactive squad and ice crew, so if you're interested in trying out check back soon. Everyone on the squad will have to be able to skate this year, but we'll be hosting clinics for those who need to brush up on their skating skills.

Just one week until the draft party and two weeks until free agency starts. Things could start picking up on the trading and signing fronts around the league any day now.

Whether you like the results or not, the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final have made for incredibly exciting hockey. It's games like these that make me wonder why everyone is so obsessed with increasing scoring in the NHL.

Last night's 1-0 Anaheim win might have been the most exciting shutout win I've ever watched. To steal a line from Gladiator, were you not entertained? Sure, there was only one goal scored in 60 minutes of hockey, but the action was intense from start to finish. I'd like to see Ottawa get more scoring chances to prevent the action from being so lopsided in favor of the Ducks, but it was still a fantastic game. Hard-hitting, fast-moving, end-to-end action. I loved it.

For a fun- yet thorough- breakdown of the game check out the recap over at LCS Hockey.

Lost in the mix heading into the long weekend and Game One of the Stanley Cup Final is this gem of a video featuring the best goals of the 2007 NHL playoffs.

What better way to start the work-week than with more than 10 minutes of top-flight NHL goals?

And remember- if you were vacationing in your thrashers gear over Memorial Day we want your pictures.

From Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice:

"The hockey is different in the South," Maurice said. "The style is different. It's not as physical. The teams play a more open style. It's why they give up so many goals against."

And From Leafs captain Mats Sundin, talking about the Southeast Division leader getting a top-three seed in the playoffs:

"You should be seeded by how many points you get, not being in a (soft) division," Sundin said.

Right... we're soft and not physical. Ex must have hit Sundin so hard last year that the whole Leafs organization lost it's memory.

Last night the Rangers did the Thrashers and beat Pittsburgh, keeping the Pens within striking distance for the Thrashers. Atlanta is sitting third in the East but could move up to second with some help.

There are four games scheduled for tonight that have Eastern conference playoff implications. Here's what they are:

Boston (12th, 73 pts) at Montreal (11th, 78 pts)

• This is the first game of a home-and-home series. With two clean wins and no extra points the Bruins can move to within a point of Montreal and keep their playoff dream alive.
• With a win tonight Montreal can move into a tie for eighth with Carolina.
• Both teams have struggled lately. Boston got thumped 7-0 by the Rangers on the weekend, prompting their coach to say he was embarrassed for anyone that went to a Bruins game this year.
• Preferred outcome: Atlanta is 1-3 against Montreal this season, but the losses came before the trade deadline makeover and before Huet got injured. Personally I'd rather not see Montreal make it, and if they can move up to eighth they could move up another spot or two and become a candidate for Atlanta's first-round opponent. When The Canadiens play well they give Atlanta fits, so I'll be going for Boston in this one.

New Jersey (2nd, 94 pts) at Toronto (10th, 78 pts)

• Toronto is another team trying to catch Carolina tonight and they could do it with a win.
• New Jersey is fighting to stay ahead of Pittsburgh.
• The good news for the Devils is that they're 3-0-0 in their last three road games. the bad news is that Toronto, despite being on a two-game skid, is 2-0-0 in their last two games at home.
• Toronto won't have Tomas Kaberle back tonight as they'd hoped. You may remember that he was injured by Devils forward Cam Janssen on March 2. Will there be any payback tonight?
• Preferred outcome: A Toronto win helps Atlanta stay closer to the second spot, and if Toronto can squeak into the playoffs and be a seventh or sixth seed they could face the Thrashers (especially if Atlanta catches NJ and Pitt.). I'd pay top dollar to see that series. Go Leafs.

New York Islanders (9th, 78 pts) at Tampa Bay (6th, 82 pts)

• Tampa Bay is six points behind Atlanta and is on a three-game losing streak during which they've gotten no help from their goaltenders, prompting management to call up their third-stringer (Karri Ramo) from Springfield.
• The Islanders haven't been doing any better between the pipes. They've given up 16 goals in three games since Rick Dipietro got hurt, but he could be back tonight. New York is desperate for a win, which would move them into a tie for Carolina for eighth. Sound familiar?
• Preferred outcome: Go Islanders. There's no upside to the Lightning inching closer to the Thrashers, and nobody in this city should want the April 7 finale between the Thrashers and Lightning to mean anything. Pray for a regulation win and more goalie problems for Tampa as it can only rattle the confidence of the Lightning. It's looked for a while like the Thrashers and Lightning might be destined for a first-round matchup. the worse shape Tampa is in when they get there, the better.

Ottawa (4th, 92 pts) at St. Louis

• This isn't a particularly meaningful game as long as Atlanta can keep its grasp on the Southeast Division title. Ottawa isn't going to catch Buffalo so the highest they'll finish is fourth. St. Louis hasn't been in the race in the West for ages, but they have plenty of people playing for jobs next season. Don't expect them to hand the Sens a win out of the goodness of their hearts.
• Preferred outcome: An Ottawa loss would be nice just because no Thrashers fan should want Ottawa on a hot streak heading into the post-season. Plenty of people are picking the Senators as a dark horse Stanley Cup Finalist. If they can figure out how to hang on to third period leads they could be extremely dangerous (thank goodness the Thrashers got over that recurring problem, huh?).

In case you haven't heard, Chris Simon is suspended for a minimum of 25 games for his vicious hit on Ryan Hollweg on Thursday night. If the Islanders make the playoffs (and their odds are good with Cam Ward suffering a serious injury that could derail Carolina's push) Simon won't be playing for them. He'll miss the rest of the regular season and all of the playoffs, and if New York players fewer than 11 playoff games he'll sit out games at the beginning of next season until he has missed 25 total. A fitting penalty for a remarkably stupid and reckless act.

Here's where it gets really interesting. Simon's contract is up at the end of the season. While I wouldn't put it past the general managers of the league to overlook his six career suspensions, is anyone going to want a guy that still has to serve 5-10 games of a suspension after they sign him to a contract? If Simon wants to come back next season (as much as it pains me, he does have 10 goals and 27 points, so he's a useful third or fourth liner) he better be hoping the Islanders go deep and play the 11 postseason games it would take for him to serve his entire suspension before his contract expires.

Personally, I'd rather see him take the Marty McSorley route and not step on NHL ice again. I don't want guys capable of doing something like that on the ice with Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk the other real stars of the NHL.