It wasn't the ending that anyone was looking for, especially captain Scott Mellanby. With about two minutes left to play and the Thrashers trailing by a pair of goals Mellanby took to the ice one last time at Madison Square Garden. The Thrashers tried, but they couldn't muster the two goals they needed, and as the veteran captain returned to the bench with half a minute to play he began to soak it all in. The horn sounded, the benches emptied, the teams gathered in their respective ends, and the Thrashers huddled around their leader, congratulating him on an incredible career and consoling him as he came up short in his quest for a Stanley Cup. Many of the Thrashers will get another chance to go after the most storied trophy in all of sports, but as Scott Mellanby skated off the ice and gazed into the stands in New York it was clear that this was the end of the road for him as an NHL player.

When the locker room doors opened the media made a beeline for the grizzled warrior. Was this it? Was the veteran finished, or was their a possibility of one more year?

The more he talked about it, the more obvious it became that Mellanby was prepared to call it a career. At first he was noncommittal, saying he would take a few days to think things through but that this was probably it. Then, when asked by John Kincade if he had just played his last game he paused. "I think it is... it's been a great, fun ride, but I think it's time." Nothing is certain until retirement papers are signed, but after 1567 regular season and playoff games in the NHL (without a day spent in the minors) Scott Mellanby has seemingly come to the end of the road, coming up short in his 21-season quest to hoist the Stanley Cup.

In a league of over 700 players only one roster's worth of them- a scant 23 odd players- end their season the way they want to. For the rest the end is a disappointment, culminating in either a playoff loss or a meaningless regular season game as they stand on the outside looking in. And there lies the irony for the Thrashers. In past years they finished with hollow wins as they missed the post-season, but now, after a franchise-best season, they are forced to finish with a stinging defeat.

As reporters cleared out the locker room on Thursday night several of the team owners and Atlanta Spirit President and CEO Bernie Mullin made the rounds, thanking players for their contributions and reminding them that they had taken this franchise to a new level, and that they may have gone out with a loss, but they were still Southeast Division Champions. "It's a step" said Bobby Holik. A step. It was a bitter pill for the team to swallow, but fans can take some small comfort in knowing that meaningful playoff defeats can only come on the heals of regular season success- success that the Thrashers can build upon next season when a division championship banner is raised to the rafters in Philips Arena.