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Thrashers Acquire Mathieu Schneider From Ducks
Posted by:
Ben Wright on
September 26, 2008 at
4:47PM EST
Don Waddell is having a very good week. Two days after signing Toby Enstrom to a four-year contract extension he has taken another giant step towards improving his roster.
In a move that adds a wealth of experience and scoring to the blueline, the
Thrashers have acquired
defenseman Mathieu Schneider from the Ducks in exchange for Ken Klee, Brad
Larsen, and Chad Painchaud. The deal instantly improves the Thrashers' blueline
and also clears a spot for some fresh blood on the third or fourth line in
Atlanta where there is heated competition for a limited number of roster spots.
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.
(26) Comments
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Posted by: MIKE on September 26, 2008 5:08PM EST
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
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Posted by: Andyman on September 26, 2008 5:14PM EST
Holy $#@&%
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Posted by: PW on September 26, 2008 5:15PM EST
Good news. DW, do you have any more tricks up your sleeve? One more goal scoring would be great.
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Posted by: Streethockey Oldtimer on September 26, 2008 5:16PM EST
Mathieu Schneider has BECOME ONE!!! I love it.
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Posted by: mj on September 26, 2008 5:16PM EST
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Thanks for posting this!
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Posted by: PB on September 26, 2008 5:28PM EST
Awesome. Way to go DW. Looks like a good deal too. Replaced a good defenseman with a great one, and opened up a spot for another young forward, which we seem to have a lot of this preaseason. Schneider makes a lot of $, but that is offset some by the $1.75 that went the other way.
Thanks for everything Brad and Ken, best of luck to you.
And I hate to be greedy, but seems to me we are one forward away from a dream scenario for Thrashers fans!
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Posted by: Rick on September 26, 2008 5:29PM EST
ben, will Schneider be on the roster for any of the upcoming home pre-season games?
thanks.
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Posted by: Pete on September 26, 2008 5:30PM EST
Not a bad move Schneider is going to be the number one Defenseman and that lets Anderson put together two good lines on Defense. Havelid and Enstrum play better at 16 -18 minutes per night anyway so they can preform even better than last year. Now what ever Bogo gives you is bonus but this hurts Borris's chances of playing many games unless Don trades Exelby away.
The real value in Schneider is the draft pick the Trashers can get at trade deadline. If a lot of teams are just out side the playoffs looking in a scoring Defenseman is a real prize and worth a couple of second round picks or maybe a first to the right team that will go a long way in rebuilding.
If the thrashers can move enough players at dead line they can pour tons of talent into the system. If the thrashers are not in the number 8 spot at trade deadline Schinder,Williams, Perin, Reasoner, Havelid, and Hedberg (if Pavelic plays well) could allow Don to amass a small fortune in second and third round picks to package and move up.
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Posted by: Robert on September 26, 2008 5:34PM EST
There is a typo in your bio, he didn't win his stanley cup in 2002-03, it was in 1992-93.
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Posted by: h on September 26, 2008 5:41PM EST
Incredible move......Schneider in and Klee and Larsen out.....what a win win that is! Now you have X playing the proper minutes along with Valabik and Bogo as the last 3 to play 2 defensemen?? Have to like it. You also open up a roster spot for a youngster at the forward position.....I'm ready for October 10!!
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Posted by: Ben Wright on September 26, 2008 5:41PM EST
Rick- Yes- I would expect him to be in uniform for some of those games.
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Posted by: roman on September 26, 2008 6:06PM EST
fk ye
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Posted by: jordan on September 26, 2008 6:08PM EST
yessssssssssssssssssssssss best news all off season
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Posted by: Ryan on September 26, 2008 6:19PM EST
heck yea! What great news. DW is acting like a GM who wants to make up for something. With all the off-season moves, the young guys from the trade dealine and the kids in the system there is a ton of potential on this roster. Now with a coach who has proven that he can take potential and produce results, this is a VERY exciting time for Thrashers hockey. I can't wait for the season to start. Wow.
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Posted by: AJD on September 26, 2008 6:46PM EST
Newsflash: the Thrashers will still suck. And the top defensive foursome in the Southeast? Whaddaya, nuts? Mike Green/Shaone Morrisonn and Tom Poti/Jeff Schultz is way better.
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Posted by: HowardH on September 26, 2008 6:53PM EST
Perfect one year add to take pressure off Bogo. Wouldn't be surprised to see Toby and Nic, Matt and Ex, and Hainsey with Boris to start the season.
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Posted by: Ben Wright on September 26, 2008 7:36PM EST
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Posted by: lordstan57 on September 26, 2008 9:17PM EST
Ditto that, the only guy there that inspires true respect is green, whilst Schultz is a 'potential' kind of guy.
Sooooooo, who's nuts????
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Posted by: AJD on September 27, 2008 12:15AM EST
Who's nuts? You all are nuts. Check out the following stats (courtesy of the Peerless Prognosticator, where this discussion of yours has drawn been noticed):
1. Mathieu Schneider: 39 years old; 12G, 27A, +22 in 65 games for Anaheim in 2007-08; $5.625m cap hit in 2008-09
2. Ron Hainsey: 27 years old; 8G, 24A, -7 in 78 games for Columbus in 2007-08; $4.5m cap hit in 2008-09
3. Niclas Havelid: 35 years old; 1G, 13A, +2 in 81 games for Atlanta in 2007-08; $2.7m cap hit in 2008-09
4. Tobias Enstrom: 23 years old; 5G, 33A, -5 in 82 games for Atlanta in 2007-08; $900k cap hit in 2008-09
1. Mike Green: 22 years old; 18G, 38A, +6 in 82 games for Washington in 2007-08; $5.25m cap hit in 2008-09
2. Tom Poti: 31 years old; 2G, 27A, +9 in 71 games for Washington in 2007-08; $3.5m cap hit in 2008-09
3. Shaone Morrisonn: 25 years old; 1G, 9A, +4 in 76 games for Washington in 2007-08; $1.975m cap hit in 2008-09
4. Jeff Schultz: 22 years old; 5G, 13A, +12 in 72 games for Washington in 2007-08; $750k cap hit in 2008-09
These numbers are clearly in favor of the Caps defenders. And your #1 guy is 39, and has declined in games played for the last 4 years. That matters.
Finally, I like the Panthers top 4 defense even better than the Caps top 4. So the Thrash are at best in third place, and I think I could make a respectable argument that I like Carolina's and Tampa's top four better than Schneider/Hainsey/Havelid/Enstrom. Which would mean you have the worst defense in the SE Division...
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Posted by: billie b. on September 27, 2008 12:33AM EST
Looks like AJD made some valid points. When you consider, production, age and cap hit, Washington's D is the better deal.
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Posted by: PB on September 27, 2008 2:52AM EST
The Thrashers D just got a lot better today. So who cares who the capitals defenders are, or how much they are paid? Maybe they have a cheaper defense - a better deal for the money. By the numbers above (btw, I don't vouch for their correctness, the poster seems a little misguided in general) I'll take the Thrashers top 4's 123 points and +12 against the capital's 113 points and +31. The +-just barely makes up for the fewer points by Thrashers, but let's make no mistake - without Mike Green the caps D is not even close. I'll take a better defense over a cheaper deal every time. Add the potential of Toby Enstrom and Zach Bogosian under the tutelage of Mathieu Schneider and Niclas Havelid, VS. Mike Green learning from Tom Poti, (whose best years were many years ago), and I am that much happier with the situation we have in Atlanta.
I don't blame the guy above for liking the Panthers top 4 better than the Caps top 4, because the Caps top 4 is really only one guy - Green. The rest don't really add anything to that equation. Unfortunately, I don't even know who he is considering the Panthers top 4 to be at this point (McCabe, fresh from TOR? Cory Murphy?) and that is not a good sign. Regardless, the Panthers' best defender is Jay Bouwmeester, and he would rather be playing somewhere (anywhere?) else. So the arguments putting our Thrashers in third place In the SE are that much weaker.
So, here is the bottom line, and a position that I am sure many of us share as fans. I want to see my team win. At the end of the day, I don't care how much the owners paid for this guy or that guy, except how it affects my team's chances to win, and to keep the important players for the coming years. To me, the Schneider deal was excellent. It helps our team win immediately. Also, I see him feeding Ilya at least 5 or 6 goals this season (especially on the power play), which makes Kovy happy while also adding a couple of wins/points. If Kovy scores goals that Schneider sets up, it helps us keep Kovy, because we all know he is born to score goals. This takes some of the pressure off of our forward situation (which still may be resolved, especially with the great week DW is having...)
So capitals fan, go ahead and make your 'respectable argument' that you like Carolina's and Tampa's top four better than the Thrashers' top four defenseman. I am not sure why you would think that anyone here on the Thrashers' Blog would care what argument you could make about how much you like other teams, but the Thrashers were in 1st place in the SE in February last year, with no real coach and despite being ranked last in many categories, especially on defense (shots against). With many upgrades on the Thrashers against the capitals' none, the Panthers few, and Tampa Bay throwing the baby out with the bath water, I'll take my guys against your guys when the time comes in 2008/09!
Go Thrashers.
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Posted by: AJD on September 27, 2008 9:59AM EST
OK, fair enough. I did not mean to troll your board. Sorry and good luck during the season.
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Posted by: JAmes_kovyboy on September 27, 2008 10:26AM EST
if we can get a good top six forward
We can have a surprise and finish 8th or 1st in SE if Washington chokes...
-TB doesnt have 1 defender
-Florida doenst have any1
-Carolina is so so
-Washington is really good, but with the forward(depending) we might have a chance
Enstrom-Havelid
Schneider-Bugs
XLB-Hainsey
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Posted by: Thrash suck on September 27, 2008 10:57AM EST
The Thrash will finish where they always seem to. On a tee box in mid April.
And the stats above are correct.
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Posted by: lordstan57 on September 27, 2008 2:18PM EST
The only thing that's 'clear' to me is that undue emphasis has been placed on 'cap hit', as opposed to effectiveness...... you know, on ice performance.
As far as the 'stats' being correct???????
Who the eff cares???? A monkey can transfer digits from one page to another EH?
Conclusions drawn are what's at issue here. IE..... Schneider is NOT OUR #1 GUY!!!!
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Posted by: Rob P on September 27, 2008 3:53PM EST
Hainsey is horrible. There is good reason we didn't re-sign him here in Columbus...especially at the laughable deal the Thrashers gave him. The fact that he's top 4 is not a good sign for your team...that -7 from last season surprises me, because I thought it was worse. He's a lazy player, with little competitive spirit which is why he couldn't stick to a Hitchcock team. Good luck, but chances are high you will regret this signing by season's end...who am I kidding, you'll regret it by November.
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