A team in trouble

Thrashers' steady rise takes a turn for the worse

ATLANTA -- There was a time, not long ago, when the Atlanta Thrashers appeared ready to challenge not only for Southeast Division supremacy but also poised to become one of the Eastern Conference's powerhouses. With the one-two punch of Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa and a long list of first-round picks that included goalie Kari Lehtonen, it sure looked like the Thrashers' time was coming.

Those hopes were validated by last season's division title and the franchise's first playoff berth after seven seasons in the league. Even after a disastrous first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers, optimism reigned to start this season.

The car crash that killed Dan Snyder and forced the trade of Dany Heatley was forgotten. The Thrashers had moved on and were moving forward.

Yet as this season winds down, Hossa is gone, fleeing after deciding the Thrashers weren't getting any better, and the team is a mess.

How could it all have gone so wrong, so quickly?

In retrospect, the seeds of the Thrashers' fall were sown in the playoffs. Then-coach Bob Hartley's tug of war with Lehtonen as the Rangers skated circles around the Thrashers not only shattered Lehtonen's confidence but also the team's confidence in Hartley.

Hartley didn't make it out of October, fired and replaced by general manager Don Waddell after the Thrashers started 0-6-0.

Meanwhile, through all of this, the Hossa drama was proceeding along a dismal path. Contract negotiations stalled, and by the trade deadline Waddell had no choice but to deal the impending free agent.

When he struck out trying to get Chris Higgins from the Montreal Canadiens -- a deal that would have been a home run for the Thrashers -- he settled for a package from the Pittsburgh Penguins that included two depth players in Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen, who may or may not be top-six forwards, and wild-card prospect Angelo Esposito, who fell from No. 1 prospect to 20th overall in the 2007 draft.

Meanwhile, the Thrashers continue to wobble forward. In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week, co-owner Bruce Levenson offered an appraisal of the franchise's situation that defied logic and reason. Among his assertions:

* "Mistakes have been made and really good decisions have also been made. I think that this franchise is moving in the right direction."

* "It's easy to point a finger (at Waddell) and say this is the source of all the problems. It's always more complicated than that. It would be foolish and short-sighted to tear it down."

* "I think we know how to sign free agents. Does every free agent work out? Gosh no."

The Thrashers have been in the league for eight seasons without winning a playoff game. They have had unforeseen setbacks -- Patrik Stefan going from first overall pick to bust, Snyder's death -- but have also spent big money on marginal free agents (c.f. Bobby Holik) and failed to establish a significant player pipeline from the draft.

Defenseman Tobias Enstrom, an eighth-round pick in 2003, is the Thrashers' most promising rookie in years. Their first-round pick that year, defenseman Braydon Coburn, is playing well for the Philadelphia Flyers while the player obtained in return, Alexei Zhitnik, is being paid $3.5 million to be a healthy scratch.

A year ago, the Thrashers looked ready for the future. Now, they look ready for the offseason. It all fell apart so quickly.