Atlanta In Mid-Season Form: 0-5 In Preseason

The Atlanta Thrashers have played exactly five games, and they've won exactly zero of them. Despite the efforts of GM Rick Dudley, formerly of the Chicago Blackhawks' front office, this edition of the Thrash is beginning to look just as underwhelming as previous carnations. Though coming into the season there was no question that this year's team would be of a much lesser offensive wattage then other year's squads, I don't think there are too many people that expected them to be outscored 14-7 in the preseason. So this now beg's the question- what is wrong with the Atlanta Thrashers?

The story seems to be multifaceted. Let's start with what the problem is not- goaltending. Except for the pre-season opener against Columbus, and the second game against the Predators, the Thrashers' goalies have had a save percentage that has hovered around the 93% mark. Clearly, the goaltending is not at fault (except perhaps in the first game against Columbus). Yet that isn't to say that there aren't any problems in the crease situation, because undoubtedly there are, the first and foremost of which is shots faced. The Thrashers are averaging about 30 shots against per game, and only average about 1.4 goals for per game. It doesn't take a math genius to know that that ratio is terrible. The problem seems to be that the offense is weak, and the defense lets up a lot of shots. The solution- take Dustin Byfuglien off of the blue line.

Dustin Byfuglien is a valuable skater that can check well, play solid defense, and provide an invaluable presence in front of the net. He's also lightning fast:


to not utilize him as a forward is an unnecessary handicap to the team's offense. It would be one thing if the Thrashers had a plethora of top six forwards, but they don't. They have 19-year old Evander Kane, 23-year old Niclas Bergfors, 23-year Bryan Little, veteran Nik Antropov, and Rich Peverley. Not exactly world conquerors. Kane will be great, Bergfors will be good, Little can go either way, and Antropov and Peverley are both adequate. However, when a team averages 1.4 goals a game for five games, none of that matters. The Thrashers need Byfuglien as a forward. They have a competent blue line without him. They don't have a competent offense unless he's there.