But alas, there are issues that the Thrashers still need to tackle. Many feel another bona fide goal scorer is a necessary addition to the roster. A name that man fans, not necessarily hockey sources, continue to throw out it is Alexei Ponikarovsky. Ponikarovsky is an undoubted talent; he's potted 18+ goals five times through his career. So would he be a good fit in Atlanta?
THE CASE FOR PONIKAROVSKY
Ponikarovsky is a solid talent. While many feel he's an underachiever, you can't take away his five 18+ goal outputs, including his career high 23 in 2008-2009. He has good hands and is a solid skater and could look good alongside Nik Antropov, former teammates in Toronto.
Ponikarovsky, a native of the Ukraine, is another big body. Listed at 6'4", 220, Ponikarovsky would certainly fit the bill in Atlanta of being a big, hulking forward (Antropov, Byfuglien, Eager, Kane, Thorburn, and Ladd all exceed 6'2").
He has some finish and solid playmaking abilities, despite sometimes being invisible. Ponikarovsky (pictured above, Getty Images) could benefit from a fresh start as well. Aside from his short stint in Pittsburgh last season he had played his entire career for some very bad Toronto Maple Leafs teams.Bringing Ponikarovsky would, in theory, address one of the major percieved issues since Ilya Kovalchuk left: who is going to score the goals. Adding a pretty much guaranteed 20+ goal scorer to the 1st or 2nd line would certainly be helpful in that regard.
THE CASE AGAINST
Ponikarovsky has typically underachieved. His talent is a tease, leaving many Toronto fans wanting more. This is a guy with 30+ goal talent who pots 20 on a yearly basis. Again, the numbers are nice, but with the new direction of the team is there space for an underachiever?
The Thrashers are currently building a roster around character players. While guys like Andrew Ladd have been brought in and do have some scoring touch, they are not legitimate goal scorers (Ladd had a career-high 17 last season). Ponikarovsky would not necessarily fit into the roster the Thrashers are trying to build. He has some "all Swedish, no finish" qualities; he has talent but maybe lacks the intangibles to take himself and his team to the next level.
Ponikarovsky has another special talent: disappearing when it matters most. In 34 career playoff games he has a total of two goals. He had 1 in 11 games last year in Pittsburgh, and 1 in 13 games in 2004, the last time the Maple Leafs made the post-season. During that playoff race in 2004, Ponikarovsky had 1 goal in 14 games in March. In Pittsburgh's playoff race last season, he had 2 goals in 16 games. Not exactly stellar numbers.
On an Atlanta team where leadership and clutch play from key veterans is going to be essential to push them to the playoffs, having a guy that disappears when it matters most is the last thing they need.
THE VERDICT
While his playoff sample is sort of small because he did, after all, play for the Leafs who never make the playoffs, his numbers in crunch time have been less than spectacular. Okay, so maybe he's not a perennial April bust the way Joe Thornton or old friend Dany Heatley are. But despite having solid numbers, an underachieving winger who disappears during crunch time isn't exactly what the Thrashers need at this point in time.
TC
