The Thrashers are in a precarious situation; they sit four points out of a playoff spot and are finally even with Carolina, who currently hold the 8th spot, in games played. Carolina does own the tie-breaker, but the Thrashers are anything but eliminated.
The Thrashers now face their final 22 games of the season, and after a monster collapse over the last 25 games and an even more impressive collapse in Edmonton, the Thrashers sit in the middle of a teeter-totter as the trade deadline creeps up a week from today. Should the Thrashers buy or sell assets in the coming week?
When I speak of assets, I'm not talking someone like Zach Bogosian or Nic Bergfors, both of whom who are young and have long-term potential. I speak of the Brent Sopels of the world, those who are older or nearing the end of their contracts.
Rick Dudley has already made one trade in the past few days, adding forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart to an already loaded blue line. Dudley followed through on his promise to improve the current roster without jeopardizing the team in the long-term. What's next, though?
Should the Thrashers lose to Buffalo on Wednesday, their chances will slip drastically. They would be 2 points behind Buffalo who would have two games in hand, and they could slip even further behind Carolina who battle the Rangers Tuesday night. If the Thrashers fall to six points behind Carolina and fall to Buffalo on Wednesday, the Thrashers should go into sell mode--or at least a relative sell mode--for the end of this season.
Veterans like Sopel would have little use to the Thrashers down the stretch (provided they are 6-8 points back by the deadline) and with Mark Stuart coming in, essentially replacing Sopel, it makes Sopel expendable and a very nice piece to a team looking for a rock on the blue line. As is the Thrashers have an extra defenseman and there is no use having Stuart or Sopel sitting (they won't roll seven D all season, will they?), so it makes sense to move one. Ron Hainsey is another option but his high salary is likely to be a deterrent to any time interested.
Nik Antropov's name has surfaced in rumors, but Antropov is signed through 2012-2013, so he could still be a viable piece for a Thrashers team that figures to be legitimate contenders in the next two or three seasons. However, Antropov makes $4.75 million in the final year of his deal, something that could be alleviated by moving Antropov now. I would advocate against it, at least for this season, but of course if the right package is there then Dudley has to pull the trigger, especially with Burmistrov and Cormier waiting in the wings for the bottom two center positions.
Another piece could be Freddy Modin, who would likely get minimal return (7th rounder, anyone?) but would still be expendable. Modin will likely not be back by next season and hasn't figured into the Thrashers much, healthy or not, so moving him for anything would be a wise choice for management.
Chris Thorburn and Eric Boulton are both free agents after this season, but neither hold much value to any NHL team that doesn't play in Atlanta. They'll likely stay put, though one has to wonder if Boulton's run here will ever end. I do admire Boulton and think he has a place, but with Chris Thorburn capable of handling pugilistic duties (while not to Boulton's extent, granted), Boulton's spot could be filled by next season, especially with the slow-yet-steady emergence of Spencer Machacek.
A lot of the season hinges on the next game or two. Should the Thrashers get four points and put themselves right back in the race, then perhaps the pieces should stay in place. One more forward would be a nice addition, but as of right now the team is going to be borderline the rest of the way. The team is good enough as is, but if they continue the costly mistakes they've been making they won't be good enough either way; buyers or not.
