Thrashing Rumors and Such

The Atlanta Thrashers have expressed interest in trading unrestricted free agents to be Shawn McEachern and Slava Kozlov. The decision will be made on whether or not to trade either of these players in a couple of weeks once it is clear whether or not the Thrashers have a realistic shot at the playoffs.

McEachern, 33, will be 34 at the end of February, ranks fourth on the club with 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) and makes $3.35 million this season. Many rumors had McEachern possibly going to Boston, his home town, to make a Stanley Cup run. However, with Sergei Brylin going down with an injury in New Jersey, McEachern could be a needed piece of the puzzle. McEachern can bring many aspects to the table including his leadership, his penalty killing and his speed.

Kozlov, 30, has been a very streaky player this year, but has been on fire since his three game suspension earlier in 2003. He is now playing on the top line with Marc Savard and Dany Heatley and has quietly amassed 41 points. Rumors have surfaced about a possible deal between Atlanta and Dallas that would send Kozlov to Dallas for Richard Matvichuk.

Matvichuk, 30, is injured right now for Dallas and is expected to be out a few more weeks with a broken leg. He has a +7 in 46 games before being injured on January 13. He would bring added stability to the back line for Atlanta.

Other players sure to come up in trade talk are defensemen Chris Tamer and Yannick Tremblay. Tamer has a year left on his current deal that would take him through the end of the 2003-2004 season, and then would become an unrestricted free agent. Tremblay is in his first year of a two year deal, after the 2003-2004 season, he will become a restricted free agent.

The Thrashers would like to try to move these players to make room next season for young defensemen in Chicago. Kirill Safronov, Garnet Exelby and Kurtis Foster are players who could be ready by next year.

Exelby is probably ready right now to get a shot in the NHL, but suffered a broken finger. He is expected to be back playing again in the next week. For those who have not seen or heard of Garnet Exelby, he is almost always where he should be and does a good job of clearing the crease. Gets to a lot of loose pucks. His skating is adequate. Keeps the puck in when he should, and gets it out when necessary. Tough but poised, and very intense. His hitting is intimidating and he can fill the role of enforcer if necessary.

Foster is not ready for the NHL yet. He is doing very well offensively for Chicago, and even won the "Hardest Shot Competition" in the AHL All Star Classic with an AHL record shot of 101.1 MPH, but must work on his decision making in his own end and must learn to use his body. He also needs to get a little stronger to get him more confident in his checking ability to take on the bigger forwards of the NHL.

Safronov has gotten a shot with the Thrashers late last year and the beginning of this year and has looked very shaky in each. He must find his game, although, many would like to see how he would do with Bob Hartley's defensive system rather than former coach Curt Fraser's lack of a defensive system.

Special Thanks thank Holly and Matt Gunning for their scouting reports for Exelby, Foster and Safronov.