He was and still is fun to watch, but his departure brought upon too many good things for the team. He was too one-sided to leave any Thrashers fans with a great deal of heartache...
What our team became is far greater than any single player. Look at the Capitals. They're a good team, but if Atlanta can shut down Ovechkin we pretty much run wild over the rest of the team. It just goes to show, that one player only can do so much.
To echo what everyone else has said, I wish him well and still follow his career, but I don't want to see him back in Blueland unless he's wearing the away jersey.
I absolutely love him as a player, but I'd be hesitant to take him back for fear of him ruining the amazing team-first dynamic currently flourishing on the team.
I think if the opportunity arose in the offseason to acquire him in exchange for something marginal then I would absolutely go ahead with it.
I think the Thrashers are a better team without him, and with the teams financial situation I really do not think we could afford to keep him and build a winning team.
I am not one of the folks here that wish him ill, and am pretty disappointed in how the season has started for him. I cannot speak for him in the locker room, and his defensive weaknesses are well known....but he always was a pretty top notch guy in regards to fan interaction and is as good a local citizen as you can ask from a superstar athlete.
Agreed. Here's my take:
I loved him as a person, I loved him as a player, and I wish him well. But do I miss him? Eh... I miss his shot and his electrifyingness, but I'm more excited about Thrashers hockey right now than I think I ever have been before, if that explains anything.
My thoughts on this are like what many have posted already. What we stand to lose would be far more damaging than cap space loss.
It can definitely be argued that, although he was a high producing scorer, this just wasn't he best situation for him to be on a winning team. Unfortunately for NJ, they aren't the right situation either (I know.. it took all of my genius to surmise that.)
Imagine if Kovy came back with his approach to D now. As impressed as I am by our defensive turnaround, I don't see our defense being strong enough to handle his presence, or lack thereof, right now. In fact... I have a hard time imagining a team that does have that kind of defensive strength.
I wish the Panthers could do what you guys are doing now when Bou/Jokinen who departed on not the best of terms. Although , I take solace in them struggling...but Panthers not doing that great either.
I wish the Panthers could do what you guys are doing now when Bou/Jokinen who departed on not the best of terms. Although , I take solace in them struggling...but Panthers not doing that great either.
Congrats on seeing best of both world's.
All the Panthers need is a power play. They're 7th in the league in 5-on-5 scoring ratio and they have a very good PK.
