Atlanta Thrashers - NHL 11 BAGM

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As the real NHL season is already close to the trade deadline, I decided to sim the season (Thrashers record: 36-35-11 for 83 points, 12^th place Eastern Conference). I’ll be using OGBs excellent sliders.

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DUDLEY STEPS DOWN AS GENERAL MANAGER

Robert Miller taking over

June 15^th. Atlanta, GA. In a surprise move, Rick Dudley announced today that he has decided to step down as general manager of the Atlanta Thrashers. Dudley cited personal reasons for his decision. The Thrashers then appointed Robert Miller as the new general manager.

“It was not an easy decision for me to leave the organization”, Dudley said at the press conference, but I am sure the club will only get stronger and have great success in the foreseeable future.”

Dudley took over the GM spot in April 2010. His moves in the following offseason, including bringing in Stanley Cup winners Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien, were vital in the Thrashers quite strong season that saw them compete for a playoff spot before falling to 12^th in the conference after a weak March.

2011-12 will mark the first NHL season as a general manager for Robert Miller. He worked as a player agent and general manager for three years in Europe before joining the Thrashers as assistant GM last January. His promotion was proposed by Dudley.

“I am obviously very happy and I want to thank the organization for their trust in me”, Miller was quoted. “We have a very young and talented team, and we will do everything to ensure that our fans will have a lot to cheer for next season.”

The Thrashers also announced that Craig Ramsay will continue to serve as the team’s head coach for 2011-12.

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2011 NHL ENTRY DRAFT

Thrashers choose defenseman Hamilton, pull off huge trade with Chicago




Jeremy Morin, Kyle Beach and Corey Crawford all join the Thrashers.

June 23^rd. Atlanta, GA. Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson has been chosen with the first overall draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks. In a surprise move, the Boston Bruins chose goaltender Benjamin Conz with the second overall pick, while the Washington Capitals took Ryan Nugent-Hopkins afterwards.

The Atlanta Thrashers used their seventh overall pick for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who is coming off a terrific season for the OHL's Niagara IceDogs. Other Thrashers-picks included Shane Prince, who was part of the OHL's highest scoring line in Ottawa, and Gasper Kopitar, the brother of Slovenian NHL superstar Anze Kopitar.

Robert Miller was also turning heads with a trade that sent forward Bryan Little, goaltender Ondrej Pavelec and a second round draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goaltender Corey Crawford and forwards Jeremy Morin and Kyle Beach.

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SEVERAL CONTRACT EXTENSIONS IN ATLANTA

Byfuglien, Bogosian, Ladd, Bergfors and Crawford all return

June 26^th. Atlanta, GA. New Thrashers GM Robert Miller wasted no time in re-signing his core players to new contracts. The Thrashers announced today that restricted free agents Dustin Byfuglien, Zach Bogosian, Andrew Ladd and Niclas Bergfors all signed new multi-year contracts. Unrestricted free agent goaltender Corey Crawford also renewed his contract.
“We are pleased to have them locked up long-time”, Miller was quoted in a press release. “We believe in the talent we have and want to build a strong team around our core players. Bringing them back and signing them was a very important step."
Restricted free agent forwards Spencer Machacek, Akim Aliu, Riley Holzapfel and Andrew Kozak also agreed to new contracts, while qualifying-offer were tendered to Anthony Stewart, Boris Valabik and Nigel Dawes.
Miller also announced that first-round draft pick Dougie Hamilton and Swedish prospect Carl Klingberg have been signed to entry-level contracts.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

RE-SIGNED:
G Corey Crawford – 3 years, $1.250m, 1-way

NOT RE-SIGNED AND BECOMING FREE AGENTS:
C Jason Krog
C Jared Ross
LW Fredrik Modin
LW Pat Rissmiller
LW Ben Eager
LW Eric Boulton
RW Chris Thorburn
D Brent Sopel
D Mike Siklenka
D Freddy Meyer
D Noah Welch
D Jaime Sifers
G Drew MacIntyre

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

RE-SIGNED:
RFA D Dustin Byfuglien – 4 years, $5.000m, 1-way
RFA D Zach Bogosian – 2 years, $5.000m, 1-way
RFA LW Andrew Ladd – 3 years, $3.500m, 1-way
RFA RW Niclas Bergfors – 3 years, $3.500m, 1-way
RFA RW Spencer Machacek – 2 years, $0.700m, 2-way
RFA RW Akim Aliu – 2 years, $0.600m, 2-way
RFA C Riley Holzapfel – 1 year, $0.600m, 2-way
RFA LW Andrew Kozek – 1 year, $0.550m, 2-way

TENDERED QUALIFYING-OFFER:
RFA C Anthony Stewart
RFA D Boris Valabik
RFA LW Nigel Dawes

NOT RE-SIGNED AND BECOMING FREE AGENTS:
RFA RW Ian MacKenzie
RFA D Artus Kulda

SIGNED TO ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT
D Dougie Hamilton – 3 years, $0.875m, 2-way
RW Carl Klingberg – 3 years, $0.775m, 2-way

BUYOUTS:
none

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THRASHERS SIGN LIDSTROM AND FLEISCHMANN

Free agent frenzy begins with a bang in Atlanta



Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Fleischmann sign with Atlanta.

July 1^st. Atlanta, GA. Thrashers GM Robert Miller is turning heads again, but in a good way this time. While many fans were upset when Miller traded away Bryan Little and Ondrej Pavelec on drafting day, Thrashers fans could cheer today as Miller announced the signing of superstar Nicklas Lidstrom.

“I was just not ready to retire”, the 6-time Norris Trophy winner said. “I still have a lot of fun on the ice and I feel I have at least one year left in the tank – so why retire? I informed the Red Wings about my decision last week, but they obviously had other plans.”

Lidstrom claimed that several teams were interested, but he ultimately decided to sign with Atlanta after speaking to former teammate Chris Chelios. “He told me good things about this organization. I think it is a young and energetic team and I am looking forward to helping this team to make a deep playoff run.“
Lidstrom signed a one-year deal worth six million dollars. “We are very pleased with this signing”, GM Miller said. “It is a huge honor to have one of the best defensemen to ever play the game on our roster. Our team will greatly benefit from his skills and leadership.”

Robert Miller also signed forward Tomas Fleischmann today. The Czech forward signed for two years and is set to earn 2.75 million dollars per year.

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THRASHERS ACQUIRE TIM THOMAS

Trade Chris Mason and assets to Boston


Atlanta found a new goaltender in Tim Thomas.

July 17^th. Atlanta, GA. The Atlanta Thrashers have acquired all-star goaltender Tim Thomas from the Boston Bruins today. In exchange, the Bruins get goaltender Chris Mason and a first round draft pick. The Bruins also get negotiation rights to the two restricted free agents defenseman Boris Valabik and forward Nigel Dawes.

“We are happy to acquire just another veteran superstar that will undoubtedly help us”, Thrashers GM Miller said of Thomas. “Together with Corey Crawford, he will form one of the best goaltending tandems in the league.”

With young Finn Tuukka Rask slowly turning into a possible franchise goaltender in Boston, Thomas became available after the Bruins had drafted goaltender Benjamin Conz with the second overall draft pick last month. Chris Mason is set to backup Rask this season before his contract expires in summer while Conz decided to spend another year in Europe.

Robert Miller also announced that the Thrashers have acquired five players via free agency. Joining the organization are forwards Linus Klasen, Colin Greening and Dan Sexton as well as defensemen Alexander Sulzer and Deryk Engelland.

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THRASHERS FINALIZE ROSTER

Trade Hainsey and Slater, sign several depth players


Ron Hainsey was traded to Anaheim.

July 25^th. Atlanta, GA. GM Robert Miller announced today that the Atlanta Thrashers have “finalized” their roster for the upcoming season. “Look for minor tweaks here and there, but basically we’re done”, Miller said.

Miller cleared some much needed cap space when he traded defenseman Ron Hainsey to the Anaheim Ducks for a third round pick. Miller then traded Jim Slater to the Islanders and Tim Stapleton to the Avalanche, both for fourth round picks.

Free agent additions include forward Matt Ford, defensemen Stu Bickel and Andrew Campbell, and goaltenders Cedrick Desjardins and Nathan Lawson.

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THRASHERS ANNOUNCE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER

48 PLAYERS INVITED

September 4^th. Atlanta, GA. The Atlanta Thrashers have announced their 48-man training camp roster. It consists of 29 forwards, 14 defensemen and 5 goaltenders.

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ATLANTA FALLS IN PRE-SEASON OPENER

Panthers win 7-3 against undisciplined Thrashers

September 14^th. Sunrise, FL. The Atlanta Thrashers had definitely hoped for a better start of preseason. In their opener at the Florida Panthers, the Thrashers took a 7-3 beating due to lack of discipline and lackluster penalty-killing. Defenseman Jason Garrison had a goal and three assists while Matt Cullen and Chris Higgins both scored twice for Florida. Dimitri Kulikov had three assists, while Mike Santorelli and John Kurtz also scored for the Panthers (1-0-0 in preseason). Kyle Beach, Linus Klasen and Colin Greening scored for Atlanta (0-1-0).

The Panthers scored five powerplay goals on eleven occasions, three of them in the third period. "We were down by three midway through the second period, and then we just lost our discipline", Thrashers coach Craig Ramsey said. "We took stupid penalties and didn't show up whenever we were a man down. It's a disappointing start, for sure."

Peter Mannino and Nathan Lawson shared time in goal for Atlanta. Starting goaltender Mannino was replaced midway through the game, and Lawson took the loss while being peppered with 30 shots in 30 minutes. He saw more shots than opponent Scott Clemmensen, who finished with 19 saves. Mannino had 14 saves for Atlanta. Lawson stopped a penalty shot by Evgeny Dadonov in the third period.

The Thrashers were without any of their stars, as the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom, Dustin Byfuglien or Tim Thomas did not dress for the game. Ramsey primarily used players that are on the bubble for an NHL spot, such as Alexander Sulzer and Deryk Engelland, and young players that are scheduled to play in the minors or juniors this year.

Thrashers draft picks Dougie Hamilton, Shane Prince and Tobias Rieder all had their debuts. Unsurprisingly, Hamilton seemed to be most ready of the group, posting two assists in 20:09 minutes of ice time while also taking four penalty minutes. Rieder (15:01 minutes) had an assist, while Prince (15:47 minutes) was kept off the scoreboard.

The Thrashers will continue their preseason on Friday when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes in Atlanta.