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Entries with the tag: don+waddell
The State Of The Thrashers With Don Waddell
by Paul on 12/25/08 at 10:39 PM ET
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from Mike Knobler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Q. You’ve said you won’t trade Ilya Kovalchuk. Are there any other players you rule out trading?
A. There are some guys that I won’t trade, but I’m not going to get into the names. There are certainly some younger guys, and you can figure it out, that we want to continue to build around.
Q. What’s the first priority you’re looking for in a trade?
A. A centerman would be No. 1, but if it’s a player that’s going to make us a better team at this point, particularly a forward, we’ll look at pretty much anything.
Q. When do you start having to make a decision, is this a team that has a chance to make a run or is it time to look to the future?
A. The trade deadline’s March 4. In February we only have [five] home games. We have to put ourselves in position over the next five, six weeks. If we don’t, it’s going to be tough for us.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Waddell,
Waddell’s Job Still Safe in Atlanta
by Alanah McGinley on 11/04/08 at 05:23 PM ET
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From Craig Custance at his Sporting News blog:
The job of general manager and executive vice president Don Waddell is safe—although [Thrashers co-owner Bruce] Levenson wouldn’t rule out any future changes.
“There’s nothing new with Don,” Levenson told sportingnews.com. “We look at our coaches and general managers all the time. We’ve made changes in the past—coaching and general managers in our organization (the Atlanta Spirit, which also owns the Atlanta Hawks). We look at that all the time.”
Waddell was hired as the general manager of the expansion Thrashers in 1998, and the team has only made the playoffs once. Early indications are that this year’s team is a longshot for postseason play.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: don+waddell,
All Waddell
by Paul on 08/21/08 at 05:12 PM ET
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from Ben Wright at AtlantaThrashers.com,
Thrashers General Manager and Executive Vice President Don Waddell recently sat down with atlantathrashers.com for an exclusive one-on-one interview to discuss the reshaping of the team. Here is what the Thrashers general manager had to say.
Q. If training camp started today would you be happy to go into it with this group of players?
A. I’d be 100% content. First of all we’re going to have some younger players in the lineup and that’s a great opportunity for them and for our franchise. You look at defense with Enstrom being a second year player and Nic Havelid coming off a very good season last year. Adding a guy like Hainsey back there who can really move the puck will make a big difference. We’ve seen what Boris Valabik did in those last games down the stretch when he was here. Along with Ex and Kenny Klee we’re better on defense.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Waddell,
The Atlanta Plan
by Paul on 06/30/08 at 09:32 PM ET
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from Mike Knobler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
His first priority? A veteran defenseman. The Thrashers ranked worst in the league last season in shots allowed and tied for worst in goals allowed. But the team won’t necessarily go after a stay-at-home defenseman.
“You can argue both sides of that,” Waddell said, adding that an offensive defenseman can help prevent shots by helping keep the puck in the other team’s zone.
The Ottawa Sun reported the Thrashers want former San Jose Sharks player Brian Campbell and could offer the 29-year-old offensive defenseman more than $7 million.
Waddell laughed when asked about that, saying he couldn’t discuss individual players and “I haven’t told anybody what we’re going to spend.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: brian+campbell, don+waddell,
It’s Official: Thrashers Hire Anderson
by Alanah McGinley on 06/20/08 at 02:31 PM ET
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After the mixed information yesterday, the Thrashers have now confirmed their choice of head coach, John Anderson. From the Globe & Mail:
“John has an impressive record of success as a head coach and we are excited to be adding him to our organization,” said [GM Don] Waddell. “He’s a proven winner whose leadership and experience behind the bench will play a vital role in the resurgence of our hockey club.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: don+waddell, john+anderson,
Zhitnik Sticking in Atlanta
by Alanah McGinley on 06/17/08 at 10:27 AM ET
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From Mike Knobler at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Veteran defenseman Alexei Zhitnik remains in the Thrashers’ plans after a season in which he played only 65 games though he was paid $3.5 million.
Thrashers general manager Don Waddell rejected speculation the team might buy out the final year of Zhitnik’s contract.
“That’s never been talked about,” Waddell said. “We think he’ll be a big part of our future. We expect him to come back and be part of our team.”
For more of the latest rumors and signings, be sure to visit Spector.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alexei+Zhitnik, Don+Waddell,
Atlanta Coach Coming Soon
by Alanah McGinley on 06/09/08 at 09:14 PM ET
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From Mike Knobler at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Waddell said he will begin interviewing three or four candidates later this week and that two of them will be [John] Anderson, coach of the Thrashers’ top minor-league affiliate, and [Brad] McCrimmon, the Thrashers’ associate coach. [Todd] McLellan, an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings, was in San Jose on Monday interviewing for the Sharks job and will interview for the Thrashers job, too, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said.
“He’s one of several people we’ve reached out to talk to,” Waddell said of McLellan, but there’s no guarantee he’s one of the ones who will have a face-to-face interview.
A coach will be in place before the NHL draft June 20-21, Waddell said.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: brad+mccrimmon, don+waddell, john+anderson, todd+mclellan,
Waddell Has Not Been Asked To Step Down
by Paul on 05/10/08 at 02:37 PM ET
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from Craig Custance of Thrashers Blog at the AJC,
Here’s the latest. I spoke with Atlanta Spirit Co-Owner Michael Gearon this morning…
Gearon said via cell this morning, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Waddell has not been asked to step down from his post as general manager. He called any reports that say otherwise “completely false.”
*The contradictory report from Scott Burnside at ESPN, originally noted here at KK.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Waddell,
Take It Or Leave It
by Paul on 05/09/08 at 06:10 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside of ESPN,
GM Don Waddell has been asked by the Atlanta Thrashers to give up his duties and accept another management position, ESPN.com has learned.
Waddell, one of the managers of the U.S. entry in the World Championships, will apparently make his decision after the tournament, a source close to the team said Friday....
The assumption, the source told ESPN.com, is that if Waddell declines to take the as-yet-unidentified management position, he will leave the organization.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Waddell,
Waddell Will Keep His Job
by Alanah McGinley on 03/11/08 at 12:46 PM ET
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From Craig Custance at the AJC,
“We have a very, very busy few months coming up,” Levenson told the AJC. “I believe we’re closer than a lot of people may think or give us credit for. Less than a month ago we were in the playoffs, it’s easy to see our team and see where we need to improve. We have the assets and cap room to make those improvements.”
And Waddell is the right man to make those improvements?
“Don has built an organization of 17 top-notch hockey people, those people will be involved in this. [Keeping Waddell] might not be the popular thing to do in some circles but I think it would be foolish and short-sighted to tear down this organization at this juncture.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: atlanta+spirit, bruce+levenson, don+waddell,
Four NHL GMs in Press Conference Today
by Alanah McGinley on 02/13/08 at 02:02 PM ET
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Today, the NHL hosted a press teleconference call featuring four general managers of the NHL. They can be heard on the audio player below, or downloaded here. Please have patience with loading or downloading, as it’s a very large mp3 file.
Each Q&A session is roughly 15 minutes each, and are featured in this order:
- Ken Holland—Detroit Red Wings
- Paul Holmgren—Philadelphia Flyers
- Don Waddell—Atlanta Thrashers
- Brian Burke—Anaheim Ducks
Kukla’s Korner.com
note1: the Burke audio is extremely low due to technical issues.
note2: a printed transcript will be added below as soon as it’s available
Update 2:59pm ET: At the Globe & Mail, Eric Duhatschek provides some analysis of the commentary in this press conference.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: brian+burke, don+waddell, ken+holland, media, paul+holmgren, press+conference,
Rental Costs Are High
by Paul on 02/12/08 at 08:49 PM ET
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from Thrashers Blog,
Your Thrashers GM did say that the prices for rental players is sky high right now, one of the reasons you aren’t seeing many trades. It’s also why he thinks we’ll see more trades like the one between Carolina and Ottawa where both teams try to address their weaknesses. But as for trading UFA’s, Waddell said this: “If I’m a team that’s trading a UFA, where last year you’re happy getting a first and third round pick, now you’re saying that’s not good enough.”
more on Atlanta…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Waddell,
Hossa To Montreal Shot Down, Again
by Paul on 02/09/08 at 03:07 PM ET
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from Thrashers Blog,
The Marian Hossa rumors to Montreal refuse to die. Maybe this will help kill them. This morning, Don Waddell addressed the rumors that started when he attended Sunday’s game in Montreal, and, well, I’ll let Waddell do the talking:
“The glass broke in Montreal on Sunday afternoon. We [Waddell and Montreal GM Bob Gainey] both happened to walk in back for a cup of coffee at the same time and Marian Hossa’s name never came up in the discussion. We were talking about his team looking so good… That was the extent of it.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Don+Waddell,
The Thrashers Up-Swing
by Paul on 12/04/07 at 12:03 PM ET
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from Craig Custance at the Sporting News,
Talk to everyone involved with the team and you’ll get different ideas about the season’s turning point. A wild comeback that fell just short in Ottawa. A gutsy win over the Blackhawks in Chicago. A thrilling shootout win in Montreal. With each of those efforts, each team dinner on the road and every minute of grinding travel from one stop to the next, a bond formed where chemistry had once been a huge issue.
“That’s how your hockey club grows together,” Waddell says. “They can practice all they want, but after practice everyone has their own lives, their own families. On the road you become a hockey club.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: don+waddell,
Waddell Takes Advantage Of Thrashers Skill
by Paul on 11/29/07 at 08:22 AM ET
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from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,
Holik said Hartley also wanted the Thrashers to play that crash-and-bang style and the early results were even worse than the Leafs’.
“That takes a lot out of you,” he said. “Our team didn’t have [the size]. We don’t have the biggest team, but we’re a skating team, so the biggest thing for us is puck control.”
Now, instead of asking talents such as Ilya Kovalchuk to dump the puck into the offensive zone and try to get it back, the Thrashers carry the puck a lot more. Waddell also allows Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa and the other forwards to freelance more on offence.
more on the Thrashers…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: atlanta+thrashers, bob+hartley, don+waddell,
Thrashers Upbeat Regarding Hossa Contract
by Paul on 11/25/07 at 09:25 AM ET
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from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Don Waddell confirmed that he had a meeting with Marian Hossa’s agent Ritch Winter this week and that talks of a contract extension for the All-Star forward are progressing. Hossa is scheduled to become the NHL’s premier free agent this summer, but Waddell is optimistic it won’t get that far.
“It’s progressing, and as long as we continue to have the kind of talks that we had, they’re very upbeat and on target with where we’re headed, then at some point here we’ll be able to announce a deal,” Waddell said.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: atlanta+thrashers, don+waddell, Marian+Hossa, ritch+winter,
Thrashers Will Search For Coach After The Season
by Paul on 11/15/07 at 11:37 AM ET
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from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Thrashers general manager Don Waddell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday morning that the Thrashers won’t be going outside the organization for a new coach this season. He spoke with the Atlanta Spirit ownership and they supported his plan to keep any replacement at coach within the organization during the season.
For now, Waddell will stay behind the bench and continue to lean on the services of assistants Brad McCrimmon and Steve Weeks. He said the search will reconvene after the season.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: atlanta+thrashers, coaching, Don+Waddell,
One Statement May Keep Waddell Behind The Bench
by Paul on 11/05/07 at 07:10 PM ET
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from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
“That’s the reason why I’m here,” said Kovalchuk, speaking of Waddell. “He brought me to this country and drafted me No. 1. When he’s behind the bench, it’s a little bit special for me.”
“It goes back to the first time he was in town [for an interview before the 2001 draft],” Waddell said. “I basically kidnapped him. He had his agent with him and I had one of our PR guys, and they went to the bathroom and I said, ‘You take the agent; I’ll take Kovy.’ I’ve watched him grow up, not just as a player but as a person.”
Note: Earlier transcript of Kovalchuk interview here
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: atlanta+thrashers, coaching, don+waddell,
