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Readers: Hello and Thank You


The number of new readers visiting this blog has been amazing. In the space of a week the previous record for pageloads was broken three times. So let me thanks to all of the veteran and first time visitors. I don't right just to draw traffic (otherwise you'd see a lot more Paris Hilton or Jennifer Lopez name dropping) but it certainly makes writing more rewarding when you there is an audience.

If you're a new reader--come in, sit down and make yourself at home. I would encourage you to take a minute and register so you can comment. Some people find the registration process a barrier, but it really cuts down on spam and insanity in the comment sections.

Also if you feel strongly about something don't be shy about writing your own Fan Post. You don't need my permission of anything. The most recent Fan Posts appear on the right hand side. It is way for you express longer opinions than just in the comment fields. If you're got some broader point--get it off your chest with a Fan Post.

Date Blog Location Topic/Theme
4-21-2006 Thrashers Talons 2006 Playoff Stats
7-10-2006 Thrashers Talons 2006 Prospect Camp
4-9-2007 Thrashers Talons 2007 Playoff Prediction Model
4-11-2007 Thrashers Talons 2007 Playoff Previews
7-2-2007 Thrashers Talons 2007 Free Agency
7-9-2008 Thrashers Talons Brian Campbell Rejection
6-24-2009 Bird Watchers Anonymous 2008 NHL Draft
6-26-2009 Bird Watchers Anonymous 2008 NHL Draft
6-27-2009 Bird Watchers Anonymous 2008 NHL Draft

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Chris Thorburn And the Myth of the "Best 4th Line in Hockey"

Photo

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP


The Atlanta Thrashers announced today that re-signed UFA checking winger Chris Thorburn to a two year extension worth slightly more than the NHL minimum.  My question is why? I hate to be "Debbie Downer" here, but I think this was a missed opportunity by the organization. Yes, Thorburn is a) inexpensive b) works hard c) good in the locker room d) is good with the kids, etc. But what about the PK unit? Thorburn is not a PK guy and when your PK is as dreadful as the Thrashers was last two seasons it is like trying to swim to the surface with a lead weight jacket. The Thrashers only had three open roster spots--and by re-signing a guy (Thorburn) who is a non-PK checker they just lowered the ceiling on improving in that key area.

Another beef I have is with all this talk by people around the Thrashers about the team "having the best 4th line in the NHL"--personally I find this absurd. The Thrashers finished 27th overall--with a roster that weak shouldn't a great 4th line be blindingly obvious?

What should a team look for in their 4th line? Three guys who play in the opponent's end and take time off the clock when playing against more skilled players. Players who can hit and change the tempo of the game. Players who are great defensively and can help kill penalties. Players who can come hold their own in goal differential and come off the ice even. Let's take a cold hard look at the "Greek Gods" line or the "Best 4th Line in Hockey!!!" stack up.

Table 1 shows that the Thrashers coaching staff protected the 4th line all last year. The Greek God line didn't go out and shut down the opposition's top scoring lines. Instead, they faced the weakest possible opposition--mostly the other teams 3rd and 4th lines. In fact it was Colin Stuart, Eric Perrin and Colby Armstrong who bore the brunt of the "tough" minutes last season. (Did I mention that Colby Armstrong is the Thrashers "secret MVP"? A forthcoming post.)

Line Player Quality of Opposition at ES
4th Thorburn 0.98
4th Slater 0.92
4th Boulton 0.90
3rd Reasoner 1.04
3rd C. Stuart 1.07
3rd Perrin 1.06
2nd Armstrong 1.06
2nd Peverley 1.05
2nd Kozlov 1.02
1st Kovalchuk 1.04
1st White 1.02
1st Little 1.01

 

Did the Bouton-Slater-Thorburn line play in the opposition team;s end when they were out on the ice at ES? Did they impose their will and exert pressure on the other team? The best measure of "pressure" is shots attempted (Shots that hit the net or goalie+Shots wide+Shots blocked)---aka called Corsi Numbers after former Sabres Assistant Coach Jim Corsi. Table 2 below shows that the Thrashers 4th line was pretty much man handled while playing against softer opponents. Ugh. Notice which player has the highest offensive Team Shots Attempted (hint: it is not Ilya Kovalchuk) and that only one player had a positive net Team Shots Attempted number?

Line Player Shots For Attempted per 60 Minutes (SOG+Missed SOG+Blocked SOG) Shot Attempts Against Per 60 Minutes (SOG+Missed SOG+Blocked SOG) Corsi Number Per 60 Minutes
4th Thorburn 48.0 56.6 -8.6
4th Slater 48.6 54.7 -6.1
4th Bouton 43.2 57.1 -13.9
3rd Reasoner 46.9 53.1 -6.2
3rd C. Stuart 45.2 53.2 -8.0
3rd Perrin 46.9 53.0 -6.1
2nd Armstrong 50.8 50.5 +0.6
2nd Peverley 49.6 54.7 -5.1
2nd Kozlov 47.3 50.8 -3.5
1st Kovalchuk 48.5 53.6 -5.1
1st White 49.6 49.7 -4.7
1st Little 45.3 50.3 -5.0

 

Winning hockey begins and ends with one stat: Goal Differential. It is pretty obvious really, you have to win the scoreboard battle to climb up the standings. Team Goal Differential predicts NHL Standings with a 93% degree accuracy--no other stat comes remotely close to it.

At Even Strength you need your lines to win the Goal Differential battle over the course of the season. Atlanta's biggest weakness last season was the PK, but they also got outshot and outscored at ES. Which lines did best and which lines did wost?

Table 3 below shows who is helping and hurting the Atlanta Thrashers at ES last season. In general the 4th line members did OK, but Chris Thorburn had the worst Goal Differential of any regular still with the team at the end of the year at -10.(Slava Kozlov was 2nd worst, but he more than made up for his ES -6 with awesome PP play and his money shooting in the Shootout.) A rough rule of thumb is that a swing of 5 in the Goal Differential equals one win. Thorburn's -10 means he cost the Thrashers approximately 2 wins over the course of the season. That's not the guy you want to extend for 2 years with other UFA options available.

When Throburn was on the ice he sucked the life out of the offense (1.71 GFA) and had a lousy personal GAA (2.49). A roster filled with nothing but cloned Chris Thorburns would have been outscored 140 to 204 at ES and finished with approximately 54 standing points (yikes!). In contrast a team composed of cloned Jim Slaters would have finished with roughly 81 points. I'm not a Jim Slater fan, but Team Slater is a lot closer to the playoffs than Team Thorburn.

Line Player ES Goals For ES ES Goals Against ES Goal Diff xx ES GF per 60 minutes ES GA per 60 minutes Team Goal Differential per 60 Minutes
4th Thorburn 22 32 -10 1.71 2.49 -0.78
4th Slater 19 20 -1 2.24 2.36 -0.12
4th Bouton 18 22 -4 1.90 2.32 -0.42
3rd Reasoner 33 28 +5 2.17 1.84 +0.33
3rd C. Stuart 10 11 -1 1.92 2.11 -0.19
3rd Perrin 27 35 -8 2.08 2.69 -0.62
2nd Armstrong 48 39 +9 2.84 2.31 +0.53
2nd Peverley 45 36 +9 3.49 2.79 +0.70
2nd Kozlov 44 50 -6 2.70 3.07 -0.37
1st Kovalchuk 68 71 -3 3.47 3.63 -0.15
1st White 57 62 -5 3.37 3.66 -0.30
1st Little 55 56 -1 3.43 3.49 -0.06

 

Random Note: Notice in Table 3 above that Kovalchuk is way ahead of any other player in both ES Goals Scored but also ES Goals Against. Kovy's defense got better in the 2nd half. If he could cut back that ES Goals Allowed to say the level of Todd White's 62 and still produce 68 Goals for that would add two additional wins to the Thrashers season total. You can do it Captain!

Fixing the Penalty Kill

Last year's Thrashers had a lot of problems but the biggest source of grief was the Penalty Kill. The PK ripped a whole in the Thrashers Goal Differential like that iceberg that struck the Titanic. The truth of the matters is that the Thrashes were merely "bad" at Even Strength (-13 GD). That  Goal Differential is about what the Edmonton Oilers had last season and they hung around the playoffs for most of the season before being eliminated. In contrast the special teams tacked on another -16 because of the astonishingly brutal PK unit. That extra -16 in Goal Differential is what pushed the Thrashers from merely "bad" to "terrible" in the standings.

Goal Differential by Situation
Goals For Goals Against
Even Strength 168 181 -13
Power Play 69 10 +59
Short Handed 13 88 -75

 

At the beginning of the season Anderson expressed a preference for having the checking lines flesh out the PK unit. The NHL season is very long and taxing and such a division of labor would be ideal--it would probably keep the skill players fresh. But the brutal PK forced Coach Anderson to insert Todd White into the mix and he tried a number of different solutions. At some point you have to ask was the source of the problem was team strategy or team personnel?

Let's look at the SH Player Goals Against Average on the PK over the last two seasons. In 2008 the Thrashers PK unit finished 27th and allowed 75 PPGA. In 2009 the PK finished 29th and allowed 88 PPGA. Some observations gathered from Table 4.

  • Oh, how I miss Marian Hossa and his complete two way game, top scorer and best PKer.
  • Todd White had the best non-Hossa PK Goals Against Average (GAA) across both seasons and deserves more Short Handed minutes. Even if a tired Todd White scores few points, cutting down on the PKGA is crucial.
  • Jim Slater had the worst PK GAA across both season and deserves a seat on the bench when ATL is short handed--assuming the Thrashers want to win games.
  • Inconsistent players who were better one season but worse the next: Exelby, Enstrom, Havelid, Perrin.
  • Colby Armstrong is an amazing player who does great things for the Thrashers at ES, but for whatever reason he's not a good PK guy here or in Pittsburgh.
  • Is Bogosian ready to play 25-28 minutes a game? Because there is a PK unit in his neighborhood that needs him badly.
2008 SH Rank 2008 Player 2008 SH TOI per Game 2008 SH GAA x 2009 SH Rank 2009 Player 2009 SH TOI per Game 2009 SH GAA
1 Hossa 2.59 5.09 1 T. White 0.69 5.27
2 T. White 2.46 6.27 2 Bogosian 1.39 5.50
3 Enstrom 3.00 6.6 3 Schneider 1.01 6.20
4 Exelby 2.68 6.81 4 Valabik 2.03 6.51
5 Havelid 3.48 7.03 5 Hainsey 2.74 7.03
6 Perrin 2.70 7.13 6 Oystrick 0.88 7.73
7 Klee 2.53 7.25 7 Peverley 1.37 7.95
8 Dupuis 2.59 7.44 8 C. Stuart 2.71 8.04
9 Holik 1.25 7.63 9 Reasoner 3.44 8.39
10 McCarthy 0.82 8.03 10 Perrin 3.27 8.46
11 Slater 1.20 10.83 11 Slater 2.60 8.84
12 Zhitnik 1.17 11.00 12 Enstrom 3.27 9.19
13 Kwiatkowski 0.51 13.09 13 Havelid 3.10 10.60
14 Larsen 0.42 20.64 14 Armstrong 0.83 11.41
15 Exelby 2.22 11.93

 

How about next season? Well of the guys with the worst PK GAA, Exelby and Havelid have departed and Armstrong doesn't play much while SH anyway--so that's addition by subtraction. On the flip side Schneider and Oystrick posted some decent PK numbers and they are gone too. How about the new guys? Well the Toronto Maple Leafs PK was actually worse than Atlanta's --that's the bad news. The good news is that Antropov was one of their better SH guys (his PK GAA would rank in between Valabik and Schneider) and Kubina's number tied him with Perrin at 11th (not so encouraging).

One more silver lining: the Thrashers are MUCH bigger now and should be able to fill more passing lanes when down by a man. Antropov and Kubina are both big. Valabik should see more time with Exelby gone and he's huge. Notice that the three bottom D on the PK last year Enstrom is tiny (and his great skating is negated by stationary PK) and Havelid and Exelby are merely average height by NHL standards.

Conclusion

Chris Thorburn is a great human being and works very hard at his job. Unfortunately for the Atlanta Thrashers he is not necessarily great at his job despite all that hard work. Perhaps more importantly he can not help them solve their most pressing dilemma the Penalty Kill. In light of these facts, the two year extension signed today seems like a sub-optimal choice given the alternatives available to the Thrashers organization. I'm rather pleased with the Kubina and Antropov additions, but if the Thrashers miss the playoff by 2 points, this particular decision could look very bad next spring.

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Should Atlanta Target Eric Belanger?

The Thrashers are probably close to being finished--I have them with a projected payroll of $46 after Lehtenon and Armstrong re-sign. If there's another million left in the budget, the PK could still use some help and I wouldn't mind seeing them throw an offer at former Thrashers Eric Belanger.

comment about 8 hours ago Bwa-lg_tiny The Falconer comment 5 comments 0 recs

For Those Who Doubt the Kubina Deal

I personally consider the San Jose Sharks one of the very best NHL organizations. They consistently make astute evaluations of amateur and professional talent. I'm encouraged to learn that the Sharks tried to acquire Kubina but his No Trade Clause prevented it.

comment about 9 hours ago Bwa-lg_tiny The Falconer comment 0 comments 0 recs

2009 NHL Free Agency: Thrashers sign Antropov

I was busy working on my Chris Thorburn post and nearly missed this one.

I'll have more details and analysis later.

Quick hits:

  • Adds size and skill at center position. Probably pushes Peverley to wing next season.(Team depth is looking so much better than last season.)
  • Russian, probably plays with Kovalchuk.
  • Has had trouble staying healthy in the past.

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For a Good Time--Visit the HF Leafs Board...

...all the outrage and anger will help reduce the pain of the Coburn for Zhitnik trade.

comment about 24 hours ago Bwa-lg_tiny The Falconer comment 3 comments 0 recs

2009 NHL Free Agency: Pavel Kubina Trade Analysis

Last season the Atlanta Thrashers allowed 279 Goals Against and finished 29th in Team Defense. The Thrashers Penalty Kill was equally bad allowing 88 goals against and a Penalty Kill percentage of 76% which was 29th in the NHL. Improving on the defensive side of the puck is the easiest way for the Thrashers to move up in the standings. Goal differential predicts the standings and therefore a goal prevented is as valuable as a goal scored.

Given that the Thrashers style of play under Coach John Anderson, it is unlikely they will ever rank as an elite defensive team. However, a strong offense combined with a merely average defense could be sufficient to get them into the post-season. The addition of Pavel Kubina should help the team begin the climb out of the basement.

Kubina is a good fit for John Anderson hockey. He has good skating, good passing and good shooting skills. He will replace Exelby on the team roster--a player lacking in all three areas, but outstanding at hitting. Exelby's struggles with making a good first pass, and his tendency to dump the puck to center ice have been documented in this space before so I'm not going to harp on it. Replacing Exelby with Kubina immediately increases the number of tape-to-tape outlet passes. With Kubina the Thrashers should clear their zone and keep possession of the puck more often allowing the speedy skill forwards to fly down the ice and play in the opponent's end more of the time.

Hockey is not so much a game of puck possession but rather of puck position--playing in the other team's end increases your odds of having a favorable bounce turn into a goal for you instead of a goal against you. If the Thrashers do a better job of clearing their zone while still retaining possession of the puck, it should help shift the balance of scoring chances.

Analysts who study "shot quality" (or more accurately "shot location") have shown that the Thrashers not only are out-shot season-after-season, but they also allow a disproportionate number of shots from high percentage areas such as the slot. If the Thrashers cut down on both the number and quality of shots in the coming season look for Kari Lehtonen's GAA and SV% to improve significantly.

Pavel Kubina Profile

In 2008 Kubina played a lot of tough minutes against quality opposition forwards. In 2009 with the emergence of Luke Schenn as a top defenseman, his "tough minutes" slipped back to the normal range for a NHL defenseman. In both 2008 and 2009 Kubina had a positive Corsi Number--meaning that when he was on the ice at even strength his team out shot the opposition--a very welcome sign for the perennially out-shot Atlanta Thrashers.

While Kubina did not always lead his team in SH Minutes, he was one of the more effective PKers for the Maple Leafs. Over at Behind The Net Gabriel Desjardins has a rating system that allows you to compare the team PP and PK performance when Kubina was either on or off the ice. In both 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Toronto PK performed better when Kubina was out there than when he was on the bench. The same is true for the PP which was more effective when he was on the ice. The stats clearly indicate that Kubina was a difference maker relative to other guys on his squad.

One more aspect that he brings to the table is a willingness to mix it up. Brian Burke may not have appreciated his toughness, but Kubina has finished with 90 or more penalty minutes six different season and will drop the gloves to stand up for a teammate. Kubina also brings some needed size to the blueline which will allow him to close off more of the passing lanes on the PK than the departed Exelby.

To get a sense of how Kubina has been used in his NHL career I have created a table showing his Time On Ice (TOI) percentile rankings. A high number means that you are at the very top of all NHL defenseman who play half a season's worth of games. Throughout his career Kubina has been a consistent 2nd pairing defensemen at Even Strength and also someone who consistently gets plenty of PP minutes. While he has seen regular PK duty he has usually ranked in the bottom half of NHL PK Defensemen (a bit of a concern).

In terms of his scoring efficiency, Kubina has consistently put up points both at ES and on the PP. He has ranked above average nearly every season and has sprinkled in a couple of elite level performances over the years both at ES and on the PP. These high ranking numbers are more evidence of his puck skills, shooting skills and hockey intelligence.

Season Age ES TOI Rank PP TOI Rank SH TOI Rank Total TOI Rank ES Scoring Rate Rank PP Scoring Rate Rank Total Scoring Rate Rank
1999 21 89% 51% 44% 79% 62% 43% 61%
2000 22 73% 81% 16% 73% 33% 66% 71%
2001 23 59% 87% 65% 87% 79% 33% 76%
2002 24 78% 75% 41% 82% 46% 75% 76%
2003 25 55% 63% 33% 59% 58% 50% 63%
2004 26 54% 56% 32% 60% 91% 56% 83%
2006 28 49% 76% 44% 75% 26% 81% 74%
2007 29 64% 39% 53% 66% 58% 69% 61%
2008 30 74% 65% 83% 89% 90% 84% 89%
2009 31 63% 69% 26% 70% 64% 77% 73%
Career Average 66% 66% 44% 74% 61% 63% 73%

 

Overall Pavel Kubina appears to be a very solid fit for the Thrashers and the style their coaching staff wants to play. However, there are some downsides to this trade. While Exelby was not a top 4 player on the ice, he was a locker room presence and will likely be missed by teammates. If I were to nitpick, I wish that Kubina was more of PK warrior with his previous team.

Another risk, is that he could depart next summer as a UFA. I am assuming team will try to re-sign him. However if a young D takes major step forward (Valabik, Salmela, Lewis, Kulda) perhaps they might want to open a spot fin the top four heading into 2010 season.

In a odd quirk, there are no Canadians on the projected opening night defense (2 Americans and 4 Europeans).  Kubina (Czech Republic) is from the same region of Europe as Boris Valabik (Slovakia) and perhaps he could provide some mentoring as a NHL veteran to a young defensemen trying to find his way in the world's best hockey league. Kubina also brings some needed playoff experience to a very young defense. He won a Stanley Cup in 2004 with Tampa Bay.

Conclusion

In the past the Thrashers have invested their payroll and offense and tried to muddle through with band aids on the blueline. This season they have really committed big money to the defense and goaltending positions, roughly $20 million (Kubina $5.0; Hainsey $4.5, Enstrom $4.0, Lehtonen $4.0 * estimate Bogosian $1, Valabik $0.8 and Salmela $0.6). They have invested in the position of greatest need. if the young players continue to improve and the veterans perform as expected they have the potential of making significant reductions in the number of goals allowed next year.

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Breaking News: TSN says Kubina for Exelby & C. Stuart


...awaiting details.

Toronto's 2nd best defenseman for the Thrashers 3rd pairing guy. I like it so far. Kubina makes $5 million which means less $ for a top six forward.

 

Thrashers 2009-2010 Defense

  1. Bogosian-Enstrom
  2. Hainsey-Kubina
  3. Valabik-Salmela

ummm, tasty respectable?

UPDATE: Colin Stuart heading to Toronto as part of the trade. I'm sorry to see Stuart depart. He brought speed and size to our checking line and was a solid PK guy. I was really hoping he would help improve our PK this coming season.

I know that a member of the Stuart family is a regular blog reader back in Minnesota so please pass along my best wishes. He should get a great opportunity to become a NHL regular heading into NHL camp this fall with Toronto.

A quick and dirty revision to the Thrashers salary chart, post-trade

 

1st Line Kovalchuk 6.4 White 2.4 Little 0.9
2nd Line Kane 1.0 + bonus $
Peverley 0.5 UFA ???
3rd Line Kozlov 3.7 Reasoner 1.2 Armstrong (2.2)
4th Line Boulton 0.6 Slater (0.8) Thorburn (0.6)
1st Defense Bogosian 1.0+ bonus $ Enstrom 3.8
2nd Defense Hainsey 4.5 Kubina 5.0 Lewis/Kulda 0.5
3rd Defense Valabik (0.9) Selmela 0.6 LaValle/Macheck 0.5
Goalies Lehtonen (4.0) Hedberg 1.1

 

Projected team cap number: $42.0 million

Projected team budget $46 million

Projected money available: ~$4.0 million

Could they get Antropov to sign for $4.0-4.5 million?

Does this open the door for prospects like Lewis and Kulda to compete for th 7th D slot and LaValle and Macheck for the 13th forward position?

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Southeast Standings

GP W L OTL PT
Washington 82 50 24 8 108
Carolina 82 45 30 7 97
Florida 82 41 30 11 93
Atlanta 82 35 41 6 76
Tampa Bay 82 24 40 18 66

(updated 4.13.2009 at 12:21 PM EDT)

35 - 41 - 6

Won 1

Thrashers Schedule

Atlanta Thrashers Line Combinations

Ilya Kovalchk - Todd White - Bryan Little

Slava Kozlov- Rich Peverley - Colby Armstrong

Colin Stuart - Marty Reasoner - Eric Perrin

Boulton - Jim Slater - Throburn

 

Zach Bogosian-Tobias Enstrom

Ron Hainsey - Anssi Salmela

Garnet Exelby - Nathan Oystrick

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