Don 'Bad Deals' Waddell strikes again
Jason Gregor
February 04 2010 11:49PM
Don Waddell proves again why he is the worst GM in the NHL and the ownerships group, Atlanta Spirit LCC, is thinking about winning in the future they need to axe Waddell.
For the second time in three years Waddell had to deal a superstar at the deadline or risk letting him walk away for nothing, and once again he didn’t get enough in return.
On February 26th, 2008 Waddell dealt Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Penguins for Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito and the Pens first pick in 2008 (Daultan Leveille). Christensen is a journeyman, Esposito has played 13 AHL games with no goals, Leveille is in his 2nd year at Michigan State, while Armstrong is the only proven NHLer and he might be traded before the deadline. The Thrashers don’t have much to show for moving Hossa.
Fast forward to tonight and Waddell made basically the same move. He dealt Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela and a 2nd rounder in 2010 for Niklas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier and the Devils 1st and 2nd round picks this summer. Bergfors, the 23rd pick in 2005, spent four years in the AHL before cracking the Devils this year. He was red hot to start the year, but doesn’t have a goal in his last 13 games. Oduya is a 28-year-old number three D-man at best, while Cormier is suspended for the remainder of the season in the QMJHL.
What’s even worse about this deal is that Hossa was dealt on the actual deadline day, but Kovalchuk was dealt 27 days before Waddell had to pull the trigger. The Thrashers are, I mean were, in the hunt for the playoffs, but this deal means they will miss the postseason for the 9th time in the ten seasons under Waddell.
Waddell shouldn’t have put himself in this position; he must have been desperate by supposedly offering Kovalchuk two options: A 12-year, $101 million contract, and a seven-year, $70 million contract. Clearly Waddell’s desperation was obvious by offering Kovalchuk that much money, because he isn’t worth it. Why did he let it get to this again???
Let’s look at Waddell’s horrendous tenure in Atlanta...
Since 1999, Waddell has had nine first round picks that were 12th or better; tied with Columbus for the most during the past 12 years. Yet, the Thrashers have made the playoffs only once, and they’ve never won a playoff game. Here’s the rest of the league.
Anaheim: Five top-twelve picks, Alexei Smirnov (12), Stanislav Chistov (5), Joffrey Lupul (7), Ladislav Smid (9) and Bobby Ryan (2), five playoff appearance, one Stanley Cup and five different GMs in that span.
Boston: Three top-twelve picks, Lars Jonsson (7), Phil Kessel (5) and Zach Hamill (8), five playoff appearances, but only one series win and three GMs.
Buffalo: Three top-twelve picks, Keith Ballard (11), Thomas Vanek (5) and Tyler Myers (12), four playoff appearances and one GM. The Sabres made the playoffs four times and went to conference finals twice.
Calgary: Three top-twelve picks, Brent Krahn (9), Eric Nystrom (10) and Dion Phaneuf (9), five playoff appearances and three GMs.
Carolina: Three top-twelve picks, Eric Staal (2), Andrew Ladd (4) and Jack Johnson (3), four playoff appearances, one Cup and one GM.
Chicago: Seven top-twelve picks, Mikhail Yakubov (10), Tuomo Ruutu (9), Cam Barker (3), Jack Skille (7), Jonathon Toews (3), Patrick Kane (1) and Kyle Beach (11), two playoff appearances and five GMs.
Colorado: One top-twelve picks, Matt Duchene (3), seven playoff appearances, one Cup and three GMs.
Columbus: They entered the league in 2000 and had nine top-twelve picks, Rostislav Klesla (4), Pascal Leclaire (8), Rick Nash (1), Nikolai Zherdev (4), Alexandre Picard (8), Gilbert Brule (6), Derick Brassard (6), Jakob Voracek (7) and Nikita Filotov (6), one playoff appearance and two GMs.
Dallas: One top-twelve pick, Scott Glennie (8), seven playoff appearances and four GMs. Les Jackson and Brett Hull were co-Gms, but I counted them as one.
Detroit: No top picks, nine playoff appearances, two Cups and one GM.
Edmonton: Two top-twelve picks, Sam Gagner (6) and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (10), four playoff appearances, and three GMs.
Florida: Eight top-twelve picks, Denis Shvidki (12), Stephan Weiss (4), Jay Bouwmeester (3), Petr Taticek (9), Nathan Horton (3), Rostislav Olesz (7), Michael Frolik (10) and Keaton Ellerby (10), one playoff appearance and seven GMs.
LA: Six top-twelve picks, Lauri Tukonen (11), Anze Kopitar (11), Jonathon Bernier (11), Thomas Hickey (4), Drew Doughty (2) and Brayden Schenn (6), three playoff appearances and two GMs.
Minnesota: They entered the league in 2000 and have had six top-twelve picks, Marian Gaborik (3), Mikko Koivu (6), Pierre-Marc Bouchard (8), A.J Thelan (12), Benoit Pouliot (4) and James Sheppard (9), three playoff appearances and two GMs.
Montreal: Four top-twelve picks, Mike Komisarek (7), Andrei Kostitsyn (10), Carey Price (5) and Ryan McDonagh (12), five playoff appearances and three GMs.
Nashville: Seven top-twelve picks, Brian Finley (6), Scott Hartnell (6), Dan Hamhuis (12), Scottie Upshall (6), Ryan Suter (7), Colin Wilson (7) and Ryan Ellis (11), four playoff appearances and one GM.
NJ: No top picks, nine playoff appearances, two Cups and one GM.
NYI: Eight top-twelve picks, Tim Connolly (5), Taylor Pyatt (8), Branislav Mezei (10), Rick Dipietro (1), Raffi Torres (5), Kyle Okposo (7), Joshua Bailey (9) and John Tavares (1), four playoff appearances and two GMs. Neil Smith was the GM for 40 days in the summer of 2006, but I didn’t count him.
NYR: Six top-twelve picks, Pavel Brendl (4), Jamie Lundmark (9), Dan Blackburn (10), Hugh Jessiman (12), Al Montoya (6) and Marc Staal (12), four playoff appearances and two GMs.
Ottawa: Three top-twelve picks, Jason Spezza (2), Brian Lee (9) and Jared Cowan (9), eight playoff appearances and three GMs.
Philly: Three top-twelve picks, Joni Pitkanen (4), Jeff Carter (11) and James vanRiemsdyk (2), eight playoff appearances and two GMs.
Phoenix: Six top-twelve picks, Fredrik Sjostrom (11), Blake Wheeler (5), Peter Mueller (8), Kyle Turris (3), Mikkel Boedker (8) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (6), two playoff appearances and four GMs.
Pittsburgh: Five top-twelve picks, Ryan Whitney (5), Marc-Andre Fleury (1), Evgeni Malkin (2), Sidney Crosby (1) and Jordan Staal (2), five playoff appearances, one Cup and two GMs.
St.Louis: Two top-twelve picks, Erik Johnson (1), Alex Pietrangelo (4), six playoff appearances and one GM.
San Jose: Three top-twelve picks, Milan Michalek (6), Devin Setoguchi (8) and Logan Couture (9), eight playoff appearances and two GMs.
Tampa: Four top-twelve picks, Nikita Alexeev (8), Alexander Svitov (3), Steven Stamkos (1) and Victor Hedman (2), four playoff appearances, one Cup and three GMs.
Toronto: Two top-twelve picks, Luke Schenn (5) and Nazem Kadri (7), five playoff appearances and three GMs. (I didn’t count Cliff Fletcher).
Van: Four top-twelve picks, Daniel Sedin (2), Henrik Sedin (3), Luc Bourdon (10) and Cody Hodgson, six playoff appearances and three GMs.
Wash: Five top-twelve picks, Kris Beech (7), Steve Eminger (12), Alex Ovechkin (1), Nicklas Backstrom (4) and Karl Alzner (5), five playoff appearances and one GM.
The only other franchises to have one GM during Waddell’s tenure are Detroit, New Jersey, Washington, St. Louis, Nashville, Buffalo and Carolina. Three of them have won Cups, the Caps are a top contender, the Blues made the playoffs six times, the Sabres made the Conference finals twice, and the Predators made the playoffs four times. Waddell doesn’t come close to the success of those teams.
Waddell has had some great top-end talent in Atlanta but he has been unable to surround them with any depth, and now that Kovalchuk is gone I don’t see how Waddell can make Atlanta competitive in the future. The fact is, he shouldn’t be given an opportunity to stick around because all he has proven is he's been the most incompetent GM this past decade. The Thrashers need to fire him if they want to make the playoffs again.
I'm lovin' this deal for Jersey.
"Give him the kool-aid, Lou! Give him the kool-aid!"
My only thought while reading this is "Why isn't Edmonton making more deals with Atlanta?"
Hmm maybe Waddell will take that silly sod Moreau straight up for Rich Peverley!
Hey it could happen after that horrid Kovie deal.
Waddell sucks. I can't believe he's still there. They did bring the right guy in however, in Rick Dudley. Now move the team to Quebec! Or Kansas City. Or Seattle, Portland, Milwaukee, Winnipeg or Hartford. Wherever.
edit: you listed buffalo as having only one gm in the write-up as well, but not conclusion..
Thanks for breaking it down team by team, provided an interesting look (although only a couple teams were competing w atlanta on even footing).. must be tough being a fan of atlana hockey, presumably such a thing exists...
That is a horific trade for atl. What is more amazing really is the timing, I mean, why now? Why not wait? If you can't get a better deal by the deadline, then make a crappy one, not a month before...and we thought that our GM was bad!!!
I still don't understand how he is still a GM. So many bad trades and drop in attendance. Not an exciting team.
Worst GM since Millbury.......
If this doesn't put the final nail in the coffin for hockey in Atlanta, I don't know what will..
I wonder if everyone will now start talking about Atlanta and how "noone wants to play there"?
-70 million over 7 years (are you kidding me!) -Sunshine and golf in January
hmmmm.......
You mean our management is not the worst? Whoo hoo!
Too Bad he didn't use Edmonton as the trading partner.
Horcoff, Pisani, Moreau, Pouliot, Staios back, and a bag of pucks. The Oiler may or may have not signed Kovalchuk but would have ridden themselves of the contracts...
Atlanta would have got NHLer's in the deal.
Gregor, your a joke. Take a look at Bob McKenzies article or Darren Dregers article online. Did you ever think that maybe that was the best Waddell could get for Kovalchuk? Why don't you write the same kind of article about Kevin 'Bad GM' Lowe or Steve 'No Trade' Tambellini. Be a man, let's se you do it!
I don't like the trade that much but I wonder if that is the best he could get.
The question now becomes is Lou an idiot for making this trade? Can he get Ilya re-signed, does this make the Devils a better playoff team, is this the end of Elias in NJ?
All questions we will find out in the next few months.
I still think Doug McLean was the worst GM this side of Millbury.
Keep in mind that he is simply trading for the rental. I'm not sure what you can realistically hope to get for a rental that isn't interested in a hundred million dollar long term deal. Jersey obviously wants to make a run now because Brodeur isn't getting any younger.
Maybe He can get promoted like Lowe?
Lets compare the packages to the:
Smyth rental. 1 tweener rental player taken back
Pronger under a great contract still and his value was the highest, well we got Smid.
Since these deals, 4 years and counting with no playoffs.
I really thought that Chicago would have made a serious play for Kovy. They have lots of youung talent and are one the verge of a cap nightmare. Why not ship some of those guys Atlanta's way and go for the cup this year while you still have the majority of your pieces around. I mean if you are pretty much forced to get rid of the guys I am pretty sure Kovy is the kind of player you get rid of them for.
Hey smart guy, if that is the best Waddell could do it then it just proves my point, that he isn't a good GM. Thanks for pointing that out.
He had 27 days until the deadline, do you think a team might have sweetened the pot then?
And if you actually read the article, you'd see the point was he's been there since 1999 and they've done nothing. Which part of that can't you understand.
Tambellini has been on the job two years, is that a fair comparison to Waddell??
While Lowe made some bad signings and trades, he also made some great ones to get them to a Cup. Did Waddell even get his team one playoff win?
The point was, no other franchise has given a guy this much rope for so long and got nothing in return. If you aren't smart enough to see that there is nothing I can do. I'd suggest your comprehension skills are more of the joke here.
@Hunter5
The biggest joke about the trade is that a team that has an injury during the olympics probably would have given up more.
It's a trade 'deadline'. We will never know if somebody would have given up more to get him.
Haven't we gone through this 'if you had any balls you would call out KLowe' baloney already...
You do know that Eberle was part of the Human Rake trade, so in a few years it MIGHT not look as one-sided.
When you trade the best player, 95% of the time you lose the deal.
The main point wasn't that Waddell lost the Kovalchuk trade, but rather since he has been the GM in Atlanta he has done nothing to improve them, despite many top picks.
And this just in...Yes Kevin Lowe made some bad moves...And guess what people...Horcoff has a bad contract. Do you think I should write that daily to remind everyone about it.
Let's actually come up with new things to discuss.
Regarding your 27 days to the deadline and would teams have sweetened the pot?
Well what if Kovy got injuried and was untradable after the Olympics and he was able to walk away for nothing. Did Waddell do the wrong move than?
Agreed Gregor, not enough substance back - way to early. Unless they want to save some salary. But that cant be right either because Atlanta has to make the playoffs as a franchise...at any cost.
How good are the three frontrunners in the east now... Wow Washington, Pittsburgh and now New Jersey. Hard teams to beat to get to the final. Have to think some of the other teams will be looking at deals now to try to get better. Philly isnt good enough now to be a contender.
@Jason Gregor
Fair enough, I get your point. Hes gotten lots of rope but the return on rentals is never ever good. Its not his fault players dont wanna resign there. Ex. Oilers.
Be a man? Really? That's an actual line in your call-out arsenal?
Be honest; you're flouting the must-be-11-years-old-to-post terms of use here, aren't you?
Doesn't Atl save like $860,000 by trading him now as compared to the deadline. Who knows but maybe atl really needs the $$$$.
If anyone can teach him to backcheck(Kovi) it will be Lemaire. Longshot but who knows. Lamirello(sp) shows why he is in the hall of fame. That or he's lucky.
Way to early? What if Kovy got hurt in the Olympics?
I'm not really sure what people expected to get for Kovalchuk. Top end rentals always return some combination of decent roster players, iffy prospects/young players, picks
@CurtisS
Anyone could hurt during any game. I could get hit by a car today. You cant make decisions based on "what if". No business can be run that way.
If he had waited he would have got more.
I commented somewhere about this yesterday. The rumors were if Kovalchuk wasn't traded he'd be playing tonight in Washington, is that really a smart move? He gets injuried you get nothing for the guy.
@Hunter5
How about YOU be a man and don't hide behind a fake name, Hunter5.
@Jason Gregor
Hey Gregor,
I agree with you that Waddell has been Milbury-esque in his GM abilities, but being in Atlanta probably hasn't helped. We wouldn't be comparing the Hossa and Kovalchuk deals if it wasn't an expansion town. They'd both probably still be there. Columbus has been equally bad, Minny has been only slightly better.
I think you might have a backwards correlation between top-12 picks and success. Notice Detroit hasn't had ANY high picks, and they've been consistently successful. By definition, a team with lots of top 12 picks is going to have fewer playoff appearances in that same stretch. Maybe if it was a list of top 12 picks in the 90's compared with playoff success in the last 10 years, you might have something. San Jose had an equivalent record of futility in the 90's, but they've been gangbusters ever since.
I think Atlanta was playing the what if game, they already played it by trading Kovalchuk. Question was "what if we keep kovalchuk and miss the playoffs". Waddell obviously thought it was better to move Kovalchuk and get something for him instead of ending up like Jbo.
I thought Atlanta would get a better young player, Johnson?
I got banned from that other place :(
I wonder is Souray is mad at himself for not putting NJ on his "list". Now they look like legit contenders for the Cup. Souray enjoyed his time in NJ and really looked up to Lou Lam.
Hunter5 wrote:
OK, I've done that. McKenzie is usually not that moronic but this time he's way off-base. He states opinion like it's fact several times and uses no concrete evidence to solidify his points. Dregor doesn't even argue one way or the other; he simply breaks down the trade without taking sides.
Now read someone who doesn't write for TSN. How about MIKE ZEISBERGER, QMI Agency, who's headline reads "Thrashers on short end of trade: GM surely could have acquired more from Devils", or maybe Lyle Richardson aka Spector from Fox Sports who says "What's puzzling many observers is why Waddell shipped Kovalchuk to an Eastern team when his Thrashers are still battling for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, and why he accepted what's considered a lesser return from the Devils. . . This move probably won't go down well with the Thrashers dwindling fan base, which could be ready to throw in the towel on this long-struggling, seemingly rudderless franchise. This trade appears to be simply another lousy one by a team with a recent history of making bad trades."
You want to listen to McKenzie? Go ahead, but he's the one that's wrong and you're the one who's an idiot for listening to him instead of Gregor.
@Jason Gregor
don't forget that Lupul turned into Pitkanen, who turned into Cole, who turned into O'sullivan.
At least we have something to show for it.
Eberle, Smid, and O'Sullivan for Pronger.
Not bad.
How do we know that he didn't, that TSN article says "at least" 6 teams. I just question if NJ would take him now. Maybe if we take Zubrus in return? Or in the off-season Souray+ for Elias?
@Bucknuck
WHat did the other two picks turn into? Plante?
On another tack, the timing of this deal is interesting. Dealing Kovy at the trade deadline leaves teams that are fighting to make the playoffs only one month with Kovy to lock things down. If anything, dealing him now adds extra time to that schedule and should make Kovy even more valuable, Olympic break notwithstanding. Heck, Atlanta themselves should have put significant value on Kovy helping them in their playoff push over the next month; they already had him under contract. So why on Earth would you not use his services while you could or at the very least demanded the steepest price for 'extra' time on the rental? Is anyone seriously insinuating that no one would pay as much as what this deal fetched if Waddell waits 'til the trade deadline? This was horribly premature, and it cost Atlanta a lot of ground in the standings both now and next season.
well that's why I was surprised on his "list". I thought there was supposed to be 10 teams on it not just 6 and I was surprised that Jersey wasn't one of them. I can't see why he wouldn't want to go back to Jersey as Shelly is good buddies with Brodeur, he likes Lou, and now they have Kovalchuk and can make a good run for the Cup.
Ya, I'm not saying they couldn't have gotten a little more ... it just doesn't seem like a "rip off" when compared to other rentals.
What'd you do?
Hunter5, you're a joke. Take a look at Gregor's article online. Did you ever think that maybe that wasn't the best Waddell could get for Kovalchuk?
"Why don't you write the same kind of article about Kevin 'Bad GM' Lowe or Steve 'No Trade' Tambellini. Be a man, let's se you do it!"
Why don't you come here with some sort of reasonable argument to counter the opinion of the writer instead of deferring to somebody else and taking potshots? Why don't you think for yourself?
And it's "you're" not "your," smart guy.
While I'm sure Souray likes the Devils as a team, they're a loooooong way from his kids. Opposite side of the country. Not impossible for him to suck up the extra flight-time or anything, but why make life harder than it needs to be?
@Robin Brownlee
And it's "you're" not "your," smart guy.
Yep if someone wants to make fun of someone at least make sure you can spell.
In reality that trade could end up bad for both, but time will tell on that.
Calling out eklund everyday for the last couple weeks could be a reason or maybe the pictures I was posting. They want me to verify account via cell phone, not sure that is a smart idea or not.
@Robin Brownlee
re: Hunter(insert age here)
Never mind "you're"; the guy misspelled "see", a three-letter word we learn in grade one. I think we've fed the troll enough for today. Let's move along, people; nothing to see here.
And in a round about way: Nash.
Via airplane probably the same as it is from edmonton with customs and such. I doubt he drives from edmonton to california during the season anyways.
how much further is NJD's from the NYR's? Not too much I would think. And the NYR's made his original list.
You're a bad, bad man.