NHL Franchise Notes: Thrashers Facing Issues On, Off The Ice

In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz wrote of new Thrashers coach John Anderson, "Right choice. Wrong reasons." The Thrashers hired Anderson "in part because he comes cheap." An "expensive, proven coach isn't real high on the agenda right now." Schultz: "If you owned this team, does committing significant money and autonomy for a new head coach make sense right now? Nobody knows about the roster. Nobody knows about the [GM]. Nobody knows how many people will pay to watch this product next season." Thrashers parent company the Atlanta Spirit "will pay $1.2[M] to Bob Hartley next season not to coach." The franchise is "bleeding financially," and it "may get worse, on and off the ice" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/21).

Will Gillis' Days As Agent Hurt Him With Other NHL GMs?

LIGHTNING: Lightning co-Owner Oren Koules has "promised the Bolts will never be accused of playing it safe or being boring." ESPN.com's Scott Burnside: "If the NHL had more owners like that, and fewer under investigation, the league would be a much more happening place." Burnside added of Koules and new Lightning coach Barry Melrose, "It's hard not to feel their excitement, the belief that they're going to make something happen in Tampa" (ESPN.com, 6/24). Melrose was formally introduced yesterday as coach, and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti said, "That’s a good market for him. There's a certain cachet attached to ESPN analysts. He's going down to Tampa. They know who he is. He'll sell hockey down there.” Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw said the hiring "is good for the league. He’s probably more famous than any coach in the league from his time on ESPN” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 6/24).

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