Jason Williams signs with Thrashers

From TSN:

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed forward Jason Williams to a 1-year, $2.2 million contract, reports A-Channel in London.

The unrestricted free agent spent last season with the Chicago Blackhawks and scored 13 goals, with 23 assists over his 43 games.

Read the short report here.

Good pick up for the Thrashers. The team could certainly use more speed and scoring and Williams should provide just that. Additionally, he can play the point on the power play which would allow Ilya Kovalchuk and Tobias Enstrom to either get a short break (instead of playing the entire two minutes) or move down to the half boards.

Don't read too much into Kovalchuk's minus rating says Anderson

From Do Thrashers Have Talons?:

When a questioner criticized Ilya Kovalchuk for being a minus player, Anderson interjected. He said that plus/minus was very much affected by the quality of the team and that best way to interpret plus/minus is look at players at the extremes. "If someone is way ahead or behind the team average that tells you something about that particular player." He pointed that Kovalchuk was on a team were most players were minus and he was pretty close to average in that respect.

Read the entire post here.

This interview of Anderson makes you think Atlanta made the right decision when it decided to hire the veteran AHL coach.

Esposito has chance to start fresh

From Mike Knobler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The most important part of prospect camp for Esposito might be the conversations he had Tuesday with Thrashers coach John Anderson and director of amateur scouting and player development Dan Marr.

"We just told him, 'Look, the slate's clean here. Don't worry about what everybody else says you're supposed to do. Just play, and let your hockey do the talking,' " Anderson said.

Esposito got a similar pep talk from Thrashersgeneral manager Don Waddell after the trade.

Read the entire story here.

While his game has been questioned by many, Esposito certainly has the potential to be a scorer at the NHL level. For now, he needs to focus on the little things and proving himself at the AHL level.

Bogosian already impressing Thrashers brass

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

They could use instant help from their top draft pick, the third overall selection in the NHL entry draft less than three weeks ago. They were far from disappointed with what he showed them Tuesday, one week to the day before his 18th birthday.

"I think he was the best player out there today, so we're really happy with that," said John Anderson, who became the Thrashers' coach the day they drafted Bogosian. "He had a really good stick. He was poke checking very, very well, very strong on the body. There was not a lot of hitting obviously today, but he knocked a few guys around just because of his size and strength."

Read the entire story here.

By all accounts, Bogosian is going to be one of the NHL's most dominant defensemen over the next 15-20 years.

Is John Anderson the next Bruce Boudreau?

From Mike Brophy of the Hockey News:

John Anderson just may want to send his old pal Bruce Boudreau a thank-you card.

Given Boudreau’s success this season – he was named NHL coach of the year after a lengthy coaching stint in the minors – it made it easy for the Atlanta Thrashers to sign Anderson as their new coach.

Like Boudreau, Anderson has been a great success story in the minors, winning five championships including the American League crown this year with the Chicago Wolves.

Read Brophy's entire entry here.

It is nice to see Anderson get his shot in the NHL, as he has paid his dues for many years. However, we have to remember that Boudreau's team has a heck of a lot more talent than Anderson's does.

John Anderson hired in Atlanta

From Mike Knobler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

I’m glad this one didn’t drag out any longer. John Anderson is officially the Thrashers’ new coach.

Read his short entry about the hiring here.

I am happy to see Anderson get a chance at the NHL level. This guy has been a consistent winner at the AHL level and will now get a chance to try and achieve the same success his best friend Bruce Boudreau did in Washington. However, the catch is that he has to try and do so with a far less talented roster than his best buddy had to work with.

Most Atlanta fans have been happy about this hire, but The Falconer at Do The Thrashers Have Large Talons? has his reservations. Read his take here.

Anderson hiring not official just yet

From Mike Knubler of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Sometime over the next few days, we might learn if the difference between TSN’s report the Thrashers have hired John Anderson and Don Waddell’s denial of that TSN report comes down to semantics or something more.

In other words, is this the equivalent of “Nobody’s hired until the general manager says he is,” or is this a situation that could still lead to someone other than Anderson behind the Thrashers’ bench in the 2008-09 season?

Read more about the Thrashers coaching situation here.

When TSN reports something, it is almost always true. So, I think it is fair to believe that the Thrashers have decided to hire John Anderson. That choice is a terrific one, as Anderson has paid his dues in the AHL for years and will finally get a chance to try his craft at the NHL level.