2006–07 Atlanta Thrashers season

2006–07 Atlanta Thrashers
Southeast Division Champions
Division 1st Southeast
Conference 3rd Eastern
2006–07 record 43–28–11
Home record 23–12–6
Road record 20–16–5
Goals for 246
Goals against 245
Team information
General Manager Don Waddell
Coach Bob Hartley
Captain Scott Mellanby
Alternate captains Niclas Havelid
Bobby Holik
Marian Hossa
Vyacheslav Kozlov
Arena Philips Arena
Average attendance 16,229
Team leaders
Goals Marian Hossa (43)
Assists Marian Hossa (57)
Points Marian Hossa (100)
Penalties in minutes Bobby Holik (86)
Wins Kari Lehtonen (34)
Goals against average Kari Lehtonen (2.79)
<2005–06 2007–08>

The 2006–07 Atlanta Thrashers season began with the highest expectations in franchise history, even with the off-season loss of their second-leading scorer, Marc Savard, to the Boston Bruins. Veteran centers Steve Rucchin, Niko Kapanen and Jon Sim were acquired in hopes help fill the loss of Savard. With NHL superstars Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk and a healthy goaltender, Kari Lehtonen, the Thrashers clinched the first playoff berth in franchise history following the Toronto Maple Leafs' 7–2 loss to the New York Rangers on April 1. The Thrashers had a highly disappointing playoff series against the New York Rangers, as they were swept with losses of 4–3, 2–1, 7–0, and 4–2.

Regular season

Season standings

Southeast Division
No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
13 Atlanta Thrashers 82 43 28 11 246 245 97
27 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 44 33 5 253 261 93
311 Carolina Hurricanes 82 40 34 8 241 253 88
412 Florida Panthers 82 35 31 16 247 257 86
514 Washington Capitals 82 28 40 14 235 286 70

[1]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Eastern Conference[2]
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 P - Buffalo Sabres NE 82 53 22 7 308 242 113
2 Y - New Jersey Devils AT 82 49 24 9 216 201 107
3 Y - Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 43 28 11 246 201 97
4 X - Ottawa Senators NE 82 48 25 9 288 222 105
5 X - Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 47 24 11 277 246 105
6 X - New York Rangers AT 82 42 30 10 242 216 94
7 X - Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 44 33 5 253 261 93
8 X - New York Islanders AT 82 40 30 12 248 240 92
8.5
9 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 40 31 11 258 269 91
10 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 42 34 6 245 256 90
11 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 40 34 8 241 253 88
12 Florida Panthers SE 82 35 31 16 247 257 86
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 35 41 6 219 289 76
14 Washington Capitals SE 82 28 40 14 235 286 70
15 Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 22 48 12 214 303 56
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

P- Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y- Clinched Division; X- Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

October

Record for month 8–2–3 (Home 4–1–1 Away 4–1–2)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
1 October 5 Tampa Bay 3 – 2 Atlanta SO Lehtonen 17,269 0–0–1 1
2 October 7 Florida 0 – 6 Atlanta Lehtonen 14,239 1–0–1 3
3 October 9 Atlanta 1 – 0 Tampa Bay Lehtonen 19,817 2–0–1 5
4 October 11 Boston 1 – 4 Atlanta Lehtonen 12,579 3–0–1 7
5 October 13 Carolina 4 – 3 Atlanta Lehtonen 13,106 3–1–1 7
6 October 14 Atlanta 4 – 3 Washington OT Lehtonen 11,995 4–1–1 9
7 October 19 Washington 3 – 4 Atlanta SO Lehtonen 12,719 5–1–1 11
8 October 21 Florida 2 – 4 Atlanta Lehtonen 16,178 6–1–1 13
9 October 23 Atlanta 6 – 3 Florida Lehtonen 13,102 7–1–1 15
10 October 25 Atlanta 4 – 5 Carolina OT Lehtonen 15,008 7–1–2 16
11 October 26 Atlanta 2 – 3 Philadelphia SO Lehtonen 19,228 7–1–3 17
12 October 28 Atlanta 5 – 4 Buffalo SO Lehtonen 18,690 8–1–3 19
13 October 30 Atlanta 2 – 4 Toronto Lehtonen 19,285 8–2–3 19

November

Record for Month 8–5–1 (Home 4–3–0 Away 4–2–1)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
14 November 1 Carolina 5 – 2 Atlanta Lehtonen 14,277 8–3–3 19
15 November 3 Atlanta 4 – 3 Washington Hedberg 12,834 9–3–3 21
16 November 4 Atlanta 4 – 1 NY Islanders Hedberg 12,394 10–3–3 23
17 November 6 Boston 3 – 5 Atlanta Hedberg 14,084 11–3–3 25
18 November 8 Ottawa 4 – 5 Atlanta Lehtonen 16,253 12–3–3 27
19 November 10 NY Rangers 5 – 2 Atlanta Lehtonen 18,545 12–4–3 27
20 November 11 Atlanta 3 – 5 Tampa Bay Lehtonen 20,034 12–5–3 27
21 November 17 Dallas 5 – 3 Atlanta Hedberg 18,545 12–6–3 27
22 November 18 Atlanta 1 – 3 Montreal Hedberg 21,273 12–7–3 27
23 November 22 Atlanta 4 – 2 Washington Hedberg 11,284 13–7–3 29
24 November 24 Atlanta 2 – 3 Tampa Bay OT Lehtonen 19,922 13–7–4 30
25 November 25 Florida 0 – 1 Atlanta Lehtonen 17,053 14–7–4 32
26 November 28 Atlanta 5 – 4 NY Rangers OT Lehtonen 18,200 15–7–4 34
27 November 30 Toronto 0 – 5 Atlanta Lehtonen 15,092 16–7–4 36

December

Record for Month 7–4–2 (Home 3–1–2 Away 4–3–0)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
28 December 2 Atlanta 3 – 1 Florida Lehtonen 13,333 17–7–4 38
29 December 5 Atlanta 5 – 2 Toronto Hedberg 19,507 18–7–4 40
30 December 7 Atlanta 0 – 8 Tampa Bay Lehtonen 17,704 18–8–4 40
31 December 9 Pittsburgh 4 – 3 Atlanta OT Lehtonen 18,687 18–8–5 41
32 December 13 Anaheim 2 – 1 Atlanta Lehtonen 16,028 18–9–5 41
33 December 15 Washington 3 – 2 Atlanta OT Lehtonen 16,920 18–9–6 42
34 December 16 Atlanta 0 – 6 NY Islanders Hedberg 10,452 18–10–6 42
35 December 19 Atlanta 4 – 3 New Jersey SO Lehtonen 10,116 19–10–6 44
36 December 21 Pittsburgh 3 – 4 Atlanta SO Lehtonen 17,328 20–10–6 46
37 December 23 New Jersey 2 – 5 Atlanta Lehtonen 17,548 21–10–6 48
38 December 26 Tampa Bay 1 – 2 Atlanta Lehtonen 16,356 22–10–6 50
39 December 27 Atlanta 4 – 2 Pittsburgh Lehtonen 17,132 23–10–6 52
40 December 30 Atlanta 1 – 4 Buffalo Lehtonen 18,690 23–11–6 52

January

Record for month 6–5–2 (Home 3–2–1 Away 3–3–1)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
41 January 1 Atlanta 3 – 2 Ottawa OT Lehtonen 19,707 24–11–6 54
42 January 2 Atlanta 1 – 5 Minnesota Lehtonen 18,568 24–12–6 54
43 January 5 Phoenix 5 – 4 Atlanta OT Hedberg 18,545 24–12–7 55
44 January 6 Atlanta 2 – 3 Washington OT Lehtonen 15,642 24–12–8 56
45 January 9 Atlanta 2 – 4 Montreal Lehtonen 21,273 24–13–8 56
46 January 12 Atlanta 1 – 2 New Jersey Lehtonen 13,249 24–14–8 56
47 January 13 Atlanta 4 – 3 Carolina SO Lehtonen 18,639 25–14–8 58
48 January 16 Los Angeles 2 – 6 Atlanta Lehtonen 13,205 26–14–8 60
49 January 18 Montreal 4 – 1 Atlanta Lehtonen 14,025 26–15–8 60
50 January 20 Atlanta 3 – 1 NY Rangers Lehtonen 18,200 27–15–8 62
51 January 26 NY Islanders 4 – 5 Atlanta OT Lehtonen 18,089 28–15–8 64
52 January 28 Philadelphia 2 – 1 Atlanta Lehtonen 18,598 28–16–8 64
53 January 30 New Jersey 4 – 5 Atlanta SO Lehtonen 12,162 29–16–8 66

February

Record for month 3–7–2 (Home 0–3–2 Away 3–4–0)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
54 February 1 NY Islanders 5 – 2 Atlanta Lehtonen 13,543 29–17–8 66
55 February 3 Philadelphia 5 – 2 Atlanta Lehtonen 18,622 29–18–8 66
56 February 6 Buffalo 4 – 3 Atlanta SO Lehtonen 17,881 29–18–9 67
57 February 8 Atlanta 6 – 3 Colorado Lehtonen 17,428 30–18–9 69
58 February 10 Atlanta 2 – 3 Vancouver Lehtonen 18,630 30–19–9 69
59 February 11 Atlanta 1 – 5 Edmonton Hedberg 16,839 30–20–9 69
60 February 13 Atlanta 1 – 4 Calgary Lehtonen 19,289 30–21–9 69
61 February 17 Atlanta 3 – 5 Ottawa Lehtonen 19,881 30–22–9 69
62 February 20 Atlanta 3 – 1 Carolina Hedberg 16,228 31–22–9 71
63 February 22 Tampa Bay 5 – 4 Atlanta OT Hedberg 16,032 31–22–10 72
64 February 24 Carolina 4 – 1 Atlanta Lehtonen 18,774 31–23–10 72
65 February 26 Atlanta 3 – 2 Boston Lehtonen 16,417 32–23–10 74

March

Record for month 9–4–1 (Home 8–1–0 Away 1–3–1)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
66 March 2 Ottawa 2 – 4 Atlanta Lehtonen 16,190 33–23–10 76
67 March 4 Carolina 1 – 3 Atlanta Lehtonen 17,783 34–23–10 78
68 March 6 Florida 2 – 4 Atlanta Lehtonen 12,566 35–23–10 80
69 March 8 Montreal 2 – 6 Atlanta Lehtonen 14,528 36–23–10 82
70 March 10 Atlanta 2 – 3 Florida Lehtonen 17,927 36–24–10 82
71 March 12 Washington 2 – 4 Atlanta Lehtonen 14,041 37–24–10 84
72 March 15 Atlanta 2 – 3 Philadelphia Lehtonen 19,122 37–25–10 84
73 March 16 NY Rangers 1 – 2 Atlanta OT Hedberg 18,457 38–25–10 86
74 March 18 Buffalo 3 – 4 Atlanta OT Lehtonen 18,602 39–25–10 88
75 March 22 San Jose 5 – 1 Atlanta Lehtonen 16,367 39–26–10 88
76 March 24 Atlanta 1 – 2 Pittsburgh Lehtonen 17,132 39–27–10 88
77 March 28 Atlanta 2 – 3 Florida SO Lehtonen 12,864 39–27–11 89
78 March 29 Toronto 2 – 3 Atlanta OT Hedberg 17,062 40–27–11 91
79 March 31 Atlanta 3 – 2 Boston Lehtonen 16,218 41–27–11 93

April

Record for month 2–1–0 (Home 1–1–0 Away 1–0–0)

# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
80 April 4 Washington 3 – 2 Atlanta Lehtonen 18,783 41–28–11 93
81 April 6 Atlanta 4 – 1 Carolina Hedberg 17,158 42–28–11 95
82 April 7 Tampa Bay 2 – 3 Atlanta SO Lehtonen 18,756 43–28–11 97

Playoffs

The Thrashers qualified for the post-season for the first time in franchise history, while also capturing their first Southeast Division championship. Atlanta headed into the playoffs as the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. They were eliminated from the playoffs on April 18, being swept by the New York Rangers in four straight games in the Quarter-finals.

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: versus NY Rangers (6)

New York Rangers win series 4–0

Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series
1 April 12 NY Rangers 4 – 3 Atlanta Lehtonen 18,857 0–1
2 April 14 NY Rangers 2 – 1 Atlanta Hedberg 18,803 0–2
3 April 17 Atlanta 0 – 7 NY Rangers Lehtonen 18,200 0–3
4 April 18 Atlanta 2 – 4 NY Rangers Hedberg 18,200 0–4

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa RW 82 43 57 100 49181735
Kozlov, VyacheslavVyacheslav Kozlov LW 81 28 52 80 369808
Kovalchuk, IlyaIlya Kovalchuk LW 82 42 34 76 66-21807
Mellanby, ScottScott Mellanby RW 69 12 24 36 63-9502
Sim, JonJon Sim LW 77 17 12 29 60-1201
Holik, BobbyBobby Holik C 82 11 18 29 86-3211
Metropolit, GlenGlen Metropolit C 57 12 16 28 209402
de Vries, GregGreg de Vries D 82 3 21 24 66-3000
Rucchin, SteveSteve Rucchin C 47 5 16 21 14-4101
Havelid, NiclasNiclas Havelid D 77 3 18 21 52-2101
Slater, JimJim Slater C 74 5 14 19 628002
McCarthy, SteveSteve McCarthy D 46 4 12 16 244300
Sutton, AndyAndy Sutton D 55 2 14 16 766010
Belanger, EricEric Belanger C 24 9 6 15 120100
Tkachuk, KeithKeith Tkachuk LW 18 7 8 15 348203
Zhitnik, AlexeiAlexei Zhitnik D 18 2 12 14 144201
Larsen, BradBrad Larsen LW 72 7 6 13 39-11020
Vigier, J. P.J. P. Vigier RW 72 5 8 13 270000
Kapanen, NikoNiko Kapanen C 60 4 9 13 20-12100
Hnidy, ShaneShane Hnidy D 72 5 7 12 6315011
Vishnevski, VitalyVitaly Vishnevski D 52 3 9 12 31-5000
Exelby, GarnetGarnet Exelby D 58 2 8 10 562010
Boulton, EricEric Boulton LW 45 3 4 7 492000
Dupuis, PascalPascal Dupuis LW 17 3 2 5 4-6001
Krog, JasonJason Krog C 14 1 3 4 63000
Coburn, BraydonBraydon Coburn D 29 0 4 4 301000
Hamel, DenisDenis Hamel LW 3 1 0 1 00000
Hedberg, JohanJohan Hedberg G 21 0 1 1 60000
Lehtonen, KariKari Lehtonen G 68 0 1 1 60000
Popovic, MarkMark Popovic D 3 0 1 1 01000
Haydar, DarrenDarren Haydar RW 4 0 0 0 00000
MacKenzie, DerekDerek MacKenzie C 4 0 0 0 01000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Lehtonen, KariKari Lehtonen 3934 68 34 24 9 183 2.79 420751892.912
Hedberg, JohanJohan Hedberg 1057 21 9 4 2 51 2.89 0500449.898
Team: 4991 82 43 28 11 234 2.81 425752341.909

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Dupuis, PascalPascal Dupuis LW 4 1 2 3 4000
Tkachuk, KeithKeith Tkachuk LW 4 1 2 3 12000
Kovalchuk, IlyaIlya Kovalchuk LW 4 1 1 2 19000
Havelid, NiclasNiclas Havelid D 4 0 2 2 0000
Larsen, BradBrad Larsen LW 4 0 2 2 0000
Belanger, EricEric Belanger C 4 1 0 1 12100
de Vries, GregGreg de Vries D 4 1 0 1 4000
Hnidy, ShaneShane Hnidy D 4 1 0 1 0000
Holik, BobbyBobby Holik C 4 0 1 1 0000
Hossa, MarianMarian Hossa RW 4 0 1 1 6000
Boulton, EricEric Boulton LW 4 0 0 0 24000
Exelby, GarnetGarnet Exelby D 4 0 0 0 6000
Hedberg, JohanJohan Hedberg G 2 0 0 0 0000
Kozlov, VyacheslavVyacheslav Kozlov LW 4 0 0 0 6000
Lehtonen, KariKari Lehtonen G 2 0 0 0 0000
Mellanby, ScottScott Mellanby RW 4 0 0 0 4000
Sim, JonJon Sim LW 4 0 0 0 0000
Slater, JimJim Slater C 4 0 0 0 2000
Sutton, AndyAndy Sutton D 4 0 0 0 10000
Zhitnik, AlexeiAlexei Zhitnik D 4 0 0 0 4000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Hedberg, JohanJohan Hedberg 117 2 0 2 5 2.56 06964.928
Lehtonen, KariKari Lehtonen 118 2 0 2 11 5.59 07362.849
Team: 235 4 0 4 16 4.09 0142126.887

[3]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

Trades

June 24, 2006 To Dallas Stars
Jaroslav Modry
Patrik Stefan		 To Atlanta Thrashers
Niko Kapanen
7th round pick in 2006
February 1, 2007 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Kyle Wanvig
Stephen Baby		 To Atlanta Thrashers
Andy Delmore
Andre Deveaux
February 10, 2007 To Nashville Predators
Vitali Vishnevski		 To Atlanta Thrashers
Eric Belanger
February 24, 2007 To Philadelphia Flyers
Braydon Coburn		 To Atlanta Thrashers
Alexei Zhitnik
February 25, 2007 To St. Louis Blues
Glen Metropolit
1st round pick in 2007
3rd round pick in 2007
2nd round pick in 2008
Conditional 1st round pick in 2008
(if Tkachuk re-signs)		 To Atlanta Thrashers
Keith Tkachuk
February 27, 2007 To New York Rangers
Alex Bourret
3rd round pick in 2007		 To Atlanta Thrashers
Pascal Dupuis

Free agents acquired

Player Former Team
F Jon Sim Florida Panthers
G Johan Hedberg Dallas Stars
F Steve Rucchin New York Rangers
F Glen Metropolit HC Lugano (Swiss-A League)

Free agents lost

Player Current Team
G Mike Dunham New York Islanders
F Marc Savard Boston Bruins
F Peter Bondra Chicago Blackhawks
F Ronald Petrovicky Pittsburgh Penguins
F Ramzi Abid Nashville Predators

Waiver losses

Player Current Team
F Jason Krog New York Rangers
F Denis Hamel Philadelphia Flyers

Draft picks

Atlanta's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.[4] The Atlanta had the 12th overall draft pick in the 2005–06 NHL season.

Round # Player Nationality NHL Team College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 12 Bryan Little (C)  Canada Atlanta Thrashers Barrie Colts (OHL)
2 43 Riley Holzapfel (C)  Canada Atlanta Thrashers Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
3 80 Michael Forney (LW)  United States Atlanta Thrashers (from Edmonton) Thief River Falls High School (USHS–MS)
5 135 Alex Kangas (G)  United States Buffalo Sabres Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
6 165 Jonas Enlund (C)  Finland Atlanta Thrashers HIFK Jr. (Finland)
7 195 Jesse Martin (C)  Canada Atlanta Thrashers Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
7 200 Arturs Kulda (D)  Latvia Atlanta Thrashers (from Edmonton) CSKA Moscow (RSL)
7 210 Will O'Neill (D)  United States Atlanta Thrashers (from Dallas) Tabor Academy (USHS–MA)

External links

See also

References

  1. ↑ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy et al., ed. THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  2. ↑ "2006–2007 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  3. ↑ "2006-07 Atlanta Thrashers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  4. ↑ 2006 Thrashers Draft Central - accessed January 4, 2007
2006–07 Atlanta Thrashers Roster

Goaltenders:

1 – Hedberg • 32 – Lehtonen 

Defensemen

2 – Exelby • 5 – McCarthy • 7 – de Vries • 25 – Sutton • 28 – Havelid • 34 – Hnidy • 77 – Zhitnik 

Forwards

8 – Tkachuk • 9 – Dupuis • 11 – Vigier • 13 – Kozlov • 14 – Sim • 16 – Holik • 17 – Kovalchuk • 18 – Hossa • 20 – Rucchin • 21 – MacKenzie • 22 – Belanger • 23 – Slater • 29 – Larsen • 36 – Boulton • 38 – Haydar 

General Manager: Don Waddell •  Coach: Bob Hartley