Andrew Ladd

Anybody seen Andrew Ladd around lately?

You'd definitely notice him, though you might not recognize him thanks to facial injuries sustained from a puck during a recent game against the Ottawa Senators. For his next game, Ladd is reportedly planning to don a visor for the first time

It's learning from mistakes that separates some from those who end up in those clever Darwin Awards books. Ladd appears to have heeded the lesson: pucks hurt.

(Note to fans: I am from Indiana.  All times are in Eastern Standard Time.)

8:30: CSN coverage shows a girl with a beer.  Nice.  We are off to a hot start.

The Associated Press recently reported that Atlanta Braves retired pitcher Tom Glavine is interested in forming an investment group to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers and keep them in Georgia.

The Atlanta Thrashers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention for yet another season.

It is difficult for Thrasher fans to fight back their disappointment and now consider what will come next for the team.

The Thrashers missed the playoffs because of several factors some are obvious and others not so obvious.

One of the obvious reasons is that they did not win enough games to qualify for the postseason.   

The Atlanta Thrashers have had quite a season so far.

They started out surprising everyone in the hockey universe by winning hockey games. Then, as some had forecast, the bottom seemed to fall out in the second half.

Despite the leadership of Rick Dudley, Craig Ramsay, captain Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom, the team has dropped like a proverbial rock in the standings and sadly appear to again be in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.

Could the answer to the Atlanta Thrashers horrible slide have to do with the lingering rumors of the team’s sale?

It is not inconceivable that rampant talk involving the team’s financial woes combined with all the stories suggesting the team may move to either Winnipeg or Quebec have resulted in a negative effect on its players.

After a rousing first half of the season where stubborn hockey pundits and scribes were reluctant to acknowledge that the Atlanta Thrashers were for real several finally started to come around. Then a funny thing happened at the beginning of the second half. The Thrashers went into an all too familiar nosedive taking the team from contention for a second place spot in their division to struggling for a playoff spot.

Just six months ago, on a rainy Philadelphia night, the Chicago Blackhawks hoisted Lord Stanley’s cup for the first time in 49 years. What a difference six months makes.

Six months ago, the city of Chicago threw their hockey heroes a massive party, as two million plus crammed their way onto Michigan Avenue to bask in the glory of their title. It was a majestic scene, as an entire city came together behind their beloved Blackhawks. After the parade, it appeared as if it might take the city six months to clean up the mess created that day on Michigan Avenue.

As the Blackhawks are showing signs of returning to form as of late, and hope to get some of their prime time offensive threats back, it also is nice to get the opportunity to see how the players from last year have settled into their new homes.

Throughout the past couple of months I have chronicled how the guys are doing, and it is interesting to see the varying degrees of success for our former heroes. Obviously, most Blackhawks fans will support these players when they are not tying up the skates against the Hawks, but will on any other occasion.

Let's take a look at the current Atlanta Thrashers roster and hand out some first-quarter report cards.

The Thrashers currently sit eight in the Eastern Conference, which means they are on pace to make the playoffs.

The Thrashers are now a four-line cooperative, hard-working, high-energy team by committee, with plenty of offense coming from all lines, even more so from the defense, which leads to many opportunities the other direction.