2005 Atlanta Thrashers Preview
Welcome to the 2005 Atlanta Thrashers Preview page. The NHL Hockey Season is around the corner and what better way to remind the public how exciting the NHL can be with a 2005 season preview from Maddux Sports. Remember if you are betting on NHL hockey look no further, as we are one of the few sports handicapping services that offers NHL picks against the hockey betting line and can help you be a winner this NHL betting season.
2005 Atlanta Thrashers Hockey Season Preview
There was excitement over the fact that this season the Thrashers were going to feature a healthy Davy Heatley and Ilya Kavulchuk, two wingers who a few years ago proved to be magic on ice. But an eleventh hour trade sent Heatley to Ottawa for forward Marian Hossa, a fine scorer, and veteran defenseman Greg de Vries. In his last NHL season Hossa finished fifth in scoring with 36 goals and 46 assists; that's 82 points in 81 games. De Vries, always a workhorse on the ice, averaged 19 defensive minutes a game.
With Ottawa's top goal scorer in their lineup and the return of Kavulchuk, the league's top scorer in 2003-04, the Thrashers seem poised to at least make the playoffs. But offense usually doesn't do it all in the NHL and rookie goalie Kari Lehtonen will be a major factor in determining this team's success. Lehtonen, who played four NHL games in 2003-04, is facing his first full season on major ice. This past year he honed his skills with the AHL affiliate in Chicago where he tended in 57 games and finished with a fine 38-17-2 record. Those stats along with a 2.27 GA and a .929 save percentage made him the second best goalie in the AHL.
If Lehtonen can be that type of force on the Thrashers and Hossa and Kavulchuk can create the same numbers they did in 2003-04, then the Atlanta Thrashers have a good chance of chasing after the Cup.
