Current trading assets

Not that a trade would be the cure for what ills the 0-6 team, but if the Thrashers were to make a trade, here are some ideas on what they currently have to offer.

1. Left wings. League-wide, there is a relative shortage of scoring left wingers. This fact came to my attention just today when I questioned fellow HF writer Dave Rainer about something he had written in an article. He responded with some data to back it up -- more scoring comes off right wingers than left wingers. The imbalance is becoming less pronounced over time, but still exists. The Thrashers, however, actually have an overabundance of scoring left wingers with Slava Kozlov, Ilya Kovalchuk and Brett Sterling. With Kozlov and Kovalchuk firmly in place, it would of course make the most sense to trade Sterling. I'm not running him out on a rail, but from an asset management standpoint, rather than convert him to a right wing, it would make sense to trade him for something the team needed more urgently. If they could get equal or better value back.

2. 2008's first round pick. This pick has the most value on the market right now than if ever will, for two reasons. First, because the Thrashers are in last place, other teams think the Thrashers are likely to win the lottery and get the first overall pick. Second, since junior phenom John Tavares is still trying to make the case that he should enter the 2008 draft, there's the potential that the first overall pick could be used to select him.

3. Defensive prospects. In particular Boris Valabik or Nathan Oystrick. While the Thrashers now know basically what they have with these two players, other teams may see more upside. Oystrick gained a lot of notoriety last year as a high scorer in the AHL, and has greater value than he ever may have.