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1999-2000 Stat Leaders Stat  Leader  No.  Goals  Andrew Brunette  23  Assists  Andrew Brunette  27  Points  Andrew Brunette  50  +/-  Vladimir Vujtek  0  Shots  Nelson Emerson  183  Ice Time (F)  Donald Audette  21:36  Ice Time (D)  Franktisek Kaberle  24:36  Faceoff Pct.  Ray Ferraro  51.22%  Hits  David Harlock  166  PP Pts.  Andrew Brunette  21  SH Pts.  Ed Ward  2

Give us credit: at this time in this space last year, we predicted that the Thrashers would not be very good. How's that for a call? But 14 wins? In 1998-99 the Predators won 28 in their inaugural season and that's the number Atlanta GM Don Waddell felt comfortable setting as his goal.

After 42 games last season, that goal seemed realistic. The Thrashers were 11-27-4 at that point. But did things ever go south for Atlanta over the second half. They earned only three wins and four ties -- 10 points -- over the next 40 games. Eleven-, 10-, five- and four-game losing streaks made up the disappointing finish to Year One.

This is not a playoff team, but the way Atlanta comes back after a depressing second half could go a long way toward determining the future of this franchise.

For more on the Thrashers, bookmark this page and check back Wednesday, Oct. 11 for a Sports Illustrated Scouting Report.

BRIGHT SPOTS		GRAY AREAS
Two more expansion teams should help the Thrashers look good. After a 19-goal, 44-point turn-back-the-clock season, center Ray Ferraro exercised a $1-million contract option to stick around for a another year. Donald Audette (19 goals, 32 points), Andrew Brunette (23 goals, 50 points), Hnat Domenichelli (15 points in 27 games), Steve Guolla (16 points in 66 games), and defensemen Petr Buzek (five goals, 19 points) and Yannick Tremblay (10 goals, 31 points) are also coming back. Broke Anaheim's expansion-team record with an average of 17,205 fans per game. Frantisek Kaberle may not be as good as his brother, but he can run a decent point on the power play. Milan Hnilicka, who went 22-11-0 in Hartford with an AHL-best 2.15 GAA, signed as a free agent to deepen the roster at goaltender.		The bright spots to the left are really not going to win many games, and until the prospects mature and start filling out the roster, this team will struggle. Damian Rhodes wasn't ever great in 1999-2000 before injuring his right ankle in mid-November. When he returned -- 45 games later, thanks to injuring his knee during rehab -- Rhodes was yanked three times in 15 starts and finished with a career-high 3.88 GAA. He's the key to respectability again this year. (See Vanbiesbrouck, John, Florida Panthers.) Norm Maracle failed Expansion Team Goaltending 101. Can't leave so many rebounds around when opponents are so often more talented. Patrik Stefan finished the second half a lot like Atlanta did -- almost pointless. Club is better on paper than it was last season. But the same can be said of the second and first halves of last season and we all know how that turned out.

Comings
Player	Pos.	From	Via
Donald Audette	RW	Atlanta	Re-signed
Adam Burt	D	Philadelphia	Re-signed
Brett Clark	D	Atlanta	Re-signed
Hnat Domenichelli	LW	Atlanta	Re-signed
Shean Donovan	RW	Atlanta	Re-signed
Scott Fankhouser	G	Atlanta	Re-signed
Steve Guolla	C	Atlanta	Re-signed
David Harlock	D	Altanta	Re-signed
Milan Hnilicka	G	N.Y. Rangers	Free agent
Andreas Karlsson	C	Atlanta	Re-signed
Denny Lambert	LW	Atlanta	Re-signed
Norm Maracle	G	Atlanta	Re-signed
Sean McCann	D	Phoenix	Free agent
Yves Sarault	LW	Ottawa	Free agent
Jarrod Skalde	F	San Jose	Free agent
Steve Staios	RW	New Jersey	Trade
Yannick Tremblay	D	Atlanta	Re-signed
Brian Wesenberg	RW	Atlanta	Re-signed

Goings
Player	Pos.	To	Via
Chris McAlpine	D	Chicago	Free agent
Mike Stapleton	C	N.Y. Islanders	Free agent

Prospect Watch
Brad Tapper, RW, 6' 0", 185
Born: April 28, 1977 in Scarborough, Ontario
Acquired: Free agent, 2000
Tapper led the nation in scoring average (31 goals and 20 assists in 37 games) and game-winning goals (7) this past season as a junior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Tapper and 1999 third-round draft pick Zdenek Blatny have the best chance to make the big club, but at this point Tapper has an edge. He scored two goals in the final two games of an NHL rookies tournament in Michigan, where he played strong on and off the puck, and generally looked more comfortable among his peers.

Get the Highlighter
Saturday, Oct. 7 vs. New York Rangers. To open the season, Atlanta plays host to the only team that, comparatively speaking, had a worse season.
Sunday, Oct. 15 at Tampa Bay. Lost in the wreckage of last season is the fact that Atlanta was undefeated against the Lightning. Here's a grudge match.
Saturday, Dec. 2 at Columbus. The Thrash has to be wringing its collective hands over this, their first meeting of the season with an expansion team.

Quoteworthy
"I was disappointed we didn't win more games. But you can't measure our season with wins and losses. You measure whether we got better from one game to the next. I feel we are a much better team now than at the beginning of the year."
—Don Waddell

Team-by-team previews compiled by CNNSI.com's Ken Klavon, Jamie MacDonald and Jimmy Traina.

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