(Best E Casino) - One year after making the postseason for the first time in franchise history, the Atlanta Thrashers took one big step in the wrong direction.

The Thrashers qualified for the playoffs in 2007, but were promptly swept by the New York Rangers in the opening round. The club then lost its first six games of the 2007-08 regular season and that was enough to get Bob Hartley fired.

Atlanta general manager Don Waddell took over the coaching reins for the rest of the season and didn't fare much better as the Thrashers finished 14th in the Eastern Conference with 76 points.

Waddell hired John Anderson in the offseason as the official replacement for Hartley. Anderson has had great success as a head coach in the AHL, but this is his first NHL job.

In addition to suffering a 21-point decrease from the 2006-07 season to last year, the Thrashers also were forced to deal Marian Hossa to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline rather than lose him to free agency in the summer. Instead, it was the Penguins who watched as Hossa signed with the Detroit Red Wings in the offseason.

FORWARDS - Left wing Ilya Kovalchuk basically was Atlanta's offense in 2007-08, as he tied a career-high with 52 goals and also led the team with 87 points.

The 25-year-old Russian's 52 tallies accounted for just over 25-percent of his team's goals, a percentage bested only by countryman Alexander Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 65 goals to account for 27-percent of Washington's offensive output.

The second-leading scorer on Atlanta last year was Hossa, despite the fact he was traded to Pittsburgh before the deadline. Now that Hossa is gone, centerman Eric Perrin, who had 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists) in 2007-08, is Atlanta's second-highest returning scorer. That means an even greater percentage of the scoring duties will likely fall to Kovalchuk.

However, the Thrashers did pick up a pair of forwards this summer to try and ease Kovalchuk's load, as they signed Jason Williams away from Chicago and lured Marty Reasoner from Edmonton. Williams had 36 points (13g, 23a) in just 43 games during an injury-plagued 2007-08 for the Blackhawks, while Reasoner had 11 goals and 14 assists in 82 games with the Oilers.

Atlanta also has some talent left on its roster from the Hossa trade in centerman Erik Christensen and right wing Colby Armstrong. Christensen could be the pivot on the top line with Kovalchuk and that should help him improve on the 11 goals and 13 assists he had in 59 combined games with Pittsburgh and Atlanta in 2007-08.

Armstrong had four goals and seven assists for Atlanta in 18 games after the trade and could add some offensive punch this season.

DEFENSE - The Thrashers' lack of offense in 2007-08 also led to problems on defense. Atlanta applied little pressure on opposing defenses and the Thrashers subsequently allowed a league-high 33.9 shots per game.

In order to help on both offense and defense, the Thrashers signed blueliner Ron Hainsey in the offseason. Hainsey, 27, established himself as a solid two- way defenseman over the last few seasons in Columbus and was rewarded with a five-year, $22.5 million contract.

Hainsey had 32 points (8g, 24a) in 78 games with the Blue Jackets last season. He is expected to improve Atlanta's defense and should also boost a power-play unit that was ranked 23rd in the NHL a year ago.

The addition of Hainsey should help take some pressure off 23-year-old defenseman Tobias Enstrom, who was Atlanta's top-scoring rearguard last season with 38 points (5g, 33a) in 82 games.

Atlanta is also expected to give blue-chip defense prospect Zach Bogosian a chance to play at the NHL level this year. Bogosian just turned 18 years old in July, but was the third overall pick in the 2008 draft.

Veterans Niclas Havelid, Garnet Exelby and Ken Klee will also patrol the blue line for the Thrashers.

GOALTENDING - Despite deficiencies in the offense and defense departments, the Thrashers are fortunate to have a pair of quality goaltenders and another prospect waiting in the wings.

Kari Lehtonen is the team's No. 1 goaltender and was 17-22-5 with a 2.90 goals against average and .916 save percentage in 48 games last season. The 6-4 backstop, the second overall pick in the 2002 draft, has the size and athleticism to be a premier goaltender in the NHL.

Hopefully, the Thrashers skaters have improved enough this year to avoid the shooting gallery atmosphere the 24-year-old Lehtonen was forced to play through last season.

Veteran goaltender Johan Hedberg will back up Lehtonen once again after going 14-15-3 with a 3.46 GAA and .892 save percentage.

Ondrej Pavelec, 21, had an excellent year with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL last year and could take over second-string duties if either Lehtonen or Hedberg go down to injury.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Thrashers are in a tough situation. They need to improve if they want Kovalchuk to remain with the Thrashers beyond the 2009-10 season when he becomes a free agent, yet it's hard to lure talent to Atlanta. If the Thrashers want to prove to Kovalchuk that they intend on building a winner this upcoming season is not going to sway the Russian star's mind. The Thrashers simply don't have enough depth and will likely find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture once again.