Thrashers leave their Hart in Philadelphia

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 17, 2007 12:43 PM EDT

Well, it looks like I'm wrong once again. A few weeks ago I guessed that Craig MacTavish would be the first NHL head coach to be fired this season, but the ax fell this morning on Bob Hartley in Atlanta instead (found via Kukla), after an ugly 4-0 loss last night in Philadelphia. Hardly surprising given the Thrashers' expectations after their division title last year, and the awful 0-6 start this season, which includes the rare double accomplishment of a league-low 1.5 goals per game, paired with a league-high 4.5 goals against. Heck, if you go back to the playoffs last year, the Thrashers are in a 0-10 slide in games that count.

To paraphrase the original CBC caption, "Bob Hartley ecstatic not to coach the Atlanta Thrashers anymore."

Last night on TSN, Bob McKensie said that Hartley and GM Don Waddell had been given contract extensions this summer and that a move like this would cost the Atlanta ownership, but this article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution a couple weeks ago says otherwise. It looks like they'll be able to cut their losses and move on, with Waddell assuming the bench duties for now. Strike up the rumor mill for who's going to take over in Georgia!

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