# 2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers season

The 2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers season began on October 5, 2007. It was the Atlanta Thrashers' ninth season in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Key dates prior to the start of the season:
* The 2007 NHL Entry Draft took place in Columbus, Ohio, on June 22–23.
* The free agency period began on July 1.

## Regular season

Starting off 0–6–0, the Thrashers fired head coach Bob Hartley on October 17, 2007, replacing him on an interim basis with general manager Don Waddell.
On December 23, 2007, Marian Hossa scored just 19 seconds into overtime to give Atlanta a 3–2 road win over the St. Louis Blues. Hossa tied Martin Erat, who also scored 15 seconds into the overtime period of the Predators' November 15, 2007, 5–4 home win over the Chicago Blackhawks, for the fastest overtime goal of the 2007–08 regular season.
Excluding six shootout goals, the Thrashers allowed 266 goals, tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the most in the NHL.

### Divisional standings

Southeast Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Washington Capitals | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 242 | 231 | 94 |
| 2 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 249 | 92 |
| 3 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 216 | 226 | 85 |
| 4 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 34 | 40 | 8 | 216 | 272 | 76 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 31 | 42 | 9 | 223 | 267 | 71 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | z – Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 47 | 25 | 10 | 262 | 222 | 104 |
| 2 | y – Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 27 | 8 | 247 | 216 | 102 |
| 3 | y – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 242 | 231 | 94 |
| 4 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 29 | 7 | 206 | 197 | 99 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 42 | 27 | 13 | 213 | 199 | 97 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 42 | 29 | 11 | 248 | 233 | 95 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 261 | 247 | 94 |
| 8 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 212 | 222 | 94 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 249 | 92 |
| 10 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 255 | 242 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 38 | 35 | 9 | 216 | 226 | 85 |
| 12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 36 | 35 | 11 | 231 | 260 | 83 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 35 | 38 | 9 | 194 | 243 | 79 |
| 14 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 34 | 40 | 8 | 216 | 272 | 76 |
| 15 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 31 | 42 | 9 | 223 | 267 | 71 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

## Schedule and results

Win (2 pts)  Loss (0 pts)  OT/SO Loss (1 pt)

### October

Record: 4–8–0; Home: 1–3–0; Road: 3–5–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Pts |
| 1 | October 5 | Washington | 3 – 1 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 18,707 | 0–1–0 | 0 |
| 2 | October 6 | Atlanta | 2 – 5 | Tampa Bay | | Hedberg | 19,220 | 0–2–0 | 0 |
| 3 | October 10 | Ottawa | 3 – 1 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 12,751 | 0–3–0 | 0 |
| 4 | October 11 | Atlanta | 0 – 6 | Buffalo | | Lehtonen | 18,690 | 0–4–0 | 0 |
| 5 | October 13 | New Jersey | 6 – 4 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 15,606 | 0–5–0 | 0 |
| 6 | October 16 | Atlanta | 0 – 4 | Philadelphia | | Hedberg | 18,933 | 0–6–0 | 0 |
| 7 | October 18 | NY Rangers | 3 – 5 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 14,076 | 1–6–0 | 2 |
| 8 | October 20 | Atlanta | 2 – 6 | Tampa Bay | | Hedberg | 19,420 | 1–7–0 | 2 |
| 9 | October 23 | Atlanta | 5 – 4 | Toronto | SO | Hedberg | 19,210 | 2–7–0 | 4 |
| 10 | October 25 | Atlanta | 0 – 3 | Nashville | | Hedberg | 13,383 | 2–8–0 | 4 |
| 11 | October 27 | Atlanta | 3 – 2 | Chicago | | Hedberg | 15,789 | 3–8–0 | 6 |
| 12 | October 30 | Atlanta | 3 – 2 | Montreal | SO | Hedberg | 21,273 | 4–8–0 | 8 |

### November

Record: 7–5–0; Home: 3–3–0; Road: 4–2–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Pts |
| 13 | November 1 | Atlanta | 4 – 6 | Ottawa | | Pavelec | 18,538 | 4–9–0 | 8 |
| 14 | November 3 | Atlanta | 6 – 4 | Tampa Bay | | Pavelec | 19,155 | 5–9–0 | 10 |
| 15 | November 6 | Washington | 1 – 2 | Atlanta | OT | Pavelec | 15,530 | 6–9–0 | 12 |
| 16 | November 9 | Atlanta | 4 – 1 | Florida | | Pavelec | 14,268 | 7–9–0 | 14 |
| 17 | November 10 | Carolina | 5 – 3 | Atlanta | | Pavelec | 18,545 | 7–10–0 | 14 |
| 18 | November 13 | Florida | 2 – 3 | Atlanta | OT | Hedberg | 12,599 | 8–10–0 | 16 |
| 19 | November 16 | Atlanta | 3 – 0 | Carolina | | Hedberg | 14,632 | 9–10–0 | 18 |
| 20 | November 19 | Tampa Bay | 3 – 4 | Atlanta | OT | Hedberg | 13,419 | 10–10–0 | 20 |
| 21 | November 21 | Atlanta | 5 – 1 | Washington | | Hedberg | 11,669 | 11–10–0 | 22 |
| 22 | November 23 | New Jersey | 3 – 0 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 18,545 | 11–11–0 | 22 |
| 23 | November 24 | Atlanta | 0 – 5 | Pittsburgh | | Pavelec | 17,132 | 11–12–0 | 22 |
| 24 | November 29 | Toronto | 4 – 2 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 14,031 | 11–13–0 | 22 |

### December

Record: 8–7–1; Home: 6–3–0; Road: 2–4–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Pts |
| 25 | December 1 | Atlanta | 4 – 0 | NY Islanders | | Lehtonen | 15,355 | 12–13–0 | 24 |
| 26 | December 2 | Atlanta | 2 – 3 | New Jersey | SO | Hedberg | 14,978 | 12–13–1 | 25 |
| 27 | December 5 | NY Islanders | 3 – 4 | Atlanta | SO | Lehtonen | 14,018 | 13–13–1 | 27 |
| 28 | December 7 | NY Rangers | 2 – 4 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 18,204 | 14–13–1 | 29 |
| 29 | December 8 | Atlanta | 3 – 6 | Washington | | Lehtonen | 14,014 | 14–14–1 | 29 |
| 30 | December 12 | Boston | 5 – 3 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 14,265 | 14–15–1 | 29 |
| 31 | December 14 | Toronto | 4 – 0 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 16,424 | 14–16–1 | 29 |
| 32 | December 15 | Atlanta | 3 – 7 | Ottawa | | Hedberg | 20,082 | 14–17–1 | 29 |
| 33 | December 18 | Tampa Bay | 2 – 6 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 14,060 | 15–17–1 | 31 |
| 34 | December 20 | Ottawa | 2 – 3 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 14,085 | 16–17–1 | 33 |
| 35 | December 22 | Montreal | 2 – 3 | Atlanta | SO | Lehtonen | 17,153 | 17–17–1 | 35 |
| 36 | December 23 | Atlanta | 3 – 2 | St. Louis | OT | Lehtonen | 17,731 | 18–17–1 | 37 |
| 37 | December 26 | Atlanta | 0 – 2 | Columbus | | Lehtonen | 15,726 | 18–18–1 | 37 |
| 38 | December 27 | Florida | 5 – 3 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 16,080 | 18–19–1 | 37 |
| 39 | December 29 | Boston | 0 – 5 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 18,545 | 19–19–1 | 39 |
| 40 | December 31 | Atlanta | 2 – 5 | Boston | | Lehtonen | 17,565 | 19–20–1 | 39 |

### January

Record: 5–4–3; Home: 3–2–2; Road: 2–2–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Pts |
| 41 | January 2 | Atlanta | 5 – 4 | Carolina | OT | Hedberg | 13,506 | 20–20–1 | 41 |
| 42 | January 4 | Carolina | 4 – 3 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 16,097 | 20–21–1 | 41 |
| 43 | January 6 | Buffalo | 2 – 5 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 15,213 | 21–21–1 | 43 |
| 44 | January 8 | Philadelphia | 4 – 1 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 13,047 | 21–22–1 | 43 |
| 45 | January 10 | Florida | 3 – 2 | Atlanta | SO | Lehtonen | 14,805 | 21–22–2 | 44 |
| 46 | January 12 | Pittsburgh | 2 – 3 | Atlanta | SO | Lehtonen | 18,545 | 22–22–2 | 46 |
| 47 | January 15 | Atlanta | 5 – 1 | Detroit | | Lehtonen | 17,408 | 23–22–2 | 48 |
| 48 | January 17 | Montreal | 3 – 2 | Atlanta | SO | Lehtonen | 16,181 | 23–22–3 | 49 |
| 49 | January 18 | Atlanta | 1 – 10 | Buffalo | | Hedberg | 18,690 | 23–23–3 | 49 |
| 50 | January 20 | Edmonton | 4 – 2 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 16,683 | 23–24–3 | 49 |
| 51 | January 22 | Atlanta | 0 – 4 | NY Rangers | | Lehtonen | 18,200 | 23–25–3 | 49 |
| 52 | January 24 | Atlanta | 1 – 2 | NY Rangers | SO | Hedberg | 18,200 | 23–25–4 | 50 |
| 53 | January 30 | Pittsburgh | 1 – 4 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 14,070 | 24–25–4 | 52 |

### February

Record: 4–6–2; Home: 3–3–0; Road: 1–4–2
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Pts |
| 54 | February 1 | Buffalo | 4 – 5 | Atlanta | SO | Lehtonen | 17,064 | 25–25–4 | 54 |
| 55 | February 2 | Atlanta | 2 – 0 | Washington | | Lehtonen | | 26–25–4 | 56 |
| 56 | February 5 | Philadelphia | 3 – 2 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 15,082 | 26–26–4 | 56 |
| 57 | February 7 | Vancouver | 2 – 1 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 16,813 | 26–27–4 | 56 |
| 58 | February 9 | Tampa Bay | 1 – 2 | Atlanta | OT | Lehtonen | 18,879 | 27–27–4 | 58 |
| 59 | February 13 | Washington | 2 – 3 | Atlanta | SO | Lehtonen | 15,285 | 28–27–4 | 60 |
| 60 | February 15 | Atlanta | 4 – 3 | New Jersey | SO | Hedberg | 14,475 | 29–27–4 | 62 |
| 61 | February 16 | Atlanta | 1 – 4 | NY Islanders | | Lehtonen | 16,234 | 29–28–4 | 62 |
| 62 | February 21 | Atlanta | 3 – 5 | Carolina | | Lehtonen | 13,548 | 29–29–4 | 62 |
| 63 | February 23 | Atlanta | 1 – 3 | Toronto | | Lehtonen | 19,390 | 29–30–4 | 62 |
| 64 | February 26 | Atlanta | 1 – 5 | Montreal | | Lehtonen | 21,273 | 29–31–4 | 62 |
| 65 | February 28 | NY Islanders | 5 – 4 | Atlanta | OT | Lehtonen | 16,332 | 29–31–5 | 63 |

### March

Record: 2–4–2; Home: 2–3–0; Road: 0–1–3
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Pts |
| 66 | March 1 | Atlanta | 2 – 3 | Boston | OT | Hedberg | 17,565 | 29–31–6 | 64 |
| 67 | March 2 | Atlanta | 2 – 3 | Pittsburgh | SO | Lehtonen | 17,132 | 29–31–7 | 65 |
| 68 | March 5 | Carolina | 6 – 3 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 13,032 | 29–32–7 | 65 |
| 69 | March 7 | Minnesota | 2 – 3 | Atlanta | SO | Hedberg | 18,709 | 30–32–7 | 67 |
| 70 | March 8 | Atlanta | 2 – 3 | Florida | OT | Lehtonen | 16,614 | 30–32–8 | 68 |
| 71 | March 11 | Colorado | 5 – 2 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 14,089 | 30–33–8 | 69 |
| 72 | March 13 | Calgary | 4 – 6 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 16,244 | 31–33–8 | 70 |
| 73 | March 14 | Atlanta | 1 – 4 | Washington | | Lehtonen | 18,208 | 31–34–8 | 70 |
| 74 | March 16 | Atlanta | 1 – 3 | Florida | | Hedberg | 15,704 | 31–35–8 | 70 |
| 75 | March 18 | Atlanta | 2 – 3 | Philadelphia | | Lehtonen | 19,564 | 31–36–8 | 70 |
| 76 | March 19 | Carolina | 5 – 3 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 13,251 | 31–37–8 | 70 |
| 77 | March 21 | Washington | 5 – 3 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 18,562 | 31–38–8 | 70 |
| 78 | March 27 | Atlanta | 3 - 2 | Florida | | Lehtonen | 17,301 | 32–38–8 | 72 |
| 79 | March 28 | Atlanta | 1 - 7 | Carolina | | Hedberg | 17,833 | 32–39–8 | 72 |
| 80 | March 31 | Atlanta | 2 - 0 | Tampa Bay | | Lehtonen | 17,441 | 33–39–8 | 74 |

### April

Record: 1–1–0; Home: 1–1–0; Road: 0–0–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Pts |
| 81 | April 1 | Florida | 3 - 2 | Atlanta | | Hedberg | 15,453 | 33–40–8 | 74 |
| 82 | April 5 | Tampa Bay | 1 - 4 | Atlanta | | Lehtonen | 18,732 | 34–40–8 | 76 |

## Playoffs

A year after winning the Southeast Division, the Thrashers failed to qualify for the playoffs.

### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Ilya Kovalchuk | 79 | 52 | 35 | 87 | 52 |
| Marian Hossa | 60 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 30 |
| Eric Perrin | 81 | 12 | 33 | 45 | 26 |
| Vyacheslav Kozlov | 82 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 26 |
| Mark Recchi | 53 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 20 |
| Tobias Enstrom | 82 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 42 |
| Todd White | 74 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 36 |
| Bobby Holik | 82 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 90 |
| Chris Thorburn | 73 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 92 |
| Bryan Little | 48 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 18 |
| Pascal Dupuis | 62 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 24 |
| Niclas Havelid | 81 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 42 |
| Jim Slater | 69 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 41 |
| Colby Armstrong | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 |
| Ken Klee | 72 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 60 |
| Eric Boulton | 74 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 127 |
| Alexei Zhitnik | 65 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 58 |
| Darren Haydar | 16 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| Garnet Exelby | 79 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 85 |
| Steve McCarthy | 55 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 48 |
| Joel Kwiatkowski | 18 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
| Colin Stuart | 18 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Brad Larsen | 62 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Erik Christensen | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Brett Sterling | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| Mark Popovic | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Jordan Smotherman | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kevin Doell | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Boris Valabik | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Kari Lehtonen | 48 | 2707 | 17 | 22 | 5 | 131 | 4 | .916 | 2.90 |
| Johan Hedberg | 36 | 1927 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 111 | 1 | .892 | 3.46 |
| Ondrej Pavelec | 7 | 347 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | .905 | 3.11 |

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Tobias Enstrom | 1st NHL game | October 5, 2007 |
| Bryan Little | 1st NHL game 1st NHL goal 1st NHL point | October 5, 2007 |
| Brett Sterling | 1st NHL game | October 5, 2007 |
| Tobias Enstrom | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | October 6, 2007 |
| Darren Haydar | 1st NHL goal 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | October 13, 2007 |
| Bryan Little | 1st NHL assist | October 13, 2007 |
| Brett Sterling | 1st NHL assist 1st NHL point | October 13, 2007 |
| Ken Klee | 800th NHL PIM | October 16, 2007 |
| Ondrej Pavelec | 1st NHL game | October 20, 2007 |
| Brett Sterling | 1st NHL goal | October 20, 2007 |
| Tobias Enstrom | 1st NHL goal | October 23, 2007 |
| Ken Klee | 800th NHL game | October 25, 2007 |
| Ilya Kovalchuk | 400th NHL game | November 1, 2007 |
| Ondrej Pavelec | 1st NHL win | November 3, 2007 |
| Eric Perrin | 100th NHL game | November 3, 2007 |
| Todd White | 100th NHL goal | November 6, 2007 |

## Transactions

The Thrashers have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

### Trades

| June 26, 2007 | To St. Louis Blues Keith Tkachuk conditional 4th round pick in 2008 | To Atlanta Thrashers conditional 1st round pick in 2008 |
| December 8, 2007 | To Atlanta Thrashers Mark Recchi | Claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh Penguins |
| February 26, 2008 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Marian Hossa Pascal Dupuis | To Atlanta Thrashers Colby Armstrong Erik Christensen Angelo Esposito 2008 1st round pick (Daultan Leveille) |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team | Contract terms |
| Todd White | Minnesota Wild | 4 years, $9.5 million |
| Eric Perrin | Tampa Bay Lightning | 2 years, $1.15. million |
| Ken Klee | Colorado Avalanche | 2 years, $2.5 million |
| Alexandre Giroux | Washington Capitals | 2 years, $925,000 |
| Player | New team |
| Jon Sim | New York Islanders |
| Greg de Vries | Nashville Predators |
| Eric Belanger | Minnesota Wild |
| Shane Hnidy | Anaheim Ducks |
| Derek MacKenzie | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Andy Sutton | New York Islanders |

## Draft picks

Atlanta's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 3 | 67 | Spencer Machacek | Right wing | Canada | Vancouver Giants (WHL) |
| 4 | 115 | Niclas Lucenius | Center | Finland | Tappara (Finland) |
| 6 | 175 | John Albert | Center | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (NAHL) |
| 7 | 205 | Paul Postma | Defense | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
Atlanta will pick third in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings, after failing to move up in the draft lottery. The Thrashers will also have the first round pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins, received in the trade for Marian Hossa.

## Farm teams
### American Hockey League

The Chicago Wolves are the Thrashers American Hockey League affiliate for the 2007–08 AHL season

### ECHL

The Gwinnett Gladiators are the Thrashers ECHL affiliate.