Hedberg a Hit in Atlanta

Well, the veteran savvy of Johan Hedberg has earned him another deal in Atlanta. This one, a multi-year deal, terms of the deal not formally announced. Hedberg played behind starter Kari Lehtonen last season, playing 1,927 minutes, recording 14 wins and 1 shutout, plus he added an assist. Saying that, he isn't a bad back-up goalie to consider when it comes to your deep pool draft.

His 31 points in the year were very comparable to other back-ups in the league and he also earned a pick in the Sherpa's waiver draft during his draft season.

With this signing, it's very fair to say that he had a good effect on the young goaltending talent on the team and also provided the team with good second-string minutes, which is the desired effect that Hedberg should be providing to his NHL club. With his signing for a multi-year deal, it may push Ondrej Pavelec to the side for another season or two, unless the team can't sign Lehtonen right away to a long-term deal. For now, however, Pavelec will remain on the team update below, but shouldn't be there for long, if Lehtonen does sign.

Forwards	Defense	Goaltenders
Ilya Kovalchuk	Alexei Zhitnik	Johan Hedberg
Slava Kozlov	Niclas Havelid	Ondrej Pavelec
Todd White	Garnet Exelby
Colby Armstrong	Ken Klee
Brian Little	Tobias Enstrom
Jim Slater
Eric Perrin
Erik Christensen
Joe Motzko
Colin Stuart
Brad Larsen

Now, to the Atlanta numbers. The inclusion of Hedberg brings the team up to 18 active players, including Pavelec (who will be replaced. Unfortunately, the numbers for Hedberg are still to be announced, but once they are filled in, a better idea will be given. Prior to his signing, the 17 players previously listed were valued at an approximate cap hit of only $29.5 million. That would be below the floor of the CBA for the coming season, but the long-term signing of Lehtonen and a free agent or two, should bring them back to level.

With such a low number sitting in waiting, the Thrashers are likely to be big players this summer, so keep an eye out for them.