There have been many changes to the sports scene in Atlanta since the end of the NHL regular season. However, for the area's disappointed hockey fans, none of those changes involve the Thrashers.

The Hawks made the NBA playoffs and extended the top-seeded Boston Celtics to seven games. The Falcons drafted Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan as part of what team owner Arthur Blank called the start of a "new book, not a new chapter." Blank's honesty and dedication to improving his team was a refreshing change for the city's sports fans.

The same can't be said for the Thrashers' ownership group, which has hardly conveyed any sort of definitive plan for the hockey team's future.

The only way assistant coach Brad McCrimmon knew how to describe the team's current situation was to call it "status quo." And for a team in need of some positive news, that's certainly not an uplifting way to define things. One has to wonder why McCrimmon, or somebody else, hasn't been given the team's full-time coaching job yet.

Paul Maurice, who was fired by the Maple Leafs, and Joel Quenneville, who won't return to the Avalanche, are both now available.

The longer the team waits to name a permanent replacement for Don Waddell, who continues to hold the two-part title of interim coach and general manager, the less likely potential free agents are to consider coming to Atlanta once the signing period begins on July 1. For a franchise desperate to become a consistent playoff contender, instability is not a defining characteristic.

Another telling sign can be found with the Hawks, who share the same dysfunctional ownership group with the hockey club.

General manager Billy Knight recently resigned after the team advanced to the playoffs -- and nearly pulled off the biggest NBA playoff upset in decades. There are few knowledgeable Atlanta sports fans who honestly believe Knight resigned by his own choice. More likely, just like Bernie Mullin, the ownership group's former CEO, Knight was forced out.

It's becoming clearer with every passing day that the Thrashers' problems arent in the locker room or on the bench. They are in the executive board room.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
There were few highlights to Atlanta's season, but the emergence of Ilya Kovalchuk as a leader, and a much improved passer, was a welcome change. With the expected departure of captain Bobby Holik, it's time that Kovalchuk be given the captain's "C." Kovalchuk's rise came on the heels of the team's firing of coach Bob Hartley, who had been a thorn in his side for several years.

TURNING POINT
On the other end, the season lowlight was Atlanta's 10-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 18, a game in which Buffalo snapped its 10-game losing streak and Atlanta piled up 70 minutes in penalties. Atlanta's eight-game losing streak from Feb. 16 through March 5 was equally as bad and ended any playoff hopes the team might have had.

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