By John Manasso
FOXSportsSouth.com
February 28, 2011
The Atlanta Thrashers were busy making transactions on Monday's NHL trade deadline, even though some of those moves were not trades.
They re-signed defenseman Mark Stuart, 26, acquired on Feb. 18 from Boston with forward Blake Wheeler for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik, to a multi-year deal. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported it was three years, $5.1 million.
They also claimed center Rob Schremp, 24, off waivers from the New York Islanders. Schremp, the 25th overall pick in the 2004 draft, has 10 goals and 12 assists this season in 45 games.
Stuart has made an immediate impact in four games since arriving. He has become a key penalty killer on a unit that ranked 28th in the NHL entering Sunday's games, but over the last three games the Thrashers have killed all 12 power-play chances by the opposition. Perhaps not incidentally, they have won three out of four points in their last two games -- something they had not done since Jan. 17 and 20.
Prior to becoming Thrashers head coach last June, Craig Ramsay had served as an assistant with Boston, where he coached Stuart for three seasons. He also has provided a physical presence on the back line, providing two big hits on Sunday against the Maple Leafs -- a presence the team sorely lacked.
"It was nice," Stuart said on Monday of the extension. "Coming here I didn't really expect anything. Just try to come in and play well and help the team. I like it here a lot. I've only been here a short time, but I'm very comfortable here and I like the people and I think the team has a lot of potential."
Stuart's brother Colin was in the Thrashers' organization for several seasons and he said that gave him a comfort level.
"I think this team has a lot of potential for the future," he said. "I think the pieces are being put in place for success and I'm excited to be a part of it."
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Schremp comes in as a player who has never had much of a chance to play a full NHL season with the same team. He played 44 games with the Islanders in 2009-10, totaling seven goals and 18 assists with a minus-4 rating. He suffered a knee injury during the 2009-10 season that caused him to miss the final 16 games of the season due to surgery.
This season, his goals total is higher but he sports a garish minus-19 for an Islanders team whose goal differential is a minus-33.
