Thrashers, Lightning hire coaches

NHL teams

The expansion Thrashers named Curt Fraser their first head coach. Fraser coached the Orlando Solar Bears of the IHL to the Turner Cup finals last season.

"It's an honor and privilege to be named coach of the Thrashers," Fraser said. "I look forward with great enthusiasm that we will make the Thrashers a team Atlanta can be proud of."

General manager Don Waddell selected Fraser over a number of candidates, which included Hamilton Bulldogs coach Walt Kyle and former Buffalo Sabres coach Ted Nolan.

"The day I was given the position of general manager I was thinking about this decision," Waddell said. "I had a lot of time to meet a lot of people. As I went around the league I saw that guys who came straight from the IHL were having pretty good success. Maybe the gap has closed."

Tampa Bay fired head coach and general manager Jacques Demers and named Steve Ludzik, a former NHL player, who spent the last three seasons coaching the Detroit Vipers of the IHL.

GM's duties for the Lightning will be handled now by Rick Dudley, who was hired last month as vice president of hockey operations.