Thrashers Acquire Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries from Otta..

ATLANTA (August 23, 2005) -- The Atlanta Thrashers have acquired forward
Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries from the Ottawa Senators in
exchange for forward Dany Heatley, according to Executive Vice President
and General Manager Don Waddell.

?Our entire organization is thrilled to add a highly-skilled, proven
scorer in Marian and a solid veteran defenseman such as Greg who has
Stanley Cup experience,? said Waddell. ?Marian is arguably one of the
top players in the world and Greg possesses the invaluable intangibles
you need to achieve success. We have now significantly upgraded our
roster with six new, key veterans [Hossa, de Vries, Holik, Modry,
Havelid, Mellanby], each of whom possess the qualities that will help us
become an upper echelon team for many years to come. Today's transaction
was set in motion when Dany requested a trade to another team due to his
unique personal circumstances. Dany has made significant contributions
to the Thrashers and we respectfully agreed to honor his wish while
protecting the best short-and-long-term interests of our franchise.
Though we are sad to see Dany go, we are very pleased to be able to add
these two high-caliber players.?

Hossa (pronounced HOH-sah) has registered 390 points (188 goals, 202
assists) in 467 career games with Ottawa over the past seven NHL
seasons. The 6-1, 210-pound right wing has tallied more than 30 goals
during the last four NHL seasons, including a career-high 45 tallies in
2002-03. Over the past two seasons, he has recorded more goals (81) than
any other player in the NHL except Milan Hejduk (85) and Markus Naslund
(83). His point totals over the last two seasons (162) ranks fifth in
the NHL behind Naslund (188), Joe Thornton (174), Hejduk (173) and
Martin St. Louis (164).

Hossa, selected by Ottawa in the first round, 12th overall, in the 1997
NHL Entry Draft, has represented the Senators in the NHL All-Star Game
twice (2001, 2003) and was selected to play a third time (2004), but
could not compete due to injury. He ranks third on the Senators all-time
goals list (188), ranks fourth in points (390) and is tied for fifth in
games played (467).

Hossa split last season with Dukla Trencin of the Slovakian Extraleague
and Mora IK of the Swedish Elite League. Despite playing in only 25
games with Dukla, he ranked fifth in the league with 22 goals and
seventh overall with 42 points. In 24 games with Mora, he tied for
second on the team with 18 goals and ranked fourth with 14 assists and
32 points.

During the 2003-04 season, Hossa led Ottawa and finished fifth overall
in the NHL with a career-best 82 points (36 goals, 46 assists) in 81
games. His 36 goals led the Senators and ranked sixth in the NHL. The
native of Stara Lubovna, Slovakia led the NHL with 39 power-play points
and placed first on his club and tied for fifth in the league with 14
power-play goals. He also ranked second on the Senators and shared 15th
in the NHL with a career-best 46 assists. He led the club with three
goals, including two game-winners, and four points in seven playoff
games.

The 26-year-old forward set the club record for hat tricks (three) and
goals in one season with 45, which ranked fourth in the NHL, in 2002-03.
He recorded Ottawa's first four-goal game and added an assist for five
points against Atlanta on Jan. 2, 2003, including a natural hat trick.
He also placed third overall in the NHL with 10 game-winning goals and
was fourth with a 19.7 shooting percentage. He tied for second in the
league and set the team record with a 13-game point streak from Nov. 6-
30, 2002 (12 goals, 10 assists).

Hossa set the club record for assists in one game with five against
Tampa Bay on Jan. 4, 2001. In his rookie season of 1999-2000, he tied
for the team lead with 29 goals and was named to the NHL?s 1998-99 All-
Rookie Team and finished second in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy
as NHL's rookie of the year.

Hossa has represented his country in 11 international competitions,
including the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 2002 Olympics. He was
Slovakia's top scorer in the Olympics with four goals and six points
despite playing in only two games. He has played in four World
Championships and led the 1999 squad with five goals and seven points in
six games. He also competed in two World Junior Championships (1997,
1998), leading the club in 1998 with eight points (four goals, four
assists) in six games, and five goals and seven points in six games in
1997.

Hossa tallied 85 points (45 goals, 40 assists) in 53 games with Portland
(WHL) in 1997-98, earning Western Conference Rookie of the Year and West
First All-Star Team honors. He was also named to the Memorial Cup All-
Star Team and was a Canadian Major Junior First Team All-Star. He added
19 points (13 goals, six assists) in 16 playoff games to lead the club
to the league championship.

de Vries (pronounced deh-VREES), 32, has played in 566 NHL games in nine
seasons with Edmonton, Nashville, Colorado, the N.Y. Rangers and Ottawa,
recording 115 points (33 goals, 82 assists) and 502 penalty minutes. He
was acquired by the Senators from the New York Rangers for Karel
Rachunek and Alexandre Giroux on March 9, 2004.

The 6-3, 215-pound defenseman has appeared in 101 career playoff games,
recording 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) and 85 penalty minutes. He
has appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs in eight consecutive seasons
and helped the Avalanche capture the Stanley Cup in 2001. He also helped
Colorado advance to the Western Conference Finals three other times
(1999, 2000 and 2002).

The native of Sundridge, Ontario entered the league when he signed with
Edmonton as an undrafted free agent on March 20, 1994. After three
seasons with the Oilers he was dealt to Nashville in a five-player trade
on Oct. 1, 1998 and was then sent to Colorado in a trade after six games
with the expansion Predators on Oct. 24, 1998.

In five seasons with the Avalanche, four-and-a-half under Thrashers Head
Coach Bob Hartley, de Vries played in 379 games and recorded 82 points
(22 goals, 60 assists) and earned a plus-46 rating, including a career-
high plus 23 in 2000-01. In 75 playoff games with the Avalanche, he
recorded 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) and 48 penalty minutes.

Following the 2002-03 season, de Vries signed with the New York Rangers
as a free agent on July 14, 2003. In 53 games with the Rangers in 2003-
04, he recorded 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) and a plus-12 rating
before being traded to the Senators, where he tallied one assist in 13
games. In seven playoff games with Ottawa, he recorded one assist and
eight penalty minutes.

de Vries notched career highs with eight goals in 2001-02, and 26
assists and 32 points in 2002-03 with Colorado. He has played in at
least 65 games in the past seven NHL seasons, including 82 in
consecutive campaigns from 2001-03.