From the Horse's Mouth.

Free agent talk from Knobler at the AJC:

Any free agent signees will be forwards who could play on one of the top two lines or defensemen who would rank among the team's top four, he said.

"The players that we sign have to be difference-makers," he said.

His first priority? A veteran defenseman. The Thrashers ranked worst in the league last season in shots allowed and tied for worst in goals allowed. But the team won't necessarily go after a stay-at-home defenseman.

"You can argue both sides of that," Waddell said, adding that an offensive defenseman can help prevent shots by helping keep the puck in the other team's zone.

The Ottawa Sun reported the Thrashers want former San Jose Sharks player Brian Campbell and could offer the 29-year-old offensive defenseman more than $7 million.

Waddell laughed when asked about that, saying he couldn't discuss individual players and "I haven't told anybody what we're going to spend."

That last part was Waddell being coy, like when he said that Zhit was a large part of the Thrashers' future.