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Atlanta GM Rick Dudley, photographed at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has spent a lot of time on the phone this offseason shuffling the Thrashers’ lineup. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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There are six general managers maneuvering through their first full offseason. Two of them have had a chance to steer their team for at least part of 2009-10: Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier, who took over in February when Bob Gainey resigned; and Stanley Cup winner Stan Bowman, who took over the reins in Chicago last July two weeks after the opening of free agency. St. Louis tabbed ex-Stars GM Doug Armstrong to replace the retiring Larry Pleau. Tampa Bay and Florida each named new bosses, with the Lightning nabbing Detroit legend Steve Yzerman and the Panthers hiring ex-Chicago GM Dave Tallon.

But no new general manager has been as busy as Atlanta's Rick Dudley. The question is whether or not his moves have improved the perennially struggling franchise.

Don Waddell had been the only general manager the Thrashers have known in their existence, and the lack of on-ice success meant it was time for a change. Dudley, who joined the team last year, was promoted to GM when Waddell stepped down from the job and remained as team president. The Thrashers are the third Southeast team Dudley has managed, having had stints in both Tampa Bay (1999-2002) and Florida (2002-04), plus one year as GM in Ottawa. Prior to joining Atlanta, Dudley was assistant general manager for the Chicago Blackhawks.

It's fair to say this has been the busiest offseason in Thrashers history. Dudley has fired and hired a coach, orchestrated a nine-player draft, traded for several players and stabilized his team in net with two signings. Here's a look at each aspect of the offseason.

Head Coach: John Anderson steered the Thrashers for two seasons, going a combined 70-75-19 while falling short of the postseason both years. Not good enough for Dudley. He replaced the 53-year-old coach with long-time NHLer Craig Ramsay. Ramsay played more than 1,000 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres and won the 1984-85 Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward. He has been an NHL coach off and on since the mid-'80s, most recently the last three years as an assistant with the Bruins. He twice served as a head coach in the NHL, briefly leading the Sabres in 1986-87 and the Flyers in 2000-01. Dudley and Ramsay were teammates for seven professional seasons with the AHL's Cincinnati Swords and the Sabres. Analysis: Ramsay has four decades in the NHL under his belt, so he's not short on experience. But this is his first real shot at being an NHL coach and he enters a city where the culture needs to change. Is Ramsay up for the challenge?

Draft: With the eighth overall pick the Thrashers took small but skilled forward Alexander Burmistrov. The team was without a second-rounder, but took defenseman Julian Melchiori in the third round and wild card left wing Ivan Telegin in the fourth. The final six picks included two fifths, three sixths and a seventh. Analysis: Taking two Russians among your first three picks is a risk, but the reward could be big, especially with Burmistrov. In the end, the majority of the draft is a crap shoot, with two-thirds of the pick coming in the final three rounds.

Free Agency: For the most part, the Thrashers have been quiet in free agency. The big get for Dudley was goaltender Chris Mason. The former Blues goalie joined Atlanta for two years at a $1.85 million cap hit annually. The team has re-signed several RFAs — most notably Ondrej Pavelec, who will share the net with Mason — but walked away from the arbitration award given to Clarke MacArthur. They still have upcoming cases with the recently acquired Andrew Ladd and Ben Eager, and a ugly arbitration hearing could get things off on the wrong foot with those two. Youngsters Bryan Little and Nicklas Bergfors — RFAs without arbitrations rights — are big pieces to the puzzle that need new deals as well. Analysis: Getting a goalie that won a combined 57 games over the past two seasons and was making $3 million a year for just $1.85 million looks like a bargain, and the team didn't have a whole lot else to do in the unrestricted market given all their trade acquisitions.You'd like to see Dudley get Ladd and Eager inked without their hearings, plus Little and Bergfors need to be addressed. Pavelec's deal (two years at $1.15 million a season) could turn into a real bargain.

Trades: Dudley has been as busy as any GM when it comes to trades, pilfering several players from the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. A mix of picks, players and prospects landed the Thrashers Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Eager, Brent Sopel and more. The question is are those players worth the money they'll earn this season. Byfuglien and Sopel earn a combined $5 million this year (with a slightly higher cap hit), while Eager and Ladd are both RFAs and due raises that could exceed another $5 million combined. The Thrashers also received 2007 second-rounder Akim Aliu who, like Byfuglien, has the potential to use his big frame to play physical and wreak havoc in the offensive zone. Ivan Vishnevskiy, a puck-moving defenseman who was a first-round pick of the Stars in 2006, was acquired for Kari Lehtnonen in February but was part of the deal that brought Ladd to Atlanta. Also shipped out were role players Marty Reasoner, Brett Sterling and Joey Crabb and prospects Jeremy Morin and Michael Vernace. Three picks were used to acquire players from Chicago: a first and second in 2010, and a second in 2011.

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Dudley has definitely accomplished one very important task with the Thrashers: create interest and spark conversation about the team. Adding four players from the Cup champions gives Atlanta some legitimacy in the Eastern Conference. The goaltending situation appears set with Pavelec and Mason, and young players like Bergfors and Patrice Cormier — both acquired in the Ilya Kovalchuk to New Jersey trade at the deadline — join Evander Kane, Little and Zach Bogosian as players who could all play big roles. Burmistrov is dynamic, but need to add some muscle before making his way to the NHL, while returning players like Nik Antropov, Rich Peverley, Tobias Enstrom and Ron Hainsey solidify the lineup.

But Dudley will not be judged on the splash he made this offseason and how things look on paper, but rather the results on the ice. Despite their contributions to the Hawks title, Ladd and Byfuglien each scored just 17 goals last season and neither broke the 40-point barrier. Kane and Bergfors should both improve, but are they already top-six NHLers? Can Peverley replicate his breakthrough 2009-10, and can Little bounce back from a horrific sophomore season? Will Antropov be as effective without Kovalchuk? Can Bogosian emerge as a true No. 1 defenseman?

Dudley certainly kicked up a lot of dust this offseason — in a few months, we'll see how it all settles.