The future has changed.(NHL)

Dan Snyder is gone, and Dany Heatley's life has changed forever. In an instant, hockey is irrelevant. The goal of making the playoffs is now far from sight and further from the thoughts of a bunch of Thrashers teammates whose hearts are heavy and minds are elsewhere.

But Snyder's family told the team to start the season without delay. The ice can be the great escape, despite the reminders. It's where the Thrashers let go and come together, where they pay tribute and work out their emotions. Like the rest of us, despite personal tragedy, the players, coaches and general manager must do their jobs.

Of all the Thrashers, three men are the keys to ensuring this is still a breakout season.

Coach Bob Hartley. He must be more in tune with the emotional and mental state of his players than he was before. He must push the tragedy to the back of his mind and find a style his team can play that can help it win without Heatley, its best player and once the NHL's rising superstar. Hartley is a good coach and appears to have a plan. "We cannot lower the bar because we lost two members of our family," Hartley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before Snyder died from injuries suffered in an accident that also injured Heatley, who was driving. "Where we really have to look at it, if we can't replace those guys on the offensive side, I think we have plenty of room for improvement on the defensive side."

Suddenly, the high-flying Thrashers, built of youth and jaw-dropping offensive skill, must talk about positioning and play without the puck. And they must make a thin defensive corps play beyond itself while persuading the forwards to buy into a system based on defensive responsibilities. It won't be easy; nothing will be for the Thrashers this season. But Hartley is the coach who can persuade the players to do it, and that is vital to any on-ice success.

Goaltender Byron Dafoe. While he will fight with Pasi Nurminen for the No. 1 spot, Dafoe, a veteran, must be the man the team can lean on. He has been there before. He can help Nurminen when he's not playing and make the difference when he is.

During the transition to more defensive hockey, the puck is going to get through--a lot. Without Heatley, there won't be nearly as many goals to make up for any mistakes by the goaltender. Goalies are always the focal point of any team, but now Dafoe, who had a terrible 2002-03, must win games and keep the team's head above water until it improves defensively.