Since both Atlanta teams moved to Canada, if we want the Nordiques back we should all be lobbying for a 3rd Atlanta team. Seems like the best way to get more Canadian teams.
I've been saying that all along. And another for Hamilton and another for Saskatoon... We need more Atlanta teams. They are the only way to get new teams in Canada.
@Richard Aubergine I mean... isn't that kind of the point? If someone is willing to dump what will probably be a billion dollars if it keeps increasing like this, why shouldn't they get an NHL team?
You're lucky. I'm old enough to remember the Atlanta Flames being a new team. Heck, I remember the New York Islanders and California Golden Seals being new teams.
@Richard Aubergine I agree it's just bullshit how he would do that again. They have to put these teams in places where they can financially support a team for at least 20 years not 3-5 then start bailing them out and figuring a way to move them to places like Phoenix where they still can't afford their team. That's the Bettman bullshit way. Fuck Quebec should of had a team aleast 10 years ago or more they could financially support and benefit from a team.
I was a season ticket holder in Atlanta. Your coverage is extremely accurate. I've read the secret lawsuit verdict between the owners. Their plan was to pump money in the two seasons after the lockout and then sell off the Thrashers. The owners never wanted to own a NHL team, they just wanted the NBA team. And then they fell to bickering with each and neglecting the team.
That was not unique - over the years there were lots of owners that owned NBA teams - the building and got a hockey team just to have the building operating on nights the NBA wasn't playing a home game. The LA kings, and Washington Capitals are perfect examples of exactly that.
I went to dozens of Thrasher games when I lived there. A lot of the attendance numbers were transplants from NY, PHI, BOS and other large cities. It was common to hear louder cheers for Rangers goals than it was Thrasher goals. I still have a lot of Thrasher memorabilia and I think 4 or 5 jerseys, including 2 of the Blue Atlanta ones. I enjoyed the games a lot and saw a lot of great players come through, including Tkachuk and Chelios. The crowd would always scream “Knights” during the National Anthem for the former IHL Atlanta Knights. Fun times.
Exactly, Atlanta is essentially the capital of the Southern USA. there are so many transplants both in terms of people - and companies there - it is just too big to be ignored. Comparing the city of Atlanta today to the one that the Flames expanded to in 1972 is silly - it bears no resemblance.
I remember talking to Don Waddell in a season ticket holder meeting toward the end, and someone asked why they don’t spend more, and he said “I like employment”. The inept Atlanta Spirit Group never wanted the team, and it was a real life Major League situation. Atlanta deserves a third shot, but they arena needs to be near the battery or somewhere north.
The owners conned the city of Atlanta into building Philips Arena because it wanted more than one sports team in the building in order to ditch the old Omni. After they did, they couldn't care less about the Thrashers. It was an abandoned child for them. I will always resent the NHL for trying to save Arizona a thousand times, but packing up the Thrashers in two minutes.
The NHL couldn't do anything. The ATL Spirit ownership had to go. No new owners wanted to be tenets in Phillips under the old ownership group who didn't give a shit and the old owners didn't want to sell the Hawks and Phillips as a whole. A new owner would have had to come in, buy the team and immediately turn around a build a new arena. No one wanted to take all that on and would have been crazy to do so with how bad attendance was. An arena in Cobb or at the old GM plant would have been amazing though and so much closer for their fan base.
Certainly, that was a factor but I think before that it was the sale/merger of TimeWarner and the fallout of that - that lead to the situation that you describe.
I think that Heatley car accident really put a dark cloud over the Thrashers franchise trajectory, they seemed to really be on the up swing before then and just seemed to be one hard luck situation after another after that incident.
Quebec should of already have been granted a team they check of the must needs financial, building, fanbase yet they still won't give them a team. Head scratching! Politics there!
@@harrisonsmith5983 I know, it just BS they could put an NHL team in every Province and Territory and they would all thrive but then that doesn't help them promote hockey in the US if we had the cup up here for 30 years what would that have done to all those expansion teams that have won the cup they wouldn't still be where they are Tampa, Dallas, LA, Anaheim,
I know it would be controversial in WPG but I would have loved a thrashers reverse retro or if they start wearing thrashers throwbacks occasionally. There’s just something about their jerseys that is instantly nostalgic to me about the early 2000’s
I mean if everyone was ok with the colorado/nordiques and carolina/whalers throwbacks, I can't see how a thrashers throwback would even be remotely contraversial. It would be cool to see.
Houston should have been absorbed into the NHL at the merger instead of Hartford. There was no way Hartford was going to pry Bruin fans away from the New England area and were doomed from the start.
@@Rockhound6165 Houston was already gone by the time of the merger. The last WHA teams were Quebec, Edmonton, New England (Hartford), Winnipeg, Cincinnati and Birmingham.
*Potential* market. It's actual market that matters. Quebec City supported their team despite a much smaller population because hockey is part of their cultural identity. Let them have a team.
I liked Trashers, decent looking jerseys. Looked kinda promising for a while with Heater, Kovy, Lehtonen etc. Totally forgot Chelios played in Atl. Sad to see them move.
Random question, why not a fan of Nashville or Carolina? From a coworker, Atlanta is booming, so they may get a team in the next decade, but I'm curious why not NSH or CAR.
The Atlanta Thrashers had some of the worst ownership of any team in north american pro sports history. If they weren't left totally derelict by their own owners, they'd definitely still be alive and kicking today.
Nothing but fond memories of going to thrashers games. We took my little brother to one when I was in town and I’ve never seen more pure joy on his face than when the thrasher heads breathed fire after goals.
I miss the thrashers so much just imagine about the blue thrashers jersey In adidas if only Winnipeg jets bought the rights now that would be good cause they finally accept their past not saying all Winnipeg jets fans don’t expect it also the jerseys would be great.
The reverse retros were it for me. Winnipeg can take a long walk off a short pier. Even if they had put the secondary logo for Atlanta on the shoulders, it would've been a nice gesture. If Atlanta gets another team, I hope Winnipeg is a huge rival.
Hey I'm early! Just wanna say thank you Shanman. I've been subscribed since 4k and I love watching the channel grow. Thank you for the hours of entertainment you have produced for me and 200,000 others!
I've commented on THG videos on Atlanta in the past so forgive comment redundancies... 1) 0:33 How can anyone hate the powder blue Thrashers jerseys? It's the only good jersey they had! (Esp. the original jerseys.....bleeeccch, what a monstrosity). *But* "Blueland" was the stupidest marketing concept in the world (Hello! The team *literally played* in the Thrasherville area!). 2) 1:53 This was one big problem with the history of major league hockey in Atlanta: The NHL going there for reasons other than grassroots interest. First they go there to keep the WHA out (despite absolutely no minor league history there) and then go there again to suckle at the Time Warner teat (despite a competing bid in Atlanta from people that actually knew something about hockey). 3) 4:31 That sounds bad but the Hawks were doing worse in terms of bodies in the stands. But there were other circumstances that made a NBA team less desirable to transport (namely that a NBA team is a better TV property just about anywhere in America (then and now)). 4) 6:02 I've said it many times: with as many teams as the NHL created and relocated in the 1990s, it's a minor miracle that only one team has relocated in the last 21 years. 5) 7:45 It wasn't so much that Don Waddell was the problem as what the reluctance to fire him represented: ownership that didn't care and wasn't paying attention. Good GMs get fired all the time because it just isn't working out with that franchise. Fans got discouraged because the longer Waddell was there, the more it demonstrated that ownership didn't care that much if the Thrashers won or lost. There's such a thing as too much pressure and definitely such a thing as too *little* pressure. 6) Not only was talent picked over, but the Thrashers came in during one of the worst drafts in NHL history (1999). If they could have procured the Sedins somehow (instead of Vancouver), we're having an entirely different conversation. 7) 10:56 Not only did the housing crash hit, but the team got off to a terrible start and fired Bob Hartley (the only really good coach they ever had) in the process. I maintain that it wasn't one over the other: the playoff flameout *combined* with the shitty start really took a hit on the fanbase. 8 ) 12:31 Never mind attendance: the TV ratings weren't good. The whole reason you put a team in Atlanta is because it's a major media market. But no one was watching the Thrashers on TV either. So they weren't getting that major media push. 9) 13:37 What also bears mentioning is that the Spirit openly courted an exclusive negotiation for the Hawks and arena rights *without* the Thrashers (the John Moore negotiations). It was a poison pill. It was openly telling everyone: You can't buy the Thrashers unless you want to move them to another arena because you won't get parking money, concession money, or any leases. The only way the Thrashers could have been profitable in Atlanta at that point, IMO, is if Liberty Media had developed their Cobb mallpark plan three years earlier. *They* could have bought the team with the auspices of building a new arena for them. Gwinnett's arena wasn't big enough and didn't have a corporation with enough torque to take on expanding the arena + paying the money to get the team. 10) 14:29 Marc Savard's departure was the worst on-ice personnel decision in the history of the franchise. I was at that '08 All Star Game and every Thrashers fan I ran into there was lamenting they'd let him go. In fact, that game was highly symbolic of the Thrashers' run: The fans were desperate for Kovy to get a goal (he didn't) and instead they saw the guy that got away score the game winner. 11) 17:23 The ECHL Glads are OK but I think an AHL farm team for the Preds would do very well by AHL standards (think Lake Erie Swamp Monsters profile). But the Preds' affiliation with Milwaukee is so so solid. 12) As a transplant living here, it really bears mentioning: it's hard to convert transplant fans into regular ticket buyers for a new team (I was fuming when the Thrashers moved because it literally coincided with me *finally* having the household income to afford season tickets). But you look at Atlanta United: how many transplants grew up die-hard fans of their hometown/home state's MLS team? Barely any. United became the hot new Atlanta brand to rally around. That said... 13) It also goes undermentioned how "unsexy" a brand the Thrashers brand was. United's appeal here really has underscored that for me: People love the logo, the banners all across town, etc. I don't think any of the Thrashers or Flames branding was nearly as appealing ("You know what we should do to appeal to locals? Remind them of when the city burned down! That's the ticket!"). If the NHL *did* return a third time (though I highly doubt they ever will), and knowing they can't be the Knights (which would have worked great), I'd suggest Atlanta Resurgens. 14) The biggest missed opportunity for Atlanta hockey in general was Ted Turner not taking a short-term loss and buying the Flames in 1980. He would have taken a bath for a few years *but* he could have used TBS (and its national outreach) to establish the Flames as the southeastern brand of hockey, a decade or more before the league really expanded there in earnest. As the Braves were branded "America's Team," so too the Flames could have been "Dixie's hockey team" or something similar. 15) If the NHL wants to expand beyond a white audience, a market like Atlanta (maybe not Atlanta itself but a market like it) is crucial. There's a stereotype that black people won't watch hockey. I don't buy that for a second. I've worked with many black students that have gone into sports journalism. Most of them love hockey. But every single one of them will tell you the sport suffers from a branding problem (AKA the perception is "black people don't like hockey therefore hockey must not want black people watching it").
I’d love to see Winnipeg do a jersey tribute to Atlanta while keeping the current identity. I’m in the minority when I say I hated the powder blue jersey, but the navy one with the red sleeves they had was absolutely spectacular. If the jets took that jersey design, threw on a jet logo in the style of Atlanta’s abstract logo, and then colour matched it to their current identity (navy jersey with powder blue sleeves and silver trim, I think it would be a sharp look.
I think Winnipeg has pretty much wiped anything Atlanta from their history and are basically treating that team as if it were an expansion team or the return of the Coyotes from Phoenix.
@@Murph_gaming pretty much but it because they only bought the right to players and the franchise rights not anything else meaning the jets ownership doesn't own the copyright much less the trademarks for the thrashers while the prior owners do
In a regard of Flames' attendance numbers, it should be mentioned that back in the '70s the capacities of NHL arenas were, on average, smaller than they are today. Heck, one example for all, the Bruins played in Boston Garden until 1995 and that arena could hold LESS than 15,000 (!!) spectators for ice hockey games. So Flames' averaging over 14,000 per game during some of their seasons in Atlanta was totally and utterly great in the wider picture.
The Omni was the last arena built that didn't have any luxury suites or any thing like that. It was a small arena with zero modern amenities. It is no shock they failed. Keep in mind between the Flames and Thrashers we Atlanta fans saw ZERO PLAYOFF round wins. Ever. Literally Ever.
Great video as always! I'm one of those Atlanta based fans. I got into the Thrashers mere months before they relocated... great timing lol... everyone I know who had been a Thrashers fan chose to change over to liking a team with a deep and storied history. Probably we just didn't want to get hurt again. At the time right after relocation, it was so hard to try to tell people it was the bad ownership because they just blamed it on the fans. But now I hope they watch this video and understand the truth of the matter! Also you're 100% correct, that jersey design is fire 🔥 and give your cats a pet for me, I love watching them move around during your videos 🤣
Got to go to a thrashers game in 07. As a kid from rural south Georgia it changed my life. I had never seen hockey before and I fell in love. I miss blue land. Been a lightning fan since they left.
This was sad to watch as a Lightning fan. Losing the Thrashers was like losing an old friend since they played each other like every other weekend. Plus when the Lightning and Thrashers were both bad for a good while, Atlanta was that opponent where you could go to the game for cheap and think, "well, we can at least compete in and possibly win this one!"
I always thought the Thrashers had decent fans…but man their ownership was so bad! Had the franchise not been sold to their current ownership in Winnipeg, who knows if they would’ve ever gotten the success we’ve seen
Honestly, the ownership was allowed to breach its agreement with the league (think of it as a NMC for franchises) specifically because the league no longer wanted to deal with the dysfunctional children that were Atlanta Spirit. If AOL Time Warner remained as owners, however, who knows where the Thrashers would be today... but it probably wouldn't have been moved to Winnipeg. ATL will get another shot at some point. The reasons for the departure of the Flames and Thrashers had nothing to do with the market.
@@dj4aces As an Atlanta fan I’d hope so but with the NHL at 32 teams I don’t see them expanding anytime soon. If they for whatever reason expand to 40 teams then I could see them giving Atlanta another shot. Atlanta is such a large market it’d be hard for the NHL to ignore them
@@dylan3488 Bear in mind, I didn't say *how* Atlanta would get a team, just that Atlanta *will*. Will it be via expansion? Will it be via relocation? You know as much as I do. The fact that Atlanta is a large market does indeed make it hard to ignore, and you can be sure the league would rather drop teams in Atlanta and Houston than Kansas City and Quebec. For anything to happen on any front, a potential owner or group needs to step up and start talking to the league.
I watches this video multiple times. I like your videos a lot, but rarely need to watch them multiple times. I think about all of the management mistakes made in Atlanta, relate them to the current things happening in Philly, and worry.
You mentioned about Cliff Fletcher to be the only eventual Hall of Famer who was involved with the Flames while they were in Atlanta. I guess that's technically correct. Their first head coach, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, was inducted as a player only a short time before starting his first season with the organization.
They had some decent players like Curt Bennett, Bobby Leiter, Tom Lysiac, Jaques Richard, Bob, McMillan, Ken Houston, Guy Chouinard, Eric Vail, & Willie Plett but just weren't good enough long enough.
I've tried to explain this whole point of view to everyone. Thanks Shannon for taking the time to explain to the common folk who doesn't understand Hockey. Two thumbs up 👍👍
The Barons were bad all around; bad management, bad arena, a less than talented team. And it's too bad, Cleveland is a good hockey town. The AHL Barons won multiple Calder Cups, the WHA Crusaders lasted a few years until the Barons pushed them out and now in the downtown arena, the IHL and AHL teams have done well. A new team in Cleveland as a rival to the Blue Jackets?
With the way Atlanta has started to embrace its teams more and more in recent years, I absolutely think a hockey team would, and could, survive here. The biggest hurdle would be getting a team here, which at this point would have to be at the expense of another team relocating. As far as I can tell, that’s quite the long shot, considering the Canadian markets that would be fighting to get a team.
The argument that Atlanta is “a city of transplants” has dragged on too long. There is a lot of pride for our city and theres a bunch of adults my age who are children of transplants but have grown up here
0:36 My hometown team at the time used a Jersey based off the Atlanta Jersey just a different logo and obviously different city name...that was the first hockey team I cheered for and wore a Jersey for so I still have a soft spot for that Atlanta Jersey as it is so similar
He didn’t cover that I heard at least what about the ownership change from Time Warner to the Spirit Group? The NHL thought they were getting deep pocketed solid ownership and wound up w an ugly fiasco if I’ve read correctly
You mention really bad Thrashers trades…I’m immediately reminded of that Alexei Zhitnik for Braydon Coburn deadline deal. The Flyers are still reaping the rewards of that deal, a decade-plus later
Atlanta: "We failed twice totalling 19 years" Arizona: "Hold my beer" THG keeps asking why the NHL would have it's officials help Vegas be successful. Well THG it sure would help sell Seattle a $650M franchise now wouldn't it? YES. Yes it would. Like I've said many times. Bettman is a BRILLIANT salesman. Just because I hate the guy doesn't mean I don't respect his genius.
The last NHLBC convention (2019) was held in Georgia which means there are definitely still hockey fans in the area. The 2020 convention is postponed until 2022 because of the pandemic.
basically what bill wirtz did to my hawks, nearly killed the franchise, the only difference was being in chicago with so much history or they would have left
Dying was probably the best thing he did for the Hawks. Home games on TV ? Over my dead body! and Rocky calls the sports channel as soon as he gets back from the funeral
Yes but also remember right out of the gate with that expansion team they also took Patrik Štefan in the 1999 draft who was a huge bust Passing on both Sedin twins is still a massive “what if” for that franchise!
I've also never seen a league pump up its expansion teams like the NHL is doing w/ Seattle & Vegas. Those 2 teams are gonna be good for a couple decades at least. Total joke.
Grew up a Thrashers fan in Atlanta. This year I picked up hockey again and have been rooting for Minnesota. Hopefully the ATL gets a hockey team again before I die.
Someone once said There are no bad cities(ability to support a team) only bad franchises(management and overall operations) so many of these teams could have thrived in these cities if given the time and if they had good management.
Thrashers never had the ownership support. Never had a proper team building plan that wasn't fighting each other for stakeholding. The dirty secret of "having good fans" is if you're good or not. We sure as hell didn't think of Chicago as a bad hockey city this decade, even though they were garbage for 20 years with no fans.
Cant compare the Thrashers to the Blackhawks. Dollar Bill would swindle season ticket holders and black out home games on TV. The Thrashers were in a bad market period.
@@jagartharn6361 Bad ownership was still the common denominator. Atlanta was hardly a bad market. People just aren't willing to think that a place that likes hockey would lose a team, "no, they must've been apathetic!" Atlanta people cared just fine, there was just no organizational stability. www.ajc.com/sports/state-sports/10-years-later-a-void-in-atlanta-after-loss-of-thrashers/GIPFZT53EZC6LE5N7KQNQBR2PI/
@@aquapyro1 I got one, the Savannah Regulators for the NHL. You have the two military bases near Savannah and college hockey thrived since 1999. Savannah is a baseball town and it can be a cash cow for the NHL and the ECHL. Savannah will have to build a new second arena as well which would help to build right next to the EnMarket Arena.
Thank you for the Don Waddell comments, he has a chance to FINALLY show what he can do , now, fingers crossed he can take the Canes deeper into the playoffs!!
Atlanta hockey fan here. There’s lots of us and we really miss our team. This video is spot on. The thrashers didn’t leave because we didn’t like them, they left because they were handed to the worst ownership group in professional sports. The group also owned the Atlanta hawks NBA team as well. The Atlanta Spirit ownership group only cared about NBA and arena rights so it was only a matter of time before they destroyed the Thrashers. It’s really a shame because there is a hockey culture here and we have some really nice hockey rinks around town but the morons who owned the Thrashers ruined NHL for not just Atlanta, but the whole state of Georgia and even some of our neighboring states that follow the Atlanta sports market too.
I swear they put the losses from all of their entities on the Thrashers. The Hawks until their recent run haven't been successful both on the court and attendance wise either.
I’m from Atlanta. I remember going to a game and watching the electrifying Kovalchuk, Lehtonen in net, and the house was packed, lots of people wearing the jersey you have on. So it wasn’t the people, the fans, filling seats. Senators don’t have lots of fans at games but you don’t hear about them relocating. I don’t think you’ll ever see Florida or Arizona relocate because those are big markets and Phoenix is only growing. Houston will be the 3rd city in 10 years…so that will happen at some point thru’ expansion.
I always think of the Calgary-Winnipeg matchups as the battle of Atlanta. Odd that the only teams who relocated north to Canada were both from Atlanta.
I’m a New England born and raised hockey fan who lived in Atlanta for 15 years. Hockey would/will be fine there with solid ownership, something that was sorely lacking with the Thrashers. I’d love to see the city get another shot and if it doesn’t work out send em to Hartford.
Agreed Shan - they did have a cool color scheme that still holds up. I actually have an argyle Thrashers ball cap that I wear for golf, got it for $5 like 7-8 years ago 😁 Met someone from ATL who went to games via free tix. Said it got him into hockey, and he wondered why there weren't more fans. A playoff run could have ignited a fan base, they had plenty of talent but just couldn't put it together like they needed to.
I'd love you to do a video on the chances of Quebec getting a team. I think they won't, because of the planned ownership, but you might have a good take on this. Love your channel. Discovered it recently and I think you're doing great work.
One thing I didn't hear mentioned is when Dany Heatly gets traded because he killed a teammate driving drunk and requested a trade because he couldn't look his team in the face. Never good to have to trade a former Calder winner
Excellent presentation on this topic. Can you do a feature on the AHL’s return to Abbotsford? Will it work? Does it make sense for an NHL franchise to have their AHL farm team playing in the same city as then?
I still remember the Atlanta Flames great goaltender - Daniel Bouchard. He was a solid goalie on some not-so-good teams. Hey, it could have been much worse; they could have been the California Golden Seals.
I had season ticket to the Flames back in the 73-74 period and watched my first NHL games in person. I've been a hockey fan ever since, but noe I pull for the Canes. Bouchard was pretty good as a goalie. Ah, the memories.
For some reason, I'm only getting half of your videos in my notifications. Almost missed a couple of videos if I didn't check your channel while listening to a video I did get notified of.
Even when the Braves were dominating the National League in the 90s there were tons of empty seats. Most people down south care more about college sports and or have teams from other states.
@@OfficialChrisW That’s actually not true, man. The Braves almost made the World Series last year, and the Hawks were two wins away from the Finals this year. Maybe you could make that argument with the Falcons, but saying it “doesn’t work as a pro sports town whatsoever” is completely wrong. In the 80’s, that was probably true, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve watched the fan bases for all our teams continue to grow. Speaking as a born and raised Atlanta native.
Isn't Bernie Geoffrion in the Hockey Hall of Fame? I know his number is retired in Montreal. He coached Atlanta for two and a half years in the 70s, then became a broadcaster for the team. I was a kid living in North Georgia and discovered hockey. This was the "Peter Puck" era on NBC. Still have an Atlanta Flames puck. P.S., capacity of the Omni for hockey was 15,278.
Let’s also not forget that the Hawks basically renovated the arena to make it more basketball-friendly, so it’s not as good of an NHL arena. An owner would probably have to build their own facility, like maybe an arena next to the Barves’ (sic) park in the burbs.
Of the post Panthers and Ducks expansion teams, the only team I’ve seen play in person is the Wild. Haven’t seen Nashville, Columbus, Vegas, and never saw Atlanta. Plan to see Seattle play this year!
Yes and you have to take ownership of making sure there is youth hockey in the area. If you just did a video of "how strong is youth hockey in a market" it would probably show a lot of why some areas have worked and not. Nashville is a great example ... early on, next to nothing, today the Predz are building rinks in the areas within a hour or two drive as fast as possible.
So true! I went to public skate in Vegas before the Knights existed! Hugely surprised to see the youth hockey and lots of activity. Sharks were a favorite NHL team. The Storm youth hockey became all VGK after 2017. Same thing true In LA in the 90’s..arrival of Anaheim and San Jose. High school hockey came along…
Well there is actually pretty good youth hockey in the greater Atlanta area. At least 5 rinks in the area and separate clubs at each. However, is that enough to truly capture the attention and culture of a market with nearly 6 million people? While the youth and adult recreational and travel leagues are viable, it may still not translate to supporting another professional team at NHL level. Hockey arguably can grow more in a market this size but needs more than the recreational hockey that exists out there. Other thoughts?!
@@ENDERNUTS Right. It isn’t enough depending on the community and the other things that are already there. I grew up in a small New England community and hockey was am irrelevance. But my experience being invited to participate in the growth of hockey after Gretzky was traded to Kings in LA was an experience that demonstrated the phenomenal success of individuals coming together to grow the sport in Southern California. I worked in the market in the 90’s and it gave many access to a sport where college sports MLB and NBA had absolutely dominated. Interesting situation because freeways had tended to make community based sports quite fragmented. A part of things is how many hockey people stay connected to the sport..NHL players who retire there..college players ..people who own rinks because they love the sport..it’s the community that brings their own individual legacy that tends to cement its presence. Florida likely has an advantage for example with pro players who retire there and continue to participate in hockey where they are. This has been true in St Louis.
Reminds me of the St. Louis Rams. Terrible ownership who had no care, team ends up relocating, the old city gets blamed for a lack of fan support despite having better support than most othet teams
With the exception of the Sabres and Canucks, the 1970 expansion teams, the rest of the 70s expansion teams were also competing for talent with the WHA. Several cities have lost two teams in the same league; for example, St. Louis lost the Cardinals and Rams in the NFL. Atlanta lost two NHL teams, both to Canadian cities. The Atlanta Flames logo is one of the best of all time, any sport.
Loved and miss the thrashers still one of the better logos and jerseys ever! Went to a game there in their last season Phillips arena was highly outdated overall compared to others !
As someone who plans to move to Northern Georgia in the next 5 years, I REALLY feel like I was born at the wrong time. I would love to go down there and attend a bunch of thrashers games.
@@willp.8120 Nah. The NHL hates Atlanta. They'll give an arm and a leg to keep a team in Arizona, but they'll allow the sale of an Atlanta team in a heartbeat. Atlanta will unfortunately never get another team.
Honestly, I think the biggest mistake the Thrashers made was not using their black players to advertise. Atlanta has a huge black population and they had 5 black players on their roster. Dustin Byfuglien, Evander Kane, Johnny Oduya, Anthony Stewart and Nigel Dawes
Since both Atlanta teams moved to Canada, if we want the Nordiques back we should all be lobbying for a 3rd Atlanta team. Seems like the best way to get more Canadian teams.
Yep.
*sad Thrasher noises*
I've been saying that all along.
And another for Hamilton and another for Saskatoon...
We need more Atlanta teams. They are the only way to get new teams in Canada.
Let's just get it done as quickly as possible: 6 new hockey teams coming to Atlanta in 2025 (until 2030)
Hahaha..sad but true.
I am old enough to remember Atlanta Thrashers being a "new team". Now, they feel like ancient history.
I was in college by the time they left our city
@Richard Aubergine I mean... isn't that kind of the point? If someone is willing to dump what will probably be a billion dollars if it keeps increasing like this, why shouldn't they get an NHL team?
You're lucky. I'm old enough to remember the Atlanta Flames being a new team. Heck, I remember the New York Islanders and California Golden Seals being new teams.
@Richard Aubergine and then that team would move to Quebec 😆
@Richard Aubergine I agree it's just bullshit how he would do that again. They have to put these teams in places where they can financially support a team for at least 20 years not 3-5 then start bailing them out and figuring a way to move them to places like Phoenix where they still can't afford their team. That's the Bettman bullshit way. Fuck Quebec should of had a team aleast 10 years ago or more they could financially support and benefit from a team.
I was a season ticket holder in Atlanta. Your coverage is extremely accurate. I've read the secret lawsuit verdict between the owners. Their plan was to pump money in the two seasons after the lockout and then sell off the Thrashers. The owners never wanted to own a NHL team, they just wanted the NBA team. And then they fell to bickering with each and neglecting the team.
And the Atlanta Spirit Group had missed a HUGE chance to have professional hockey thrive in Atlanta.
@@geoff3103 Yep. The NHL didn’t even have the thought of moving Arizona back to Winnipeg.
Very sad. People want to blame it as just being a non-traditional market, but bottom line is, management just didn't care about them.
@@bookerlo1977 That's because the NHL had taken ownership of the Coyotes and Glendale was desperate to keep the team.
That was not unique - over the years there were lots of owners that owned NBA teams - the building and got a hockey team just to have the building operating on nights the NBA wasn't playing a home game. The LA kings, and Washington Capitals are perfect examples of exactly that.
I went to dozens of Thrasher games when I lived there. A lot of the attendance numbers were transplants from NY, PHI, BOS and other large cities. It was common to hear louder cheers for Rangers goals than it was Thrasher goals. I still have a lot of Thrasher memorabilia and I think 4 or 5 jerseys, including 2 of the Blue Atlanta ones. I enjoyed the games a lot and saw a lot of great players come through, including Tkachuk and Chelios. The crowd would always scream “Knights” during the National Anthem for the former IHL Atlanta Knights. Fun times.
Exactly, Atlanta is essentially the capital of the Southern USA. there are so many transplants both in terms of people - and companies there - it is just too big to be ignored. Comparing the city of Atlanta today to the one that the Flames expanded to in 1972 is silly - it bears no resemblance.
I remember talking to Don Waddell in a season ticket holder meeting toward the end, and someone asked why they don’t spend more, and he said “I like employment”. The inept Atlanta Spirit Group never wanted the team, and it was a real life Major League situation. Atlanta deserves a third shot, but they arena needs to be near the battery or somewhere north.
The owners conned the city of Atlanta into building Philips Arena because it wanted more than one sports team in the building in order to ditch the old Omni. After they did, they couldn't care less about the Thrashers. It was an abandoned child for them. I will always resent the NHL for trying to save Arizona a thousand times, but packing up the Thrashers in two minutes.
The NHL couldn't do anything. The ATL Spirit ownership had to go. No new owners wanted to be tenets in Phillips under the old ownership group who didn't give a shit and the old owners didn't want to sell the Hawks and Phillips as a whole. A new owner would have had to come in, buy the team and immediately turn around a build a new arena. No one wanted to take all that on and would have been crazy to do so with how bad attendance was. An arena in Cobb or at the old GM plant would have been amazing though and so much closer for their fan base.
Certainly, that was a factor but I think before that it was the sale/merger of TimeWarner and the fallout of that - that lead to the situation that you describe.
I think that Heatley car accident really put a dark cloud over the Thrashers franchise trajectory, they seemed to really be on the up swing before then and just seemed to be one hard luck situation after another after that incident.
I thought they had a really good young team at that point. I was wrong about Lehtonen though. I thought he was going to be a great goaltender.
@@pussydestroyer87 Well, he was. But he was also injury prone so... there you go.
@@tespiii goaltending was definitely one of the biggest on ice problems for the Thrashers.
For sure that was a contributing factor - but ownership was the problem with the Thrashers
I hope they get a third expansion team. I would really like to see hockey return to Quebec in 10 years
Quebec should of already have been granted a team they check of the must needs financial, building, fanbase yet they still won't give them a team. Head scratching! Politics there!
@@theknowledge7024 all the nhl cares about is trying to expand in the us instead of places that want teams.
@@harrisonsmith5983 I know, it just BS they could put an NHL team in every Province and Territory and they would all thrive but then that doesn't help them promote hockey in the US if we had the cup up here for 30 years what would that have done to all those expansion teams that have won the cup they wouldn't still be where they are Tampa, Dallas, LA, Anaheim,
@@theknowledge7024 Atlanta has had two NHL teams and lost them both they won’t get another one nor should they
@@dtrain9911 I agree, just wouldn't put anything past the NHL brass
I know it would be controversial in WPG but I would have loved a thrashers reverse retro or if they start wearing thrashers throwbacks occasionally. There’s just something about their jerseys that is instantly nostalgic to me about the early 2000’s
That would be pretty cool.
I mean if everyone was ok with the colorado/nordiques and carolina/whalers throwbacks, I can't see how a thrashers throwback would even be remotely contraversial. It would be cool to see.
That would be awesome 👍
hey i think it would be awesome
The concept jersey where the bird replaces the Jet is so fucking cool
it’s one of those us markets the nhl cannot ignore. seattle (who finally got one) and houston fit into that too.
Houston should have been absorbed into the NHL at the merger instead of Hartford. There was no way Hartford was going to pry Bruin fans away from the New England area and were doomed from the start.
After two failures, it's a market that can be ignored. Too many financially struggling franchises to to even attempt a trifecta there.
@@Rockhound6165 Houston was already gone by the time of the merger. The last WHA teams were Quebec, Edmonton, New England (Hartford), Winnipeg, Cincinnati and Birmingham.
@@tygrkhat4087 they folded only after finding out they weren't going to be included. Had they been included they would have stayed.
*Potential* market. It's actual market that matters. Quebec City supported their team despite a much smaller population because hockey is part of their cultural identity. Let them have a team.
I liked Trashers, decent looking jerseys. Looked kinda promising for a while with Heater, Kovy, Lehtonen etc. Totally forgot Chelios played in Atl. Sad to see them move.
Hockey fan from Atlanta here. We do exist. Let's go Isles.
Wow… didn’t think there was another hockey fan in atlanta who now is an islanders fan, but here we are
I met an Islanders fan at an autobody supply shop near my house, so there’s a few of you guys down here in Atlanta.
Are both of you campaigning for a third team?
Random question, why not a fan of Nashville or Carolina? From a coworker, Atlanta is booming, so they may get a team in the next decade, but I'm curious why not NSH or CAR.
@@Luke63517 we have an echl team, the gladiators, which is enough for me to be honest
Flames Jets outdoor game in both their Atlanta jerseys
That would be amazing.
I like that idea
They just had the heritage classic but id be down
As an Atlanta native and Thrashers fan I would love that.
No. No. NO.
The Atlanta Thrashers had some of the worst ownership of any team in north american pro sports history. If they weren't left totally derelict by their own owners, they'd definitely still be alive and kicking today.
RIP Atlanta Thrashers 1999 2011 F in the chat for the Thrashers the logo was lit
F
F
F. Miss them so much for some odd reason
I'm happy the Jets are back... but I do strangely miss this odd little team... F
F
Nothing but fond memories of going to thrashers games. We took my little brother to one when I was in town and I’ve never seen more pure joy on his face than when the thrasher heads breathed fire after goals.
Thank you for the Atlanta tribute! Nice to hear some positive vibes about my favourite team! Happy our failure helps other fans franchises survive.
That Thrashers jersey is incredible.
I miss the thrashers so much just imagine about the blue thrashers jersey In adidas if only Winnipeg jets bought the rights now that would be good cause they finally accept their past not saying all Winnipeg jets fans don’t expect it also the jerseys would be great.
Please add a 4th Atlanta team so we can get one in Hamilton!
The reverse retros were it for me. Winnipeg can take a long walk off a short pier. Even if they had put the secondary logo for Atlanta on the shoulders, it would've been a nice gesture. If Atlanta gets another team, I hope Winnipeg is a huge rival.
Please add a comma or period, in an effort to make your comments more clear. Thank you.
The Thrashers last year in the NHL was my senior year of high school
Same! Class of 2011
that was the last year i got to see the sabres in the playoffs to give you a little more perspective
Same lol
Junior year for me!
@@39sabres to end the Sabres playoffs curse .. bringing back a NHL team in Atlanta 😎
Hey I'm early! Just wanna say thank you Shanman. I've been subscribed since 4k and I love watching the channel grow. Thank you for the hours of entertainment you have produced for me and 200,000 others!
Yup. Been fun watching the channel grow
I've commented on THG videos on Atlanta in the past so forgive comment redundancies...
1) 0:33 How can anyone hate the powder blue Thrashers jerseys? It's the only good jersey they had! (Esp. the original jerseys.....bleeeccch, what a monstrosity). *But* "Blueland" was the stupidest marketing concept in the world (Hello! The team *literally played* in the Thrasherville area!).
2) 1:53 This was one big problem with the history of major league hockey in Atlanta: The NHL going there for reasons other than grassroots interest. First they go there to keep the WHA out (despite absolutely no minor league history there) and then go there again to suckle at the Time Warner teat (despite a competing bid in Atlanta from people that actually knew something about hockey).
3) 4:31 That sounds bad but the Hawks were doing worse in terms of bodies in the stands. But there were other circumstances that made a NBA team less desirable to transport (namely that a NBA team is a better TV property just about anywhere in America (then and now)).
4) 6:02 I've said it many times: with as many teams as the NHL created and relocated in the 1990s, it's a minor miracle that only one team has relocated in the last 21 years.
5) 7:45 It wasn't so much that Don Waddell was the problem as what the reluctance to fire him represented: ownership that didn't care and wasn't paying attention. Good GMs get fired all the time because it just isn't working out with that franchise. Fans got discouraged because the longer Waddell was there, the more it demonstrated that ownership didn't care that much if the Thrashers won or lost. There's such a thing as too much pressure and definitely such a thing as too *little* pressure.
6) Not only was talent picked over, but the Thrashers came in during one of the worst drafts in NHL history (1999). If they could have procured the Sedins somehow (instead of Vancouver), we're having an entirely different conversation.
7) 10:56 Not only did the housing crash hit, but the team got off to a terrible start and fired Bob Hartley (the only really good coach they ever had) in the process. I maintain that it wasn't one over the other: the playoff flameout *combined* with the shitty start really took a hit on the fanbase.
8 ) 12:31 Never mind attendance: the TV ratings weren't good. The whole reason you put a team in Atlanta is because it's a major media market. But no one was watching the Thrashers on TV either. So they weren't getting that major media push.
9) 13:37 What also bears mentioning is that the Spirit openly courted an exclusive negotiation for the Hawks and arena rights *without* the Thrashers (the John Moore negotiations). It was a poison pill. It was openly telling everyone: You can't buy the Thrashers unless you want to move them to another arena because you won't get parking money, concession money, or any leases. The only way the Thrashers could have been profitable in Atlanta at that point, IMO, is if Liberty Media had developed their Cobb mallpark plan three years earlier. *They* could have bought the team with the auspices of building a new arena for them. Gwinnett's arena wasn't big enough and didn't have a corporation with enough torque to take on expanding the arena + paying the money to get the team.
10) 14:29 Marc Savard's departure was the worst on-ice personnel decision in the history of the franchise. I was at that '08 All Star Game and every Thrashers fan I ran into there was lamenting they'd let him go. In fact, that game was highly symbolic of the Thrashers' run: The fans were desperate for Kovy to get a goal (he didn't) and instead they saw the guy that got away score the game winner.
11) 17:23 The ECHL Glads are OK but I think an AHL farm team for the Preds would do very well by AHL standards (think Lake Erie Swamp Monsters profile). But the Preds' affiliation with Milwaukee is so so solid.
12) As a transplant living here, it really bears mentioning: it's hard to convert transplant fans into regular ticket buyers for a new team (I was fuming when the Thrashers moved because it literally coincided with me *finally* having the household income to afford season tickets). But you look at Atlanta United: how many transplants grew up die-hard fans of their hometown/home state's MLS team? Barely any. United became the hot new Atlanta brand to rally around. That said...
13) It also goes undermentioned how "unsexy" a brand the Thrashers brand was. United's appeal here really has underscored that for me: People love the logo, the banners all across town, etc. I don't think any of the Thrashers or Flames branding was nearly as appealing ("You know what we should do to appeal to locals? Remind them of when the city burned down! That's the ticket!"). If the NHL *did* return a third time (though I highly doubt they ever will), and knowing they can't be the Knights (which would have worked great), I'd suggest Atlanta Resurgens.
14) The biggest missed opportunity for Atlanta hockey in general was Ted Turner not taking a short-term loss and buying the Flames in 1980. He would have taken a bath for a few years *but* he could have used TBS (and its national outreach) to establish the Flames as the southeastern brand of hockey, a decade or more before the league really expanded there in earnest. As the Braves were branded "America's Team," so too the Flames could have been "Dixie's hockey team" or something similar.
15) If the NHL wants to expand beyond a white audience, a market like Atlanta (maybe not Atlanta itself but a market like it) is crucial. There's a stereotype that black people won't watch hockey. I don't buy that for a second. I've worked with many black students that have gone into sports journalism. Most of them love hockey. But every single one of them will tell you the sport suffers from a branding problem (AKA the perception is "black people don't like hockey therefore hockey must not want black people watching it").
Had a lot of time on your hands did ya
@@kirkjordan8718 it's a subject I've thought a tiny bit about 😅
@@brycemcneil4404 I have the same problem lol
The third time around can work. The Washington Nationals won a World Series after two Senators teams left in the 60's and 70's.
I’d love to see Winnipeg do a jersey tribute to Atlanta while keeping the current identity. I’m in the minority when I say I hated the powder blue jersey, but the navy one with the red sleeves they had was absolutely spectacular.
If the jets took that jersey design, threw on a jet logo in the style of Atlanta’s abstract logo, and then colour matched it to their current identity (navy jersey with powder blue sleeves and silver trim, I think it would be a sharp look.
I think Winnipeg has pretty much wiped anything Atlanta from their history and are basically treating that team as if it were an expansion team or the return of the Coyotes from Phoenix.
@@Murph_gaming pretty much but it because they only bought the right to players and the franchise rights not anything else meaning the jets ownership doesn't own the copyright much less the trademarks for the thrashers while the prior owners do
I'm sick of the way many people in Winnipeg have treated Atlanta and its fans. I would prefer to not be associated with the little city of Winnipeg.
Totally agree on your jersey taste
In a regard of Flames' attendance numbers, it should be mentioned that back in the '70s the capacities of NHL arenas were, on average, smaller than they are today.
Heck, one example for all, the Bruins played in Boston Garden until 1995 and that arena could hold LESS than 15,000 (!!) spectators for ice hockey games.
So Flames' averaging over 14,000 per game during some of their seasons in Atlanta was totally and utterly great in the wider picture.
The Omni was the last arena built that didn't have any luxury suites or any thing like that. It was a small arena with zero modern amenities. It is no shock they failed. Keep in mind between the Flames and Thrashers we Atlanta fans saw ZERO PLAYOFF round wins. Ever. Literally Ever.
Great video as always! I'm one of those Atlanta based fans. I got into the Thrashers mere months before they relocated... great timing lol... everyone I know who had been a Thrashers fan chose to change over to liking a team with a deep and storied history. Probably we just didn't want to get hurt again. At the time right after relocation, it was so hard to try to tell people it was the bad ownership because they just blamed it on the fans. But now I hope they watch this video and understand the truth of the matter!
Also you're 100% correct, that jersey design is fire 🔥 and give your cats a pet for me, I love watching them move around during your videos 🤣
Got to go to a thrashers game in 07. As a kid from rural south Georgia it changed my life. I had never seen hockey before and I fell in love. I miss blue land. Been a lightning fan since they left.
This was sad to watch as a Lightning fan. Losing the Thrashers was like losing an old friend since they played each other like every other weekend. Plus when the Lightning and Thrashers were both bad for a good while, Atlanta was that opponent where you could go to the game for cheap and think, "well, we can at least compete in and possibly win this one!"
Hard to believe it's been 10 years since they left. I do miss having an NHL team here but also moved on to support Nashville when Atlanta left.
thank you shannon
I always thought the Thrashers had decent fans…but man their ownership was so bad! Had the franchise not been sold to their current ownership in Winnipeg, who knows if they would’ve ever gotten the success we’ve seen
Honestly, the ownership was allowed to breach its agreement with the league (think of it as a NMC for franchises) specifically because the league no longer wanted to deal with the dysfunctional children that were Atlanta Spirit. If AOL Time Warner remained as owners, however, who knows where the Thrashers would be today... but it probably wouldn't have been moved to Winnipeg.
ATL will get another shot at some point. The reasons for the departure of the Flames and Thrashers had nothing to do with the market.
@@dj4aces As an Atlanta fan I’d hope so but with the NHL at 32 teams I don’t see them expanding anytime soon. If they for whatever reason expand to 40 teams then I could see them giving Atlanta another shot. Atlanta is such a large market it’d be hard for the NHL to ignore them
@@dylan3488 Bear in mind, I didn't say *how* Atlanta would get a team, just that Atlanta *will*. Will it be via expansion? Will it be via relocation? You know as much as I do. The fact that Atlanta is a large market does indeed make it hard to ignore, and you can be sure the league would rather drop teams in Atlanta and Houston than Kansas City and Quebec.
For anything to happen on any front, a potential owner or group needs to step up and start talking to the league.
I watches this video multiple times. I like your videos a lot, but rarely need to watch them multiple times. I think about all of the management mistakes made in Atlanta, relate them to the current things happening in Philly, and worry.
You mentioned about Cliff Fletcher to be the only eventual Hall of Famer who was involved with the Flames while they were in Atlanta. I guess that's technically correct. Their first head coach, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, was inducted as a player only a short time before starting his first season with the organization.
They had some decent players like Curt Bennett, Bobby Leiter, Tom Lysiac, Jaques Richard, Bob, McMillan, Ken Houston, Guy Chouinard, Eric Vail, & Willie Plett but just weren't good enough long enough.
Love these random but often thought about history lessons that tie directly into. Jeremy hockey events. Great job man.
Recent, not Jeremy. But I do miss Roenick. But I wouldn’t let him near my wife.
I grew up a Thrashers fan, they were 1 of only 2 Atlanta teams I considered my favorites. I’m a VGK fan now.
I've tried to explain this whole point of view to everyone. Thanks Shannon for taking the time to explain to the common folk who doesn't understand Hockey. Two thumbs up 👍👍
Houston makes the most sense !
Don't worry that's where the Coyote's are going to go!
Off topic but I love how he still has the Cleveland Barons logo as his channel logo lol
Why does he have the Barons logo up there? Not that I’m complaining
The Barons were bad all around; bad management, bad arena, a less than talented team. And it's too bad, Cleveland is a good hockey town. The AHL Barons won multiple Calder Cups, the WHA Crusaders lasted a few years until the Barons pushed them out and now in the downtown arena, the IHL and AHL teams have done well. A new team in Cleveland as a rival to the Blue Jackets?
With the way Atlanta has started to embrace its teams more and more in recent years, I absolutely think a hockey team would, and could, survive here. The biggest hurdle would be getting a team here, which at this point would have to be at the expense of another team relocating. As far as I can tell, that’s quite the long shot, considering the Canadian markets that would be fighting to get a team.
Yeah, no. A potential hockey team in Atlanta will have even less support because of the demographics of that city.
@@Tompa8989 I would love to know what you mean by that.
The argument that Atlanta is “a city of transplants” has dragged on too long. There is a lot of pride for our city and theres a bunch of adults my age who are children of transplants but have grown up here
The Thrashers were a fun team to watch and I loved that jersey.
Bring back memories of watching them. Less than an hour from Atlanta. Still have the white jersey. Always wanted the light blue jersey.
0:36 My hometown team at the time used a Jersey based off the Atlanta Jersey just a different logo and obviously different city name...that was the first hockey team I cheered for and wore a Jersey for so I still have a soft spot for that Atlanta Jersey as it is so similar
Hey there Shannon; love your “historical” videos-really great perspective & always informative 👏🏻👏🏻
He didn’t cover that I heard at least what about the ownership change from Time Warner to the Spirit Group? The NHL thought they were getting deep pocketed solid ownership and wound up w an ugly fiasco if I’ve read correctly
You mention really bad Thrashers trades…I’m immediately reminded of that Alexei Zhitnik for Braydon Coburn deadline deal. The Flyers are still reaping the rewards of that deal, a decade-plus later
Atlanta: "We failed twice totalling 19 years"
Arizona: "Hold my beer"
THG keeps asking why the NHL would have it's
officials help Vegas be successful. Well THG it
sure would help sell Seattle a $650M franchise
now wouldn't it? YES. Yes it would. Like I've said
many times. Bettman is a BRILLIANT salesman.
Just because I hate the guy doesn't mean I don't
respect his genius.
i think the jets should do a jersey with ‘winnipeg’ down the arm like that for a throwback or something
The last NHLBC convention (2019) was held in Georgia which means there are definitely still hockey fans in the area. The 2020 convention is postponed until 2022 because of the pandemic.
basically what bill wirtz did to my hawks, nearly killed the franchise, the only difference was being in chicago with so much history or they would have left
Dying was probably the best thing he did for the Hawks. Home games on TV ? Over my dead body! and Rocky calls the sports channel as soon as he gets back from the funeral
With the current expansion draft rules, Atlanta would be successful.
With the current expansion draft rules, you could assemble a master class of bad GMs and still go on a cup run!
Absolute joke the new rules.expansion side should draft last
Im sorry no. Being the fifth team in Atlanta they would never draws , Falcons first Bulldogs next , braves hawks and even the new Atlanta soccer team.
Yes but also remember right out of the gate with that expansion team they also took Patrik Štefan in the 1999 draft who was a huge bust
Passing on both Sedin twins is still a massive “what if” for that franchise!
I've also never seen a league pump up its expansion teams like the NHL is doing w/ Seattle & Vegas. Those 2 teams are gonna be good for a couple decades at least. Total joke.
I needed this topic, thanks for the video 👍👍
I'm stuck in Atlanta and have been for years 😭 lol
Thanks again man!!
Grew up a Thrashers fan in Atlanta. This year I picked up hockey again and have been rooting for Minnesota. Hopefully the ATL gets a hockey team again before I die.
Someone once said There are no bad cities(ability to support a team) only bad franchises(management and overall operations) so many of these teams could have thrived in these cities if given the time and if they had good management.
Each year, some team in either the echl or ahl takes on the identity of the Atlanta thrashers for one period of one game. The legend lives on
I would love to see you do some more videos on the SPHL. Florida has 2 cup winning teams this year.
Thrashers never had the ownership support. Never had a proper team building plan that wasn't fighting each other for stakeholding. The dirty secret of "having good fans" is if you're good or not. We sure as hell didn't think of Chicago as a bad hockey city this decade, even though they were garbage for 20 years with no fans.
Cant compare the Thrashers to the Blackhawks.
Dollar Bill would swindle season ticket holders and black out home games on TV.
The Thrashers were in a bad market period.
@@jagartharn6361 Bad ownership was still the common denominator. Atlanta was hardly a bad market. People just aren't willing to think that a place that likes hockey would lose a team, "no, they must've been apathetic!" Atlanta people cared just fine, there was just no organizational stability.
www.ajc.com/sports/state-sports/10-years-later-a-void-in-atlanta-after-loss-of-thrashers/GIPFZT53EZC6LE5N7KQNQBR2PI/
Bring back the Atlanta Thrashers! Imagine if the NHL gave the Thrashers the same love they gave Vegas and Seattle.
They’d do bad because Atlanta is a horrible place
Choose a different name instead of using an inanimate object or a weak bird.
@@MrGray-nm2uq and Seattle isn't?
@@aquapyro1 I got one, the Savannah Regulators for the NHL. You have the two military bases near Savannah and college hockey thrived since 1999.
Savannah is a baseball town and it can be a cash cow for the NHL and the ECHL.
Savannah will have to build a new second arena as well which would help to build right next to the EnMarket Arena.
@@Shawn6751 Savannah is lucky to get ECHL. There is only about 375,000 people in the metro.
Congrats on 201k!
Yeah… about that “Don Waddell doing well in Carolina” thing 😂😂🤣🤣
Thank you for the Don Waddell comments, he has a chance to FINALLY show what he can do , now, fingers crossed he can take the Canes deeper into the playoffs!!
Atlanta hockey fan here. There’s lots of us and we really miss our team. This video is spot on. The thrashers didn’t leave because we didn’t like them, they left because they were handed to the worst ownership group in professional sports. The group also owned the Atlanta hawks NBA team as well. The Atlanta Spirit ownership group only cared about NBA and arena rights so it was only a matter of time before they destroyed the Thrashers. It’s really a shame because there is a hockey culture here and we have some really nice hockey rinks around town but the morons who owned the Thrashers ruined NHL for not just Atlanta, but the whole state of Georgia and even some of our neighboring states that follow the Atlanta sports market too.
I swear they put the losses from all of their entities on the Thrashers. The Hawks until their recent run haven't been successful both on the court and attendance wise either.
I’m from Atlanta. I remember going to a game and watching the electrifying Kovalchuk, Lehtonen in net, and the house was packed, lots of people wearing the jersey you have on. So it wasn’t the people, the fans, filling seats.
Senators don’t have lots of fans at games but you don’t hear about them relocating. I don’t think you’ll ever see Florida or Arizona relocate because those are big markets and Phoenix is only growing. Houston will be the 3rd city in 10 years…so that will happen at some point thru’ expansion.
I always think of the Calgary-Winnipeg matchups as the battle of Atlanta. Odd that the only teams who relocated north to Canada were both from Atlanta.
I’m a New England born and raised hockey fan who lived in Atlanta for 15 years. Hockey would/will be fine there with solid ownership, something that was sorely lacking with the Thrashers. I’d love to see the city get another shot and if it doesn’t work out send em to Hartford.
Agreed Shan - they did have a cool color scheme that still holds up. I actually have an argyle Thrashers ball cap that I wear for golf, got it for $5 like 7-8 years ago 😁
Met someone from ATL who went to games via free tix. Said it got him into hockey, and he wondered why there weren't more fans. A playoff run could have ignited a fan base, they had plenty of talent but just couldn't put it together like they needed to.
Atlanta must be a beloved city in Canada. They have provided two NHL teams after all!
I'd love you to do a video on the chances of Quebec getting a team. I think they won't, because of the planned ownership, but you might have a good take on this. Love your channel. Discovered it recently and I think you're doing great work.
I want another team down here so bad, looking at what ATL UTD did as an expansion team gives me hope
Love that Thrashers logo, sucks when teams have to move
The flushing toilet said everything about the team management
Congrats on 200 000 subscribers!
One thing I didn't hear mentioned is when Dany Heatly gets traded because he killed a teammate driving drunk and requested a trade because he couldn't look his team in the face. Never good to have to trade a former Calder winner
Excellent presentation on this topic. Can you do a feature on the AHL’s return to Abbotsford? Will it work? Does it make sense for an NHL franchise to have their AHL farm team playing in the same city as then?
Didn't know I wanted this video, but here we are
The joke would be to have a third team in Atlanta and then eventually move it to Quebec City.
I still remember the Atlanta Flames great goaltender - Daniel Bouchard. He was a solid goalie on some not-so-good teams. Hey, it could have been much worse; they could have been the California Golden Seals.
I had season ticket to the Flames back in the 73-74 period and watched my first NHL games in person. I've been a hockey fan ever since, but noe I pull for the Canes.
Bouchard was pretty good as a goalie. Ah, the memories.
Make that "now."
For some reason, I'm only getting half of your videos in my notifications. Almost missed a couple of videos if I didn't check your channel while listening to a video I did get notified of.
Attendance or not alot of the tickets were given away or sold on " what you want to pay " deals .
Even when the Braves were dominating the National League in the 90s there were tons of empty seats. Most people down south care more about college sports and or have teams from other states.
Exactly, Atlanta just doesn't work as a pro sports town whatsoever.
No. The Braves were selling out.
@@OfficialChrisW That’s actually not true, man. The Braves almost made the World Series last year, and the Hawks were two wins away from the Finals this year. Maybe you could make that argument with the Falcons, but saying it “doesn’t work as a pro sports town whatsoever” is completely wrong. In the 80’s, that was probably true, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve watched the fan bases for all our teams continue to grow. Speaking as a born and raised Atlanta native.
@@penguinsfan251 tell that to David Justice.
Atlanta expansion team part 3: The Flaming Thrashers!
YES PLEASE
And then they move to Quebec City lol
Isn't Bernie Geoffrion in the Hockey Hall of Fame? I know his number is retired in Montreal. He coached Atlanta for two and a half years in the 70s, then became a broadcaster for the team. I was a kid living in North Georgia and discovered hockey. This was the "Peter Puck" era on NBC. Still have an Atlanta Flames puck. P.S., capacity of the Omni for hockey was 15,278.
Your cats are adorable.
Byfuglien Ladd, Entrom Wheels Little. 2010 Thrashers
I'm glad you agreed with me. Atlanta got shyt picking
That nordiques joke made me laugh out loud and that rarely happens. Good job.
Let’s also not forget that the Hawks basically renovated the arena to make it more basketball-friendly, so it’s not as good of an NHL arena. An owner would probably have to build their own facility, like maybe an arena next to the Barves’ (sic) park in the burbs.
Bought that same jersey last week, still with tags for £50, I love it!
You should do a video on the problem of having a franchise located too close to another. Teams like the Senators, Ducks and Islanders come to mind.
Great Vid Shannon... as an incoming Kraken fan, I found this VERY interesting. Thank you!
Of the post Panthers and Ducks expansion teams, the only team I’ve seen play in person is the Wild. Haven’t seen Nashville, Columbus, Vegas, and never saw Atlanta. Plan to see Seattle play this year!
I practice and play at the old thrashers practice facility, it is pretty neat.
Yes and you have to take ownership of making sure there is youth hockey in the area. If you just did a video of "how strong is youth hockey in a market" it would probably show a lot of why some areas have worked and not.
Nashville is a great example ... early on, next to nothing, today the Predz are building rinks in the areas within a hour or two drive as fast as possible.
So true! I went to public skate in Vegas before the Knights existed! Hugely surprised to see the youth hockey and lots of activity. Sharks were a favorite NHL team. The Storm youth hockey became all VGK after 2017. Same thing true In LA in the 90’s..arrival of Anaheim and San Jose. High school hockey came along…
Well there is actually pretty good youth hockey in the greater Atlanta area. At least 5 rinks in the area and separate clubs at each. However, is that enough to truly capture the attention and culture of a market with nearly 6 million people? While the youth and adult recreational and travel leagues are viable, it may still not translate to supporting another professional team at NHL level. Hockey arguably can grow more in a market this size but needs more than the recreational hockey that exists out there. Other thoughts?!
@@ENDERNUTS Right. It isn’t enough depending on the community and the other things that are already there. I grew up in a small New England community and hockey was am irrelevance. But my experience being invited to participate in the growth of hockey after Gretzky was traded to Kings in LA was an experience that demonstrated the phenomenal success of individuals coming together to grow the sport in Southern California. I worked in the market in the 90’s and it gave many access to a sport where college sports MLB and NBA had absolutely dominated. Interesting situation because freeways had tended to make community based sports quite fragmented. A part of things is how many hockey people stay connected to the sport..NHL players who retire there..college players ..people who own rinks because they love the sport..it’s the community that brings their own individual legacy that tends to cement its presence. Florida likely has an advantage for example with pro players who retire there and continue to participate in hockey where they are. This has been true in St Louis.
Reminds me of the St. Louis Rams.
Terrible ownership who had no care, team ends up relocating, the old city gets blamed for a lack of fan support despite having better support than most othet teams
As much as I'd like to see Atlanta get a third shot at it...not gonna happen.
Never say never. Baseball gave DC a 3rd shot.
@@Rockhound6165 You're right. Going by the attendance at the Atlanta Gladiators games, it's highly doubtful.
With the exception of the Sabres and Canucks, the 1970 expansion teams, the rest of the 70s expansion teams were also competing for talent with the WHA.
Several cities have lost two teams in the same league; for example, St. Louis lost the Cardinals and Rams in the NFL. Atlanta lost two NHL teams, both to Canadian cities.
The Atlanta Flames logo is one of the best of all time, any sport.
Loved and miss the thrashers still one of the better logos and jerseys ever! Went to a game there in their last season Phillips arena was highly outdated overall compared to others !
Also, the Jets have now made the playoffs 4 times in 10 seasons since moving to Winnipeg, while the Thrashers only made it once in 11 seasons.
As someone who plans to move to Northern Georgia in the next 5 years, I REALLY feel like I was born at the wrong time. I would love to go down there and attend a bunch of thrashers games.
Atlanta hockey fan here. I know we'll never get another team, but I sure do miss having an NHL team.
We will probably eventually get another team, though I think it will probably be another 15-20 years.
@@willp.8120 Nah. The NHL hates Atlanta. They'll give an arm and a leg to keep a team in Arizona, but they'll allow the sale of an Atlanta team in a heartbeat. Atlanta will unfortunately never get another team.
Honestly, I think the biggest mistake the Thrashers made was not using their black players to advertise. Atlanta has a huge black population and they had 5 black players on their roster. Dustin Byfuglien, Evander Kane, Johnny Oduya, Anthony Stewart and Nigel Dawes