Atlanta has lost two NHL franchises. The Flames left in 1980. The Thrashers left in 2011. No other city in NHL history has lost two teams.
The Thrashers' twelve seasons produced one playoff appearance, zero playoff wins, a genuine superstar who wanted out, and a relocation that gave Winnipeg its team back.
The Second Try
The NHL first tried Atlanta in 1972 with the Atlanta Flames, who lasted eight seasons before moving to Calgary in 1980.
Nineteen years later the league came back. In 1997 the NHL awarded Atlanta an expansion franchise, and the Thrashers began play in the 1999-2000 season, playing out of the brand-new Philips Arena and owned by Time Warner as part of a portfolio that included the Braves and Hawks.
The team was named for the brown thrasher, Georgia's state bird. The colors were navy, copper, bronze, and gold.
The optimism was real. Atlanta was a booming Sun Belt city with a growing population and corporate base, and the NHL was confident that the failures of the 1970s would not repeat.
Ilya Kovalchuk
The Thrashers' defining player was Ilya Kovalchuk, selected first overall in the 2001 NHL Draft.
Kovalchuk was a pure goal scorer, one of the most dangerous shooters of his generation. He scored 40 or more goals in six different seasons with Atlanta and led the NHL in goals in 2003-04 with 41. He was the franchise: their marketing, their identity, their reason to buy a ticket.
He also, eventually, wanted out.
Alongside Kovalchuk, the Thrashers drafted Dany Heatley second overall in 2000, and the two formed one of the most exciting young scoring duos in hockey. Marian Hossa, acquired in 2005, added another elite forward.
There was talent in Atlanta. It just never held together.
The Snyder Tragedy
On September 29, 2003, Thrashers forward Dan Snyder was a passenger in a Ferrari driven by teammate Dany Heatley when Heatley lost control at high speed. The car struck a brick pillar and split apart.
Snyder suffered a severe head injury and died six days later at age 25.
Heatley survived with serious injuries and was charged with vehicular homicide. He eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received probation. The Snyder family publicly forgave him.
Heatley was traded to Ottawa in 2005. The Thrashers never recovered emotionally or competitively from the loss of Snyder, and the tragedy hangs over the franchise's history.
2007: The One Playoff Appearance
In 2006-07, the Thrashers finished 43-28-11, won the Southeast Division, and made the playoffs for the first and only time in franchise history.
They were swept by the New York Rangers in four games. They did not win a single playoff game in twelve years of existence.
The Decline and Move
Ownership was the core problem. In 2005, Time Warner sold the Thrashers, Hawks, and arena operating rights to Atlanta Spirit LLC, a group of investors who almost immediately fell into bitter, expensive litigation with each other. The lawsuits consumed the ownership group's attention and money for years.
An owner in open legal warfare with itself cannot market a team, invest in a roster, or build a fanbase. Attendance fell to among the worst in the league. Kovalchuk, watching the franchise stagnate, was traded to New Jersey in February 2010.
On May 31, 2011, the Thrashers were sold to True North Sports and Entertainment and relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, restoring the Winnipeg Jets name to the NHL 15 years after the original Jets left for Phoenix.
The Legacy
**Atlanta is the only city to lose two NHL franchises.** That distinction shapes every conversation about Sun Belt hockey.
**They gave Winnipeg its team back.** The Thrashers' failure directly caused one of the most emotional franchise revivals in sports history. Winnipeg sold out its season ticket allotment in 17 minutes.
**Dan Snyder should be remembered.** The Thrashers Foundation and the Snyder family established awards and scholarships in his name. He was 25.
**Kovalchuk deserved better.** One of the greatest pure goal scorers of his era spent his prime on a franchise that could not support him.
Twelve seasons. One playoff appearance. Zero playoff wins. Two failed franchises in one city.
Atlanta Hockey 1999-2011 | Lost Twice | Vintage Hockey T-Shirt – Odd Man Rush