WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ATLANTA THRASHERS? // RELOCATED: HISTORY OF THE ATLANTA THRASHERS DOCUMENTARY

In this All Sports History video we'll look back at what happened to the Atlanta Thrashers when the team's owners sued each other over a trade dispute, which ultimately led to the team's sale to a Canadian business group out of Winnipeg.
Here's what this "Atlanta Thrashers History" video covers:
The Atlanta Thrashers first game was against the New Jersey Devils in October of 1999. The team was actually the second NHL team awarded to Atlanta in the city’s history. So what exactly led to the team leaving their home in Atlanta after only 11 seasons? In today’s video we’ll take a look back at how bitter in-fighting and legal battles within the team’s ownership group eventually led to their sale and the Atlanta Thrashers relocation.
We'll also look back at some Atlanta Thrashers highlights throughout their history, like the Thrasher's first game and how the team's name is tied to the history of city of Atlanta. We'll cover the destruction of the Omni Coliseum, and the building of Philips Arena which became the Thrasher's home in 1999. Then we'll go through their playoff appearance during the 2006-2007 season, featuring the matchup of the Atlanta Thrashers vs New York Rangers. The Atlanta Thrashers playoffs appearance would be their first and only time in the playoffs. Next we'll head to the early 2000's, when the Thrashers drafted future stars Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk. We'll also cover the Dany Heatley car accident that severely injured Dany Heatley and tragically killed his Thrasher's teammate Dan Synder. Finally, we'll see the impact of the Atlanta Thrashers ownership group implosion after Steve Belkin sued the other members over a trade involving the group's other team the Atlanta Hawks. The team lost millions of dollars on the lawsuit and settlement, which forced Atlanta Spirit LLC to sell the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment. We'll look at the Atlanta Thrashers last game at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.
What did you guys think about the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg and becoming the Jets? And what did you think about the owners of Atlanta Spirit LLC suing each other and eventually causing the sale of the Thrashers? Let me know in the comments below!
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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ATLANTA THRASHERS? // RELOCATED: HISTORY OF THE ATLANTA THRASHERS DOCUMENTARY
ATLANTA THRASHERS HOCKEY TEAM // DEFUNCT TEAMS

[@AllSportsHistory]

**CORRECTION** The Minnesota Wild are based out of St. Paul and not Minneapolis as mentioned. Hey Sports Historians! What do you guys think of the Thrashers moving to Winnipeg and becoming the Jets? And what did you think the owners suing each other over a trade? Let me know in the comments below!

[@cambarkman558]

Winnipeg is the best hockey city out there. Obvious move at the time.

[@tonyarceneaux286]

Hey All Sports History I have a couple of topics for you. 1. All NFL Championships Games Before The Super Bowl. 2. All AFL Championship Games Before The Super Bowl.

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

Honestly, any semi large city in Canada could handle an NHL team. Winnipeg isn't a metropolis and it has a booming hockey market.

[@akummo_was_not_here]

@@JoeyArmstrong2800 Sure But I'm a Blue Jackets fan

[@adamrmattock1]

Please do one on the original Winnipeg Jets?

[@jameshenderson4089]

Being from Winnipeg obviously I am happy to have the Jets but it’s still sad to see how bad the thrashers were managed. When I was 14 we lost the first iteration of the Jets and it was rough. I remember the whole province seemed like it had been some how demoted. It felt like the heart of the city had been ripped out and there was nothing anyone could do. It took me years to watch the NHL again and ended up cheering for the AHL Manitoba moose.

[@atypicallark9617]

Here's something somewhat uplifting: Bogosian & Coburn would become Stanley Cup Champions in 2020, with Bogo returning to Tampa this off-season. Bogosian is officially more successfully than either Heatley or Kovalchuk.

[@wingsfan3124]

Bogo played his first NHL playoff game in 2020

[@TheArake07]

Atlanta born and raised but I can’t blame Winnipeg for not wanting to have anything to do with the Thrashers. Atlanta Spirit screwed us so hard we probably won’t see another NHL team in the 404

[@willp.8120]

I think the best place for a new team is off I-285 near the Chattahoochee River just inside Fulton County and within the office park area off New Northside Drive. If you look on overhead maps, there's plenty of room for an arena. The roads could easily be widened, as could the exits, and there's room for a limited on and off exit from the west that could be constructed right to the arena's "door". They have enough room to build an entertainment complex around it, too. The second best location would be near the Truist Bark and the Battery, just a few miles down the road. However, there's really no available land, and if a new arena were to be constructed there, some of the businesses on the north of the Battery would have to be torn down to allow for the room to build the arena. Downtown is not a good place for the overwhelming white fanbase for hockey. It's considered unsafe by a lot of people, and it's a hassle to get downtown for a 7pm game, dealing with all the traffic, especially if someone wants to go home after work to get the family before headed out to the arena. A third choice could be just inside I-285, just south of the Sandy Springs medical facilities near Medical Center MARTA station. The only problem with this is that it is already so congested here that I think we'd end up with some of the same traffic situations. Gwinnett is too congested and is too far from much of the fanbase, and the south metro is majority black, and on the opposite side of town from the majority of the metro area's white population. I think this would be a problem in getting to games. Alpharetta or Roswell is a possibility, but the traffic situation could be a problem, but I do think this location would work better than downtown. It's also in a hockey fan rich area within the metropolitan area.

[@willp.8120]

@Cameron W Think about how absurd it is for a metropolitan area of over six million people not only to not have an NHL team, but to also have a AA hockey team, not even the highest level of minor league hockey. It is crazy. Then you have metropolitan areas like Nashville with literally only one third of the population having a successful team, and then for people to claim that hockey works in Nashville but not Atlanta. That is craziness. For one, Atlanta has far more transplants than Nashville. Secondly, three times the population. Nashville works because they have owners who have not sabotaged the team, who have marketed it, and who are heavily invested in the area. The Thrashers had none of that under Atlanta Spirit Group. They are the reason why Atlanta no longer has an NHL team. They intentionally, it appears, made it where no local buyers could purchase the team and be financially successful. They appear to have wanted the relocation fee money. Atlanta has the fourth highest baseball attendance. The highest soccer attendance. Football attendance in the top half of all teams, and basketball is the worst, but there are eleven teams with worse attendance. Even when the Thrashers we're here with bad teams and poor ownership, they were never last in attendance. Phoenix and the Islanders regularly had lower attendance and they are still in the league in their own cities. The Thrashers had higher attendance than the Blackhawks, Penguins, and Bruins a number of years. Both situations of the Flames and Thrashers leaving had to do with ownership mismanagement either in or off the ice. It had little to do with attendance or being able to support a team. Atlanta also is the fourth largest urbanized area by square miles on Earth. As such, it should have an NHL team. Anything less us a disservice to this area. I do like the Gladiators and went to three games this past season, but they'd be better off to start playing in State Farm arena. The Gwinnett arena us so hard to make it to weekday games, fighting traffic through Gwinnett to make a 7ish start of game. Either that, it build a new arena in north Fulton or Cobb. Better accessibility and near the bulk of the hockey fans.

[@rowdyruffboy120]

Theres still some people who really miss the thrashers still even though they left 12 years ago. Theres a shell gas station in acworth ga that still has a light up miller lite thrashers sign in the window. If thats not enough dedication to a team that doesn’t even exist anymore, then I don’t know what is.

[@rowdyruffboy120]

@@willp.8120 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6fdlmSvbrV2odk heres the sign btw

[@iplayfhorn]

@@willp.8120 The Flames had trouble because of a lack of TV money. There was no “Hockey Night in America” that would have poured in money by the boxcar load. The Flames had one of the all-time best general managers in Cliff Fletcher, and the Thrashers had one of the all-time worst general managers in Don Waddell. How Waddell kept his job for the eleven years the Thrashers were in Atlanta is beyond me.

[@Lukedolan33]

If the Thrashers had a more stable ownership group who gave a crap about the team instead of fighting with each other, I think the Thrashers would still be in Atlanta.

[@rileykazama3145]

The coyotes probably would be back in Winnipeg

[@sjdrifter72]

@@rileykazama3145 That's what was going to happen but Gary Bettman made sure the city of Glendale voted to keep the team and prevent it's return to Winnipeg where they belonged.

[@willp.8120]

After Atlanta Spirit Group took over the franchise, they basically stopped marketing the Thrashers. Rarely any billboards around town for them, but they made it a sure thing that the Hawks would have plenty of billboards. During the Atlanta Spirit's ownership of the Thrashers, I only recall one Thrasher billboard, and that was on the downtown connector. The Hawks had billboards all throughout the suburbs as well. I feel that the owners did everything they could to discourage attendance and to not make the team noticeable so that eventually they'd say they had no choice but to sell the team.

[@willp.8120]

@@sjdrifter72 Atlanta got no breaks. It's completely unfair that Bettman showed such intense favoritism toward the Phoenix market and treated Atlanta, which is a better hockey market, as trash, easily done away with.

[@iplayfhorn]

@@willp.8120 The Thrashers also had one of the worst GMs in NHL history.

[@thenotoriousmm4433]

The thing that frustrates me is that now since Atlanta has had 2 NHL teams relocated, I feel like they’ll never get another chance in the NHL thanks to poorly run management and ownership

[@AllSportsHistory]

Sadly that’s probably true :(

[@East419forLife]

There’s no way in hell Atlanta should get a 3rd team before Wisconsin gets an opportunity for an NHL team.

[@davidcobb2693]

@@East419forLife Who in Wisconsin would own an expansion team? Community ownership like the Green Bay Packers have won't work in other professional sports leagues, so your best hope may be a for struggling NHL franchise to be lured ( conned ) into relocating to Wisconsin.

[@chrisguardiano6143]

The NHL could go back to Atlanta for a 3rd time especially given the fact that one of its new TV partners Turner Sports is based in Atlanta. However it is very unlikely given the history the NHL has with the city.

[@thenotoriousmm4433]

@@chrisguardiano6143 Also expansion seems unlikely with the Golden Knights and now the Kraken coming into the league. Relocation would be the only way Atlanta may ever get another chance in the NHL again

[@aidanwotherspoon905]

The rumour I heard was that the Coyotes were so close to moving back to Winnipeg, Bettman rushed the approval of the Thrashers’ relocation in order to save face. Because the failure of the original Jets relocation would have been the ultimate embarrassment for him

[@vinceniederman]

True and I Hope Atlanta Never Gets Another NHL Team From a Flyers Fan!

[@willp.8120]

@@vinceniederman Maybe the Flyers will move to Atlanta. We can only hope. I mean, Atlanta will pass Philadelphia in metropolitan population within two or so years.

[@vinceniederman]

@@willp.8120 The Flyers Will Never Move!

[@willp.8120]

@@vinceniederman We will do a swap with the Gladiators with you.

[@leesdroidaccountharbin9665]

That would have been epic. Also, if he was embarrassed about how the Yotes did so poorly in AZ, he could have simply let the Atlanta situation fall where it may, and the Thrashers could have taken their place. Red Wings move to the East, Thrashers move to the West in Phoenix, and the NHL goes back to having 2 divisions in each conference.

[@BluePro3]

This channel is gonna get its shine soon. You’ve been grinding and pumping out amazing content🔥

[@AllSportsHistory]

Thank you, appreciate the support!!

[@rickkaine2181]

@@AllSportsHistory Atlanta’s gonna come back to the NHL, and that will happen when I become president! 😀

[@rickkaine2181]

@@AllSportsHistory plus I just subscribed to your channel! 😀

[@AllSportsHistory]

@@rickkaine2181 Thank you for the sub, means a lot!!

[@AllSportsHistory]

@@rickkaine2181 😂

[@robertbrauer6718]

You should definitely do a video on the Charlotte Hornets. That whole situation with George Shinn was insane.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Oh yeah that would be a good one!!

[@HG-bp4im]

Just awesome stuff, as always. Another interesting way the Thrashers live on: the Jets continue the Thrashers' tradition of giving one of their players the Dan Snyder Memorial Award for demonstrating perseverance. Winnipeg likes to ignore their time in Atlanta and view themselves as the continuation of the original Jets, but this is the one place they pay homage to he team they inherited

[@sjdrifter72]

Winnipeggers don't care or want to be reminded about the Atlanta Thrashers, of whom they have no connection to. They only care about their beloved Jets and True North did the right thing in honoring the original team by creating the Jets Hall Of Fame, raising the banners of former players to the rafters, and bringing back the throwback uniforms.

[@Redstephka]

I think Atlanta will eventually get another team. That media market is big and lucrative, and you know the NHL would want that. I think within the next 5 years, a team either relocates there or the NHL expands, especially now that a new arena is being built.

[@TOCC50]

You can’t go any lower than the Zamboni theft

[@JessmanChicken86]

This channel keeps reminding me of the sports teams I forgot existed. I love it.

[@ashkechum101]

As a thrashers fan this hurts so much. I miss my team

[@michaeldeantonio6295]

As a former Thrashers season ticket holder. I really appreciate this historical analysis of the Thrashers. I've grown weary of all of the ignorant "Atlanta isn't a good hockey town" or "they had no fans" comments. Unfortunately our team fell victim to many unfortunate circumstances (ie awful expansion draft regulations), and unmotivated/ inexperienced ownership. Atlanta Spirit ended up selling the Hawks too, that group was incompetent, hired poor management (having the GM coach the team... come-on), and was unwilling to put in the effort to build a winning franchise. And we the fans had to pay for it, and we're dissed by the NHL and Winnipeg. Thanks to them we lost our team, and now wpg is consistently voted the worst NHL road trip by the players, they will never be a championship team as the better players will never want to play and live there. I hope one day expansion will come back as the Atlanta market should be too big to ignore.

[@brianbraswell434]

A look back at the Atlanta Flames would also be fascinating ... The Flames outdrew the Atlanta Hawks every year they shared the Omni. The Flames owner, Tom Cousins, was a real estate mogul who ran into trouble during the late 70's when interest rates exploded (remember Jimmy Carter, 21% prime rate) His real estate empire was in dire straits, and he could no longer sustain the franchise. At the time, people looked to Ted Turner (who already owned the Braves and the Hawks) as a logical choice to save the franchise and keep it in Atlanta. What no one knew until much later was that Turner was pouring every last nickle he had into the development of some wild new cable channel called CNN. When Turner couldn't step up, Nelson Skalbania stepped in, and the Flames ended up in Calgary.

[@z1107eod]

Not to mention how atlanta spirit and Gary bettman wouldn’t allow 2 local groups interested in buying the thrashers start the due diligence phase because ASG wanted the hawks only and if they sold local by the charter with Fulton recreation they had to sell the hawks to maintain an NHL team too under one owner. Bettman wanted that relocation fee to cover all the money he was burning in Phoenix. It was a scam from day one. They even lied about attendance numbers. We were averaging better attendance than Chicago Blackhawk games.

[@nadaduo1765]

great comment bro, fuck the jets

[@prilljazzatlanta5070]

I teally think we’ll get a 3rd chance

[@ODSTGodzilla]

Your a Clown 🤡 Michael and don't deserve a team Your just Salty

[@TheManny717]

UrinatingTree did the same thing on his latest video released a couple of days ago, but missed out on some key details involving the arena and the fight within the org. Nevertheless, this is as fascinating as it gets when it comes to videos like this one. Great job.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah it’s one of those things, I started working on this video last month and takes me about a month to finish them. So it’s totally coincidental that we had similar videos release around the same time. But yeah it’s super interesting what happened, who knew a trade with the Hawks and Suns would spell the end of the Thrashers?

[@cbfbmc]

The urinating tree trying to be first.

[@adamrmattock1]

Please do one on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays?

[@bwill613]

2:55 RIP Omni and Georgia Dome

[@robertsprouse9282]

Taxpayers fleeced on the G-DOME? "Yeah, we need it built, TURNER/OLYMPIC STADIUM is too decrepit.." So..its built..and then..just a little over a couple of decades, if that, later: "YEAH, we need a new stadium, G-DOME is not very conducive to having modern suites and other profit makers... WE NEED ANOTHER ONE!!" Someone is getting a nice kickback? Perhaps? Taxpayers get hosed..

[@jasonfire3434]

Love this series! Maybe some really old teams can be in the future like the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York (baseball) Giants or Philadelphia A’s!

[@jpmnky]

That’s a good idea. There’s dozens of teams from all four major leagues to cover.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Glad you’ve enjoyed them! Yeah all of those would be great to do!

[@jpmnky]

Something I’d like to see is the ABA team history. We know about the four that made it to the NBA. But that league had a lot of teams that dissolved. I’m well versed on what happened to the Colonels because I’m from KY and the Spirits because of the 30 for 30. The Squires took the payout just like the Colonels. The other four merged with the NBA. Outside of those seven it’s not widely known what happened with everyone else. That’s what I’m getting at. Just every team in ABA history is deep enough to keep the channel busy for a VERY long time.

[@AllSportsHistory]

@@jpmnky For sure! I definitely plan on doing a defunct league series, a video on why the ABA failed and videos on each of the teams :)

[@crusader7659]

Not to say those are bad ideas, but I’m curious about the NJ Devils franchise. Within the first decade of their existence, they went by three different names in three different cities, had various embarrassingly bad seasons with some rather oddly good players on their roster, like Colorado Rocky legend Lanny McDonald and his beautiful mustache. Considering that this was the 70s and early 80s, there’s got to be some fun stuff going on behind the scenes.

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

Great job. I find the behind the scenes politics and goings on fascinating.

[@chrisfloyd7316]

I love this channel, each video a well put together treat

[@AllSportsHistory]

Glad you’ve enjoyed the videos, thanks for the support!!

[@connoromelia4176]

Love the hockey content!!! Definitely a much more specific market but how about a “What happened to the MLL (Major League Lacrosse)” league was around for years and experienced drastic highs and lows before the creation of the PLL. Lots of interesting specifics with each organization.

[@gaoutlaw]

Competent ownership and management would have kept Thrashers alive for many years to come. Unfortunately, we were stuck with the dipshits of Atlanta Spirit LLC who didn’t give a damn.

[@kja9881]

New subscriber here sir thank you for this channel.😊

[@AllSportsHistory]

Glad you’ve enjoyed my channel so far, thanks for subbing!!

[@jayisrayfillet7508]

Love the channel. Please do the Minnesota North Stars and original Winnipeg Jets

[@AllSportsHistory]

Glad you’ve enjoyed the videos! Yep the North Stars and original Jets are on my to do list :)

[@thomascollins1739]

Do the Minneapolis Lakers, as well.

[@PhilTeoli]

Love your videos

[@AllSportsHistory]

Glad you’ve enjoy them!

[@Paddyboro]

Love your content fella, your channel should be up in the numbers SB Nation, KTO, Baseball Doesn't Exist, etc get. I'm sure you'll deservedly blow up soon.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Thank you!! Appreciate the support!

[@richardeicholtz4868]

Interesting... Urinating Tree just put a thrashers video out two days ago.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Urinating Tree’s got a great channel! I really wish I could make a video in a few days, it takes me about a month to make each one 🙁 I started this one at the end of July so the timing is honestly coincidental.

[@richardeicholtz4868]

@@AllSportsHistory Quality takes time. The time you and UT put in to your videos is very evident.

[@jeffpadgett1339]

It sucked when they moved cause I live in Atlanta and we would go all the time to games.

[@willp.8120]

It is an awful feeling to lose the team that you really enjoyed watching. Other than the Braves, the Thrashers were the team for me to watch. The atmosphere of Philips was a fun event. I would have enjoyed taking my kids to Thrashers games. Unfortunately, I can only take them to the Gladiators games, which is still a fun time, but NHL is overall a better atmosphere. Intermission and Fan-events, however, are far better with the Gladiators (ECHL) than in the NHL.

[@jimsheppard3166]

I was a die-hard Thrashers fan. I hold no ill-will towards the city of Winnipeg and am happy for their fan base (a much more rabid fan base for hockey than what we have in Atlanta). I will forever hold disdain for the Atlanta Spirit group for killing my beloved team with their indifference and neglect. They made it clear they wanted to purchase the Atlanta Hawks and Phillips Arena, and that the Thrashers were an unwanted tag-along that they had to begrudgingly inherit. Each season, I'd watch my team sign aging veterans like Steve Ruchin and Chris Chelios just to reach the mandatory spending floor of the NHL salary cap. I hope this buzz (2024) of getting a new NHL franchise in Atlanta comes to fruition. I know that a lot of hockey fans will scoff at a city being awarded a team after already failing twice to make it work, but i whole-heartedly believe that with a competent and passionate owner (or owners) Atlanta can support an NHL team. I reject the notion that Atlanta isn't a hockey town. Nashville, Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Raleigh have all cultivated strong fan-bases and none of those are cities are places where kids grow up playing pond hockey 😂.

[@david_pitt43]

Love your extinct/relocated series. Which team is next?

[@AllSportsHistory]

What happened to the original Cleveland Browns? 😁

[@robertsprouse9282]

@@AllSportsHistory, quote the RAVEN.." BRAWWWWK, BALTI..MORE."

[@bluebear1985]

For the Atlanta Flames, the timing of them coming in could not have been worse. The NHL had originally planned to expand later than they did, but they chose to do so in 1972 because the World Hockey Association (WHA) was about to play their first season, so two new NHL franchises were granted to keep the new league out of those markets, those being the Flames and the New York Islanders. The Flames themselves only lasted one more season in Atlanta after the NHL's merger with the WHA, so who knows how that could have gone had they lasted another year or two there?

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah from what I’ve read the Flames weren’t actually a bad team, just didn’t get enough fan support. It probably didn’t help that Atlanta at the time was the only southern city with an NHL team.

[@bluebear1985]

@@AllSportsHistory It didn't really help that both Houston and Birmingham were in the WHA instead.

[@jbrone1965]

13:13 Lmao at Lil' Jon reference 🤣

[@crosstatt7441]

Not the Thrashers, but Atlanta’s first team, the Flames moved to Calgary. Now, Atlanta lost a second team to Canada which was Winnipeg.

[@williamford9564]

3:23: What a disaster that expansion was. 1 team left town and of the other three, only one (Nashville in 2017) has made a Stanley Cup final. Columbus has missed the playoffs times than it got in and Minnesota hasn't won a playoff series since 2015.

[@eggman903]

I don’t know much about the NHL but as far as I know their is not NHL team in Atlanta at the moment and I think the thrashers should come back to the NHL

[@williamford9564]

3:32: There is some context missing here that is important, especially in light of things that happened down the road. Ted Turner did push for the city to be granted a franchise, but it was not his decision to make. In 1996, a year before Atlanta was granted the franchise, he sold TBS to Time Warner Corporation. Time Warner's interest may have been based on trying to emulate ( do a "me too" ) it's competitor,, the Disney Company, which got the Anaheim Ducks franchise in 1993 and was using it as a way to tie in its entertainment company with TV( it owned TV network ABC) and sports, a "synergy" as it was known. As seen later at 8:50:, in 2003 Time Warner, in ,light of poor attendance, financial losses by the team and also the financial affects of a disastrous 2000 merger with AOL ( America On Line), elected to sell the team to Atlanta Spirit LLC.

[@georgecoumbos2511]

@ 17:34 I was visiting New York on a school trip when I was in grade 12. I went to that game buying a rangers jersey hoping the team would win. But no, they got SHUT OUT. Looking back, it’s really cool that I witnessed history because little did I know six weeks later they’d relocate. Also was the last game Derek Boogaard fought in. R.I.P Boogey.

[@AutoArtemAuto]

Hockey in Atlanta never worked because of poor ownership, twice. With the Flames, Tom Cousins was straight up given to him as expansion with hardly a practice facility or otherwise. The Thrashers had it worse with Atlanta Spirit Group. Those vultures didn't care one bit about the Thrashers.

[@ry-flix]

this is great! What's the name of the song you used in the background?

[@AllSportsHistory]

Thanks! It doesn’t really have a name, I made the songs myself in GarageBand to get around any copyright issues with KZbin lol.

[@brycemcneil4404]

It's interesting you mention the Knights... At the same time the Time Warner was preparing its expansion bid, Richard Adler (one of the former Knights co-owners) was working with Cobb County in the hopes of luring a relocating franchise. My memory could be totally foggy on this but I seem to recall that there was also a presentation made to the NHL BoG pitching the idea. Even Adler knew his odds were long: "he (Turner) is Goliath and I'm David and I don't have a slingshot." But if the NHL had given more attention to Adler, they would have had a NHL-tenant-first arena in the more affluent northern suburbs with a management team that actually knew more than two pennies worth about hockey. Instead the NHL did the predictable thing with two unforeseen consequences: 1--- Ted losing all of his power within AOL-TW. Ted was the one with the most passion to make sure anything in downtown Atlanta stuck, 2--- Team President Harvey Schiller departing for the Yankees before the team actually took the ice. Schiller was by far the most competent sports exec in the organization and his absence hurt. These two things immediately deprived the franchise of a lot of the will & acumen needed, something Adler & co. could have provided even if he didn't have the same funding.

[@ChristinaLF]

I was born in 1999, so I grew up with my dad (a Flames and Knights fan) taking me to games. I still have a jersey signed by Kovalchuk, he's the sole reason my favorite number is 17. I can look to my side and see a fan towel from their 2003-2004 season and my house has little knickknacks like bobbleheads and scarves scattered about. I miss them dearly - only NHL game I've been to since then was a pre-season Nashville game, but now I go to see the Gladiators play. Sure, it's not as intense, but we somehow manage to pull more fans than the Coyotes sometimes, which is ... ironic, given that they're the ECHL partners for us this season.

[@allenelliott2114]

The Colorado Rockies relocation to NJ

[@AllSportsHistory]

Oh yeah that’s a crazy one, they were the KC Scouts first, then the Rockies and then finally the Devils. That might be a two-parter haha.

[@allenelliott2114]

@@AllSportsHistory Yes! So much to talk about in that story

[@stephenremaley3461]

do the new jersey nets next !

[@96Eman21]

As a fan of the #DetroitRedWings, bring back the #AtlantaThrashers, #HartfordWhalers, #QuebecNordiques

[@tonyarceneaux286]

Hey All Sports History I have a couple of topics for you. 1. All NFL Championships Games Before The Super Bowl. 2. All AFL Championship Games Before The Super Bowl.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah I’d definitely like to cover those at some point, lots of great games to go through!

[@seanleeper3731]

NHL should come back because ATLANTA does have fans but ownership sucked

[@shackdaddy7106]

I think an interesting hockey video for you guys to do is whatever happened to the Kansas City Scouts. Another video idea also related to Kansas City is whatever happened to the AFL Dallas Texans. Also the original NFL Dallas Texans who played in the NFL in 1950. They were the first major professional sports team in the state of Texas. Although at that time pro football was not considered a major sport.

[@kurttoy5035]

Actually the original Texans played in 1952.

[@shackdaddy7106]

@@kurttoy5035 I stand corrected. One thing about those original Texans is that a number of their players ended up playing on the 1953 Baltimore Colts. Who of course about 30 years later became the Indianapolis Colts.

[@nortonhatfield7312]

They still make Atlanta thrashers merchandise despite the thrashers moving to winnipeg.

[@robertsprouse9282]

LOVED THE ATLANTA FLAMES AND WHA HOUSTON AEROS..when I was a teen. Too bad the FLAMES could not win playoff series..

[@adamrmattock1]

Please do one on the Kansas City Scouts

[@rileykazama3145]

RIP Atlanta Thrashers if there was one team besides the Quebec nordiques or Hartford whalers to come back it would be the Thrashers

[@adrianwalsh9528]

Dam they only played 11 season that's sad and the Atlanta flames only 8 years sad,,,sad ,sad,

[@luisvaldes1568]

At :57 cool goalie mask!

[@PierreGHedgehog]

this video also finally showed me visually at what thrash did to try and get attendance numbers i hope the gwinnett county jail was also in for this marketing stunt alongside the atlanta state police

[@paulthompkins4150]

What really hurt about the Flames leaving is that they won the STANLEY CUP shortly after moving to Calgary.

[@michaelleroy9281]

So did the Dallas Stars after they left Minnesota

[@paulthompkins4150]

@@michaelleroy9281 I remember and didn't the Avalanche win it after they were relocated to Colorado?

[@willp.8120]

They won it in 1989, so not exactly shortly after, more like 9 years later.

[@stefanomagaddino6868]

@@michaelleroy9281 BUT HULL WAS IN THE CREASE !

[@karlcooper8460]

I dug the flames though(when they were in Atlanta)I think it was the logo.

[@karlcooper8460]

Tom Lisiak was the man in Atlanta back then Dan Boushard was their starting goaltender.

[@modi827]

Too many owners. It is difficult enough with just 2.

[@Havoc-bc6oy]

I love the Atlanta Flames logo - can't stand that Calgary now owns them.....Calgary?!?!

[@erikriggs4954]

How about doing one on how the construction of Tropicana Field caused havoc in St. Petersburg

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah especially with the relocation rumors, that would be an interesting video to make!

[@chrisphillips348]

I saw Hosea in the NYR jersey! 🤔 Another video, I caught Pat Lafontaine in a Red Wings Jersey! (I wish, especially now!!)

[@chrisphillips348]

Although that’s Marian’s brother….??

[@Andy_Babb]

I’m stunned Nashville still has a team

[@michaelleroy9281]

Why they are a pretty good team even though they lost the Stanley Cup in 2017

[@Andy_Babb]

@@michaelleroy9281 no you’re totally right, it’s just not a city I ever thought it would survive. Kind of like Atlanta.

[@cameronvandevelde4186]

whos' back here after hearing the news that Atlanta could be in back in the market for expansion teams per Kevin Weekes' tweet??

[@thebadguywins]

Minor correction. Wild were awarded to and play in St. Paul; not Minneapolis. St. Paul mayor (failed governor candidate, and one term US senator) was a big part of the successful effort to secure the franchise

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah that’s my bad, I made a correction in my pinned comment :)

[@204trebor]

Anyone notice the sign at 18:32 says ATANTA?

[@deneshbhaskar]

dan synders family saved heatleys career. They didnt want money... They just wanted everone to remember their son... They were pissed when he left. Danny Heatley could of been in jail for 5 yrs... career ended... He was able to recover and be an several time all star.... great career and made ALOT of cash. RIP Dan Synder. Class act...

[@deneshbhaskar]

When u dont make the playoffs over and over... One time is horriblr. Fans had NOTHING to be excited for... THey needed to go all IN and try to save hockey... Its crazy how much effort the league put into arizonia while atlanta didnt get half the amount of support...

[@charger52]

The thrashers moving to winnipeg was a good decision even though winnipeg isn’t the best team in the nhl winnipeg is a very loyal city to its sports teams

[@GAdawg2k8]

Bettman won’t let the Yotes move out of Arizona, so he’d have no qualms about expanding into markets that have failed before.

[@adamrmattock1]

Please do one on the Atlanta Flames?

[@AllSportsHistory]

Definitely on my to do list!

[@vinceniederman]

@@AllSportsHistoryHope U Can Do The Atlanta Flames Before They Moved to Calgary in 1980!

[@jeremyg516]

Make the video about what ever happened to the St.Louis rams

[@AllSportsHistory]

It’s on my to do list! :)

[@PierreGHedgehog]

you know you are desparate for attendance when you have your mascot steal a zamboni for marketing

[@AllSportsHistory]

😂

[@PowerPackers90]

Fun Fact: the formation of the Trashers helped kill WCW (turner's wrestling company). As the record profits WCW made in their glory years of 1996-1999 never went back into WCW but the starting up Trashers.

[@Albert8044]

In case anyone forgotten Peter Bondra also played for the Thrashers for a short stint near towards the end of his NHL career.

[@itsmikeymike_2671]

Hell, even Chris Kunitz was a Thrasher for a game that year

[@jasonfire3434]

Chris Chelios too, which was weird

[@Albert8044]

@@jasonfire3434 Keith Tkachuk also played for the Thrashers for a very short time, not many people knew about that one or just forgot.

[@sjdrifter72]

@@Albert8044Keith Tkachuk was the only player to play for the original Jets and the team that would become the current Jets.

[@TheTempleOfBoom]

I feel great that they moved to Winnipeg , cause Im from Winnipeg . Although I would have preferred to have had the Arizona franchise back. For poetic justice , so to speak , I did feel Atlanta fans pain , literally, when the Jets left . But Atlanta also had 2 chances , and still couldnt keep their team , so theres that . All in all , this is Winnipegs 2nd chance , and there are attendance problems as we speak. High ticket prices , and tough economy I guess , even though The Jets are near the top of the league .

[@anthonyrivera0917]

Original Winnipeg Jets relocation to Phoenix and maybe Atlanta Flames Relocation to Calgary

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yep plan to do both of those in the future!

[@rickkaine2878]

And also I’d make sure the grizzlies move back to Vancouver Expos come back Sonics come back Houston Oilers come back (titans give their history back to the Texans) Quebec Nordiques come back Thrashers come back Most of the things I’d do if I were president

[@deneshbhaskar]

They had danny heatley and kovalchuk. Two guys who were top 20 players in the league... Just when ur fans aint behind u... It wont work.. Im glad the jets got their team back tho..

[@WDI2008]

Should mentioned the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Oh yeah I’m sure the attention Atlanta got during the ‘96 Olympics only helped their case in getting another NHL team.

[@WDI2008]

@@AllSportsHistory Yeah the 1996 Summer Olympics is what put Atlanta on the World Map. 🌎

[@KidTonyGaming]

Can you do a video on New Orleans short lived Hockey team

[@AllSportsHistory]

I’ll add it to my future video list :)

[@KidTonyGaming]

@@AllSportsHistory Awesome Sauce

[@JustMikeDotTv]

California Golden Seals will be an interesting one.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Absolutely, that’s on my list for sure!

[@rickkaine2878]

Nice And also some Requests for you buddy, WHA Original Winnipeg Jets California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons Original Ottawa Senators Kansas City Scouts/Colorado Rockies/NJ devils Atlanta Flames Kansas City Kings/Sacramento kings Hopefully these are all on your to do list buds, 😊

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yep they are, eventually I’ll get to all of them!

[@rickkaine2878]

@@AllSportsHistory thanks 😊, because when I get elected I’ll bring some of those teams back like the thrashers, Nordiques, (those teams will come back definitely) Whalers (maybe) but Expos, Sonics, are definite’s , and also I’d bring the Houston Aeros to the NHL and also Give back the Houston Oilers History to the Houston Texans, and Bring Back The Houston Oilers to the NFL, and also Bring back the Kansas City Scouts to the NHL

[@rickkaine2878]

Those are some of my main strategies for when I become US President at some point

[@rickkaine2878]

And also make sure the Memphis Grizzlies move back to Vancouver, make sure the Brooklyn Nets Move To St.Louis (St.Louis Deserves the NBA imo) make sure KC gets the NBA, would be other strategies of mine for being POTUS

[@tonyarceneaux286]

Any new episodes coming up soon?

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah, I’m hoping to have a new video out by the end of the month on the Seattle Pilots. It usually takes me a month to make each video, and I try to get them out about every four weeks or so unless I go on vacation or something haha

[@bjnt92281]

The NBA gave Chicago three chances and the NFL the same with Cleveland. So I see no reason why the NHL wouldn’t give Atlanta a third chance.

[@michaeldeantonio6295]

NFL lost 3 teams from LA

[@bjnt92281]

@@michaeldeantonio6295 True. And they got two back. If you’re a large enough tv market professional sports leagues are going to want you. And Atlanta is a top 10 tv market. The NHL is the only one of the”big four” that doesn’t have at least one team in all of the top 10 TV markets which are: New York Los Angeles Chicago Dallas Philadelphia The Bay Area Houston Washington DC Atlanta Boston

[@michaeldeantonio6295]

Exactly, my point is that relocation of sports franchises is not equivalent to the "failure" of a team or city like many sports writers of fans seem to suggest.

[@bjnt92281]

@@michaeldeantonio6295 Yep. It’s about the money which is usually tied through media markets. The league will go to cities that bring in the revenue. And as long as Atlanta is a top 10 or even grows to a top 5 market it will always be in play.

[@1982kinger]

Only in Atlanta would mascot jack a ride

[@YusukeKnight]

I remember the atlanta thrashers I was sad to see them go

[@YusukeKnight]

@@vinceniederman agreed

[@willp.8120]

@@vinceniederman What do you mean you hope that the NHL does NOT have another team in Atlanta? Yet, above, you say it was sade to see them go. You also agree with Vince, so which is it?

[@willp.8120]

@@vinceniederman If Atlanta wasn't "big on hockey", then go ahead and get rid of the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and St. Louis Blues, as the Thrashers had better attendance than them at various points. There's a bias against Atlanta sports teams, and this has been perpetrated by northern sports writers and commentators who seem anti-southern in their bias to the extent that they sensationalize the times when Atlanta teams are down on their luck, but they do not do the same for their "precious northern teams". The Thrashers were never last in attendance.

[@FischerFan]

@@willp.8120 It's not a case of attendance. It was a case of them losing $15-20 million a season. Attendance is moot point - which YOU keep glossing, of course - when the team can't generate sufficient revenue to operating expenses. Attendance at Thrashers games was often glossed and there less than 5,000 people in the stands on some night. I know, I know, it's still the owners' fault. Polly want a cracker?

[@nickflicker7146]

Why not a Winnipeg Thrashers retro reverse jersey???

[@AllSportsHistory]

Oh that would be cool! Probably would look something like this: www.reddit.com/r/winnipegjets/comments/kbc56a/now_50_more_jetsified_thrashersjets_jersey_mashup/?

[@michaeldeantonio6295]

Winnipeg hates the thought of remembering the Thrashers. They are trying to erase all of the franchise records set by Thrashers players like Kovalchuck's 52 goal seasons. Nobody in wpg is going to touch that and that's infuriating to them. They were incredibly rude and disrespectful to all of the former Thrashers staff as well as our city and fans, they still mock us to this day. They act like the jets never left wpg and the Thrashers never existed.

[@willp.8120]

@@michaeldeantonio6295 It's a little city. It'd be like Charleston, South Carolina having a team. Their city has nothing on Atlanta. Their Perimeter highway is mostly surrounded by flat open prairie, and it is only like ten miles from downtown.

[@KidTonyGaming]

Ted Turner owned Atlanta, he owned Hawks, Braves, Hockey Team, CNN, TNT, TBS, and WCW/Jim Crockett Promotions

[@phreload1]

Absolutely ridiculous attendance stats. Clearly there were nights shown in this video where attendance was between 3,000-5,000 in the stands.

[@AllSportsHistory]

Yeah I was surprised too, it wouldn’t shock me if Atlanta had fudged some of those numbers.

[@willp.8120]

No, the attendance stats were real. What you were seeing were some of the low points of the franchise, probably in 2011, on a weekday game against a team with less interest, like the Florida Panthers, after it was known that they were trying to kill the team. I attended many games, and the only game that even looked dismal in attendance was the last one I attended which was in February of 2011, right before they were sold. Prior years looked mostly full as usual.

[@swapsplat]

The Wild are in St Paul. Not Minneapolis...

[@AllSportsHistory]

Ah yeah my bad, forgot it’s on the other side of the Twin cities there.

[@adamrmattock1]

Please do one on the Seattle Kraken

[@samuelattias4722]

The Penguins Broke the HAC Team

[@rickkaine2878]

And also buddy, when I run for president In 2024 Atlanta will come back to the NHL And also Houston Oilers coming back (I’d make sure the Tennessee titans give their history back to the Texans

[@wilderac2250]

What’s with the sudden interest in the thrashers recently? I’ve seen several recently uploaded videos talking about the history of the team in the past few weeks

[@AllSportsHistory]

Haha yeah, my guess is it has something to do with it being the 10 year anniversary of the Thrashers leaving.

[@wilderac2250]

@@AllSportsHistory ah I see

[@robertsprouse9282]

More interest lately=ATLANTA is too big of a market to be out of the NHL..AND SO IS HOUSTON.. Unfortunately, if teams there do not win, they will not draw enough to stay..

[@willp.8120]

It's the story of how a potentially great hockey market could be so sabotaged by its owners. It's a shame. The Atlanta area didn't deserve the loss of the Thrashers. It is absurd that much smaller markets, like Nashville or Raleigh, have teams and Atlanta does not. There's no reason that Atlanta, the eighth largest metro area, and the second largest urbanized area within the United States of America, in terms of square miles, does not have a team, but comparatively small places like Denver have all four sports teams, and places like Columbus, and Las Vegas have a team, and New York has three teams.

[@jamarworthy4065]

04 kid here trying learn the history before my time

[@SuperfanDK]

For future videos, the Rookie of the Year trophy is pronounced Call-Der, not Call-dee-yer like you said here

[@AllSportsHistory]

Ah my bad, thanks for the correction!

[@karlcooper8460]

Well 2 things happened they were in Atlanta and they stunk.

[@matteofabrizi3527]

What about Ladd 18:14

[@karlcooper8460]

The weather is too damn hot for hockey can you imagine the cost to keep up that ice surface?(reason 3).

[@karlcooper8460]

Wow I haven't gotten this much love since I was a newborn thanks.

[@djtrankilo231]

@@karlcooper8460 then how is the ice in Amalie Arena considered quality??

[@karlcooper8460]

@@djtrankilo231 good question but overall I'm not a hockey fan of sunbelt teams anyway.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

i mean they can handle it in dallas, arizona, and for both florida teams

[@karlcooper8460]

@@UserName-ts3sp not that I care but how about Atlanta?

[@joshgreencorn7309]

You're forgot that they got kicked out of the Phillips area and had no where to play.

[@AllSportsHistory]

I know that the Atlanta Knights got kicked out of the Omni Coliseum, the arena before Philips. I didn’t see anything about the Thrashers being kicked out of Philips though, but I could be wrong.

[@willp.8120]

@@AllSportsHistory They didn't technically get "kicked out". Atlanta Spirit Group basically had stipulations on a sale that basically made it impossible to keep the team in Atlanta. ASG wouldn't allow the potential new owners to get money from concessions and parking. They pretty much had to earn most of their money by ticket sales. This is on top of the fact that the new owners would have to pay ASG money to use Philips Arena. ASG also likely wanted the relocation fee that they received from the NHL for selling the team to True North Sports.

[@wilderac2250]

Why do all the Atlanta hockey teams keep moving to Canadian cities?

[@willp.8120]

The Thrashers were first owned by Ted Turner. He owned the team for the first few years of the franchise. Turner had owned sports' teams since the 70s and had owned the Braves and Hawks. Previously he had sold the Braves, but he still owned the Hawks and Thrashers. Turner sold the franchises to Time Warner around 2002, getting out of the sports' business. Time Warner decided to merge with AOL. This was a mistake, as AOL would soon start losing a lot of subscribers. AOL-Time Warner began losing money. As a result, in order to offset losses, they decided to sell the Hawks and Thrashers. Because AOL-Time Warner was in trouble, and they wanted a quick sale, they made it a package deal, whereby the Hawks, Thrashers, and the rights to Philips Arena would be bundled together. This was problematic because the eventual new owners were not interested in hockey, except one person within the ownership group. Atlanta Spirit Group, made up mostly from business men from other locations, wanted a basketball team. They did not want the Thrashers, but because the Hawks were being sold in a package with the Thrashers, they had no choice. The plan, it seems, was to buy the package, sell the Thrashers to another owner, and then own only the Hawks. From the beginning, they did not want the Thrashers. Except one of the owners did want the Thrashers, and apparently because he disapproved of selling them, he sued the other owners within the ownership group to keep them from selling the team. There were also lawsuits in regard to player aquisitions. This resulted in massive costs in litigation that went on for years, which resulted in a less stable financial situation. During this time, Atlanta Spirit Group doled out massive amounts of money for contracts for Hawks players. This left them with much less available for the Thrashers players, and so they traded off most of their best players. This resulted in the team's dismal performance on the ice. After about five years of litigation, it was settled by the courts that Atlanta Spirit Group could sell the Thrashers. The stipulations put in the sale made it impossible for the Thrashers to stay in Atlanta. For one, Atlanta Spirit made it so that the new owner for the Thrashers would not make any money on parking or vending, but would have to almost completely earn money by ticket sales. This is a no-go for any owner as it isn't a way for any franchise to have stability. There's simply not enough money on ticket sales alone to keep most franchises afloat. Added to this, since Atlanta Spirit Group would still own the rights to the arena, the potential new buyer would have to pay regular fees to use the arena. With this, no one who wanted to keep the team in Atlanta could take the risk. The NHL would not allow the Thrashers to play in the Gwinnett Arena, which had about 9,000 seats up in the suburbs. Thus, that made Philips the only arena suitable for hockey in Atlanta according to the NHL in 2011. Since Atlanta Spirit had all those stipulations with Philips Arena, no potential buyers would take the risk. It has been said that Atlanta Spirit wanted the Thrashers out of Atlanta for good, so they made it impossible for any new buyers to keep the team here, not to mention, apparently the group wanted the relocation fees from the NHL. They could make more money on relocating the team than selling them to a local buyer, so that is what they did when the Winnipeg group came looking for a team after their bid to bring back the Coyotes (Jets) to Winnipeg from the Phoenix area fell through. Attendance was not an issue with the Thrashers. Sure, they were usually in the bottom half in attendance, but they were never last. Several teams were worse year in and year out than the Thrashers, and they are still in the league. I'm talking about the Arizona Coyotes,, Florida Panthers, and New York Islanders. Furthermore, the Thrashers had higher attendance than the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, and Washington Capitals some seasons.

[@willp.8120]

The Flames was owned by Tom Cousins, an Atlanta area real estate developer. When the high interest rates and the recession of the late 70s came, his real estate business was about to go under, so he put the Flames up for sale to keep his business afloat. He wanted the most money and apparently didn't care whether that was from an out of town buyer who'd move the team out of Atlanta, as there were local buyers. He chose those who paid the most money and the buyers moved them to Calgary. It had nothing to do with attendance.

[@Rockhound6165]

This is an easy one. #1, the NHL already tried hockey in Atlanta and it failed. #2, the Thrashers ownership group were horrible. #3, the team just plain stunk.