Awarded to the city of Atlanta in 1997 alongside the Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Minnesota Wild, the Atlanta Thrashers were Atlanta's second NHL team.
They were originally owned by Ted Turner, then the owner of both the MLB's Atlanta Braves and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
Because the Atlanta Flames' Omni Arena was unsuitable for hockey at that time, the Thrashers' first season was 1999-2000 to allow for the construction of Phillips Arena on the site of the Omni.
Unlike the Flames, the Thrashers only made the playoffs once, in 2007 as the Southwest division champions, and were swept in four games by the New York Rangers.
Their time in Atlanta was characterized by poor ownership. According to Ray Ferraro, GM Don Waddell was given a budget of whatever money wasn't allocated to the Braves or to the Hawks. After Turner's Time Warner merged with AOL, the Thrashers, the Hawks, and Phillips Arena's operating rights were sold to a business partnership called the Atlanta Spirit in 2003. In spite of public statements that the new ownership was committed to hockey in Atlanta, later lawsuits exposed the fact that the Thrashers had been put up for sale quickly thereafter. On 31 May 2011, True North Sports and Entertainment announced their deal to purchase the Thrashers and move them to Winnipeg. This came after a January 2011 report that the Thrashers ownership had lost $130 over from 2005 onwards and a February 2011 statement that the team would be seeking new investors.
Among their notable players were:
Unlike the Flames, the Thrashers only made the playoffs once, in 2007 as the Southwest division champions, and were swept in four games by the New York Rangers.
Their time in Atlanta was characterized by poor ownership. According to Ray Ferraro, GM Don Waddell was given a budget of whatever money wasn't allocated to the Braves or to the Hawks. After Turner's Time Warner merged with AOL, the Thrashers, the Hawks, and Phillips Arena's operating rights were sold to a business partnership called the Atlanta Spirit in 2003. In spite of public statements that the new ownership was committed to hockey in Atlanta, later lawsuits exposed the fact that the Thrashers had been put up for sale quickly thereafter. On 31 May 2011, True North Sports and Entertainment announced their deal to purchase the Thrashers and move them to Winnipeg. This came after a January 2011 report that the Thrashers ownership had lost $130 over from 2005 onwards and a February 2011 statement that the team would be seeking new investors.
Among their notable players were:
Team Captains
- Kelly Buchberger (1999-2000)
- Steve Staios (2000-2001)
- Ray Ferraro (2001-2002)
- Shawn McEachern (2002-2004)
- Scott Mellanby (2005-2007)
- Bobby Holík (2007-2008)
- Ilya Kovalchuk (2009-2010). Also the 2003-2004 Rocket Richard winner, Atlanta's entire offense for years, notorious for "retiring" after two years in New Jersey.
- Andrew Ladd (2010-2011)
Hockey Hall of Fame Members
- Chris Chelios
- Mark Recchi
- Marián Hossa (also for leaving town ASAP)
Generally Notable
- Marc Savard (Concussion-related issues, Colin Campbell's sparkling personality)
- Dan Snyder (died September 2003 in a car crash with Dany Heatley driving. His #37 was unofficially retired)
- Dany Heatley (2010 team Canada olympian, manslaughter conviction, 2001-2002 Calder Memorial trophy winner)
- Evander Kane (OHKOing Matt Cooke, being run out of Winnipeg, Covid-19 issues in San Jose, gambling-related bankruptcy)
- Kari Lehtonen (sitting on top of his goal during TV timeouts)
| General Manager: | Don Waddell | 1999-2010 |
| General Manager: | Rick Dudley | 2010-2011 |
| Head Coach: | Curt Fraser | 1999-2002 |
| Head Coach: | Don Waddell | 2002-2003 |
| Head Coach: | Bob Hartley | 2003-2007 |
| Head Coach: | Don Waddell | 2007-2008 |
| Head Coach: | John Anderson | 2008-2010 |
| Head Coach: | Craig Ramsay | 2010-2011 |
Season Stats
| Season | Wins | Losses | Ties | OTL | Goals For | Goals Against | Goals Leader | Assists Leader | Points Leader | Penalty Minutes Leader | Wins Leader | GAA Leader |
| 1999-2000 | 14 | 57 | 7 | 4 | 170 | 313 | Andrew Brunette (23) | Andrew Brunette (27) | Andrew Brunette (50) | Denny Lambert (219) | Damian Rhodes (5) | Scott Fankhouser (3.20) |
| 2000-2001 | 23 | 45 | 12 | 2 | 211 | 289 | Donald Audette (27) | Ray Ferraro (47) | Ray Ferraro (76) | Jeff Odgers (226) | Milan Hnilicka (12) | Milan Hnilicka (3.35) |
| 2001-2002 | 19 | 47 | 11 | 5 | 187 | 288 | Ilya Kovalchuk (29) | Dany Heatley (41) | Dany Heatley (67) | Jeff Odgers (135) | Milan Hnilicka (13) | Norm Maracle (3.00) |
| 2002-2003 | 31 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 226 | 284 | Dany Heatley (41) | Vyacheslav Kozlov (49) | Dany Heatley (89) | Jeff Odgers (171) | Pasi Nurminen (21) | Pasi Nurminen (2.88) |
| 2003-2004 | 33 | 37 | 8 | 8 | 214 | 243 | Ilya Kovalchuk (41) | Ilya Kovalchuk (46) | Ilya Kovalchuk (87) | Francis Lessard (181) | Pasi Nurminen (25) | Pasi Nurminen (2.78) |
| 2004-2005 | Season not played due to the NHL lockout | |||||||||||
| 2005-2006 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | Ilya Kovalchuk (52) | Marc Savard (69) | Ilya Kovalchuk (98) | Andy Sutton (144) | Kari Lehtonen (20) | Mike Dunham (2.77) | |
| 2006-2007 | 43 | 28 | 11 | 246 | 245 | Marián Hossa (43) | Marián Hossa (57) | Marián Hossa (100) | Bobby Holík (86) | Kari Lehtonen (34) | Kari Lehtonen (2.79) | |
| 2007-2008 | 31 | 34 | 9 | 157 | 191 | Ilya Kovalchuk (52) | Ilya Kovalchuk (35) | Ilya Kovalchuk (87) | Eric Boulton (91) |
Kari Lehtonen (13) Johan Hedberg (13) |
Ondrej Pavelec (3.11) | |
| 2008-2009 | 35 | 41 | 6 | 257 | 280 | Ilya Kovalchuk (43) | Todd White (49) | Ilya Kovalchuk (91) | Eric Boulton (163) | Kari Lehtonen (18) | Kari Lehtonen (3.09) | |
| 2009-2010 | 35 | 32 | 4 | 282 | 269 | Ilya Kovalchuk (31) | Tobias Enström (44) | Nik Antropov (67) | Eric Boulton (113) | Johan Hedberg (21) | Johan Hedberg (2.62) | |
| 2010-2011 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 282 | 269 | Andrew Ladd (29) | Tobias Enström (41) | Andrew Ladd (59) | Dustin Byfuglien (93) | Ondrej Pavelec (21) | Ondrej Pavelec (2.73) | |