Atlanta Thrashers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Atlanta Thrashers
Conference	Eastern
Founded	1999
History	Atlanta Thrashers 1999–2011 Winnipeg Jets 2011–present
Home arena	Philips Arena
City	Atlanta, Georgia
Colors	Atlanta midnight blue, Thrasher ice blue, Georgia bronze, Capitol copper, Peachtree gold, white
Stanley Cups	0
Conference championships	0
Presidents' Trophies	0
Division championships	1 (2006–07)
Official website	www.nhl.com/thrashers (2010 archive)

The Thrashers take the puck into the offensive zone against the St. Louis Blues at State Farm Arena on September 22, 2007.

The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team from Atlanta, Georgia. They joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1999, becoming the 28th team in the league. The Thrashers played their home games at what is now called State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. They were part of the NHL's Eastern Conference in the Southeast Division.

The team made it to the playoffs in the 2006–07 season. They even won their division that year! However, they were quickly defeated in the first round by the New York Rangers. In 2011, the Thrashers team was sold to a group from Canada. This group moved the team to Winnipeg, where they became the new Winnipeg Jets. This was actually the second time an NHL team left Atlanta. The city's first team, the Atlanta Flames, moved to Calgary in 1980 to become the Calgary Flames.

Atlanta Thrashers History

After a different hockey team, the Atlanta Knights, left the city, Atlanta was given a new NHL team on June 25, 1997. This was part of a plan to add four new teams to the league. Other cities like Nashville, Columbus, and St. Paul also got new teams. This brought NHL hockey back to Georgia after the Atlanta Flames had moved to Canada in 1980.

The team's name, "Thrashers," was chosen by fans. It comes from the Brown Thrasher, which is Georgia's official state bird. The Thrashers' home arena, Philips Arena, was built on the same spot where the old Flames team used to play.

Early Years: 1999–2003

The Thrashers picked Patrik Stefan as their first overall draft pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Unfortunately, this draft class didn't turn out to be very successful for the team. Many of the players they picked didn't stay in the NHL for long.

The Thrashers played their first game on October 2, 1999, losing to the New Jersey Devils. Their first goal was scored by their captain, Kelly Buchberger. In their first season, they finished last in their division.

The 2000 NHL Entry Draft brought better luck. The team picked Dany Heatley, who became one of their best players. In the 2001 Draft, they picked Ilya Kovalchuk, another future star. Both Heatley and Kovalchuk started playing in the NHL in 2001–02. They were both named to the NHL's best rookie team, and Heatley won the award for the league's best rookie.

In these early years, hockey became very popular in Atlanta. Many fans bought season tickets. A special section of the arena was called the "Nasty Nest," where season ticket holders would cheer loudly. The arena also had cool "Thrasher bird heads" that would shoot flames when the team scored a goal! The team's motto was "Believe in Blueland."

Challenges and the NHL Lockout: 2003–2005

In 2003, the Thrashers and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team were sold to a new group called Atlanta Spirit, LLC. Soon after, a sad event happened. Star player Dany Heatley was in a car accident that seriously injured his teammate, Dan Snyder. Snyder sadly passed away a few days later. The Thrashers dedicated their entire 2003–04 season to Snyder's memory, wearing patches with his number, 37, on their jerseys.

Despite this, the team started the season strong, led by captain Shawn McEachern. Ilya Kovalchuk scored many goals early on, including two "hat-tricks" (three goals in one game). The Thrashers even surprised many by beating strong teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.

For a short time, the Thrashers were in first place in their division and the entire NHL. However, they couldn't keep up that pace. Kovalchuk ended the season tied for the most goals in the league with 41. Even though they didn't make the playoffs, they finished second in their division.

The 2004–05 NHL season was canceled due to a player lockout, so no games were played.

Post-Lockout and Playoff Appearance: 2005–2007

Before the 2005–06 season, the Thrashers added experienced players like Bobby Holik and Scott Mellanby. However, they also lost Dany Heatley, who asked to be traded. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Marian Hossa, who was a great goal scorer, and Greg de Vries.

The 2005–06 season was tough for the Thrashers' goalies, who faced many injuries. Despite this, the team won a club-record 41 games.

The 2006–07 season was the most exciting for the Thrashers. With stars like Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk, and a healthy goalie Kari Lehtonen, the team finally made the playoffs for the first time! They won the Southeast Division title and were a top team in the Eastern Conference. However, their playoff run was short. They were swept (lost all four games) by the New York Rangers in the first round.

This season was the most popular for the Thrashers. Every home playoff game was sold out, and the team gained a lot of attention. Even famous hip-hop artist Lil Jon showed his support. After this season, ticket sales started to go down due to economic challenges in Atlanta.

Later Years and Relocation: 2007–2011

After their playoff season, the Thrashers struggled. They started the 2007–08 season with six losses in a row, leading to their coach being fired. The team finished near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

In January 2008, Atlanta hosted the NHL All-Star Game at Philips Arena. It was a big event for the city.

In 2010, star player Ilya Kovalchuk was traded to the New Jersey Devils because the team couldn't agree on a new contract with him. Even so, the Thrashers had their best season since their division title, earning 83 points.

For their final season in Atlanta, Rick Dudley became the new general manager. He made some big trades, bringing in players like Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd. The team also got a new head coach, Craig Ramsay.

The Thrashers played their last game in Atlanta on April 10, 2011, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The last goal in Thrashers history was scored by Tim Stapleton.

Due to money problems and ownership disagreements, there were many rumors that the team would move. Finally, on May 31, 2011, it was announced that the Thrashers were sold to a Canadian group called True North Sports & Entertainment. This group moved the team to Winnipeg, where they became the new Winnipeg Jets. The NHL officially approved the move on June 21, 2011.

As of the 2021-22 NHL season, only a few players who played for the Thrashers are still active in the NHL. Blake Wheeler is the last player on the Winnipeg Jets team who also played for the Thrashers in Atlanta.

Season-by-season Record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Thrashers. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Atlanta Thrashers seasons

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OT = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Team Information

Jerseys

The Thrashers wore jerseys with colors like ice blue, navy blue, red, gold, and white.

In 2003, they introduced a new alternate jersey that was mostly blue. In 2006, this became their main home jersey. In 2007, the NHL updated all team jerseys, and the Thrashers' jerseys got some changes, like removing stripes from the waist.

In 2008, Atlanta showed off a new third jersey that was red and midnight blue. Some people thought it was one of the worst uniforms in hockey history!

Mascot

The Thrashers' mascot was named Thrash. He was a brown thrasher, which is the official state bird of Georgia.

Players and Personnel

Team Captains

Hall of Famers

Some players who were part of the Thrashers later became famous enough to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Retired Numbers

The Thrashers never officially retired any player numbers. However, the number 37 was not used after Dan Snyder passed away in 2003. The number 99 was retired by the entire NHL to honor the legendary player Wayne Gretzky.

General Managers

• Don Waddell (1999–2010)
• Rick Dudley (2010–2011)

Franchise Records

Top Scorers of All Time

These players scored the most points, goals, and assists in the Thrashers' history.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Single-Season Records

Awards and Trophies

Calder Memorial Trophy (Best Rookie Player)

• Dany Heatley: 2001–02

Rocket Richard Trophy (Most Goals Scored)

• Ilya Kovalchuk: 2003–04 (shared with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash)

The Georgia's Own Credit Union 3 Stars of the Year Award was given each year to the Thrashers player who was named one of the top three stars of the game most often.

Award Winners

• 2010–11: Ondrej Pavelec, goalie
• 2009–10: Johan Hedberg, goalie
• 2008–09: Ilya Kovalchuk, forward
• 2007–08: Ilya Kovalchuk, forward
• 2006–07: Marian Hossa, forward
• 2005–06: Marian Hossa, forward
• 2004–05: Not given due to NHL lockout
• 2003–04: Ilya Kovalchuk, forward
• 2002–03: Dany Heatley, forward
• 2001–02: Dany Heatley, forward, and Milan Hnilicka, goalie
• 2000–01: Ray Ferraro, forward
• 1999–2000: Ray Ferraro, forward

Media Coverage

The Atlanta Thrashers games were shown on TV channels like SportSouth and Fox Sports South. They were also broadcast on local TV stations WUPA and WPXA. For radio, all games were broadcast on WCNN in Atlanta, which was the main station for a network of 18 stations across Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama.

Radio Announcers

Television Announcers

Images for kids

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  The giant fire-breathing birdheads at Philips Arena, lit when the players were introduced and when the Thrashers scored a goal

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  Banner in Philips Arena honoring the Thrashers' sole division championship in 2006–07.

See Also

In Spanish: Atlanta Thrashers para niños