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

**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!

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

2:55 RIP Omni and Georgia Dome

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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?

Love your videos

@ 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.

The Colorado Rockies relocation to NJ

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

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

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 😂.

New subscriber here sir thank you for this channel.😊

It also didn't help that Atlanta Spirit's stipulation for selling the team was that they couldn't play at Philips Arena. They basically made it impossible for the Thrashers to stay in Atlanta.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

do the new jersey nets next !

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.

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

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.

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

13:13 Lmao at Lil' Jon reference 🤣

Please do one on the Kansas City Scouts

At :57 cool goalie mask!

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

I’m stunned Nashville still has a team

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.

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

Anyone notice the sign at 18:32 says ATANTA?

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

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

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

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

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

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.

California Golden Seals will be an interesting one.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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...

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

Please do one on the Atlanta Flames?

Why not a Winnipeg Thrashers retro reverse jersey???

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

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

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...

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

11:02 that CEO would still be in prison He has only served 19 years and has 6 years left

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.

Only in Atlanta would mascot jack a ride

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

Should mentioned the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Any new episodes coming up soon?

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..

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 .

The Penguins Broke the HAC Team

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

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

04 kid here trying learn the history before my time

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

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

Mention Atlanta Spirit and you’ll incite a riot in Georgia.

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

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.

Calgary had professional hockey since 1920 Edmonton had professional hockey since 1911 Vancouver had professional hockey since 1911 - Calgary and Edmonton only got NHL team’s in 1972...the same year Atlanta got an NHL team and Vancouver only got an NHL team two years before Atlanta did. The NHL has been thriving in small Canadian markets since 1970 - Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver have benefitted the NHL - meanwhile Atlanta lost money with BOTH FRANCHISES, it doesn’t matter how big the city is…it turns out 6 million people not showing up to games is still ZERO. Ottawa had professional hockey since 1883, they only got an NHL team in 1992. - they had to wait 20 years longer than Atlanta Seattle had professional hockey since 1915, they only got an NHL team in 2021. - they had to wait 50 years longer than Atlanta ATLANTA HAD TO FAIL TWICE BEFORE THEY EVEN CONSIDERED GOING TO SEATTLE…WHY SHOULD TRUE HOCKEY FANS SUPPORT THE LEAGUE THAT IGNORES THEM? Portland has had professional hockey since 1914, they still have no NHL team. Quebec has had professional hockey since 1878, they still have no NHL team. Hamilton has had professional hockey since 1920, they still have no NHL team. Basketball is most popular in the South and the Midwest - the NBA went to Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Detroit, and Cleveland. Baseball is most popular in fair weather states; Arizona, California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia - the MLB went to Phoenix, San Diego, LA twice, San Francisco, Oakland, Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston. Hockey is most popular in Canada, New England, and the states that border Canada (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Washington). Since Gary Bettman was elected commissioner in 1992, the NHL expanded into: - Ottawa, Tampa, Florida, Anaheim, Raleigh, Phoenix, Nashville, Atlanta, Saint-Paul, Columbus, Winnipeg, Seattle, and Vegas. Since 2012 the franchises that have lost the most money in the NHL: - Tampa, Florida, Anaheim, Raleigh, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Columbus. - Expansion, expansion, expansion, expansion, expansion, expansion, and expansion. - South, South, South, South, South, South, and South Must be a coincidence? Probably just a massive 10 year long coincidence? Or maybe those aren’t hockey markets? In the 1990s the NHL removed teams in Manitoba (Winnipeg Jets), Minnesota (Minnesota North Stars), Quebec (Quebec Nordiques), and Connecticut (Hartford Whalers). The NHL went back to Minnesota in 2000, and Winnipeg in 2011 - after realizing what a mistake it was to leave those markets in the first place. Meanwhile Atlanta, and Phoenix lost so much money they had to relocate. Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes: Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996... - Phoenix never generated money for the NHL, over 28 years they were a net loss team. - Phoenix went bankrupt in 2008 - Phoenix was sued by the city of Phoenix (twice) - Phoenix was sued by the city of Glendale for not paying taxes - Phoenix was rejected by the city of Scottsdale - Phoenix was rejected by the city of Tempe - Phoenix lost $141.6 million between 2012 and 2021 - During the 2023-2024 season the Arizona Coyotes were not paying hotel bills - THEY FINALLY RELOCATED in 2024 Atlanta Thrashers: The NHL decided to expand into Georgia for a second time in 1999… - Atlanta Thrashers set the record for most money lost by any franchise in the history of the NHL, in 5 years between 2005 and 2010 the Atlanta Thrashers lost $130 million (USD). - Atlanta’s population in 2010 (4,544,000) - Winnipeg’s population in 2011 (731,000) Atlanta Thrashers were valued at: 2006 = $128,000,000 2007 = $148,000,000 2008 = $158,000,000 2009 = $143,000,000 2010 = $135,000,000 Atlanta moves to Winnipeg - Winnipeg Jets value immediately skyrockets after leaving Atlanta: 2011 = $164,000,000 2012 = $200,000,000 2013 = $340,000,000 2014 = $358,000,000 2015 = $350,000,000 Winnipeg uses Canadian currency and has 4 million less people than Atlanta, but the franchise only started making money once they left Atlanta. It’s not just Atlanta….Winnipeg is the smallest market in the NHL, but the Winnipeg Jets generate more revenue for the NHL than: The NHL teams that lost the most money over the past decade (2012-2021): -$152,900,000 = Florida Panthers (Miami - 6,183,199) -$141,600,000 = Arizona Coyotes (Phoenix - 4,845,832) -$108,800,000 = Carolina Hurricanes (Raleigh-Durham - 1,509,231) -$83,500,000 = Anaheim Ducks (Los Angeles-Anaheim - 12,799,100) -$76,000,000 = Columbus Blue Jackets (Columbus - 2,180,271) -$74,400,000 = Tampa Lightning (Tampa-Saint Petersburg - 3,342,963) -$59,900,000 = Buffalo Sabres (Buffalo - 1,155,604) -$130,000,000 = Atlanta Thrashers (Atlanta - 6,307,261) [Atlanta lost $130 million in 5 years from 2005 to 2010] +$4,900,000 = Winnipeg Jets (Winnipeg - 758,515) Meanwhile Winnipeg, with only 700 thousand people, paying in Canadian currency is generating MORE MONEY than Miami, or Atlanta or Phoenix or Anaheim, or Tampa… The only seasons Winnipeg did not generate revenue were during Covid-19 from 2019-2021. Winnipeg lost -$46 million dollars during Covid, despite losing $46 million Winnipeg still overall managed to be profitable ($4,900,000). There are only two cities remaining in Canada capable of supporting an NHL team that don't have one: Quebec City - 839,311 (2024) Hamilton - 785,184 (2024) -Quebec City (839,311) is larger than Winnipeg 834,678. - Winnipeg is a more viable city for an NHL team than Atlanta or Phoenix. - Quebec City is also a more viable city for an NHL team than Atlanta or Phoenix. - The NHL is a revenue sharing league, and every NHL team in Canada generates revenue for the league. - An NHL team in Quebec City or Hamilton would generate more money than a team in Phoenix or Atlanta. #NeverAtlanta #NevaATL

Please do one on the Seattle Kraken

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, 😊

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

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