Atlanta's NHL expansion team, in the woeful Southeast Division. The franchise was awarded in 1997, and the club officially entered the league 1999. They were the 28th NHL franchise, a division of Turner Sports, Inc, which means they had plenty of media savvy. They play at the Philips Arena.
The team is named after Georgia's state bird, the Brown Thrasher. The first Atlanta Thrasher was goaltender Damian "Dusty" Rhodes, acquired from the Ottawa Senators.
The team was orginally affiliated with the IHL's Orlando Solar Bears and the ECHL's Greenville Grrrowl. The "I" has since folded - as of 2003 the Thrashers affiliates are the AHL's Chicago Wolves and the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators (formerly the Mobile Mysticks).
Atlanta's previous franchise was the Atlanta Flames, who played from 1972 to 1980, then moved to Calgary as the Calgary Flames. (The economics of the game would prevent such US-to-Canada movement today.)
Team colours : Navy, blue, copper, bronze, and gold
Retired Numbers:
October 2003: The start of the Thrashers' 5th NHL season was marred this week by a horrific car crash. The accident killed Thrashers forward Dan Snyder and injured budding superstar Dany Heatley. Heatley was the driver in the single-vehicle accident, Snyder a passenger. At age 25 Snyder, a former star with the Wolves, was a small player in a bigger man's league. His grit and work ethic earned him a gig in the NHL, centring the Thrasher's fourth line. Snyder's untimely death will haunt the players and the Thrashers organization for some time to come.