Icy topic: How much longer will the Thrashers be in Atlanta?
John Anderson and Slava Kozlov are both pictured here. (AJC photo by Jessica McGowan)
Perhaps you’re fascinated by this whole John Anderson/Slava Kozlov back and forth. Or perhaps you have no idea who John Anderson and Slava Kozlov are.
I submit that more Atlantans fall under the latter heading. I submit more folks around here have forgotten the Thrashers even exist.
(For the record: The Thrashers are the Atlanta entry in the National Hockey League. Hockey is played on ice. The players skate and carry implements known as hockey sticks, with which they attempt to move a small rubberized disk known as a puck.)
This leads me to today’s question(s): Given that the Thrashers traded their franchise player a while back and just finished 28th in a 30-team league in attendance, how much longer do you think they’ll be in Atlanta? Will the Spirit, as has long been rumored, sell the team to somebody who’ll then move it to Canada? (See, Canadians like hockey.) Or will these owners bite the bullet and and keep financing a team that has been in operation since 1999 and still hasn’t won a playoff game?
I’ll go first. Just guessing, I’d give the Thrashers one more year in Atlanta. And with that I’ll hang up and listen to your responses. Assuming there are any.
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231 comments Add your comment
UGA Slobberknocker
April 13th, 2010
6:32 pm
As long as the Thrasher’s owners are content to be at the bottom of the league in payroll, the Thrashers will be at the bottom of the league standings as well. Atlanta is a winner’s town and that is something the Thrashers have never done. Nothing will change until this ownership group sells to someone..and I doubt there is a buyer in Atlanta..so my estimate, theyre gone by season after next to new owners in Winnepeg, Kansas City, Seattle, Milwaukee, Houston or any of the several major league cities with no NHL team.Somebody will take em warts and all.
da Boomer
April 13th, 2010
6:36 pm
Maybe we can talk Calgary into trading teams and we can get the Flames back. Or if not, maybe the Thrashers could have nostalgia night and sell 20 oz draft Tuborgs for $2 like the old days.Willi Plett could beat up a few people..it would be great.
Jacques Richard
April 13th, 2010
6:39 pm
Here’s a great way to get the Thrashers a crowd over 5000…have a Flames nostalgia night. They could sell Tuborg tall drafts for $2 like the old days..Willi Plett could beat up a few people..it would be great!!
Delbert D.
April 13th, 2010
6:40 pm
The old video game “Pong” was more interesting. Had I grown up in Grand Rapids or Boston, I probably would not think that.
Carolina fan for Atlanta
April 13th, 2010
6:52 pm
I was not able to read all the posts so if this has been posted, just move along. Atlanta would definitely support hockey if the on-ice product had some success. You can’t tell me that raleigh, Tampa/St Pete or Miami are better hockey towns. They would all be moving if the results were the same as Thrasher results. the fans will come if there are results or at least hope. The Canes have won a Cup and quite a few playoff series and games. The same in Tampa Bay. The Lightning even made the playoffs in ‘95-’95 just a few years after their existence. I believe they won two playoff games from the Lindros-led Flyers that year too. Even the Panthers had some super runs (remember Mellanby and the rats?). Atlanta just needs some success.
He Hate Gator
April 13th, 2010
7:26 pm
Agree with those that say location is awful. North Gwinnett where the majority of the hockey fans are would be much better and easier to get to. Move the Hard Rock as well so its next door and open some nightclubs, bars, and eatery’s so there’s things to do before and after the game…
Joe Schmoe
April 13th, 2010
7:33 pm
We have a hockey team?
f33ts3x
April 13th, 2010
8:06 pm
Watch the thrashers? I’d rather eat the corn out of my own $hit!
Damian Rhodes
April 13th, 2010
8:08 pm
Last!
Matt the Brave
April 13th, 2010
8:14 pm
The question is will the NHL allow the Thrashers to be moved? The commish has stated that he is ‘committed’ to staying in Atlanta. However, this has been said about other franchises. I still bet that they move them to Kansas City instead of Winnepeg. Larger market (really), and also still in the US. The Sprint Center in KC is supposed to be one of the best if an team moves in there, too, and the county wants a tenant terribly.
DaveDawg96
April 13th, 2010
8:18 pm
The NHL will step in and secure ownership that will keep the team in Atlanta, as they did in Phoenix. The NHL said as much.
The sooner, the better!
Artie
April 13th, 2010
8:36 pm
The Thrashers are the Royals of the NHL!!!!!!
Artie
April 13th, 2010
8:37 pm
…they trade away the best talent to keep costs down!!!!!
Boca Baby
April 13th, 2010
9:13 pm
This is sad because there is a winning combination. Prove to the fans of Atlanta that you will do what it takes to put a winner on the ice and Phillips Arena will be full. If not, then you have what you have now. Atlanta will not support a loser. Moreover they are insulted when they see that you are not trying. Rankin Smith got away with it longer than anyone else. He was getting NFL money and he had no reason to put anything other than a team with the appearance of competing.
I remember driving to Atlanta to see the Flames skate. I and my girlfriend each wore our official flames sweater (jersey). Eric Vail, Willie Plett, Eaves Belanger, Dan Bouchard and Tom Lysiak (the Sidney Crosby of his day) were awesome. With Marshall Mann doing the PA in the Omni it just didn’t get any better than that! I even listened to hockey on the radio. Jiggs McDonald and Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion doing the play by play. It was electrifying! They may not have won but they did what they had to do try and put a winner on the ice. It was only a few seasons after moving to Calgary that they won the Stanley Cup. But the seeds of that championship team were planted in Atlanta.
Arthur Blanks wants to win. Result: first back-to-back winning seasons in the history of the franchise. And the future is bright. If you don’t want to win then take it to Canada. After all, “they ain’t got nuttin’ else better to do.” We have something other to do than watching a loser lose.
jojatek
April 13th, 2010
9:17 pm
Remember the Flames, folks?? I grew up with that team… they were a playoff team and a solid club most of the time, with a colorful cast of players who were active in the Atlanta area and, in many respects, went on to become local legends around this town. None of that mattered. The Flames headed for Calgary without even the courtesy of a name-change (I don’t recall Sherman turning north toward Canada in my Civil War history…) and the “city too busy to care” barely noticed…
Win or lose, Atlanta is not a hockey town. So long, Thrashers (and when you go, please do us the courtesy of changing your name… something native to Canada, perhaps…??).
Boca Baby
April 13th, 2010
9:19 pm
Oh, by the way. I cannot believe the NHL does not want a successful franchise in the ninth largest city in America. If they are committed to having a team here then they need to step in.
Disappointed
April 13th, 2010
9:27 pm
Not a huge hockey fan, but I do enjoy a game every once in a while. Went to see the Thrashers play (pre big trade) and it was sad to see these men play so poorly and with such little spirit. I first saw hockey with the career-less Trax when I lived in Macon (sorry, I was there post Macon Whoppee). The Macon Trax were more exciting than the Thrashers, and those boys weren’t going anywhere in hockey, but they played harder and were more fun to watch.
Fred M.
April 13th, 2010
9:29 pm
As long as the Spirit owns the Thrashers and Waddell is GM I will never go back and see another game. The Spirit ownership group want a loser since they keep Waddell as GM. There is no worse GM in all of sports and we have had him since 1999. Just look at his draft picks since 1999. Most of these picks were overall No. 1 and No. 2 picks. Where are these players. WOW! Please God help the Thrashers stay in Atlanta and get rid of the Spirit ownership group and Waddell so I can go back and enjoy hockey again. I feel so sorry for the players.
Flames Fan
April 13th, 2010
9:31 pm
Between the Flames and the Thrashers, Atlanta has been in the NHL for 18 years. Over that span, Atlanta NHL teams have won a grand total of two playoff games (both by the Flames). Neither team in eighteen years has won a playoff series. How well do you think any professional sport would draw in any major U.S. city with a pathetic record like that? Eighteen freaking years and not one playoff series win – SAD. As noted above, the Thrashers playoff games were packed – fans were even in their seats before the game started, a novel concept for Atlanta patrons. There are plenty of hockey fans in Atlanta that will gladly support a team that can win a playoff series or two. The Thrashers need to clean house if for no other reason to give the fans some hope. This year’s roster had some talent, enough to make the playoffs in a very weak Eastern Conference. Don W’s stated number one goal this year was to sign Kovalchuk – GRADE F. Goal number two was to make the playoffs – GRADE F. I wish we could steal Nashville’s front office and coach – they have at least been a decent team and have made the playoffs consistently. Since the Thrashers are so pathetic, I plan to catch the Pred’s and Blackhawks Game 4 in Nashville. The fact that we have to drive four hours to see playoff hockey is indicative of the poor leadership over at Phillips. Wake up over there and bring in some new blood!!!!!!! You are killing hockey in Atlanta.
Acer
April 13th, 2010
9:33 pm
I will believe the Thrashers will leave Atlanta the day a jive-talking, bi-sexual, non-citizen Kenyan with almost no political experience is elected President of the United States.
Oh…. Hmmmm….
Never Mind.
Bye, Thrashers.
jack
April 13th, 2010
9:42 pm
oh,,, my bad,,, didn’t realize they WERE still in Atlanta !!
Blueland Fan
April 13th, 2010
9:46 pm
Winning is the only answer! Hockey tickets are not cheap, and fans will not pay the big bucks to support a losing team.
If ownership would make the committment to fielding a winning team, the fans would fill Phillips Arena for every home game.
After the Thrashers got to the Playoffs in 2007, ownership shipped off many of the players that got the team into the playoffs, and they have never lifted the team back to that level since.
I would love to get season tix, but settle for a 10 game package every year because I could not take going to every game, since there is no committment to winning by the Thrashers ownership. Going to watch the Thrashers lose 10 times a season is all my heart can take.
Winning games is the only way to build a fan base, especially in a southern town. It worked in Carolina and Tampa, it can certainly work in Atlanta.
Somebody with a committment to winning must take charge of this franchise and make it happen.
Otherwise many lifelong hockey fans like myself will continue to attend only a few games each season.
P. Bull Terrier
April 13th, 2010
9:51 pm
I thought they traded the Thrashers to New Jersey for a six pack of beer and a used mop.
Next season, maybe they should throw a soccer ball on the ice and make them kick it around while they are swatting at the puck. That would really boost attendance, especially if all three MLS fans in town showed up to watch.
bill
April 13th, 2010
9:58 pm
He keeps his job the same way Stan Kasten kept his. Swagger and little else. But he is in a town where most do not care about the Spirit teams. Remeber the Flames they won and could not draw flies.
Dennis G. Berdanis
April 13th, 2010
10:06 pm
I remember when 16,400 a game would have thrilled Flames, Braves or Hawks owners in the 70s. I guess to support today’s finiancial market you have to draw 90,000 a game huh?
DJ
April 13th, 2010
10:38 pm
Mark
You could DO this piece on the hawks, braves and falcons (LOTS OF EMPTY SEATS) .why are you trying to run the Thrashers out of town?….you are a lazy sports writer…go ask bruce why he hasnt fired DW..If the Thrashers were ligit then the place would be packed…would that bum you out? What is your agenda? go do some digging and start asking some questions as to why the worst GM in hockey has a job…. that is the real question…but yet you take the coward route and ask if hockey can survive…SHAME ON YOU…stupid question…..you missed the story and by the way, youre prediction is wrong….change is on the way soon and you have no idea because you are lame and have no idea. But congrats for getting all the loosers who have never been to an NHL game to blog….Its all about winning Mark not wether hockey can make it in one of the top media markets…..
Guys like Acer are ignorant by the way
DJ
April 13th, 2010
10:41 pm
One more thing, GO THRASHERS…we love ya (just cant stand DWs ability to build a winner)
99champ
April 13th, 2010
10:43 pm
Get a dedicated ownership, spend up to cap money and move the arena north of I-285 where most of the hockey fans reside to get out of the horrible traffic that exists to get to the game
Krebs
April 13th, 2010
10:50 pm
Would have said two weeks ago they are gone for sure. But what I am hearing on Canadian TV and radio is that Bettman wants to keep the teams in major markets because of advertising. Sure Winnepeg has 700,000 folks there and 650,000 are hockey fans but do big sponsors want to invest in Winnepeg? Too many small markets in Canada. Even though Atlanta is half full for each game, it is a large market and still has growth potential. What I hear is that Bettman wants a new team in the Toronto area (new franchise brings in big bucks). And what if the Canadian dollar falls back to 50-75 cents? Also the NHL is on the verge of getting a better TV deal. So I am not so sure now.
B. Thenet
April 13th, 2010
10:57 pm
The real question is if Don Waddell is being employed to build a hockey team, or destroy a fanbase to allow the owners to sell the franchise to a Canadian billionaire with minimal resistance from NHL Commish Gary Bettman.
Larry Sinclair
April 13th, 2010
11:01 pm
Guys like “DJ” @ 10:41pm are gullible, ignorant buffoons who cannot spell correctly, use proper grammar or write in complete sentences, by the way.
Courtney
April 13th, 2010
11:09 pm
It is simply cost. Today was 72 degrees and perfect. What was the weather in Winnipeg? Atlantans are not going to blow $200 to take a family indoors when it is so nice here in the winter.
Joe B
April 13th, 2010
11:26 pm
I think the Thrasher’s fate may have been sealed the night Dany Heatley crashed his car.
Realistically, a hockey franchise needs several winning years in a row to succeed in a Southern city. A Heatley/Kovalchuk-led Thrashers team could have gotten them; instead, the team has struggled to stay competitive. Whether the Thrashers move depends on the ownership situation, which has been weird for years. I know that Wisconsin, with many more hockey fans than Georgia has, would love an NHL team.
ScottBravesfan
April 13th, 2010
11:59 pm
Youth hockey is doing well in Atlanta. The team from Alpharetta won the national championship in youth hockey for 12 year olds. It would be sad if the team moved away.
ScottBravesfan
April 14th, 2010
12:03 am
DJ,
There was 53,081 fans at the Braves opening day, the Thrashers are happy if they draw that in a month. It’s way to expensive to go to NHL and NBA games, their prices are sky high and the NBA especially always markets their teams to executives. MLB and NFL just do a better job of marketing their games to families.
ScottBravesfan
April 14th, 2010
12:05 am
Also look no further than the Washington Capitals as what could happen to the Atlanta Thrashers. When the Caps had Jagr they had a star player and made the playoffs as a lower seeded team and they could not sell out playoff games. They get Ovechkin, start making the playoffs, winning playoff games, and now they sell out every game. That city is even more of a transient city than Atlanta and hockey is not native to norther Virginia yet the Caps do great now. The same thing can happen in Atlanta.
DR DMAN
April 14th, 2010
12:05 am
Mark, I’m the same age as you… and have been here long enough to have suffered through the loss of the FLAMES, many years ago. To be honest it has been hard embracing the Thrashers, especially with this joke of a management and ownership. Is Kozlov correct? Do we also have a Coaching problem? Not sure… But, it is clear that we have owners who aren’t really committed to the success of the franchise, and a GM who is either incompetent – or has his hands so tied he can’t get things going. I tend to think it is option #1. Are there any more ex-HOME DEPOT Billionaires left who need something to fill their days… or, maybe a tax write-off?
Peter
April 14th, 2010
12:08 am
People. It is not all DW’s fault. IMHO, he has done a fair job with the cards he has been given. Atlanta has NEVER been a salary cap team, so he has never been able to play with the big boys in the NHL. The reason for this is because the Baltimore…I mean Atlanta Spirit does not care about winning. They only care about the revenues they make from the lucrative contracts that they have with their NBA from TNT and ESPN. The Thrashers are a loss leader, that they just assume goes away. We will never have an Ovi or a Crosby and we could not hold onto Kovie. The sole reason for this is because everyone on the team knows that the ownership is not committed to putting a winner on the ice. They prefer to cultivate the young stars that we develop and then trade to a contender at the trade deadline to make room for other young stars that make the league minimum. It is like buying into a $5000 poker game with $500 and hoping to win. You just can’t do it. Anderson is one of the best coaches around. There is not one player on our team that would be in the first 2 lines of one of the playoff teams, but he gets them to play with the best teams in the NHL. You are all correct. Nobody will buy the Thrashers and hope to keep them here. Atlanta and all other American markets like a winner (anyone see the RedWings crowd mid way through the season…that is hockeytown filled with empty red seats). Bottom line is that is the ownership does not spend the money, and take the cuffs off of DW and give Andersone the tools he wants/needs, we are only left to wonder what if. I am a huge hockey fan and a huge Thrashers fan. I wish we had a chance to root for a winner, but the Baltimore Spirit just wants the revenue share from the Hawks. Bettman should have questioned this on day one and not let them come here as opposed to let these d-bags break our hearts. Does R. Seidel even know how to skate? that was a rhettorical question of course.
Matt
April 14th, 2010
12:42 am
If RALIEGH DURHAM can have a successful hockey team than why not ATLANTA GEORGIA bring back the FLAMES
Matt
April 14th, 2010
12:47 am
Congradulations on that little league hockey team from Georgia for winning the National Title. Thrashers need to invest in those kids. The Thrashers have made hockey a sport kids have started to love in the Atlanta area. If the Thrashers leave Atlanta so does little league Hockey. Thrashers need to stay. UNCLE TED needs to buy them back
Goldtimer
April 14th, 2010
12:50 am
The only two things that I can identify in that photo both belong to the lady in green. Who cares about hockey in this town? The ownership clearly doesn’t so why should I?
Matt
April 14th, 2010
12:56 am
I also remember a few years ago when the hawks were losing that they were going to move. In the 80s the Braves were losing and drawing no fans so they almost moved, Then the falcons almost moved to Jacksonville when Rankin Smith wanted a new stadium. Hell even steinbreiner threaten to move the Yankees to Tampa a few years ago, I dont think the Thrashers if they do I would think Seattle would be a good fit for them. Northern most US city without a NBA team or NHL team move. Could you imagine a team called the Tampa YANKEES
phil
April 14th, 2010
2:15 am
We have a hockey team?
Jeff
April 14th, 2010
2:26 am
I have to admit, 20 years ago I made fun of hockey fans in my dorm in college… but around 1993-1994, I started to go to some Atlanta Knights games and I got hooked on the sport for good. It’s an amazingly skilled, fast-paced, physical, fun game to watch… the Stanley Cup playoffs on ESPN in the late 1990s were absolutely CLASSIC television.
That being said… I LOVE the Thrashers and fully support them, and I think there are MORE than enough hockey fans in Atlanta to make this work (see: success of the Knights at The Omni, and the first few years of the Thrashers at Philips). HOWEVER, if the ASG is still the owners in a year’s time, and if Waddell is still the incompetent GM that he is, I think (unfortunately) that the NHL will push to move the team.
I HOPE I am wrong… and I HOPE management will find a way to get rid of Waddell and infuse the organization with some hope and excitement. Atlanta loves a winner, and if this team ever made a run like the 2007 team did to win the division and make the playoffs, I think it would be a great atmosphere at Philips.
Hockey CAN work in Atlanta… the Flames, Knights and Thrashers all proved it… the thing is you HAVE to manage and coach your team effectively. Atlanta does not support losers… I have heard, at various points in my 40 years, about the Braves or Falcons or Hawks leaving because of a few years of bad play. But each of those teams rebuilt, got on the right track and have become very successful… the Thrashers can too, but SOMEBODY needs to step up and take charge to make it happen.
GO THRASHERS! Stay and succeed in Atlanta… here’s one fan who will always support you.
BeachGaBulldog
April 14th, 2010
2:57 am
First, I grew up watching the old Atlanta Flames, and was a HUGE FAN OF THAT TEAM. I went to a TON of their games. When they left, I was heartbroken and I said to hell with hockey in Atlanta. I tried, but have just NEVER been able to get into the Thrashers. I watched their first 2-3 games in season 1, but they bored the hell out of me. I broke down a few years ago, and went to 1 Thrashers game. Again, bored off of my ass. It was against the St. Louis Blues, and the only reason I went was to see the Blues.
When the Flames were around, it was always AWESOME to go see them play the Philadelphia Flyers with Schulz, Clarke, Barber, etc. What a rivalry! I knew the players by heart, their jersey numbers, etc.
What(VERY LITTLE) I do know about the Thrashers is that this Waddell guy is a first class F*** up. Whenever I am watching ESPN catching scores, and I see that the Thrashers have lost, I laugh my ass off. What a joke. They just need to fold. I live in Tampa, and at least they know how to win, having won a Stanley Cup.
Close up shop Thrashers( I have always hated their uniforms, too). YOU WILL ALWAYS SUCK! GOOD RIDDANCE!
God, I miss the Flames!
Just Wondering
April 14th, 2010
2:59 am
Yeah, just what I want to do… Sit in traffic for an hour getting to the game, so I can then spend $15-20 to park my car, so I can then go into the arena and get mugged ($8 beers, $7 hot dogs), and watch a game in a building that is split into the haves and have nots.
Golden Hand
April 14th, 2010
4:35 am
Do what now? They zoom around on ice skates and hit a piece of rubber with sticks? And they score about as often as soccer? Eh, personally, I’d rather watch reruns of spring football scrimmages. You can’t make me care about professional ice hockey any more than you can make me care about soccer. I’ll watch a little of the Olympics and the World Cup, if there’s nothing else on, and that’s my limit.
bugman
April 14th, 2010
5:04 am
Even tho I was fed up with D-Wad after the SECOND SEASON and vowed never to purchase another Thrashers tix until his removal, I surely would hate to see the team relocated. I am holding out hope that he will not be renewed in ‘10 and is asked to move back to MI. I also am of the opinion that the team will not be moved and the NHL will intervene before that occurs.
As for another owner, why not have ASG just hand over the ownership to McDavid in lieu of $316M?
Pinball34
April 14th, 2010
5:58 am
Nice negative story, Bradley. Go back to Kentucky and suck up to the NCAA .. You piece of S***.
bill
April 14th, 2010
6:49 am
Hasn’t this been tried once already in Atlanta – called the Flames? Different name with same results. The reason so many people move here is because it is NOT cold.