Atlanta Thrashers History and Information
The Atlanta Thrashers are one of the NHL's newest teams. Atlanta was awarded a NHL franchise in 1997 to replace the Atlanta Flames, which departed for Calgary in 1980 and became the Calgary Flames. The newly-formed Thrashers selected Patrik Stefan with their first number-one draft pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. They played their first game on October 2, 1999, losing 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils.
In September 2003 the team was sold to a group of executives by Time Warner, along with the Atlanta Hawks professional basketball team, with which the Thrashers share the arena. That same month brought tragedy as star forward Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari in a one-car accident that seriously injured Heatley and killed Thrashers center Dan Snyder, who was a passenger in the car. The Thrashers dedicated their 2003-04 NHL season to Snyder's memory. Thrashers players wore black patches with Snyder's number, 37, on their jerseys during the season.
The Thrashers have never made the playoffs in their short history. Their best season was 2003-04, where out of 82 games, they won 33, lost 37, tied 8 and had overtime losses in 4 games.
The Thrashers play in the Southeast Division of NHL's Eastern Conference. They are currently coached by Bob Hartley. The team name and logo come from the brown thrasher, the state bird of Georgia.
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