The Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers is one of the famous names in the history of hockey. The Thrashers are actually a National Hockey League (NHL) team that is based in Philips Arena in the city Atlanta, Georgia. They have played a lot of hockey championships in Atlanta and the world and greatly won several titles. Today, the Atlanta Thrashers are a name worthy of fame.
The Franchise History
The Atlanta Thrashers are actually one of the National Hockey League’s newest teams. The origin of the group can be traced back to the time when Atlanta was awarded an NHL franchise in 1997 to replace the Atlanta Flames, which left for Calgary in 1980 and became the Calgary Flames. The newly formed team first selected Patrik Stefan with their first number-one draft pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, and it was in October 2, 1999 that they have played their first game and lost 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils.
In September 2003, the Atlanta Thrashers was sold to a group of executives by Time Warner, along with the Atlanta Hawks, a professional basketball team. From then on, the Atlanta Thrashers shared the arena with the Hawks. That same month, an unforgettable tragedy happened when the star forward Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari in a one-car accident that seriously injured Heatley and killed the Atlanta Thrasher’s center Dan Snyder, who was then a passenger in the car. Because of that accident, the Thrashers dedicated their 2003-2004 NHL season to Snyder’s memory. During that season, the team wore black patches with Snyder’s number, 37, on their jerseys.
In their short history, the Atlanta Thrashers have actually never made the playoffs. Their best season so far was the 2003-2004 NHL season where out of 82 games, they won 33, lost 37, tied 8 and had overtime losses in four games.
The Atlanta Thrashers today play in the Southeast Division of the NHL’s Eastern Conference, and they are currently coached by Bob Hartley. It is interesting to know that the team name and logo came from the brown thrasher, the state bird of Georgia.
Recap of the 2003-2004 NHL Season
In the history of the Atlanta Thrashers, the 2003-2004 NHL season was by the far the most successful. The team was then led by captain Shawn McEachern, and with the memory of Dan Snyder on their mind, they jumped quickly out of the gates with some notable highlights. It is interesting to know that during that season, Ilya Kovalchuk scored 8 goals in the first 7 games, including two hat tricks, one in a 7-2 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks, and another in a come from behind victory against the Nashville Predators. Also, come from behind victories became a standard sight throughout the season, including the team’s wins from games against the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders, as well as the shocking upsets against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators, and the Boston Bruins, among others.
While clearly the Atlanta Thrashers playoffs hope were done for that year, they still played on and ended up finishing second in the Southeast Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference, only a handful of wins away from the playoffs. And, despite the tragedy that happened to their teammate Dan Snyder, the Atlanta Thrashers moved on and ended up doing relatively well, and their future certainly looks bright.
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