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===Current roster===
===Current roster===
<small>As of [[November 30]], [[2007]]. [http://thrashers.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=TeamPlayers&type=roster]</small>
<small>As of [[December 8]], [[2007]]. [http://thrashers.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=TeamPlayers&type=roster]</small>


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!width=9%|Acquired
!width=9%|Acquired
!width=37%|Place of Birth
!width=37%|Place of Birth

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|align=center|'''8'''
|align=center|{{flagicon|CAN}}
|[[Mark Recchi]]
|align=center|RW/LW
|align=center|L
|align=center|[[2007-08 NHL season|2007]]
|[[Kamloops, British Columbia|Kamloops]], [[British Columbia]]


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Revision as of 18:21, 8 December 2007

Atlanta Thrashers
File:AtlantaThrashers.png
ConferenceEastern
DivisionSoutheast
Founded1999
HistoryAtlanta Thrashers
1999 - present
Home arenaPhilips Arena
CityAtlanta, Georgia
Team colorsIce Blue, Bronze, Gold, Copper, Midnight Blue, and White
MediaSportSouth
WCNN (680 AM)
Owner(s)Atlanta Spirit
General managerDon Waddell
Head coachDon Waddell (Interim)
CaptainBobby Holik
Minor league affiliatesChicago Wolves (AHL)
Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL)
Stanley CupsNone
Conference championshipsNone
Division championships2006-07
The Thrashers take the puck into the offensive zone against the St. Louis Blues at Philips Arena on September 22, 2007

The Atlanta Thrashers are a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Their home arena is Philips Arena.

Franchise history

Atlanta was awarded an NHL franchise on June 25, 1997. This marked a return to Atlanta, Georgia by the NHL. The old Atlanta Flames team departed for Calgary in 1980 and became the Calgary Flames.

The nickname "Thrashers", after Georgia's state bird, the brown thrasher, was selected from a fan poll. "Thrashers" had actually been runner-up to "Flames" for Atlanta's first NHL team, but had been deemed stupid and unusable due to the rediculous nature of the name and Philips Arena, the Thrashers' new home, was built on the site of the former Omni, which had been home to the Flames.

The newly-formed Thrashers selected Patrik Stefan with the first overall selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. They played their first game on October 2, 1999, losing 4-1 to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the New Jersey Devils. Captain Kelly Buchberger scored the franchise's first goal in the loss. Since then, the team has struggled to find some form of success, due to the fact that they suck! (This was not helped by the fact that Patrick Stefan turned out to be one of the biggest failures in NHL History)

On September 21, 2003, the team was sold to a group of Atlanta Spirit, LLC by Time Warner, along with the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta Spirit is comprised of Bruce Levenson, Ed Pestkowitz, Rutherford Seydel, Beau Turner, Michael Gearon, Sr., Michael Gearon, Jr., Felix Riccio and Steve Belkin. That same month brought tragedy as just five days later, star forward Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari in a one-car accident that seriously injured him (broken jaw and arm, sprained wrist,torn ACL and MCL) and severely injured Thrashers center Dan Snyder, who died five days later due to infection stemming from the accident. The Thrashers dedicated their 2003-04 NHL season in Snyder's memory. Heatley's blood alcohol content was far below the legal limit, but his combination of speeding (he was driving an estimated 80 miles per hour) and recklessness led to criminal charges (eventually settled with three years' probation and a penalty of community service).

Thrashers players wore black patches with Snyder's number, 37, on their jerseys. At the end of the season, Heatley requested a trade for personal reasons. Heatley was traded to Ottawa in a move that brought Marian Hossa, a four-time 30 goal scorer at the time of the trade, to Atlanta. At the end of the 06-07 season, Hossa had made his mark as the first Thrasher to score 100 points in one season, eclipsing Ilya Kovalchuk's franchise record of 98 points.

The Thrashers clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in team history in the 2006-2007 season, while also capturing the first division championship in franchise history. They were swept 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Rangers. This is again due to a complete lack of talent with the possible exception of Ilya Kovalchuk, the young Russian who alone, has managed to keep the team alive.

2003-04 Season Recap

Led by captain Shawn McEachern, the Thrashers jumped quickly out of the gates with some notable highlights. Ilya Kovalchuk scored eight goals in the first seven 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. Those comeback victories became a recurring sight throughout the season, including shocking upsets against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins, and the Ottawa Senators, as well as wins from games against the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders.

Eleven games into the season, the Thrashers were alone in first place atop both the Southeast Division the NHL. Although they continued to play well, they could not keep up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the eventual Stanley Cup champions, or other teams in the league. The absence of Heatley and a lack of depth started to appear. Boxing Day 2003 marked both a bright and dark day for the Thrash. On that day, Heatley skated for the first time since his car accident with Snyder, but it also marked the last win for the Thrashers before an extended losing streak. From December 28 to February 11 the Thrashers went a dismal 1-17-3. However, fans were entertained regardless of the team's struggles. Kovalchuk became only the second Thrashers' player to score in the NHL All-Star Game (after Heatley), an exciting overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings occurred on New Year's Eve, Randy Robitaille broke Brian Boucher's shutout streak, Dany Heatley eventually returned to game action, and a twelve-man brawl against the Edmonton Oilers took place. The losing streak finally ended with a 4-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks.

While the Thrashers' playoff hopes were done for the year, they still played on and ended up finishing second in the Southeast Division and tenth in the Eastern Conference, only a handful of wins away from the playoffs. Kovalchuk ended up tying for the league lead in goals (41) with Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash. Goaltender Kari Lehtonen started his NHL career with four wins in four starts, including one shutout.

2005-06 Season Recap

Before the start of the 2005-06 season, the Thrashers picked up many veteran players in the hopes of making the playoffs for the first time. They signed Mike Dunham, Peter Bondra, Bobby Holik, Jaroslav Modry, and Scott Mellanby. They traded Dany Heatley on August 23, 2005, to the Ottawa Senators, in a blockbuster deal for forward Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries.

The 2005-06 season saw the Thrashers win a club-record 41 games, even with numerous goaltending injuries. Only a few minutes into the first game of the season, Lehtonen pulled his groin, an injury that would keep him out for a good portion of the season. Veteran backup Mike Dunham, an experienced number-one net minder, stepped in, but also promptly injured himself only a few games later; this left only prospects Michael Garnett and Adam Berkhoel to mind the nets. Journeyman goalie Steve Shields was signed, but he too was injured within ten games. On April 6, Lehtonen was run into by Tampa Bay's Chris Dingman, injuring him yet again. The remainder of the season was left to Dunham. Garnett was injured in a game against the Washington Capitals. Dunham, who had started the game but was relieved by the young rookie after poor play, was forced back into action in the third period.

Recent

For a complete overview of the 2006-07 season, see 2006-07 Atlanta Thrashers season

October 13, 2006, the first official event on the new SportSouth was a National Hockey League game between the Atlanta Thrashers and the Carolina Hurricanes. The Thrashers ended up losing 4-3, giving the Hurricanes their first win of the season. On April 24, 2007, team captain Scott Mellanby announced his retirement. On October 17, coach Bob Hartley was fired after an 0-6 start.

Team colors and mascot

File:Atlanta alternate.gif
Introduced in 2003 as an alternate, the team has since made it their official home jersey (2006-07).
File:Atlanta Home uniforms.gif
Away jersey (1999-2003); home jersey (2003-06).
File:Atlanta Road uniforms.gif
Home jersey (1999-2003); current away (2003-07).

Jerseys

The current team colors are ice blue, navy blue, red, and gold. In 2003, the NHL decided to switch home and road jerseys.[1]

Mascot

The team's mascot is Thrash, a Brown Thrasher.

Statistics and records

Individual records

Regular season

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Thrashers. For the full season-by-season history, see Atlanta Thrashers seasons

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Records as of May 10, 2007.[2]

Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
2001-02 82 19 47 11 5 54 187 288 1290 5th, Southeast Did not qualify
2002-03 82 31 39 7 5 74 226 284 1253 3rd, Southeast Did not qualify
2003-04 82 33 37 8 4 78 214 243 1505 2nd, Southeast Did not qualify
2004-05 Season cancelled due to 2004-05 NHL Lockout
2005-061 82 41 33 — 8 90 281 275 1318 3rd, Southeast Did not qualify
2006-07 82 43 28 — 11 97 246 245 1st, Southeast Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0-4 (Rangers)
Totals 573 204 286 45 39 492 1535 1937 9359 —
1 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games tied after regulation will be decided in a shootout; SOL (Shootout losses) will be recorded as OTL in the standings.

Current roster

As of December 8, 2007. [1]

Goaltenders
# Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
1 Sweden Johan Hedberg L 2006 Leksand, Sweden
32 Finland Kari Lehtonen L 2002 Helsinki, Finland
Defensemen
# Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
2 Canada Garnet Exelby L 1999 Craik, Saskatchewan
5 Canada Steve McCarthy L 2006 Trail, British Columbia
7 Canada Mark Popovic L 2005 Stoney Creek, Ontario
22 United States Ken Klee R 2007 Indianapolis, Indiana
28 Sweden Niclas Havelid – A L 2004 Stockholm, Sweden
39 Sweden Tobias Enström L 2003 Nordingra, Sweden
77 Russia Alexei Zhitnik L 2007 Kiev, U.S.S.R.
Forwards
# Player Position Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
8 Canada Mark Recchi RW/LW L 2007 Kamloops, British Columbia
9 Canada Pascal Dupuis LW L 2007 Laval, Quebec
10 Canada Bryan Little C R 2006 Edmonton, Alberta
11 Canada Eric Perrin W/C L 2007 Laval, Quebec
12 Canada Todd White C L 2007 Kanata, Ontario
13 Russia Vyacheslav Kozlov – A LW L 2002 Voskresensk, U.S.S.R.
16 Czech Republic Bobby Holik – C C R 2005 Jihlava, Czechoslovakia
17 Russia Ilya Kovalchuk – A LW R 2001 Tver, U.S.S.R.
18 Slovakia Marian Hossa – A RW L 2005 Stará Ľubovňa, Czechoslovakia
20 Canada Steve Rucchin (IR) C L 2006 Thunder Bay, Ontario
23 United States Jim Slater C/LW L 2002 Petoskey, Michigan
27 Canada Chris Thorburn C/W R 2007 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
29 Canada Brad Larsen LW L 2004 Nakusp, British Columbia
36 Canada Eric Boulton LW L 2005 Halifax, Nova Scotia
38 Canada Darren Haydar RW R 2006 Toronto, Ontario

Team captains

Honored Members

Hall of Famers: Currently, no member of the Thrashers has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Retired Numbers: The Thrashers have not retired a number, although Wayne Gretzky's Number 99 was retired League-wide on February 6, 2000. Number 37 (though not retired) has been taken out of circulation since the tragic death of Dan Snyder in 2003.

First-round draft picks

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Thrashers player

Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Ilya Kovalchuk* LW 387 202 177 379 .97
Vyacheslav Kozlov* LW 318 94 179 273 .85
Marc Savard C 184 63 133 196 1.07
Marian Hossa* RW 162 82 110 192 1.18
Dany Heatley RW 190 80 101 181 .95
Patrik Stefan C 413 59 118 177 .43
Ray Ferraro C 223 56 91 147 .66
Andrew Brunette LW 158 38 71 109 .69
Yannick Tremblay D 300 33 74 107 .36
Frantisek Kaberle D 272 20 82 102 .38

NHL awards and trophies

Calder Memorial Trophy

Rocket Richard Trophy

Media

The giant flaming birdheads at Philips Arena, lit when the players are introduced before the game and when the Thrashers score a goal

The Atlanta Thrashers are broadcast on cable television on SportSouth, which is available in many Deep South states. Until October 13, 2006, SportSouth was known as Turner South. In 2006-07, the channel will broadcast about 75% of the team's schedule. Outside of the league's contract with NBC, the team has no broadcast (over-the-air) TV contract; thus, games are only available on television to fans with cable or satellite.

Radio coverage includes play-by-play of all games on 680 The Fan -- an AM sports station in Atlanta. The station is the flagship of a network that includes 18 stations. Most are in Georgia, but there are two affiliates in South Carolina and one in Scottsboro, Alabama.

References

  1. ^ Karol, Kristofer (January 27, 2003). "NHL 'quacked' up with hockey jersey switch". State News. Retrieved 2006-08-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Hockeydb.com, Atlanta Thrashers season statistics and records.

See also

External links

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