Atlanta Thrashers-NHL

Sports' Forgotten Heroes

The NHL expanded to Atlanta for the 1972-73 season with the Flames. The team quickly became a perennial playoff team qualifying for the post-season in just its second season. In fact, in the eight years that the Flames called Atlanta home, they made the playoffs six times (although they never advanced past the first round). After the 1979-80 season, the Flames packed up and left the south for Calgary where they have enjoyed sellouts and a Stanley Cup Championship in 1988-89; and made it to the Finals in two other seasons. The NHL, however, was not done in Atlanta. The expansion Thrashers took the ice for the 1999-2000 season. But they never experienced the on-ice successes as their predecessors did. In fact, in 11 seasons, the Thrashers only made the playoffs once (2006-07) when they won the Southeast Division and lost in the first round to the New York Rangers. After the 2010-11 season, the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg where they have enjoyed sellout crowds and a modicum of success in the playoffs. So, what went wrong in Atlanta for the Thrashers? On this episode of Sports' Forgotten Heroes, Curtis Walker, author of the book, "Broken Wings" joins the podcast to talk about the team's failures off the ice, which led to its eventual departure. Walker's book goes into great detail about Thrasher's General Manager Don Waddell and his continual misses in the draft, poor trades and the problems with ownership. Should the NHL have expanded to Atlanta? What lessons were learned? And, should the NHL give Atlanta another chance? I explore it all with Curtis in the in-depth episode the chronicles a team that had decent success at the gate, but anything other than success on the ice.