Atlanta Thrashers

The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 season. They were members of the Southeast Division of the NHL's Eastern Conference, and played their home games at what is now known as State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. The Thrashers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in the 2006–07 season, after winning the Southeast Division, but were swept in the first round by the New York Rangers. In May 2011, the Thrashers were sold to Canadian-based ownership group True North Sports & Entertainment. The group moved the franchise to Winnipeg, which became the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets (the first incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996 to become the Coyotes). The sale and relocation were approved by the NHL on June 21, 2011. With the sale and relocation of the team, Atlanta became the first city in the NHL's modern era to have two ice hockey teams relocate to different cities. In both cases, the team moved from Atlanta to a Western Canadian city; the city's previous NHL team (the Atlanta Flames) moved to Calgary, in 1980 to become the Calgary Flames. Franchise history After the departure of the International Hockey League (IHL)'s Atlanta Knights (1992–1996) to become the Quebec Rafales, the city of Atlanta was awarded an NHL franchise on June 25, 1997, as part of a four-team tiered expansion. This also included teams in Nashville, Columbus, and St. Paul, in which each new franchise would begin play as its respective new arena was completed. The birth of the new franchise marked NHL hockey's return to Georgia after the Atlanta Flames, established in 1972, departed for Canada in 1980 to become the Calgary Flames. The Flames had been the League's first foray into the southern U.S., and their failure discouraged further efforts to bring NHL hockey south of Washington for another decade. 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" in the poll (as a homage to the old Atlanta Flames), and Philips Arena, the Thrashers' new home, was built on the site of the former Omni, which had been home to the Flames.