NHL : “Let’s give Atlanta another chance” -- Quebec Breathing Intensifies -

Lol "if you want another Canadian team, you put it in Atlanta and there ya go" Legit laughed out loud, well done sir.

The Atlanta Spirit group USED the city of Atlanta to build Philips Arena solely based on taking on an expansion team. It gave them 2 teams and would allow the city to build a new arena. They wanted NOTHING to do with the hockey team. That is NOT the fault of Thrashers fans. It was solely on ownership. Don Waddell was given ZERO chance to succeed. The Spirit group threw all their money with the Hawks. Bettman took the team away within 2 months. GONE. He has saved the Coyotes more than a DOZEN times.

Everyone talks about how amazing THG is for all the videos he does.. can we please also acknowledge the fact that this man knows SO much about hockey

I think selling the Dallas vs Houston rivalry would help the cause for a Houston team a lot.

Honestly if it’s done properly this time it can work. Hockey is starting to get really popular in regions close to it. See Carolina, Tampa,Nashville. Im a Tampa Bay fan and it has grown a lot in the state of florida just because of their success alone. If an actual owner is in place it should work in the biggest southeastern u.s market.

Can't wait for the Saskatoon Thrashers to become a thing, god bless Atlanta, giving us one Canadian prairie team after another.

We had Thrashers night in Atlanta recently. People love the branding, I think the name and branding would be huge for Atlanta because we already know the Thrashers. However I could see someone shying away from the name

Here’s the thing: If ownership cared & tried its best to put a good product on the ice, I’d be all for it. The Thrashers never had good ownership.

Ive been surprised for awhile that the state of Wisconsin/Milwaukee doesnt have a professional hockey team.

Being a lifetime Blues fan , I lived in Atlanta and was a season ticket holder , Atlanta has the fan base , as you bring up a REAL owner could make it work. Definitely loved the team sweaters!

Went to tons of games growing up and miss it like crazy. The ownership was a nightmare but the experience was amazing. I can still feel the heat from the giant thrasher heads shooting flames when a goal was scored

the NHL has figured out how to do expansion, letting teams start with actual NHL calibre players to give them a fighting chance to be competitive and worth watching. So I could see it working out as long as you have good management in place, not just a dep pocketed owner.

I'm sure Quebec City would love to see them try it.

I've been a big believer in Atlanta for years now. I am thrilled to see that the NHL still sees the potential in the Atlanta market. All they need is good ownership. If they can get that, they will thrive. Reminder, despite Arizona being a living meme, they had a roaring sold out crowd back in 2012. Because they were winning. If Atlanta can get decent ownership, they can finally have a winning team.

There was also the Dany Heatley tragedy. That pretty much sealed the deal on the Thrashers.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned the last couple decades across a number of markets, a successful NHL team south of the border is dependent on two things: (1) a good ownership group that’s committed to being successful on and off the ice, and (2) a good and stable arena situation. We’ve seen bad ownership sink teams in Arizona, Buffalo, Net York (Isles), Minnesota (North Stars), and obviously Atlanta. Likewise we’ve seen poor arena situations really hurt teams both north and south of the border. New York (Islanders), Arizona, Ottawa, and Atlanta again. When the ownership group is committed and the arena situation is ‘solved’, the NHL can thrive anywhere in America or Canada provided the market is sufficiently large enough. It’s worked in Vegas, L.A., Anaheim, Carolina, Dallas, Miami, Tampa, Nashville, Columbus, and lots of other cities. There is no reason why it can’t work in Phoenix, Houston, or Atlanta if the league goes in and does it right.

I think it would do really well this time. The Gladiators after the Thrashers night did really well despite being hell to get to. They are even talking about an outdoor game for the Gladiators. I know some sports fans around here have talked about wanting to get an AHL team into State Farm Arena or getting a new NHL team for a few years now. There is also a small movement to bring D1 college hockey to either UGA, Tech, or Kennesaw State. I think they should strike and add a team sooner rather than later, while there is still a buzz about hockey.

Geographically, Atlanta looks promising. it's the 6th largest greater metropolitan area in America. clearly if you can't make a team work there, then something is very wrong. the thrashers were owned by people who eat and breath basketball, but know nothing about hockey. the result was a poorly run team plagued by bad draft picks and trades. Atlanta also joined the league after rapid expansion in the 90s. because of this, they didn't have a good nucleus to pick from. the talent pool was too dilated.

Players pretty much get their part on the back end, though. If they expand to 34 teams, that's 100 more contract slots for guys to sign, and 80+ million in cap each for the teams to spend. Obviously, it's not nearly the 1.6 billion the owners get, but players benefit from expansion as well.

It is an intersting thought that the NHL would consider having another team in Atlanta after two previous failed attempts. Personally, I would think Milwaukee would be a good choice in the league wanted to expand again.

I don’t see a point to a Milwaukee team. Wisconsin is too Fk aimed by Packers football. And the hockey fans are split between Wild and Blackhawks. There’s just not enough meat left on the bone for adding another regional team. I think 32 is the magic number for the NHL

Every public skate you go to in ATL, there's a ton of folks skating in Thrashers jerseys and even flames jerseys.

A curveball that no one has noticed... ...how the sports dollar is spent in any given city. Atlanta is a bit unusual in that in addition to the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks, there is Atlanta United. Normally you can just ignore MLS, but Atlanta is the exception because United leads MLS in attendance with over 47,000 per game - close to 12,000 more than second-place Charlotte. Does that affect available sports dollars in the market? It's a question worth asking.

Given that the NHL just looks at markets by their size and corporate situation, probably. If you’re going to bring in a new franchise or move one to a non traditional market, you have to prepare and have grassroots efforts. How many NHL players come from Georgia? Hockey in California works because Marcel Dionne and Wayne Gretzky were there. And that 90s hockey movie happened. If you want hockey to work in a market, you have to lay the groundwork. Hockey can work in most places, but some require more work than others. If we’re just being lazy, Regina and Quebec City are the obvious ones. In the US, some of the northern states that border on Canada might work. Like Montana. But again, you can’t just drop a pro hockey team somewhere where hockey isn’t in the culture and expect it to work. You’d have a better chance of you put a team in Europe.

"Would the NHL consider a third try with a team in Atlanta?" Nordiques fans: 😥

Watching the Canes/Bolts yesterday, I noticed the TNT studio was in Atlanta. Just found that interesting.

As a South Carolina Hurricanes fan when I was young my Dad used to take me to Thrasher v. Carolina games. The Atlanta fans were great, the team was just bad. It was awesome to have a designated rival team for Carolina. I'd love to see Atlanta come back though I know NHL fans would throw a fit.

Don’t expand unless there’s a plan to add enough teams to balance the divisions. So that would basically mean adding 4 teams. Atlanta for the Atlantic, Hartford for the Metro, Houston for the Central, and either Portland, San Diego, or a 2nd Bay Area team for the Pacific.

Grew up in Atlanta but the Thrashers were so bad it was hard to keep interest in the sport even though going to hockey games was fun. Moved to Nashville around the time of the Preds Stanley Cup run and fell in love with the sport here. So I'd be conflicted if a team came back to Atlanta, but I think there is an untapped fanbase there who could absolutely make it work if ownership had a good plan

A new building is going to be hard because Atlanta just spent a ton of money updating State Farm Arena.

love the video. would like if you could talk more about houston as a possible hockey market. will be a great rivalry with dallas and the geography will be better for the western teams if they get in.

A deep pocket owner is important for getting the team started. More deep pockets are important for keeping the team when the original owner no longer wants to own a hockey team in Atlanta.

I first read Atlanta as Alberta, and was so confused. I was thinking "What would the third NHL team be in Alberta? Red Deer? Medicine Hat? GP?". I do like a 32 team league though, nice and balanced.

Phillips Arena was built for hockey & basketball. It was renovated as State Farm Arena solely for basketball.

Youa my go to source of all things hockey. You have a no nonsense approach and Its appreciated. Lookin foward to youa next one. I realize my Boston accent is obvious even when im textin, but wudda gunna do

They should do 4 expansions for all divisions Houston TX Atlanta GA Quebec City QC and finally Vancouver BC

Is the $800M x 2 windfall + the boost in TV revenue with 2 huge US markets enough to make this go? Probably. What if instead of focusing on what Atlanta (2X) did wrong, the league used the Kraken and the Golden Knights as yardsticks? One thing we know from the Ottawa and Phoenix example is, if the rink isn't right AND in the right place, the team will struggle. Good discussion and NO (sadly) the Nordiques aren't coming back.

Getting a stadium in Alpharetta would be huge. The Braves moving to Cobb co is the template

Did the Quebec group get their deposit back from the last bid? Last I heard the bid was deferred, what ever that meant from Bettman and the board.

Very sore subject to this day for me. The wound of the Thrashers' loss is ever-fresh. I was a kid in LA when the Flames were in Atlanta, so I won't pretend to know what the atmosphere was like in Atlanta then. But I lived through the Thrashers, attending their first preseason game ever in the Columbus Cottonmouths arena in Columbus GA, on through the years to their final game. And I can say without pause that the Thrashers failure had nothing to do with the non-traditional market or it being in the American South or bad Atlanta fans. These newer teams with no history that have just been bad forever and that's all they have ever known, it's really rough. This city has plenty of people who like / love hockey. There's more people who moved to Atlanta from somewhere else than people who were born here. Lots of Canadians here in-fact. It was the shoddy oraganization and ownership that was the problem. Just terrible. Eleven years, 1 playoff appearance which was a first round sweep. Ownership that didn't care and tried to get rid of them almost as soon as they bought them. They bought the team because they wanted the NBA Atlanta Hawks and it was a package deal from Time Warner. No history to fall back on. No grandparents who were Thrashers fans. No memories of better times to get through a decade-plus of terrible hockey. That's what killed them. Not geography. A team needs something to keep it going. Look at the attendance records for the Blackhawks and Bruins in the early to mid 2000's. Worse than the Thrashers. And that's because they were bad for so long at that point. But we are talking Original Six, large market teams. And no one ever blames the fans or cities for those periods. Rightfully so. Atlanta doesn't get that benefit of the doubt though, and I don't really blame anyone. I say this because the NHL absolutely could work in Atlanta. There is nothing different about Atlanta than any other non-traditional city. It's an international city. Tons of folks love hockey here. Personally, I don't see any NHL team in my lifetime again here. Which is why it continues to hurt. Gary Bettman and the NHL bent over backwards to keep the Pens in Pittsburg, bent over backwards to keep the Yotes in Arizona, but the Thrashers were gone in it seems like what seemed like the blink of an eye. Even though the NHL knew this was strike 2 and there would likely never be a chance at strike 3. If some miracle happened and they decide to put a team in Atlanta again, then personally my preference would be to keep the Thrashers name, but get rid of all the terrible colors and jerseys. One of their original colors was a brown. They should be brown like the Brown Thrasher. UPS is a major corporation here in Atlanta and brown is their thing, so perfect sponsorship synergy there. No other teams in the NHL really wear brown as a primary color (I don't count retro Bruins jerseys). Go with a more traditional looking bird logo, or resurrect the T-Bird logo, but in brown. I still love the Thrashers and miss them, even though the subject makes me sad and angry still after all this time.

It’s a shame that ATL couldn’t have the flames branding.

With the way that expansion drafts are handled nowadays, versus in 1999, a new Atlanta franchise would be good for the NHL overall.

Went to a couple Thrashers games when the Wings played them, crowd was >75% wings fans from what I remember.

Another Canadian team would be cool

I like it at 32 teams. That feels right.

there needs to be a team in quebec before that happens

Name suggestions. How About the Atlanta Warriors? The Atlanta Shatters? The Atlanta Polar Bears? The Atlanta Death Dealers? The Atlanta Bulldogs? The Atlanta Confederates?

I'm an Anaheim fan that just moved to Atlanta and would love to have a local team to watch

I know its a small market, but not having a team in Wisconsin seems silly. They are a big hockey area and it would just be a good rivalry with Chicago.

It's honestly a miracle that Winnipeg got a team from Atlanta.

ty for covering this its very interesting

Yes please. The Thrashers had better attendance than the Hawks did. GA has more hockey fans than people think.

If it happens I see it being Atlanta Houston and then Quebec and Hartford if the ownership can succeed in Atlanta it has to be stable

Milwaukee makes way more sense than Atlanta for a league expansion. Wisconsin must be the biggest hockey market without an actual team right now so it's a battleground between Redwings, Blackhawks, Blues and Wild fans.

I heard many interviews by former NHL players & they say playing in Atlanta sucks! I wanna see Quebec getting a team again, those old Quebec, Nordiques jerseys & colors were awesome!!

if its has good ownership that cares then yes I want the thrashers back i would love to see those blue jerseys again on the ice

good ownership is a must

The Thrashers had no building? Didn't they have a brand new building built to get the team, Phillips Arena? It's still around today, called State Farm Arena.

Preface - I lived 30 miles west of Atlanta (2005-2018) quite recently. Problems with Atlanta: 1) Traffic in and out of Atlanta is horrendous, even on weekends. (People commute TO Atlanta to work, then leave before the sun goes down, they don't live there) 1a) No, MARTA (Train system) is not an option. (Crime) 2) The stadium location would have to be outside the city. (Ala Braves), close to a highway (I-20 E/W, or I-75/85 N/S). 3) A decent owner, who knows and understands the intricacies and nuances of the area (Arthur Blank, Home Depot) might be able to make it work. Otherwise? (I'm shaking my head left to right)

Getting into Houston makes too much sense. Atlanta’s past makes it a harder sell imo, but I agree that a great plan would be needed

Great sonics reference. A shame they haven’t returned, hopefully expansion will be announced for the NBA soon (my guess is in a couple of years)

The video I've been waiting for, was gonna suggest it but knew this guy would be on it that's why he's The Hockey Guy

As an Atlantan hockey fan, I hope every day for another chance

I think a Milwaukee team, geographically, and traditional weather, speaking, makes a lot of sense.

The Atlanta Moltres’ The Pokémon fans will get it.

I want the Thrashers back, they had the COOLEST jerseys in all of the NHL.

Great explanation of the situation- I agree. I've been seeing posts about the NHL wanting to bring a team back to Atlanta, but once I heard the "sources" (which you touched on) I knew it was just fanciful rumors.

Columbus to Quebec, Arizona to Atlanta, Detroit back to the Western Conference. Hire me, Gary.

Fortunately for hockey fans in the St. Louis area, the whole 'Saskatoon Blues' thing fell through and never materialized. Those were sure lean times for the Blue Note though.

I think Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Hawks owner Tony Ressler will purchase the Senators from the estate of Eugene Melnyk for $985 million if the deal between the Senators and the NCC to build a proposed LeBreton Flats venue falls flat and then the Senators will move from Ottawa to Atlanta to become the 2nd incarnation of the Thrashers and play their home games at State Farm Arena beginning next season.

My first sport event was a thrasher game in 2011 I’m 25 now and I have a thrasher jersey ready to have something to look forward to

Interesting how Atlanta is being talked about again especially considering how TNT is based there and Gretzky is on the broadcasts....if Gretzky is involved in ownership I believe that besides it actually happening it might finally work!......stay tuned!

As an Islander fan I remember more they were flirting with Kansas City than Quebec.

At 6:15 did Shannon imply the Thrashers weren't in a new building? The then Philips arena opened a month before the Thrashers started play and a few months after Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. I do agree a third Atlanta NHL team would need a new arena to themselves

I don't see the NHL choosing Atlanta over Houston.

Considering that St. Louis didn't object Columbus having Blue in their name I think Phoenix would be fine

Been a while since I got a video of your in my Recommended, but the chance for the NHL to try Atlanta one more time (be it Thrashers II or a new identity) does have some promise _pro-vided_ they get owners who can spread the word, get hooks into local fans (who surely _must_ exist in the Atlanta Metro Area, Georgia, etc.) and show the NHL returning to past markets can totally work *_including Quebec City, Mr. Bettman_* also, Atlanta could fit in the Metro, the Atlantic or maybe even the Central

Expand on the north of the border i.e. Quebec. Atlanta had its chances. If not Quebec, create another franchise in Houston and/or Kansas City, KS or MO.

"build it in Atlanta and make sure it's accessible to people" Atlanta Traffic: allow me introduce myself...

I mean, seeing as how the NHL has made it apparent that they REALLY want Ryan Reynolds to own an NHL team... perhaps if Ottawa can't work out a deal, Ryan will get Houston or Atlanta as a consolation prize?

Now that I live in Macon I would love a team in Atlanta just so I can go see my Bolts 😊

If an NHL team were to return to Atlanta, why couldn't they just play where the Hawks play & Thrashers played?

One thing that seems to get overlooked is how much cheaper tickets are in the south. Because of this, IMO there are no arguments in favour of southern teams growing and being profitable and having high attendance figures. If tickets in Florida were even half the amount that they are in Montreal and Toronto, it would be empty. It just feels personal because the NHL has no problem lowering prices in places like Arizona and Florida so people will actually go watch games, but they'll say Quebec is too small of a market and probably charge the same amount for tickets as they do in Montreal.

Would love for a team to return to my home city. I was never really old enough to support the team last time it was here. Would probably try to get season tickets if they put a team back here.

how bout Dubai?

Atlanta is one of the biggest cities in the entire Deep South region. It makes sense to put a team here. The metro population is a little over 6 million. Put a team and build a stadium outside 285 and I guarantee that it’ll be a team that does well enough to stay, and like he said: Is an Atlanta team really such a crazy idea when Nashville can make it work?

Patrick Maleau would find a way to have his career outlast any new Atlanta team.

Bucci says Houston is getting one too

As someone who has family in Atlanta and goes there often, I would love to see an NHL team there. Whenever I go there, I see quite a bit of Lightening fans, which shows that people do have interest and would support the team if it's run well. If soccer can work in Atlanta, hockey definitely can.

As a Detroit fan, my biggest concern (which I suspect Columbus fans would share) is not expanding in a way that would force a realignment, which could force one of us to move back to the Western Conference. We don't want to get back to so many games, including key playoff games, which START at 10:30 at night local time. The great thing about the 2013 realignment is that all Eastern Time Zone teams are now in the Eastern Conference. Adding expansion teams to both Atlanta and Houston would be workable (and I don't understand why they haven't put an NHL team in Houston yet). But I would really be worried about any talk of moving an existing team to either Atlanta or Quebec City, if that team might come from the West. And if the league expands to create any new Eastern Time Zone teams, then they need to have at least as many offsetting new expansion teams in other time zones!

4:43 The Winnipeg Jets got the same name when they returned

I think the NHL would need to expand by 4 teams to keep the divisions equal. I also think if Atlanta, and possibly also Houston, wants an NHL team, the team would need its own arena. I think it would be hard to book dates against the NBA.

As much as people love the Thrashers, I would think it would be another name. The Thrashers were not prominent and was associated with poor ownership/ management and the arena was more for a arena for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks over the Thrashers. It would be somewhat similar look to the flames since Atlanta teams are mostly red with black white and for Atlanta United’s case gold. If you put good effort and care into a team, people will come to watch and support. Also the southeastern United States has grown more accustomed to hockey thanks to the success of the Predators, Lighting and Hurricanes. A team in Atlanta will work.

I went to the first Thrashers game. Thrashers games were a great time, I can only imagine what it would have been like if the team was actually good.

Absolute great video, I’ll be recommended your 40 team league video in about 40 minutes lol. But hell yeah let’s do it in Atlanta again and watch them move to Anchorage AK, or the first Euro NHL team 😂👍👍

Great video! I’m with you, Shannon. I say No, they don’t deserve a 3rd shot, especially when there are several other cities, both US and Canadian that deserve a chance, or second chance. Personally, I’d love to see 2 more Canadian teams, if they would be successful.

I saw Kevin weekes tweet about the thrashers and Houston aeros

Ngl when the thrashers were a team I loved them they had cool jerseys but that team made the worst decision But by question is would you just add one team or would they have to add 2 team to make the playoffs equal them would they extend the playoffs for more team I feel you would have to 34 teams

Here’s another thing. TNT, brand new broadcasting partner. Guess where their parent company is located? I’m in the belief that Atlanta, even with the failures, can succeed. With the right people in place.