Potential Atlanta NHL Expansion Team Thread

[No Fun Shogun]

I'm not a local, but is there any real nostalgia attached to the Thrashers identity akin to Hartford and the Whalers or Quebec with the Nordiques? Their logo was okay, but I don't think anyone would hoist any of their sweaters as bangers, and their lack of success on the ice was noteworthy.

My hunch is that if Atlanta gets a third team, they'd start fresh and then maybe down the line have a throwback or heritage jersey for the Thrashers.

 

[OG6ix]

I always thought the Thrashers name was very EcHL-ish. I understand it's the state bird but still.

 

[BMN]

Put me solidly in the "start fresh" camp. The Thrashers identity/brand is toxic on every imaginable level for all of the well-documented reasons.

That said, I'd totally be down with incorporating the Thrashers powder blue color into a new team's identity, as an intentionally subtle nod to the city's hockey history. In fact, I'd add an element of red, too, for the Flames (or tell non-hockey fans its for UGA). Light blue, red, black, and white would be a compelling color palate that can be worked into something unique in the league.

I agree with this (esp. the colour scheme points) but I do see @AintLifeGrand's point that it's hard to come up with a better name that a franchise would actually be allowed to use.

I always thought there has to be some inherent value in Resurgens but "Atlanta Surge" is tacky and "Atlanta Phoenix" is a bit too "are you talking about the city of Phoenix"y (although I guess the Yotes rebranding as Arizona helps a little). Calling them "Resurgens Atlanta" flat out probably isn't allowed.......and "Atlanta Terminus"--- while sounding cool to me--- probably too easily lends itself to "huh huh franchise is terminal" jokes for a market trying to eradicate that stigma.

I didn't live there at the time but anecdotally speaking, it's a really a shame the TW group couldn't (or wouldn't) just use "Knights" back then. Seems like there would have been some goodwill towards that brand.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

The color palate of Maroon, Navy blue, yellow and white is elite and totally unique in the league.

The baby blue jerseys are Ok and i’d be fine with them being an alternate but the OG jerseys are perfect and wont need to be changed

 

[AintLifeGrand]

I'm not a local, but is there any real nostalgia attached to the Thrashers identity akin to Hartford and the Whalers or Quebec with the Nordiques? Their logo was okay, but I don't think anyone would hoist any of their sweaters as bangers, and their lack of success on the ice was noteworthy.

My hunch is that if Atlanta gets a third team, they'd start fresh and then maybe down the line have a throwback or heritage jersey for the Thrashers.

yes there is - there is alot of Thrashers nostalgia when brought up with “lay people” especially people in my age group (mid 30s-20s)

The negative connotation exists mainly with older fans, who would be aging out of the prime season ticket holder window

 

[dj4aces]

So does a hypothetical expansion Atlanta team use Thrashers (if the Jets don't own it) or a new name?

I suppose the potential Atlanta team could use "Thrashers". After all, the league owns the name, logos, etc. In my personal opinion, I wouldn't want that. It would be difficult for me to call the new team "Thrashers" since that franchise lives in Winnipeg.

Another name I've heard thrown around is "Firebirds", particularly due to the Atlanta city seal featuring a phoenix (or firebird, if you will), as the city was torched during Sherman's march to the sea during the civil war, and its "rise from the ashes". If the team were to feature "Atlanta" in its name, this is my first choice.

Being that the team would be located a distance well outside Atlanta city limits, the potential team could also be named after the state rather than the city, which could open up other potential names for the franchise.

 

[nhlfan79]

yes there is - there is alot of Thrashers nostalgia when brought up with “lay people” especially people in my age group (mid 30s-20s)

The negative connotation exists mainly with older fans, who would be aging out of the prime season ticket holder window

It's interesting how that nostalgia seems to be generational. I was your "now" age (26-38) for the span that the Thrashers played here, so I was already a "paying" adult with a very young family who spent thousands of dollars on a relatively tight budget at the time on season tickets for their entire duration, not a young kid tagging along on a parent's dime. I think our experiences probably were radically different. Watching the utter indifference of Time Warner and then ASG, the lack of on-ice success, the Heatley-Snyder tragedy, the deliberate dismantling of the roster and the preordained relocation leaves me with no happy vibes. At all. I keep telling myself that there's nothing unique about Atlanta the city, so this absolutely could have, should have, and would have worked if it wasn't put in sinister hands.

I was in Nashville last week to see my adopted Canucks, and the Preds are celebrating their 25th Anniversary season. That should've been us next year, rather than us hoping for a do-over finally done right.

By contrast to the Thrashers, I was just eight when the Flames left in 1980 (under very different circumstances), and I still have a soft spot for them. Whenever they came to town to play the Thrashers, it was total nostalgia for me. The fact that the Flames are currently wearing the heritage jerseys originating from their Atlanta days just kills me (in a good way).

 

[BB79]

If it means getting a new franchise to Atlanta, sure thing... as long as Quebec doesn't steal the same name first

As for your originality...

View attachment 791603

Truth hurts I guess. If the first 2 times it fails, try, try again

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Truth hurts I guess. If the first 2 times it fails, try, try again

You've clearly done your research and understand the history involved here.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Truth hurts I guess. If the first 2 times it fails, try, try again

Nothing I said was false

 

[AintLifeGrand]

It's interesting how that nostalgia seems to be generational. I was your "now" age (26-38) for the span that the Thrashers played here, so I was already a "paying" adult with a very young family who spent thousands of dollars on a relatively tight budget at the time on season tickets for their entire duration, not a young kid tagging along on a parent's dime. I think our experiences probably were radically different. Watching the utter indifference of Time Warner and then ASG, the lack of on-ice success, the Heatley-Snyder tragedy, the deliberate dismantling of the roster and the preordained relocation leaves me with no happy vibes. At all. I keep telling myself that there's nothing unique about Atlanta the city, so this absolutely could have, should have, and would have worked if it wasn't put in sinister hands.

I was in Nashville last week to see my adopted Canucks, and the Preds are celebrating their 25th Anniversary season. That should've been us next year, rather than us hoping for a do-over finally done right.

By contrast to the Thrashers, I was just eight when the Flames left in 1980 (under very different circumstances), and I still have a soft spot for them. Whenever they came to town to play the Thrashers, it was total nostalgia for me. The fact that the Flames are currently wearing the heritage jerseys originating from their Atlanta days just kills me (in a good way).

I get it- my dad who was a STH from day 1 to 2011 has been cynical about the new proposed arena/team so i get it


OTOH i feel like I grew up with the Thrashers. I was starting 6th grade for the inaugral season and some of the best moments from my childhood revolved around going to the Bulb to see the boys play.

Losing the team weeks after graduating college was an absolute gut punch

Now with a child and a young family , I hope i can recreate the same magic in a few years for my boy

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Truth hurts I guess. If the first 2 times it fails, try, try again

How many times do I have to keep repeating this? DC had MLB team twice before Nationals came along.

Its irrelevant.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

How many times do I have to keep repeating this? DC had MLB team twice before Nationals came along.

Its irrelevant.

He's just mad because his favorite team's attendance has plummeted over the last five years. Gotta take it out on others I guess.

 

[dj4aces]

Truth hurts I guess. If the first 2 times it fails, try, try again

As has been covered before, the market didn't fail the teams, the owners failed both market and teams.

The Flames left because their owner, Tom Cousins, encountered financial difficulty in the late-1970s due to a collapsing real estate market -- something he was heavily invested in. He sold the Flames to the highest bidder, which happened to be an ownership in Calgary for US$26 million, a record for the time. To give you an idea how bad the real estate market really was, some of the players couldn't sell their homes, and used them as summer homes. Some players even retired and moved into those homes here full-time.

The Thrashers left because the owners literally didn't want the team. All of this was detailed throughout this thread, but you don't have to take my word for it, look up the court case of King & Spalding vs. Atlanta Spirit. Some of the details in that case is pretty mundane, but you'll find where Atlanta Spirit attempted to sell the team to out-of-market buyers in 2005. If Atlanta Spirit wanted to own the arena and the Hawks, they had to buy the Thrashers, or they'd get nothing. The fact that AOL Time Warner sold to Atlanta Spirit resulted in a different lawsuit, McDavid vs Time Warner.

It's fun to post one-liners based on nothing except what you want to believe, or what others would have you believe instead of the truth. I read political Twitter threads, and I know that type of post well. It's another thing entirely to actually do a little research. I know, research isn't always fun, and it might actually cause one to change their positions on things, but you'd be far better for it.

 

[nhlfan79]

I get it- my dad who was a STH from day 1 to 2011 has been cynical about the new proposed arena/team so i get it


OTOH i feel like I grew up with the Thrashers. I was starting 6th grade for the inaugral season and some of the best moments from my childhood revolved around going to the Bulb to see the boys play.

Losing the team weeks after graduating college was an absolute gut punch

Now with a child and a young family , I hope i can recreate the same magic in a few years for my boy

I totally respect that. The only other thing that I forgot to mention earlier was the sense of frustration at how carpetbagger charlatans were intentionally pissing away our second chance after we already had suffered the gut punch of losing the Flames and going 20 years without a home team.

 

[HisIceness]

Atlanta Eagles

 

[AintLifeGrand]

While there is an indigenous Eagle population in Ga, the Hawk and Falcon are more endemic to the state

Also dont the Caps have the right to the Eagle??

 

[HisIceness]

While there is an indigenous Eagle population in Ga, the Hawk and Falcon are more endemic to the state

Also dont the Caps have the right to the Eagle??

Not sure, I was just thinking of the bird theme with regards to team name.

I have nothing else to offer on this front

 

[Mike Jones]

I'm not a local, but is there any real nostalgia attached to the Thrashers identity akin to Hartford and the Whalers or Quebec with the Nordiques? Their logo was okay, but I don't think anyone would hoist any of their sweaters as bangers, and their lack of success on the ice was noteworthy.

My hunch is that if Atlanta gets a third team, they'd start fresh and then maybe down the line have a throwback or heritage jersey for the Thrashers.

The Flames can move there - I think people there still remember that franchise fondly. The Calgary arena needs to make money for us taxpayers and we can't do that with an NHL team demanding all of the revenue and only paying pennies on the dollar to the city.

I'd cheer for the Atlanta Flames.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

If we’re suggesting names…

Their first team was the Flames, another word for fire.

Their second team was the Thrashers, a type of bird.

Atlanta’s seal features a phoenix, a mythological fire bird.

Call them the Atlanta Firebirds.

Edit: oh, someone previously suggested that as something that had already be suggested by others? Maybe I picked that up through osmosis and forgot about it.

 

[nhlfan79]

If we’re suggesting names…

Their first team was the Flames, another word for fire.

Their second team was the Thrashers, a type of bird.

Atlanta’s seal features a phoenix, a mythological fire bird.

Call them the Atlanta Firebirds.

Edit: oh, someone previously suggested that as something that had already be suggested by others? Maybe I picked that up through osmosis and forgot about it.

I don't get why it has to be bird-related at all. I'd go with something else that's regional. Maybe a snake. I like Copperheads, personally.

Or maybe we should just become Atlanta United HC.

 

[hangman005]

I don't get why it has to be bird-related at all. I'd go with something else that's regional. Maybe a snake. I like Copperheads, personally.

Or maybe we should just become Atlanta United HC.

Just to ruin snakes for everyone

 

[GreenHornet]

Another name I've heard thrown around is "Firebirds", particularly due to the Atlanta city seal featuring a phoenix (or firebird, if you will), as the city was torched during Sherman's march to the sea during the civil war, and its "rise from the ashes". If the team were to feature "Atlanta" in its name, this is my first choice.

This would be my first choice, too, except for one thing. Unfortunately, it's already being used by an AHL team.

Home - Coachella Valley Firebirds

I was also thinking about some derivative of "Blazers," using the fiery Phoenix rising from the ashes, or perhaps using a dragon, but the owners would also probably run afoul of trademarks for the Portland NBA team or even Alabama-Birmingham or some other entity. It's too bad, too, because I was wondering about the possibility of a new ownership group negotiating with the Flames about returning use of the flaming A logo (the coolest logo in the history of sports, IMHO) back home where it originated.

 

[GreenHornet]

A couple of other thoughts if we get another team here and don't retain the Thrashers name, logo and colors.

First, I thought about the number of stinging insects that populate Georgia. Yellow Jackets and Hornets are out of the question for obvious reasons, but what about Fire Ants?tho

Something else I've though about is that while there are other states that have more tornadoes than Georgia, they are fairly common here. So maybe the Tornadoes, which would also be an homage to Georgia Tech, which was nicknamed the Golden Tornado for a time back in the 1910s and 20s. Maybe a color scheme of gold (Tech) and royal blue (Georgia State) or sky blue (as a nod to the Thrashers) with red highlights (as a nod to the Flames and to placate UGA fans)?

Just a couple of thoughts.

 

[dj4aces]

This would be my first choice, too, except for one thing. Unfortunately, it's already being used by an AHL team.

Home - Coachella Valley Firebirds

I was also thinking about some derivative of "Blazers," using the fiery Phoenix rising from the ashes, or perhaps using a dragon, but the owners would also probably run afoul of trademarks for the Portland NBA team or even Alabama-Birmingham or some other entity. It's too bad, too, because I was wondering about the possibility of a new ownership group negotiating with the Flames about returning use of the flaming A logo (the coolest logo in the history of sports, IMHO) back home where it originated.

I know that a team can't have the same name as another team in the same city, or the same name as another team in the same league, but I don't think there's any rule that would prevent a potential Atlanta franchise from adopting the name Firebirds. After all, there's the Texas Rangers and the New York Rangers, the Winnipeg Jets and the New York Jets, and a host of others. But the potential NHL team couldn't also be called the Gladiators, for example.

As for the other ideas (Dragon logo), I did a very quick search for Trailblazers trademarks and didn't find anything, but I'm also not an IP lawyer and don't have access to those kind of resources, so I'm really not sure. Not sure how I feel about Fire Ants, because that kinda sounds minor league to me.