Does Atlanta Have an NHL Team?

The Atlanta Flames were an NHL team that played in Atlanta from 1972 to 1980. The Atlanta Thrashers began play as an NHL expansion franchise in 1999 and moved to Winnipeg in 2011. So, the answer to the question is no, Atlanta does not currently have an NHL team.

Atlanta’s History with the NHL

Though the NHL has seen a number of teams come and go throughout its history, Atlanta has been home to two different NHL teams. The Atlanta Flames were founded in 1972 and played in Atlanta until 1980 when they became the Calgary Flames. In 1999, the Atlanta Thrashers were founded and played in Atlanta until 2011 when they became the Winnipeg Jets.

The Atlanta Flames

The Atlanta Flames were an NHL expansion team that began play in the 1972-73 season. The team was based in Atlanta, Georgia and played their home games at the Omni Coliseum. The Flames were created as part of the NHL’s attempt to expand into the southern United States. Despite initial success, the Flames relocated to Calgary, Alberta after only eight seasons due to financial problems.

In 1980, Ted Turner, owner of the Atlanta Braves, purchased the struggling NHL team, the Atlanta Flames. Turner had been trying to buy an NHL team for several years and was finally successful with the purchase of the Flames. He then promptly moved the team to Calgary, Alberta and renamed them the Calgary Flames.

The Atlanta Thrashers

Though ice hockey has been played in Atlanta since the 1930s, the city did not gain its first professional franchise until 1972, when the Atlanta Flames became one of 14 teams to join the National Hockey League as part of its wholesale expansion that year. The Flames proved to be a hit with fans, regularly selling out the 21,000-seat Atlanta Civic Center (now State Farm Arena) and making the playoffs in six of their eight seasons in Atlanta. However, poor attendance at suburban Omni Coliseum—where games were moved in 1980 to accommodate the construction of the Georgia Dome—and mounting financial losses eventually led to talk of the team’s relocation. In 1980, businessman Ted Turner—who had purchased the Flames two years earlier—announced his intention to move the team to his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. When Nashville officials declined his offer to build a new arena there for the team’s use, Turner instead decided to keep the Flames in Atlanta.

In 1999, Turner sold the team to a group of Canadian businessmen led by Steve Chapman, who subsequently announced plans to move the team to Calgary. The sale and relocation was approved by NHL owners on April 25, 2001, and Calgary became home to the Flames once again.

Why Doesn’t Atlanta Currently Have an NHL Team?

Atlanta has a long and complicated history when it comes to professional hockey teams. The Atlanta Flames were an NHL team that played in Atlanta from 1972 to 1980, when they relocated to Calgary. The Atlanta Thrashers were an NHL team that played in Atlanta from 1999 to 2011, when they relocated to Winnipeg. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said that Atlanta is “a great hockey town,” but there are several reasons why the city does not currently have an NHL team.

The 2010 NHL Expansion

In 2010, the NHL added two expansion teams, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators. This increased the number of teams in the NHL to 30. For several years before this expansion, there had been rumors that the league was planning to add a team in Atlanta. These rumors persisted even after the 2010 expansion. However, as of 2019, Atlanta still does not have an NHL team.

There are a few reasons why this may be the case. Firstly, when the 2010 expansion happened, the NHL chose cities that already had experience with NHL-level hockey. Both Tampa and Ottawa already had teams in other professional hockey leagues (the AHL and IHL respectively). This meant that there were already arenas and fan bases in place for these new teams.

Atlanta, on the other hand, did not have a team in any professional hockey league at that time. This meant that there was no existing infrastructure in place to support an NHL team. Additionally, Atlanta is considered a non-traditional market for hockey. The sport is more popular in areas with colder climates, such as Canada or the northern United States.

It is possible that the NHL will add an expansion team in Atlanta at some point in the future. However, as of right now, there are no plans to do so.

The 2012 NHL Lockout

In 2012, the NHL underwent a lockout that cancelled what would have been the entire 2012–2013 season. One of the main issues during negotiations was how to split league revenue. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the NHL became the first major professional sports league in North America to lose an entire season to a labour dispute.

The effects of the 2012 lockout were far-reaching. For one, it resulted in the Atlanta Thrashers —Atlanta’s NHL team at the time— being sold and relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a result, Atlanta has been without an NHL team since then.

It’s not clear if or when Atlanta will get another NHL team. However, there has been talk of the city potentially being home to an expansion team in the future.

The Prospects of Atlanta Getting an NHL Team in the Future

Atlanta has been without an NHL team since the Atlanta Thrashers left for Winnipeg in 2011, but there have been rumors lately that the league might expand back into Atlanta. There are a few reasons why Atlanta would be a good market for an NHL team, despite not having had much success with hockey in the past.

The 2020 NHL Expansion

The National Hockey League (NHL) is the highest level of professional ice hockey in the world, with 31 teams in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1917, the NHL is currently composed of24 teams from the United States and 7 from Canada. The most recent NHL expansion took place in 2017, when the league added the Vegas Golden Knights.

NHL expansion is when the league adds additional teams to the league, typically two at a time. The last round of NHL expansion took place in 1998, when the Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers joined the league. Since then, there has been considerable speculation about which cities will be given NHL teams in future rounds of expansion.

There are a number of cities that have been rumored as potential candidates for NHL expansion, including Seattle, Quebec City, and Kansas City. However, one city that has been frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for an NHL team is Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta is home to a number of successful sports teams, including the Atlanta Braves (MLB), Atlanta Falcons (NFL), and Atlanta United (MLS). The city also has a long history with professional hockey; the Atlanta Flames played in the NHL from 1972 to 1980, before relocating to Calgary.

There have been a number of attempts to bring an NHL team back to Atlanta since the Flames left, but all have so far been unsuccessful. However, with the recent success of other professional sports teams in the city, there is renewed hope that Atlanta could once again be home to an NHL team in the future.

The New Seattle Team

In 2021, the NHL will add a 32nd team in Seattle. This will increase the league’s geographic footprint in the United States and could be a sign that the NHL is interested in expanding even further in the future.

There have been rumors for years that Atlanta could be a potential target for an NHL expansion team, and with the addition of Seattle, those rumors have only intensified. There are a number of factors that make Atlanta an attractive market for the NHL, including its large population and strong hockey fan base.

The biggest obstacle to Atlanta getting an NHL team is finding an appropriate arena. The city’s current hockey arena, Philips Arena, is not up to NHL standards and would need to be extensively renovated or replaced. However, there are plans to build a new arena in Atlanta that would be suitable for an NHL team. If these plans come to fruition, it is highly likely that Atlanta will eventually get an NHL team.