Thrashers.Today.Com

By Bud L. Ellis
thrashers.today.com

ATLANTA — You know what ticks me off? Other than drivers who don’t use turn signals (that’s another story altogether)?

Hockey writers who take one look at the Atlanta Thrashers and immediately think this team is heading to Las Vegas, or Seattle, or Kansas City, or Canada …

Puh-leeze. Enough with the relocation talk already.

Yes, this team has won zero playoff games in nine season. Yes, this team has reached the postseason just once. Yes, this team doesn’t exactly lead the world in attendance. Yes, this team plays in a market where college football is king, basketball is big, the NFL has a following and baseball is very important.

With all that said, the Thrashers aren’t going away.

For one thing, the Atlanta metro area has more than 5 million people, and whether the national critics want to acknowledge it or not, many of those people have roots from other parts of the nation, roots that include exposure to hockey. Atlanta is a transplant city, and many of the folks who have settled here during the past two or three decades came from areas where hockey is huge.

Another point: The NHL needs a team in Atlanta. Regardless of growth in other areas, Atlanta remains the hub of the South and a major international city. This is a city that played host to the Olympics, features a dynamic population base, and is a booming center of commence, culture and transportation. No way the NHL pulls up stakes from this place.

Yet another point: What type of message would it send if the NHL allows the Thrashers to move? The league so desperately needs stability, and having a team leave one of the nation’s biggest and most vibrant cities would be a black eye on the league first and foremost.

It’s funny … nobody talked about relocation two seasons ago, when the Thrashers were winning the Southeast Division title. But the talk resurfaced last season, as Atlanta tumbled to 14th in the Eastern Conference.

Regardless of whether or not Atlanta makes the playoffs this season, whenever you hear talk about this team moving, dismiss it. It’s nothing more than speculation from folks who don’t know what they’re talking about, plain and simple.

NHL hockey left Atlanta once. It won’t happen again. You can count on that.

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