AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 10
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Thrashers more than earned it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The reason I feel such a kinship with the Thrashers is because I moved here in July of ‘99, just a few weeks before the charter team converged for training camp. I came here to be the NHL Producer at SI.com over there at CNN Center, thrilled at the idea of being able to walk out of my cubicle, down a flight of stairs, across a food court and into an NHL arena.
I had spent the past two seasons covering the NHL for ESPN.com out of Seattle, which meant a drive to Vancouver just to get a little face time at an actual game. That the Thrashers and I arrived here at the same time brought about an instant relationship. Even though that hodgepodge of leftovers and never-beens was clearly a train wreck, I could tell that the personalties involved were going to make this a nice experience. Kelly Buchberger, Ray Ferraro, Gord Murphy … none of them were going to make an impact in the NHL anymore, but they were good guys to have around. Solid citizens who would never embarrass the team.
I remember driving up to Duluth for one of the first practices. Everybody had different gear bags from their old teams; I remember a Red Wings frame around the license plate on Norm Maracle’s car. I asked Curt Fraser about it, and he said, “Yeah we’re gonna have a big bonfire tonight. All that stuff’s gotta go.”
One of the first exhibition games here was against the Rangers, and it couldn’t have been more surreal. At the morning skate, I remember leaning up against the glass where the Zamboni comes out, watching Brian Leetch and Theo Fleury and Mike Richter skating in Atlanta. It was very, very weird. I interviewed Neil Smith, Fleury and Richter, and Manny Malhotra, whom I really thought was going to be a star for them. We talked about how he had played on a line with Wayne Gretzky the previous season and how it felt weird to have Gretzky be retired now.
Opening night against the Devils was equally surreal, watching Martin Brodeur lead the team onto the ice. And when the Thrashers came out to Little Feat’s “Oh, Atlanta,” I got chills. That song is on my iPod to this day.
The other game that stands out from that year was an early game against Buffalo, which was coming off its bitter defeat in the Stanley Cup finals to Dallas. Patrik Stefan scored twice on Dominik Hasek and we all thought he was going straight to the Hall of Fame. He told me after the game that he had never met Hasek before, which I thought was odd, since Hasek is like a god in the Czech Republic and Stefan was one of the country’s top young stars. “Well, he probably knows you now,” I said, and Stefan laughed. Sadly, that was about the high point here for Stefan, who played a nice game of hockey but was hardly the impact player we thought he’d be.
I went to the All-Star Game in Toronto that season, too. Two words: Petr Buzek. He was our All-Star.
Then the years kind of rolled on by. Every fall, I’d say, this is the year. I like this team. And my friend Dolie would scoff at me and look disdainfully at the roster. The team stayed away from big-name free agents, and a parade of marginal NHL players masquaraded as our marquee players: Andrew Brunette, Donald Audette .. guys like that. Nice players, but not anybody who was going to lead the franchise to greatness.
Then came 15 and 17, like thunderbolts from Zeus’ hands landing on the Philips Arena ice. Suddenly, we saw what NHL hockey could be. From the moment they arrived, they were superstars. And they would have been anywhere, not just in a Southern expansion city. With 15 and 17, there was an air of legitimacy right away.
17 dominated the YoungStars game one year; 15 ruled the All-Star Game the next.
Then the setbacks. Then the tragedy. Goalie troubles like I’ve never seen. Then the lockout. We lose the All-Star Game, but we gain a top-shelf goalie prospect. The the trade, disrupting our imagined future. Then Lehtonen gets hurt, more goalie problems … and we miss the playoffs by two points in what should have been a coming out year.
Which brings us to this moment. And here come the Rangers again. The last team to play a playoff game against the Atlanta Flames will be the first team to play a playoff game against the Atlanta Thrashers. It will again be surreal to see those famous jerseys out there. But it won’t be intimidating. This time, we belong on the ice with them.
Though it be this team’s first playoff game, it has been taking its lumps and paying its dues for seven long, grueling seasons. This team is ready. I’m more than ready.
What are your memories of the early years?
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