The stories spin off his tongue one after another — some for print, and some never to leave the company of the table. Tim Ecclestone, a former player and coach with the Atlanta Flames, entertained a visitor in his Alpharetta sports bar for most of a recent afternoon during a slow shift.

There were stories of his times with close friend Evel Knievel. And about a wild night (or was it morning?) during a hockey road trip to Montreal.

RICH ADDICKS / AJC (ENLARGE)

Former Flames player Tim Ecclestone will be the host of an NHL All-Star get-together at his TJ's Sports Bar and Grill in Alpharetta.

File / 1970s (ENLARGE)

A 1973 billboard hailed the Flames' arrival, and stars such as goalie Dan Bouchard (at left, 30) still live here.

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Come for a beer anytime, he said. We can talk some hockey.

Ecclestone came to Atlanta for the hockey in the 1970s and never left. And with the NHL All-Star Game in town, he and former Flames still around are excited to be a part of the festivities.

Ecclestone is one of half a dozen former Atlanta Flames who still live in the area, and they're being called on to help promote their sport this weekend. They wish it happened more often.

On Thursday evening, Ecclestone will be hosting a wine tasting at TJ's Sports Bar and Grill, his place in Alpharetta. Some of the biggest names ever to lace up skates will be there, like Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Bobby Clarke. Festivities will start at 2 p.m. and any fan looking to mingle with hockey greats and hear great stories is welcome.

On Sunday morning, former Flames goalie Dan Bouchard, who opened a French restaurant in Vinings, will be part of a group of current and former hockey players gathering at the Hilton to share their faith at the All-Star Breakfast hosted by Hockey Ministries International.

Bouchard said last year the event drew 1,000 people, and he expects a strong turnout in Atlanta. He said it's always entertaining to hear the stories of faith from hockey tough guys.

"It doesn't mean if you're a Christian, you're a pushover," Bouchard said.

Former NHL forward Willi Plett will be one of the former Flames available to sign autographs at different All-Star events.

"The lines will be really short," he promised jokingly.

It's an opportunity for the ex-Flames to rekindle a love affair with the hockey fans in the city, and they're all more than happy to do it.

As their current residence shows, they never wanted to leave.

Owner had no choice

Joe Watkins still runs the Atlanta Flames fan club, although membership has been stuck around 16 people for a while.

He still remembers that final Flames playoff game, when it was obvious that the city of Atlanta wouldn't have an NHL team much longer.

The final buzzer sounded and he just sat there. He and some close friends had one last beer and lingered in the stands thinking about the finality of the moment.

Then more drinks.

In 1980, the relationship between fans and players was different. They often shared beers together, and after that game Watkins and his friends chatted with some Flames at a bar. "They knew they were gone," he said.

It wasn't that attendance at the Omni was bad, because it wasn't. There was a good core group of hockey fans and they were die-hards. But tickets were cheap and owner Tom Cousins didn't see a penny in local television revenue.

Competition from the World Hockey Association drove up salaries, and Cousins figured out that even if the team sold out every game and won the Stanley Cup, he still would lose money.

Plus, the man who made his fortune in real estate was feeling the pinch of a depressed local real estate market.

"There just didn't seem to be any hope," Cousins said. "Before it moved, we offered the team to the primary sponsors like Delta, we offered to give them the team to keep them here. It just didn't work."

Then he added. "After they moved it to Calgary, I think in one day they sold out every season ticket and standing room."

He felt bad for the fans of Atlanta. He appreciated their interest in the sport, even if there were times when the Omni would fill with cheering over a simple play like icing. But fans were learning.

Plus Cousins' daughter married one of the Flames, Brad Marsh. So Cousins really wanted to keep the team in Atlanta, if for no other reason than to keep his daughter in town.

But ultimately, the $16 million offered by Canadian entrepreneur Nelson Skalbania was the best deal, and the Flames were gone.

Long time between teams

For nearly 20 years, Atlanta was without an NHL team, and that may be the biggest reason why there's a lack of connection between the Flames in town and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Both sides described the relationship between the former Flames and the Thrashers as a friendly one. Any of the former Flames can call the Thrashers and get free tickets.

Plett, who owns a landscaping company in Roswell, regularly attends Thrashers games with his 16-year-old son. Although free wouldn't be a good way to describe a night of hockey, since his son has developed a taste for Philips Arena sushi.

But the former Flames would love to expand their role beyond the occasional Thrashers game.

"It would be kind of nice to see the old tied with the new," Plett said.

Ecclestone is disappointed that there is no sign of the Flames at Philips Arena. Walk around the arena and you'll see more of Madonna and Widespread Panic than you will any connection to the first NHL team in Atlanta.

"The Flames were here and they should be recognized," Ecclestone said. "The history of the game, you can't ignore. You can't ignore that the Flames were here. We went to the playoffs, we had some good teams and the city supported them."

Many NHL teams have suites for NHL alumni living in the area, and cities with a rich hockey history proudly display that tradition throughout arena concourses and locker rooms.

In Detroit, there are even locker stalls of former Red Wings greats like Howe and Ted Lindsay mixed in with the stalls of current players.

But Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said the length of time between franchises and lack of NHL alumni in the area means it wouldn't make sense to do something like that in Atlanta. Besides the Flames, he said the only former Thrasher living in the area is Jeff Odgers, who does radio for the team.

"Let's face it, it's not like we're St. Louis or somewhere where hockey has been around and alumni are in the hundreds," he said. "I'd love to have more NHL alumni in general, but hockey was gone for 20 years."

But still, Ecclestone thinks it's time to start developing hockey history in Atlanta.

"You have to start somewhere," he said. "Eight years is enough time to get something going."