June 25, 1997: NHL awarded Atlanta an expansion franchise to begin play in 1999-2000.
Feb. 16, 1998: Atlanta Thrashers announced as official team name. Former AOL Time Warner chairman and Turner Broadcasting System founder Ted Turner named the team after the brown thrasher, Georgia's state bird.
April 23, 1998: Official team logo was unveiled.
June 23, 1998: Don Waddell was named the organization's first general manager.
June 25, 1999: Took part in NHL expansion draft in Boston.
June 26, 1999: Acquired No. 1 overall pick in draft from Vancouver and selected Patrik Stefan.
July 14, 1999: Hired Curt Fraser as first head coach.
Sept. 18, 1999: In first event at Philips Arena, lost 3-2 to New York Rangers in exhibition game.
Sept. 28, 1999: Kelly Buchberger named first captain.
Oct. 2, 1999: Opened inaugural season with 4-1 loss to New Jersey at Philips Arena.
Oct. 14, 1999: Shut out the New York Islanders 2-0 on Long Island for first victory.
Feb. 6, 2000: Defenseman Petr Buzek played in All-Star game in Toronto to become first Thrashers representative.
April 9, 2000: Ended inaugural season with 14-57-7-4 record, 15th in Eastern Conference.
April 6, 2001: Ended season with 23-45-12-2 record, 13th in Eastern Conference.
April 10, 2001: Won draft drawing to earn first overall pick in 2001 draft.
June 24, 2001: Selected Ilya Kovalchuk with first pick.
April 14, 2002: Ended season with 19-47-11-5 record, 15th in Eastern Conference.
June 20, 2002: Dany Heatley named rookie of the year.
Dec. 26, 2002: Fraser dismissed as head coach. Waddell coached 10 games as interim.
Jan. 14, 2003: Bob Hartley hired as franchise's third head coach.
Feb. 2, 2003: Heatley named All-Star game MVP after scoring four goals.
April 6, 2003: Ended season with 31-39-7-5 record, 11th in Eastern Conference.
Sept. 29, 2003: Heatley involved in high-speed car accident, along with teammate Dan Snyder, on Lenox Road in Buckhead. Heatley, the driver, would plead guilty to three misdemeanors on Feb. 4, 2005.
Oct. 5, 2003: Snyder died as the result of injuries suffered in crash as passenger in Heatley's car. Snyder was 25.
Feb. 5, 2004: Atlanta named to host 2005 All-Star game, which would be canceled because of a work stoppage that cost the NHL the 2004-05 season.
March 31, 2004: Team sold, along with the NBA's Hawks and operating rights to Philips Arena, to Atlanta Spirit, LLC from Turner Broadcasting.
April 3, 2004: Ended season with 33-37-8-4 record, 10th in Eastern Conference.
Aug. 23, 2005: Traded former first-round pick (No. 2 overall in 2000) Heatley to Ottawa for Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries.
April 15, 2006: Atlanta named to host 2008 All-Star game.
April 18, 2006: Ended season with 41-33-8 record, 10th in Eastern Conference.
June 24, 2006: Traded Stefan, the original Thrasher, to Dallas.
Feb. 24, 2007: Traded former first-round pick (No. 8 overall in 2003) Braydon Coburn to Philadelphia.
April 7, 2007: Ended regular season as Southeast Division champions with 43-28-11 record and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
April 12, 2007: Began only playoff appearance with 4-3 Game 1 loss to the New York Rangers at Philips Arena.
April 14, 2007: Lost 2-1 to Rangers in Game 2 of playoff series at Philips Arena.
April 17, 2007: Lost 7-0 to Rangers in Game 3 of playoff series at Madison Square Garden.
April 18, 2007: Only playoff appearance ends in sweep after 4-2 loss to Rangers in Game 4 of playoff series at Madison Square Garden.
Oct. 17, 2007: Hartley dismissed as head coach. Waddell took over for remainder of season.
Jan. 26-27, 2008: Atlanta hosted All-Star game at Philips Arena.
Feb. 26, 2008: Traded Hossa to Pittsburgh.
June 20, 2008: John Anderson named fourth head coach of the Thrashers.
April 5, 2008: Ended season with 34-40-8 record, 14th in Eastern Conference.
April 11, 2009: Ended season with 35-41-6 record, 13th in Eastern Conference.
Feb. 4, 2010: Traded former first-round pick (No. 1 overall in 2001) Kovalchuk to New Jersey.
Feb. 9, 2010: Traded former first-round pick (No. 2 overall in 2002) Kari Lehtonen to Dallas.
April 10, 2010: Ended season with 35-34-13 record, 10th in Eastern Conference.
April 14, 2010: Anderson dismissed as head coach. Waddell promoted to team president and Rick Dudley promoted to general manager.
June 24, 2010: Craig Ramsay named fifth head coach of Thrashers.
Feb. 16, 2011: Atlanta Spirit co-owner Michael Gearon Jr., in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said there is a "sense of urgency" to find buyer interest in keeping Thrashers in Atlanta.
Feb. 18, 2011: Traded former first-round pick (No. 8 overall in 2004) Boris Valabik as part of deal with Boston.
April 10, 2011: Played final game in the 11-year history in Atlanta, a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh at Philips Arena; ended season with 34-36-12 record, 12th in Eastern Conference.
May 31, 2011: Atlanta Spirit and True North Sports Entertainment reach sale agreement to purchase and relocate Thrashers to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to begin play in the 2011-12 season.
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