Atlanta Thrashers tickets are ready to take a huge step up in the 2005-06 NHL season. Thrashers fans who pack the Philips Arena should reap the benefit of off-season moves that had the Thrashers wheeling and deal their way to NHL respectability. First, goodbye Dany Heatley, hello Marian Hossa and Greg DeVrie. While Heatley is certainly a talent, Hossa fills a sorely needed offensive gap in the Thrashers line while DeVries brings veteran experience to a young Atlanta defense. The trade, along with the signing of veteran center Bobby Holik, brings an aura of hope to Atlanta Thrashers tickets.
The Atlanta Thrashers, owned by who else but Ted Turner, multimillionaire and ex-husband of Jane Fonda, brought pro hockey back to Atlanta after a long absence. Taking to the ice of the Philips Arena in uniforms that featured combination of two shades of blue, some bronze, yellow, and a little red, the Thrashers (a name chosen to honor the state bird of Georgia) did little to impress anyone in their first year. The team racked up a record of 14-61-7 in their inaugural campaign and could point only to Andrew Brunette as a leader. Brunette finished the year with 50 points, by no means an outstanding performance, but very good by Thrashers criteria.
After suffering through a dismal second season of 23-45-12-2, Thrashers ticket holders finally had something to cheer about during the 2001-02 season, though the team's record didn't improve significantly. The Thrashers had gotten hold of a couple of rookies with plenty of upside in Danny Heatley and Illya Kovalchuk. While Kovalchuk got off to a promising start, his season was cut short by injury. Heatley on the other hand, stayed healthy and won the Calder Trophy by posting 41 assists and 26 goals on the year. Heatley and Kovalchuk continued to make progress in 2002-03, but the team as a whole was still performing poorly, going 0-10 to start and boasting only 8 wins at years end. The poor showing resulted in the firing of head coach Curt Fraser who was replaced by Bob Hartley. Hartley managed to get things moving in the right direction as the Thrashers rallied in the latter part of the season to grab 3rd place with a 31-39-7-5 record.
Thrashers fans were buckling down for a much better season in 2003-04, banking on Hartley's coaching and the play of Heatley to make the Thrashers competitive when tragedy struck. Heatley, along with Dan Snyder, were involved in a car accident that cost Snyder his life. Heatley suffered injuries and felony charges that marred his life and his performance. The Trashers hung tough, but fell short of the playoffs at 33-37-8-4.
Atlanta Thrashers tickets got a shot in the arm from GM Don Waddel's maneuvers during the long lockout. Now it's time to pay off. While the Thrashers aren't anyone's favorite pick to win the Stanley Cup, the long road to the NHL Playoffs has to begin somewhere and Hossa, DeVries, and Holik could be the building blocks that make the Philips Arena and Atlanta Thrashers tickets, one of the more pleasant combinations in the NHL this season. |
