They were members of the Southeast Division of the NHL's Eastern Conference, and played their home games at what is now known as State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta.

Despite several high-level draft picks and some high-profile player acquisitions, including two first-overall selections, the Thrashers were futile for the majority of their existence.

They qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs only once, after winning the Southeast Division in the 2006–07 season, but were swept in the first round by the New York Rangers.

The Flames had been the League's first foray into the southern U.S., and their failure discouraged further efforts to bring NHL hockey south of Washington for another decade.

[6] This was a surprise, as not only did the media hype Stefan as a franchise player, but hockey experts also considered then-Thrashers general manager Don Waddell to have excellent scouting ability.

[4] Marcel Comeau was named director of amateur scouting for the Thrashers, on July 9, 2003, and stayed in the role until the team was sold.

It later emerged that Atlanta Spirit almost immediately put the Thrashers on the market, which only came to light after one of a myriad of lawsuits involving the consortium.

[4] Tragedy struck the team just eight days after the sale, as star forward Dany Heatley crashed his Ferrari in a one-car accident that seriously injured both himself and Thrashers center Dan Snyder.

Heatley's blood alcohol content was below the legal limit, but his combination of speeding (he was driving an estimated 80 miles per hour) and recklessness led to criminal charges, which were later dropped.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored eight goals in the first seven games, including two hat-tricks, one in a 7–2 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks and another in a come-from-behind victory against the Nashville Predators.

Those comeback victories became a recurring sight throughout the season, as Atlanta pulled off stunning upsets over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators, as well as wins against the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders.

Although they continued to play well, they could not keep up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the eventual Stanley Cup champions, or other teams in the League.

On that day, Heatley skated for the first time since his car accident with Snyder, but it also marked the last win for the Thrashers before an extended losing streak.

Kovalchuk tied for the League lead in goals (41) with the Calgary Flames' Jarome Iginla and the Columbus Blue Jackets' Rick Nash.

Before the start of the 2005–06 season, the Thrashers signed several NHL veterans in the hopes of making the playoffs, including forwards Bobby Holik and Scott Mellanby, defenseman Jaroslav Modry and goaltender Mike Dunham.

At the same time, however, they lost one of their brightest stars, as Heatley requested a trade in an attempt to leave behind memories of his tragic 2003 car accident.

He was eventually swapped to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Marian Hossa (a four-time 30-goal scorer at the time of the trade) and Greg de Vries.

Veteran backup Mike Dunham, an experienced number-one netminder, stepped in, but also promptly injured himself only a few games later; this left only prospects Michael Garnett and Adam Berkhoel to tend goal.

Dunham, who had started the game but was relieved by the young rookie after poor play, was forced back into action in the third period.

The Thrashers' 2006–07 season began with the highest expectations in franchise history, even after the team's second-leading scorer, Marc Savard, departed as a free agent for the Boston Bruins.

Veteran center Steve Rucchin, Niko Kapanen and Jon Sim were acquired in an effort to make up for the Savard loss.

Atlanta-based hip hop artist Lil Jon publicly showed his support for the team, posing for a picture with the Stanley Cup while wearing a Thrashers jersey.

After this season, the Thrashers' ticket sales would start dwindling due to the housing market crash of 2008, and a stale economy in Atlanta.

Consequently, they fired head coach Bob Hartley on October 17, 2007, with general manager Don Waddell taking over behind the bench on an interim basis.

Later, the Thrashers also traded for Blackhawk Andrew Ladd while sending prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy and a draft pick to Chicago.

The Blackhawks, the 2010 Stanley Cup champions, found it necessary to trade players for prospects and picks as they were in difficulty with the salary cap.

Ramsay, who had been an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins for the previous three seasons, was a former NHL player who had been a teammate of Rick Dudley's on the Buffalo Sabres.

[10][11] On January 22, 2011, the team's ownership group claimed it had lost US$130 million in the last six years, partially as a result of an ongoing lawsuit with former partner Steve Belkin.

[17] The League later denied the report, but acknowledged that advanced negotiations between the two teams were underway and that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman supported the move.

[21] On May 31, True North Sports & Entertainment and the NHL held a press conference in Winnipeg to announce the completion of a deal to purchase the Thrashers.