The NHL Is One Step Closer To Returning To Atlanta, Which Means They're Now About 15 Years Away From Relocating To Canada

Just personally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of Vietnamese food for some reason. I like to think I have a pretty eclectic palate. Indian food, Thai food, Greek, Lebanese, Moroccan. I love it all. But for some reason when it comes to Vietnamese food, I seem to always like the idea of it more than I actually enjoy eating it. It's just one of those things that I wish I liked, but I just simply do not. 

The NHL is Vietnamese food to the city of Atlanta. The idea of it sounds great. But once it's actually there in front of them? It never works out. 

It starts out with the Atlanta Flames, who were the city's first NHL team from 1972-1980. They actually made it to the playoffs in 6 of the 8 seasons they were in Atlanta, but they only won a combined total of 2 playoff games during that entire stretch. Not great! The team stunk, the arena was somehow worse, and fans just stopped going to the games. It's not like Atlanta is some hockey-crazed city, so they weren't even getting people to watch the games on television. So they eventually moved to Calgary where they've been ever seen. 

Next up were the Atlanta Thrashers, who were in town from 1999-2011. Despite being home to the one and only Dany fuckin' Heatley for the start of his career....

Jamie Squire. Getty Images.

The franchise was never able to put together a team worth giving a shit about. They were in Atlanta for 12 years. One of those years was a lockout, so they only played 11 seasons in Atlanta. They failed to make the playoffs in 10 of those seasons. And the only year they made the playoffs, they were swept out of the first round by the Rangers in 2007. So they relocated to Winnipeg in 2011. 

So that's 20 years of NHL hockey in Atlanta, and a grand total of 2 playoff game wins to show for it. It's no wonder by people in Atlanta don't give a shit about hockey. But if somebody is going to suggest getting some Pho, I guess Atlanta is going to try it for a 3rd time anyway. 

Maybe it's different this time around. We've seen expansion teams like Vegas come in and have a shit ton of success right out of the gates. Obviously you're going to attract fans if your team is constantly in the hunt for a Stanley Cup. We've also seen warm weather teams like Florida, Tampa Bay, and Dallas have a ton of success lately. Club hockey is pretty big at the University of Georgia, and they just opened up a new 8,500 seat stadium. So clearly there's a market for hockey in Atlanta, and there's a path for them to be competitive right away. So maybe this could be the time the NHL actually works in Atlanta. 

Or maybe it'll be yet another disaster where the team sucks for a decade, the fans completely tune them out, and Quebec City will be there to open their relocation with open arms. History often repeats itself, so I'll put my money on Quebec City getting a new team in 20 years. 

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@JordieBarstool