Twice in its long history, the NHL has taken a crack at putting a team in Atlanta.
First came the Atlanta Flames in 1973, playing at the Omni Coliseum. Attendance was a challenge, and the team bolted for Calgary after eight seasons. The Atlanta Thrashers, too, fled north to Winnipeg after a 12-year stay from 2000 to '11.
Will this discourage hockey from future forays into the Peach State? Apparently not, as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke glowingly of Atlanta's future expansion chances Friday.
“It’s a different place than when the Flames and the Thrashers left, in terms of how big the city is, how robust it is, the sporting interest," Bettman said Friday in Sunrise, Fla. via Luke Fox of Sportsnet.
Atlanta has indeed grown over the last 15 years or so; the city's former reputation as a stagnant sports town has also tapered off. The question is whether Atlanta's new residents will embrace hockey; at least two potential ownership groups are betting it will.
“When somebody wants to make the case and come in and puts together all the pieces, we'll listen to it,” Bettman said of hypothetical Atlanta expansion pitches. “And if it makes sense, I'll take it to the executive committee, and then the (Board of Governors).”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gary Bettman Speaks Favorably of Atlanta NHL Return As Expansion Speculation Swirls.