How this team will be remembered?
This is true, technically. The owners have to approve the change in ownership (75% votes required) and also approve a relocation (majority of votes required). They meet sometime in June I believe.It all was to unstable but I should point out that a move is yet to be determined.
'bout the same as the kansas city scouts or california golden seals. i.e., they won't be.
ten years and one memorable moment, in which, sadly, a player died.
Similar to the Atlanta Flames, I think. Some really exciting offensive superstars, but ultimately a team that was never a factor in much of anything
The Flames at least made the playoffs a few times.
I think that, on the aggregate, over the past dozen years the Thrashers have been one of the NHL's bottom three teams along with Florida and Columbus (interestingly, they all made the playoffs exactly once, and they all won exactly zero games in that appearance)
They won't be.
Complete non-factor for the entire time of their existence.
The last time the Panthers qualified for the playoffs in 1999-2000, they were swept by the Devils, however they did make the Stanley Cup finals in 1995-96 and qualified for the playoffs the following season, loosing 4-1 to the Rangers. It's hard to image that the Panthers were one of the more promissing expansion teams in the 1990's.
As for the Thrashers, as time progresses they will probably fade into obscurity like some of the other expansion or relocated teams of the 1970's.
1. A team that showed promise at various times in their history, but was ultimately let down repeatedly by Don Waddell. One of the worst track records as a GM in NHL history.
2. The southern expansion team Gary Bettman let walk away. He was willing to sell the Predators to a con man to keep them out of Canada. He has moved heaven and earth to keep the moribund Coyotes in the failed market of Phoenix, likely just because the optics of moving a team back to its original location would be seen as an admission of failure. But for whatever reason, he let Atlanta pull up stakes without any sort of fight. Not really sure why, and if I was a Thrashers fan I'd feel pretty betrayed. There's no way Atlanta should have been moved before Phoenix (who will move anyway).
This must suck for former Thrasher players. A big part of a player's legacy is carried on by their club, the fans, and the media of their former team, and they're losing that.
Kovalchuk will have to build a new legacy in New Jersey.
As for your second point, it's hard to keep the team in Atlanta when the owners of the arena want them out.