Atlanta Thrashers

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The Atlanta Thrashers are a fantasy ice hockey team in The Conn Smythe Corner (CSC). They are one of the original 16 teams that joined the League. The Thrashers are the most successful team in CSC history, having won the Cam Ward Cup twice - in back to back seasons.

History[edit | edit source]

The inaugural CSC season saw benevolent dictator and supreme leader Steve Lyberopoulos grant a place in the nascent CSC to the Atlanta Thrashers. As initial draft order was randomized, Atlanta drafted 14th overall and made centre Eric Staal their first ever draft pick. They would strike after the first game of the season, making winger Alexei Kovalev the most expensive free agent ever, at a cost of 21$. Soon after, they would make the first draft pick trade in league history, sending Raphael Diaz and an 8th round pick to Brooklyn for a 7th round pick and Braydon Cobourn.

2012 Season[edit | edit source]

The first league season would see Atlanta struggle to find their bearings, enduring an average draft and sub-par initial results. In an effort to push the club towards relevance, GM Marco Scanlan would trade Zach Parise and Anze Kopitar to St. Louis for Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. This trade was controversially vetoed as upsetting the competitive balance of the league in favour of St. Louis, despite the fact that Atlanta would have won the trade. Despite league meddling, a new trade would be approved, bringing in Jeff Skinner, Corey Perry, Evander Kane and Michael Grabner from the North Stars. At the deadline, Atlanta brought in Mike Richards and Kevin Shattenkirk to make a push, but would fall short after a heart-breaking loss to Brooklyn in the season's penultimate week, finishing 9th.

2013 Season[edit | edit source]

The second professional season for GM Marco Scanlan would go much better than the first. Despite losing top performer and first overall pick John Tavares to injury while on loan to the Canadian National Team, Atlanta would win 11 of their final 14 games to finish tied for the best record in the league at 16-6, despite sub-par scoring numbers (Finishing 5th in overall points). The playoffs would be a different animal, with Atlanta leading the league in scoring in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, defeating Philadelphia and the high-scoring Cleveland Barons to earn a spot in the finals, against the league-leading California Golden Seals, a team that had out-scored Atlanta by almost 800 points through 22 games. Despite the odds, Atlanta would prevail in a hotly disputed and highly controversial Championship round, after stars on both teams were rested during the finals in order to keep them fresh for the upcoming NHL Playoffs. Nevertheless, the Cam Ward Cup would be paraded down Peachtree Street for the first time ever on April 13, 2014.

2014 Season[edit | edit source]

Fresh off a historic championship season, and despite having traded multiple high picks to load up for the 2013 Championship, 2014 started out with a bang for Atlanta, with the team winning the first 3 games of the season. The championship hangover finally hit, with Atlanta dropping 4 of 5 to fall out of the playoff race. GM Marco Scanlan spurred his team to success by making 17 trades; at the deadline, the Thrashers would conclude the season with only 3 players having been draffted by the team, and 4 having been on the team since the opening game. These moves turned the Thrashers into perhaps the Greatest Team ever Assembled (TM), as they would win 11 straight before dropping the final game of the season to the Colorado Rockies. In the playoffs, the Thrashers were the highest scoring team of the playoff field during each playoff week, a feat that has never before or since been matched. On April 5, 2015, the Atlanta Thrashers would be crowned Back-to-Back Champions by defeating the Vancouver Millionaires.

2015 Season[edit | edit source]

Odd, this doesn't seem to have existed

2016 Season[edit | edit source]

The 2016 season started full of hope, as the Thrashers translated a bevy of high draft picks into an immensely talented roster. Unfortunately, success was not to be found, as a series of unfortunate events lead to a second consecutive season outside the playoff picture for Atlanta. Once again, injuries played a key role, as the Thrashers at one point carried 7 injured players (P.K. Subban, Kris Letang, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Robin Lehner, Brendan Gallagher and Brian Elliott). Despite the lack of health, Atlanta entered the trade deadline in 4th league-wide in scoring. However, they had the 10th best record, 3 games behind 7 and 8 with 4 to play. Consequently, the team was gutted at the deadline once again; Huberdeau, Matthews and Hedman would go on to play a critical role in leading their new team - the Montreal Wanderers - to a Cam Ward Cup victory.

2017 Season[edit | edit source]

In the 2017 offseason, Atlanta GM Marco Scanlan signed former North Stars GM Alessandro Power to the Thrashers management team. Alessandro was given the role of associate general manager and head of North American affairs, due to his continued presence in the continent of North America.

Rivalries[edit | edit source]

The Atlanta Thrashers have several prominent rivals:

California Golden Seals: The Golden Seals and the Thrashers have played many prominent games against each other, highlighted by a controversial finals win by Atlanta in the 2013 season. Off the virtual ice, the General Managers of both clubs have repeatedly traded barbs through the media, with recent trades being the most hotly discussed subject.

Cleveland Barons: The Barons and Thrashers have had a knack for playing in tightly disputed games. The most famous of these is the legendary Hand of Stat-Correction-God game, where a correction made seconds before the 3AM monday deadline awarded 2 points to the Thrashers, leading to a 0.25-point victory.

Montreal Wanderers: The Wanderers are the only team with a legitimate argument for being the top club in CSC history, thanks to their recent 2nd championship season fueled by late-season additions from the Thrashers.