19 Facts About Atlanta Flames

Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980.

The Atlanta Flames franchise was awarded to Tom Cousins, who owned the Atlanta Flames Hawks of the National Basketball Association, and would play out of the newly built Omni Coliseum.

Cousins named the franchise the Flames in homage to the burning of Atlanta by United States Army General William Sherman during the American Civil War.

Atlanta Flames hired Cliff Fletcher, formerly of the St Louis Blues, to serve as the team's general manager.

Two days later, the Atlanta Flames selected Jacques Richard as the second overall pick in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft.

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Atlanta Flames finished in seventh place in the West Division and missed the playoffs.

Lysiak led the Atlanta Flames in scoring with 64 points and finished second to the Islanders' Denis Potvin in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

Atlanta Flames was replaced with Fred Creighton, who had been coaching the Flames' minor league affiliate, the Omaha Knights.

Fletcher later credited Geoffrion's outgoing personality as being the primary reason why people in Atlanta followed the Flames in the franchise's first seasons while the team's players later stated an appreciation for Creighton's more technical coaching and teaching style.

Creighton produced a consistent, but not outstanding team, as the Atlanta Flames finished third in the Patrick for the following three seasons and typically won a few games more than they lost each year.

The Atlanta Flames attempted to boost attendance in 1980 by signing Jim Craig, goaltender of the American Olympic team that had won the Olympic gold medal following its "Miracle on Ice" victory over the Soviet Union.

Atlanta Flames claimed to have suffered significant financial losses on the team while low viewership hampered his ability to sign a television contract.

Coincidentally, their then-sister team Atlanta Hawks changed their colors to red and yellow shortly after the Flames were established.

The Hawks added black as a tertiary color in 1992, with the now-Calgary Atlanta Flames following suit in 1995; as of 2021, the Atlanta Flames dropped black from the color scheme whereas the Hawks continued to use it in their uniforms.

Three members of the Flames were named recipients of NHL awards during the team's tenure in Atlanta.

Atlanta Flames finished fifth overall in league scoring with 104 points while accruing only 14 penalty minutes throughout the season.

Atlanta Flames was joined by Al McDonough, Tom Lysiak, Curt Bennett, Eric Vail, Bill Clement and Kent Nilsson .

Atlanta Flames was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 as a builder.

The Atlanta Flames' games were televised over-the-air on WTCG 17 and on the radio by WSB .