2006-07 Atlanta Thrashers Slava Kozlov Jersey

Vyacheslav Kozlov started his hockey career with two games for his hometown Khimik Voskresensk in the 1987-88 season at just 15 years old. That spring he also participated in his first IIHF European Under-18 Junior Championships for the Soviet Union, earning a bronze medal.

In 1988-89, he played in 14 games, but contributed one lone assist. He returned to the European U18 Juniors in 1989, this time coming home with a gold medal after scoring 5 goals and 12 points in 6 games.

Now 17, Kozlov moved up to Khimik full time, playing in 45 games with 14 goals and 26 points for the 1989-90 season. Over the New Year holiday, Kozlov made is World Junior Championships (U20) debut, winning a silver medal with the Soviets and scoring 4 goals and 11 points in 7 games. Later that spring, he played in his third European U18 Juniors, and while the Soviets were limited to a silver medal, Kozlov was the tournament's leading scorer with 19 points in 6 games.

Kozlov was then drafted by the Detroit Red Wings 45th overall early in the 3rd Round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

He returned to Khimik for a fourth season of play in 1990-91, scoring 11 goals and 24 points in another 45 games. He also had a busy international season, playing at the 1991 World Juniors, earning a silver, scoring 12 points in 7 games. He then played in his first senior level IIHF World Championships, and scored 3 goals and 7 points in 10 games as an 18 year old, winning a silver medal. Later that fall, Kozlov had the honor of being a part of the Soviet roster at the 1991 Canada Cup tournament. He had a goal and 3 points competing against the world's best as a teenager.

He began the 1991-92 season with CSKA Moscow, scoring 11 points in 11 games before making his NHL debut on March 12, 1992 with the Red Wings. He would play in 7 games with a pair of assists, both recorded on his debut.

Having played just 18 games the previous season, and needing time to adapt to both the size of the rinks and style of hockey in North America, as well as the change in lifestyle, Kozlov played 45 games in the American Hockey League with the Adirondack Red Wings in the 1992-93 season, excelling with 23 goals and 59 points. He also was called up by Detroit for 17 games, scoring his first 4 NHL goals.

While he did play 3 games with Adirondack during the 1993-94 season, Kozlov became a full time NHLer with 77 games for Detroit with a head turning 34 goals and 73 points, good for fifth on the high powered Red Wings. With Detroit an early playoff exit, Kozlov made it over to Italy in time to play one game with Russia at the 1994 World Championships.

With the start of the 1994-95 NHL season delayed until January by labor issues, Kozlov joined his old club CSKA Moscow for 10 games before returning to Detroit once the NHL season got underway. He had 33 points in 46 games and then had 9 goals and 16 points in 18 playoff games as the Red Wings made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

When the Red Wings acquired Igor Larionov early in the 1995-96 season, Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman formed what would become known as The Russian Five. While NHL teams had forward lines of three players and dedicated defensive pairs, the North American game did not employ five man units, such as was common in the days of the Soviet Union.

Detroit's Russian Five would consist of center Larionov, Left Winger Kozlov, right wing Sergei Fedorov and defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov, with Larionov and Fetisov having been members of the original, famous Soviet Russian Five, the Green Unit.

Playing a creative, puck possession style and being sound defensively, the Russian Five experiment worked well, with Fedorov leading Detroit in scoring with 107 points, with Kozlov fourth with 73 points, just ahead of Larionov's 71 in fifth place. Fetisov was ninth in team scoring with Konstantinov 11th with 14 goals and 34 points. Detroit made it to the Semifinals of the playoffs, gaining more valuable playoff experience.

Before the 1996-97 season, Kozlov again suited up for Russia, this time at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, scoring 3 points in 5 games.

While Kozlov's offensive numbers regressed for the 1996-97 season to 23 goals and 45 points, the Red Wings put together a great playoff run, defeating the St. Louis Blues in 6, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 4, outlasting rivals the Colorado Avalanche in 6 and sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in 4 straight to win the Stanley Cup. Kozlov was third in playoff scoring with 7 goals and 13 points in 20 games.

The Russian Five of Kozlov and Larionov in front, with Konstantinov, Fedorov and Fetisov in back, posing with the Conn Smythe Trophy, the Stanley Cup and the Clarence Campbell Bowl

Sadly, the Russian Five lost member Konstantinov, when he and Fetisov were in a limousine celebrating just days after their Stanley Cup victory, which crashed into a tree, ending Konstantinov's career due to the injuries he suffered in the crash.

Kozlov then scored 25 goals and 52 points in 1997-98, followed by another 14 points in 22 playoff games as the Red Wings repeated as Stanley Cup champions.

Kozlov would play three more seasons with the Red Wings, with the best being the 1998-99 season when he had 29 goal and 29 assists for 58 points.

The Red Wings traded Kozlov to the Buffalo Sabres for the 2001-02 season as part of a package in exchange for future Hall of Fame goaltender Dominik Hasek. Kozlov would play one injury shortened season with the Sabres, scoring just 9 goals and 22 points in only 38 games.

Kozlov was then dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers for the 2002-03 season, where he was relied on as one of the team's offensive leaders. His point totals immediately took a leap upward with his new responsibilities, and he introduced himself to the fans in Atlanta with a 21 goal, 70 point season, his best in seven seasons and second on the team behind only Dany Heatley.

After a 20 goal, 53 point season in 2003-04, the 2004-05 NHL season was eventually cancelled due to a lockout of the players by the owners. Kozlov returned to Russia for the season, playing 38 games with his original club Khimik before switching over to the free spending Ak Bars Kazan for 8 games to finish the season.

He returned to Atlanta for the 2005-06 season with a fine 25 goal, 71 point season. He then had the best offensive season of his career in 2006-07 with 28 goals and 52 assists for a career high 80 points, good for second best on the team.

Kozlov rebounded from a 41 point season in 2007-08 with a 26 goal, 76 point season in 2008-09, the second highest of his career, once again second on the team. He would play one final, limited season with Atlanta, scoring 26 points in 55 games.

For the 2010-11 season, Kozlov would continue his career in the primarily Russian KHL, signing with CSKA Moscow. He would play in 40 games with 25 points before a late season move to Ufa Salavat Yulayev. While he would play just 4 regular season games with Ufa, he would play in 21 playoff games for the club, as they would go on to win the Gagarin Cup as KHL champions.

Despite the championship with Ufa, Kozlov would sign with Dynamo Moscow for the 2011-12 season, scoring 21 points in 44 games. While Kozlov was limited to just 6 playoff games, Dynamo would defeat Dinamo Minsk in 4, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in 6, sweep SKA Saint Petersburg and then outlast Avangard Omsk in the full seven games for Kozlov's second consecutive Gagarin Cup.

For the 2012-13 season, he would see limited action, playing in just 13 games with Spartak Moscow. He would play a second season with Spartak in 2013-14, scoring 26 points in 54 games. His final season of play would come with Atlant Moscow Oblast, playing in 46 games with 13 points before retiring after a 28 year career.

Kozlov's final NHL totals were 1,182 games played, with 356 goals and 497 assists for 853 points ad two Stanley Cup championships. His KHL final totals were a more modest 201 games played with 37 goals and 61 points, yet two Gagarin Cups to his credit.

Today's featured jersey is a 2006-07 Atlanta Thrashers Slava Kozlov jersey as worn during his career best season of 80 points.

The Thrashers debuted in 1999-00 wearing a unique set of jerseys. NHL rules did not allow a new franchise to have a third jersey until their fifth season of play, so the Thrashers chose not to produce a standard road jersey with their primary logo and instead made an alternate jersey to be worn on for road games that featured their secondary shoulder logo.

This style was worn from the club's debut in 1999-00 to 2006-07 before all the NHL jerseys were replaced by the new Reebok Edge jerseys in 2007-08.

Today's second featured jersey is a 2005-06 Atlanta Thrashers Slava Kozlov jersey as worn during the final season for their original road "alternate" jersey used since they debuted in 1999-00.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus featured jersey is a 1999-00 Detroit Red Wings Slava Kozlov jersey as worn during his successful run with the Red Wings, which included winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998.

This style has been worn virtually unchanged since the club changed their name from the Falcons to the Red Wings in 1932-33 with only the addition of sleeve numbers and names on the back worth noting.

Extra extra bonus jersey: Today's extra extra bonus featured jersey is a 1996 Russia National Team Slava Kozlov jersey as worn during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Due to a last minute change, the Russians rejected their already available for public sale jersey for the 1998 Olympics and reverted to this style for the Games in Nagano, Japan, where they earned a silver medal.

photos courtesy of Classic Auctions

Extra extra extra bonus jersey: Today's extra extra extra bonus featured jersey is a 2001-02 Buffalo Sabres Slava Kozlov jersey as worn during the first home game for the New York Rangers following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

Both teams wore special, one-off jerseys that were crested "New York" on the front rather than the Sabres usual buffalo head logo, while the Rangers jerseys also read "New York" rather than "Rangers". All the jerseys were then auctioned off after the game to raise money for the Twin Towers Fund.

1997-98 Michigan K-Wings Jason Botterill Jersey

Jason Botterill's hockey career got off to a successful start beginning with the 1993-94 season, as the University of Michigan Wolverines freshman scored 20 goals and 39 points in 36 games. During that season he also won a gold medal at the World Junior Tournament playing for his native Canada. Following the season Botterill was drafted 20th overall in the first round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars.

During his second season with Michigan, Botterill won another gold medal at the World Juniors before his memorable 1995-96 season. He completed his World Junior hat trick with a third gold medal in January, making him the only Canadian to ever win a gold medal in three straight World Juniors.

Botterill remains the only Canadian to win

three gold medals at the World Junior Tournament

He completed his NCAA season with 32 goals and 57 points in 37 games, while adding 143 penalty minutes, as Michigan defeated the Colorado College Tigers 3-2 in overtime to win the NCAA national title to complete a championship double in the space of three months.

Botterill's magic 1996 season ended with an NCAA championship

He returned for his senior season with the Wolverines as a team captain and had his finest season with the maize and blue with NCAA career highs with 37 goals and 61 points in 42 games.

For the 1997-98 season, Botterill was assigned to the Michigan K-Wings of the International Hockey League where he played in 50 games that season. He also made his NHL debut with the Stars with appearances in 4 games.

Botterill made his NHL debut with Dallas

While Botterill scored 38 points in 56 games for the K_Wings in 1998-99, he went scoreless in 17 games with Dallas, who traded him to the Atlanta Thrashers in the offseason. He played 25 games for Atlanta that season, which included scoring his first NHL goal. He would play an additional 17 games with the Orlando Solar Bears of the IHL before a trade in February of 2000 sent him to the Calgary Flames organization.

Botterill scored his first NHL goal with Atlanta

He played a pair of games with the Flames but spent the majority of the rest of the season with the Saint John Flames of the American Hockey League.

Botterill, born on this date in 1976, spent the entire 2000-01 season with Saint John, scoring 33 points in 60 games before adding an additional 9 points in 19 playoff games as the Flames would win the Calder Cup as champions of the IHL.

The Saint John Flames celebrate their 2001 Calder Cup championship

He would captain Saint John for the 2001-02, scoring 42 points evenly divided between goals and assists in 71 games. Botterill also made four appearances for Calgary in the NHL, where he would score his second goal in the NHL.

Thanks to his fine season with Saint John, Botterill was signed by the Buffalo Sabres for 2002-03, who assigned him to the Rochester Americans of the AHL, which led to his finest season as a professional as he scored 37 goals and 59 points, good for second on the team in 64 games. He also found time to play 17 games with the Sabres. tallying a goal and 5 points.

Botterill causing havoc while with the Americans

The 2003-04 season was more of the same, as he split his time between Rochester (46 games) and Buffalo, where he played a career high 19 NHL games, scoring twice. Rochester then made a deep playoff run, defeating Syracuse and Hamilton before losing to Milwaukee in the conference finals.

Botterill played a career high 18 games with Buffalo in 2003-04

Botterill would start  the 2004-05 season with the Americans, but 8 games into the season he would suffer a career ending concussion. His final totals from the NHL were He remained active in hockey, first working for the NHL and now currently an Associate General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Today's featured jersey is a 1997-98 Michigan K-Wings Jason Botterill jersey as worn during Botterill's first season as a professional. The club was founded in 1974 as the Kalamazoo Wings with the colors of red and white to reflect their affiliation with the cross-state Detroit Red Wings. When the club changed it's affiliation to the Minnesota North Stars in 1988, they adopted the North Stars colors of green, gold and black. Their affiliation with the organization remained intact after the NHL franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1992-93 season. After two additional seasons, the club changed it's named to the Michigan K-Wings. The instability of the IHL and the Stars ending their relationship with the club led to franchise requesting inactive status for 2000-01 before folding for good when the IHL itself imploded.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1999-00 Atlanta Thrashers Jason Botterill jersey. The Thrashers wore this style from their debut in 1999-00 through the change to Reebok Edge jerseys for 2007-08, seven seasons in all, not counting the lost season of 2004-05.

Rather than create a reverse of their white home jersey, the Thrashers got around NHL rules that dictated they not be allowed to have an alternate jersey until their fourth season in the league by choosing to feature their secondary shoulder logo as the primary logo on their dark "road" jersey from the start of their first season, essentially wearing a "home" and an "alternate" as their first set of jerseys.

Sharp eyed readers will notice this jersey lacks the NHL 2000 patch worn during the Thrashers debut season, but on closer inspection the stitching where the patch was located is still evident.

Botterill wore this jersey when he scored the first NHL goal of his career, which came on the road on January 4, 2000 against his future club the Buffalo Sabres.

In today's video section, Penguins associate general manager Botterill talks to the media after the conclusion of the 2014 NHL draft.

2001-02 Los Angeles Kings Jaroslav Modry Jersey

Another example of a player being born at the right time, defenseman Jaroslav Modry was born on this date in 1971 in Czechoslvakia. He began his hockey career with his hometown HC Ceske Budejovice as a 16 year old with three games during the 1987-88 season. A defensive defenseman, Modry would play 28 games of the 1988-89 season, being credited with a lone assist. He would become a regular in 1989-90 with 41 games, which included finding the net for the first time with a pair of goals on his way to four total points.

Following the season, the New Jersey Devils of the NHL drafted Modry 179th overall in the middle of the ninth round, a testament to the timing of his birth, as Czechoslovak hockey players were now being allowed to leave for the NHL without having to defect from behind the Iron Curtain any longer.

For the 1990-91 season Modry would join HC Dukla Trencin, scoring a goal and 9 assists in 33 games.   He also would make his only international appearance for Czechoslovakia at the 1991 World Junior Championship, earning a bronze medal.

In 1991-92, Modry would split the season between Dukla Trencin with 18 games in the First Ice Hockey League and 14 games withh his original club, Ceske Budejovice, who by then had been relegated to the Czech second division. Modry would tally 4 goals and 14 points as Budejovice would win the Second Ice Hockey League championship to earn a promotion back to the First League.

Also drafted the same year as Modry was Petr Nedved (2nd overall), who had defected in January of 1989, and Jaromir Jagr (fifth overall), who was not only allowed to leave, but was present for the draft itself. In all, 22 Czechoslovakians were drafted that year, including Jiri Slegr, Richard Smehlik, Roman Turek, Robert Lang and Peter Bondra.

With the path to North America now open, the now 21 year old Modry came to North America for the 1992-93 season and was assigned by the Devils to their AHL Utica Devils affiliate. No longer required to be a defensive specialist, Modry immediately blew away all his previous offensive numbers with a 7 goal, 42 points season, thanks in part to the AHL's 80 game schedule, double what he was used to playing in Europe.

Modry's North American debut was with the Utica Devils

The Devils affiliate relocated to become the Albany River Rats for the 1993-94 season, where Modry played 18 games as well as making his NHL debut with New Jersey, with whom he saw action in 41 games.

The start of the 1994-95 NHL season was delayed due to labor issues, so Modry returned to HC Ceske Budejovice (which was now a part of the Czech Republic) for 19 games until the NHL season resumed. Back in North America, he played 18 games with Albany and 11 for New Jersey in the NHL. He was back in Albany in time for the playoffs, where he contributed 3 goals and 6 points in 14 games as the River Rats would claim the Calder Trophy as AHL champions.

Unable to crack the NHL Devils lineup, who went on to win the 1995 Stanley Cup, Modry was dealt to the Ottawa Senators for the 1995-96 season. He played 64 total games for the Senators, but would finish the season with 9 games for the Los Angeles Kings following a trade in late March.

While he only played 9 games that season in Los Angeles,

Modry got to wear the infamous Burger King alternate jersey

It would take Modry five seasons to establish himself as a Kings regular, as 1996-97 was divided between the Kings (30 games), the Phoenix Roadrunners (23 games) and the Utah Grizzlies (11 games), both of the latter being in the IHL. 1997-98 was spent entirely with the Grizzlies, with whom he would seta new career high with 12 goals on his way to a 33 points season.

1998-99 was spent almost entirely with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL, seeing action in 64 games, although he was recalled by the Kings for the first time in two seasons with 5 games. His playing time was limited in 1999-00 to just 37 games, but the majority of those, 26, were with Los Angeles in the NHL.

Finally in 2000-01, Modry spent an entire season in the Kings, scoring 19 points in 63 games. He then set an NHL career high in 2001-02 with 42 points from 4 goals and 38 assists. He fine season was recognized when he was named to the 2002 NHL All-Star Game.

Modry played in the 2002 All-Star game hosted by Los Angeles

He then backed up his previous season with a 38 point campaign in 2002-03 when he set a career high by playing in all 82 games for the only time in his career. Following the season, Modry would appear in his only World Championships, playing in 9 games, this time for the Czech Republic. A third strong season followed in 2003-04 with 79 games played and 32 points.

Modry would return to what was now the Czech Republic in 2004-05 when the NHL season was cancelled, suiting up for 19 regular season games for HC Liberec and 12 more playoffs games.

He returned to the NHL for the 2005-06 season, only now as a member of the Atlanta Thrashers, where he picked up where he left off with 79 games played and 38 points to lead all Thrashers defensemen. Despite his fine season in Atlanta, Modry was dealt to the Dallas Stars for the 2006-07 season, but after 57 games Modry would find himself back in familiar territory, as the Stars would include him in a deal which sent him to the Kings for a second tour of duty.

Modry once again was back with the Kings

After finishing the season with 19 games for the Kings, Modry would play 61 games of the 2007-08 season before another trade would see him finish out his NHL career with 19 games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Modry finished his NHL career with the Flyers

Modry then returned to the Czech Republic for the final phase of his career, rejoining HC Liberec as team captain for 2008-09 before joining HC Plzen 1929, with whom he played the final three seasons of his career before retiring after the 2011-12 season.

Modry celebrating a playoff goal for HC Plzen 1929

His final NHL totals were 725 games played, 49 goals and 201 assists for 250 points.

Today's featured jersey is a 2001-02 Los Angeles Kings Jarslav Modry jersey worn during the season he set a career bests with 38 assists and 42 points.

This jersey features the 2002 NHL  s-Star Game patch, as the Kings hosted the All-Star Game that season, as well as the AM memorial patch for Garnet "Ace" Bailey and Mark Bavis, scouts for the Kings were were killed when United Airlines flight 175 was flown into the World Trade Center on September 11th just prior to the start of the 2001-02 season.

This style of jersey was the Kings alternate jersey for three seasons, first introduced in 1999-00 to compliment their home white and road black jersey. From 2002 onward, the club swapped the coat of arms and crown logos on all their jerseys, making the original purple alternate with the crown logo the scarcer of the two versions, as the coat of arms crested purple alt would remain in use for five seasons compared to the three for the crown version.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Bonus jersey:  Today's bonus jersey is a 2005-06 Atlanta Thrashers Jaroslav Modry jersey as worn when Modry returned from Europe when NHL play resumed after the lost season of 2004-05.

The Thrashers wore this style from their debut in 1999-00 through the change to Reebok Edge jerseys for 2007-08, seven seasons in all, not counting the lost season of 2004-05.

In today's video section, Modry scores a surprising overtime goal to beat Patrick Roy and the Avalanche.

Next, Modry discusses being traded during the middle of a season and it's challenges.

2003-04 Atlanta Thrashers Dany Heatley Jersey

With yesterday's news that the Atlanta Thrashers ownership group has agreed to sell the Thrashers to a group based in Winnipeg, Manitoba who will relocate the team, the second era of NHL hockey in Atlanta has come to an end.

Following the Atlanta Flames move to Calgary in 1980, Atlanta was without a team of any kind until the IHL expanded in the form of the Atlanta Knights in 1992. The club only lasted four seasons before also relocating to Canada, this time to Quebec City.

Three seasons later, as part of the NHL expansion of 1998-2000, the Thrashers began play in the 1999-00 season after being granted a franchise back in the summer of 1997. On February 16, 1998 the club's original owner Ted Turner announced his choice of the name "Atlanta Thrashers", inspired by the state bird of Georgia, the Brown Thrasher.

The Thrashers home jersey was debuted on March 27th, 1999 at the nearby Olympic Park and their unconventional road jersey was revealed before a preseason game on September 19th of the same year.

Atlanta played their first official game no October 2, 1999 in front of a packed Phillips Arena, as 18,545 saw them fall 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils. led the inaugural season in scoring with 23 goals and 50 points as the Thrashers finished a distant last in points that season.

Perhaps the highlight of the Thrashers run in Atlanta was wining the draft lottery on April 10, 2001 which allowed them to select Russian Ilya Kovalchuk with the first overall pick of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Following the season, Dany Heatley, picked second overall during the previous year's draft, was named the winner of the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie, edging out Kovalchuk.

Heatley and Kovalchuk

In February of 2003, Heatley was named the MVP of the NHL All-Star Game after scoring four goals and an assist on the day.

Tragedy struck in September when Heatley, who had led the club in scoring the previous two seasons lost control of his Ferrari and slammed into a wall. Teammate Dan Snyder died from his injuries six days later, while Heatley was limited to just 31 games after recovering from his broken jaw and torn knee ligaments.

Heatley returns to the ice with the Dan Snyder Memorial patch on his jersey

Those 31 games were Heatley's last in Atlanta, as he requested a trade out of Atlanta in hopes of leaving the reminders of the accident behind him. A trade brought Slovak Marian Hossa to the Thrashers for the 2005-06 season. Kovalchuk led the club with new franchise records for goals (52) and points (98), followed by Marc Savard (97) and Hossa (92). Still, the team missed the playoffs yet again, for the sixth season in a row and Savard departed as a free agent.

Marc Savard

In 2006-07, Hossa became the first Thrasher to score 100 points and the team finally qualified for the playoffs, only to be blitzed by the New York Rangers, who swept them in four straight while outscoring them 17-6.

Any progress made in 2006-07 was lost in 2007-08. The team began 0-6 and fired their coach of the past three seasons Bob Hartley. Later, when Hossa would not resign with the team, he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the end, the Thrashers not only missed the playoffs, but sank to 14th in the conference out of 15.

After two more seasons of not making the playoffs coach John Anderson's contract was not renewed and the Thrashers fans had to endure the loss of superstar Kovalchuk via trade when he, just like Hossa, was not interested in continuing to play for a franchise in the deep south that gave him no foreseeable chance to win a championship, much less qualify for the playoffs.

During this most recent season the Thrashers, led by their fourth coach in 11 seasons, finished 13 points out of the playoffs and showing no improvement, completing the schedule with less points than the season before despite an infusion of players via trade from the salary cap distressed Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

The Thrashers finished the year 28th in league attendance, averaging 13,469 fans, which was only 72.6% of capacity and less than two European club teams.

Throughout all the team's recent struggles on the ice, ownership was also historically an unsettled situation. After four seasons of ownership by media giant Time Warner, the team was sold prior to the 2003-04 season to an ownership group consisting of eight members, who purchased the club just eight days before Heatley's crash which killed Snyder.

In January of this year, the ownership group, which had been in turmoil, having been involved in legal proceedings brought by one of their own members, claimed losses of $130 million over the last six years and were looking to sell the team. When no one interested in buying the club with the intent on keeping it in Atlanta stepped forward, a sale was agreed to yesterday which will involve the club relocating to Winnipeg, who had lost their original Jets franchise in 1996.

Today's featured jersey is a 2003-04 Atlanta Thrashers Dany Heatley jersey, emblematic of the low point in Thrashers history, as it is from the season Heatley lost control of his Ferrari and crashed, killing teammate Snyder who is memorialized on the jersey with the #37 patch.

The Thrashers had an unconventional approach to their sweaters over their time in the NHL, which began with the very first season. WIth NHL rules in place not allowing new clubs to introduce an alternate sweater in their first three seasons, Atlanta did an end around the rules and made their original road sweaters in the style of an alternate, using their secondary logo as the primary logo on their dark sweaters from day one.

When their first alternate jersey arrived, it was instantly one of the worst jerseys we have ever seen, done in light blue with white numbers trimmed in yellow, a perfectly good color combination for a child's room, but not a professional sports club. Even worse, the jerseys had a single navy blue stripe down only the left arm, with "ATLANTA" running vertically down the sleeve, which created a jarring an unattractive look. That jersey survived as the dark sweater when the original road jersey was dropped in 2006-07.

The change to the new Reebok Edge jerseys only made matters worse, as the Thrashers distinctive winged sleeve striping on the white jerseys gave way to a mess of a jersey with additional piping and messy sleeves while the light blue jerseys became even worse with the navy blue arm stripe now changing widths as it travelled from the neck to the wrist.

A new alternate arrived on the scene in 2008 and was roundly criticized for it's football jersey styling, as rather than a team logo on the front, it controversially had a smallish Thrashers word mark over the player's number, which was prominently featured on the center of the chest where the team logo normally would reside. An enlarged Thrashers head on each sleeve acted almost as striping while the white areas on the sleeves stopped halfway down just after suddenly, and unexplainably wrapping around the arms.

Counting the six the change to the Reebok versions of their jerseys, the Thrashers had six jerseys during their run in Atlanta, four of which were plain awful.

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Today's video section begins with the drafting of Ilya Kovalchuk in 2001, which should have sent the club on it's way to playoff success, but for various reasons did not.

Here is a compilation of Kovalchuk highlights, which also doubles as a Thrashers jersey retrospective.

With the team now relocating, and never having won a playoff game in it's history, this will now remain as the greatest moment in team history.