Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, also known as “The Hockey Maven,” brings his wit and insight to viewers every Wednesday. This week reveals how Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion helped plant NHL seeds in Atlanta 53 years ago. The interview that follows originated in Geoffrion’s autobiography, “Boom Boom, The Life and Times of Bernard Geoffrion,” first published Jan. 1, 1997.

What made you come to Georgia in the first place?

“I wasn’t happy with my job as assistant general manager of the (New York) Rangers when I got a call from Cliff Fletcher, who was putting together the Atlanta Flames, one of the two new (1972) NHL franchises; the other being the (New York) Islanders. He said, ‘How would you like to be our coach?’ I said, ‘You want me to go to Georgia? What do they know about a puck, a stick and the ice?’ But I listened and Cliff convinced me to come. “

How were you greeted in the South?

“The press conference for my hiring was May 22, 1972, and there was a huge turnout. I told them this straight out: ‘Atlanta is a major league city. The South likes action and hockey is action.’ Right off the bat they loved me because I didn’t put on any airs. Boom Boom was Boom Boom. On top of that, they were intrigued with the idea of a French-Canadian taking over the South. I amused them with my punch line, ‘Y’all come to see us now, ya’ hear.’ That cracked them up.”

What was it like promoting an expansion team?

“I talked to everyone and even did a TV commercial where I skated out on the ice in a tuxedo, carrying a bouquet of flowers and chirping, ‘To all you people in the South, I offer you these beautiful roses. Now come and see our game. It’s better than football.’ The result was that we sold a ton of tickets and I got invitations to do commercials for everything, but I also had to develop a winning team for our home opener Oct. 14, 1972.”

Do you remember that first NHL game in Atlanta?

“The place was packed top to bottom, end to end. We played the (Buffalo Sabres) that night and at the pregame meeting I said, ‘Listen fellas, I’m not the greatest coach in the world, but if you look around the room you’ll see that I don’t have the greatest players either.’ That got a good laugh but then I got serious. ‘If you go out there and prove to the people that you want to play this game, they’ll appreciate you. We wound up with a 1-1 tie leaving our fans enthused, but in a funny way.”

Funny? How?

“They didn’t understand the game. When our goalie, Phil Myre, made a very easy save, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Eventually, they got to know the difference between tripping and boarding — and that we had a competitive team. By mid-November, we were only a point out of first place and the fans were loving us because we not only competed, we had budding stars.”

Who were the heroes?

“One of them was Curt Bennett, a big, young center who played 16 games for the Rangers and had only one assist. Curt went from no goals in New York to 18 goals for me in only 52 games. Our goalies, Myre and Dan Bouchard, made a terrific combination and we also developed inspirational guys. My captain, Keith McCreary, was our leader along with defenseman Noel Price, a veteran with the heart of a 17-year-old.”

How successful was the first season?

“The bad news was that we missed the (Stanley Cup Playoffs). The good news was that we sold hockey in Atlanta. They loved the Flames and they loved Boom Boom. Wherever I went, ‘The Boom’ was a hero, and it didn’t matter where I went or who I talked to. More than 400,000 fans had come to our games, one of the best gates among expansion teams, but I had to fulfill a promise I made to get them into the playoffs.”

How did you do it?

“In our second season (1973-74), we finished with 74 points. The Islanders, who came into the league with us, had only 56 points. We went up against the (Philadelphia Flyers) in the opening round and fought them as hard as we could but lost in four straight. Still, the Southern fans appreciated us and so did the media. Magazines were doing stories on me and the team and by the end of our playoffs, I felt like the king of Atlanta.”

What stopped you?

“My health. It was nerves that come with coaching pressure. I was losing weight, smoking two packs of cigarettes on game days and losing my players’ confidence. The fun was gone so finally, I told Fletcher, ‘I don’t have it anymore. I’m resigning.’ On Feb. 3, 1975, Cliff called a press conference and made it official. I told the press, ‘Fellas, I’m losing it.’ And that was it — I left.”

Any regrets?

“No, I did what I’d been asked to do, sell NHL hockey in Georgia. Atlanta bought my act and that was reassuring. Also, my wife loved Atlanta and its people and — long afterward — we kept our contacts there. In that sense, I was sorry to leave.”

What was the good news?

“Irving Grundman, the new (Montreal) Canadiens general manager, phoned me after Labor Day, 1979, with the magic words, ‘How would you like to coach the Habs?’ I said, ‘Oui’ and with that another Boom Boom dream came true!”

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Some normalcy was restored to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Monday morning.

After having its flights reduced by as much as 6%, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it would allow airlines to return to their normal capacity at 6 a.m.

“Feeling brilliant because we planned to travel today and we avoided all the hassle we thought we might have,” Atlanta traveler David Hart said.

The cuts left travelers uncertain.

“We were aware that we may need to make alternate plans, but we were very fortunate,” Hart said.

Now that the federal government has reopened, some of its effects are starting to work themselves out.

TSA data shows Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest travel weekend of the year.

Experts say passengers should still check for delays or cancellations, but for more typical reasons.

“I think the things we should be looking out for are weather-related incidents that could kind of throw the system out of whack, or outages, but overall I think things are looking good,” Brian Kelly, founder of “The Points Guy,” said.

While travel will soon ramp up, Monday saw smooth sailing for travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson.

“They keep things running pretty smoothly down here in Atlanta. It is a big airport, and you’ve gotta keep people moving through it,” traveler Jeff Merrow said.

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The Atlanta Hawks have a chance to continue their hot streak tonight as they go for their fifth straight win. Their opponent this evening is going to be the Phoenix Suns, who are also playing some really good basketball right now. The Suns have won five straight games and surged into the top six of the Western Conference standings.

The Hawks continue to play well despite not having star point guard Trae Young and most games, they are doing it with their defense. However, they had an incredible game from guys like Jalen Johnson (3rd career triple-double) and Onyeka Okongwu (career high in points). They are going to face a big challenge tonight against Devin Booker and a Suns team that has been playing very good defense.

The starters for both team were just announced for tonight’s game:

Hawks

G- Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G- Dyson Daniels

F- Zaccharie Risacher

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Onyeka Okongwu

Suns

G- Devin Booker

G- Ryan Dunn

F- Dillon Brooks

F- Royce O’Neale

C- Mark Williams

Deep Dive on Atlanta

Our own Rohan Raman took a deeper dive into the Hawks advanced numbers and how they matchup with Phoenix tonight:

“It’s still early enough in the season where big games can vault teams a few spots up the rankings and they got exactly that against the Jazz. Atlanta is 17th in points, 10th in FG%, 13th on 3P%, 18th in FT%, 21st in rebounds (26th in OREB), 3rd in assists and 15th in turnovers per game. They’re 20th in offensive rating on the year and while it’s not impressive, the offense without Young has been passable as of late.

Atlanta’s defense has been excellent, but they had an off game against the Jazz and allowed a 40-piece from Lauri Markkanen. On a per-game basis, Atlanta ranks 7th in points allowed, 7th in FG% allowed, 5th in 3P% allowed, 25th in rebounds allowed, 3rd in steals and 8th in blocks. They’re 5th in defensive rating on the year and it seems clear that this is going to be a much better defense than the team has fielded in recent seasons.

Devin Booker is having a stellar year for the Suns despite losing two of the team’s major scoring options from last season. He’s a big part of why Phoenix is 12th in points, 13th in FG%, 5th on 3P%, 10th in FT%, 19th in rebounds (11th in OREB), 9th in assists and 20th in turnovers per game. The advanced statistics have them as one of the ten best offenses in basketball with a ninth-place rating of 117.1.

Dillon Brooks, Ryan Dunn and head coach Jordan Ott have led the charge in transitioning one of the worst defenses in the NBA into a rock-solid unit. They’re 9th in points allowed, 11th in FG% allowed, 8th in 3P% allowed, 10th in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals and 16th in blocks. This is going to be one of the toughest defensive matchups the Hawks have faced this year.”

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