Former NHLer Anson Carter heads group seeking league expansion back to Atlanta

After losing both the Flames and the Thrashers, Atlanta is making a third bid to land an NHL team.

Former player Anson Carter announced Tuesday he's heading a group that made a formal request to the league to begin the process of adding an expansion team in metro Atlanta.

Carter's group is the second to express serious interest in bringing another team to Atlanta, which was home of the Flames from 1972-80 and the Thrashers from 1999-2011.

Both teams relocated to Canadian cities — the Flames to Calgary and the Thrashers to Winnipeg, where they are now known as the Jets — because of ownership issues and slumping attendance.

The league has said it's not ready to consider adding to its current 32-team lineup, but also has made it clear it is willing to discuss a new team with any group that reaches out. The expansion fee could be at least $1 billion US.

The NHL is unlikely to move forward on expansion until it resolves the arena situation for the Arizona Coyotes, who currently play in a 4,600-seat college rink.

"The league appreciates Anson's passion for bringing NHL hockey back to the Atlanta area, and he has certainly kept the subject on our radar screen for several years running," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "While, as we have made clear, we have no expansion-oriented process in place currently, it's always good to know there is bona fide interest."

Carter, who played with eight NHL teams from 1996-2007 and has lived in Atlanta for 15 years, is leading the Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group, based in the prosperous suburb about 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

The group is proposing a new Frank Gehry-designed arena that would be constructed at a redevelopment of North Point Mall.

"I have no doubt that the