Braves Catcher Drake Baldwin Talks Possible NHL Return to Atlanta

NHL expansion buzz continues to grow, and the Atlanta metro area remains in the hunt. Two teams have come and gone from the market, but perhaps the third time is the charm.

Should a team return, you'll find at least one Atlanta Braves star on board with it, All-Star catcher Drake Baldwin.

"Being able to support an Atlanta hockey team would be so cool," he said to Atlanta Braves on SI. "They got a great fan base, and I feel like there's a sneaky amount of hockey fans. I haven't heard a ton about the news here or anything, but that would be awesome."

Since his home state of Wisconsin didn’t have the NHL, his focus went to the NCAA’s Wisconsin Badgers Division I team and North Dakota, where a friend played college hockey. Since he has no previous loyalty, the door is wide open to a new team in Atlanta to win him over.

“I love hockey. I didn't watch a ton of NHL, so I wouldn't say I'm too affiliated with a team. But I mean, if Atlanta had a team, it’s pretty easy to be affiliated with,” he said.

Since he’ll live in Atlanta in the offseason, he'll be able to go to games and support the team year-round.

A bit of fear of missing out has fueled this excitement as well. He pointed to other MLB players - he specifically named Pete Crow-Armstrong going to Chicago Blackhawks games - who get to frequent NHL games in the cities they play in.

Other players get to spend time watching a sport he loves. Why not him?

To add some more fun to the coversation. We gave Baldwin a hypothetical. If he could take any player he wanted in the expansion draft, who would it be.

For Baldwin, the answer was quick and simple. It was Montreal Canadiens star forward and former childhood teammate, Cole Caufield.

“Scores goals, great guy, great to be on a team with,” he said with a smile.

The two former teammates did a jersey swap the Canadiens' playoff push back in April. Baldwin arrived to Truist Park sporting a Caufield jersey and Caufield arrived to the Bell Centre in Montreal in a Baldwin jersey.

Cole Caufield 🤝 Drake Baldwin

De coéquipiers chez les moins de 14 ans avec l'équipe du Wisconsin à marqueur de 50 buts dans la LNH et recrue de l'année 2025 dans la Ligue nationale de baseball

From U14 teammates with Team Wisconsin, to a 50-goal scorer in the NHL and the… pic.twitter.com/70QnfHLnXu
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 11, 2026

At the time, Baldwin was coming off his Rookie of the Year Award, and Caufield had scored his 50th goal of the season. The Canadiens lost in the Eastern Conference Final to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

They would hypotehtically be a regional rival for an Atlanta expansion team. They were a former division opponent of the Atlanta Thrashers. If Caufield automatically was placed on the Atlanta team, he would likley be fueled right now to beat the Hurricanes.

Two potential NHL ownership groups are going head-to-head to get a team in the Atlanta area. Both have potential arenas. The city's push for another chance is still alive. We'll see if in a few years if Baldwin gets to spend his offseasons at Thrashers 2.0 games.

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