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  • Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg



    Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg

    An agreement to sell the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers to a Winnipeg group which plans to relocate the franchise to the Manitoba capital is done.

    Sources confirmed tonight that preparations are being made for an announcement Tuesday, confirming the sale and transfer of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre arena, which would become the NHL team’s new home.

    Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the National Hockey League, is expected to travel to Winnipeg to make the news official.

    The announcement would end months of speculation about whether one of the NHL’s financially-troubled American sunbelt teams might move north, filling the void left when the Winnipeg Jets packed up and left for Phoenix in 1996, where they became the Coyotes.

    Much of the talk this spring had centred on that failing franchise, which was bought by the league after being placed in bankruptcy by its former owner Jerry Moyes in 2009.

    But sources in Winnipeg suggest that the Thrashers had in fact been the primary target of potential owners Mark Chipman and David Thomson all along, and that some months back, the NHL board of governors quietly approved the sale and transfer of the team, pending the negotiation of a purchase agreement between Atlanta Spirit LLC, the Thrashers’ owners, and True North.

    In the meantime, no potential owner materialized who was prepared to keep the team in Georgia, and local governments there showed no interest in propping up the Thrashers.

    “There seems to be a consensus there is going to be a team in Winnpeg,” former major league pitcher Tom Glavine, who had tried unsuccessfully to find new ownership for the hockey team in Atlanta, acknowledged last week. ““The question is who, and unfortunately the bullseye seems to be on the Thrashers’ back.”

    When it appeared this spring that the Coyotes might also be in play, after a deal to sell the team to Matthew Hulsizer underwritten by a municipal bond issue fell apart in the face of political opposition from the Goldwater Institute, the Winnipeg group sought to take advantage of what suddenly seemed a buyers’ market, with two teams available and no other potential owners or relocations sites on the horizon.

    After the City of Glendale agreed to cover $25-million of the Coyotes losses for the 2011-2012 season, and the NHL opted to operate the club in Arizona for at least one more year, True North’s full focus returned to Atlanta, and a deal was hammered out this week.

    Even before those final negotiations took place, the potential Winnipeg owners concluded an agreement with the Manitoba government which will allow revenues from a sports bar with slot machine to be used for improvements to the arena, and to be used towards the debt service on the building.

    That’s consistent with what Manitoba premier Greg Sellinger told reporters earlier this week, when he said that the provincial government had no interest in subsidizing an NHL team, but that the province had financially supported the renovation of the MTS Centre in the past, and would continue to be willing to do so.
    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

  • #2
    "Sources." They're always right.

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    • #3
      The G&M and Stephen Brunt are highly respected and well connected.
      "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
      Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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      • #4
        As little as I care about hockey or Canada, I'm glad to see a southern team headed north of the border.
        Captain of Team Apolyton - ISDG 2012

        When I was younger I thought curfews were silly, but now as the daughter of a young woman, I appreciate them. - Rah

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Asher View Post
          The G&M and Stephen Brunt are highly respected and well connected.
          It's just there's been talk all season long hasn't there? I don't pretend to know anything about this but the fait doesn't seem to be quite accompli yet.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Kitschum View Post
            It's just there's been talk all season long hasn't there?
            rumours and strong indications.

            The G&M is saying it's official because one of their sources (and I'm sure it's credible) has informed them.
            "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
            Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

            Comment


            • #7
              So what's the new team gonna be called? The Jets?

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              • #8
                TSN is reporting their sources confirmed that a deal is imminent but has technically not been finalized yet, but it should be by tuesday.
                "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Kitschum View Post
                  So what's the new team gonna be called? The Jets?
                  Probably not. I'm not sure about the legality of that, with Phoenix being the Jets in the past.

                  It might be something like the Winnipeg Guess Who, or Winnipeg Winnies, or Winnipeg Poohs.
                  "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                  Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                  Comment


                  • #10

                    Evander Kane (a player on the Thrashers) is freaking out on Twitter: "Is this true??"

                    Also, the Calgary Flames are the only team to ever keep their name after a relocation...and it was the Atlanta Flames before.
                    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Interesting. The Bettman era is over.
                      Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
                      "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
                      2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Asher View Post

                        Also, the Calgary Flames are the only team to ever keep their name after a relocation...and it was the Atlanta Flames before.
                        I could argue this point with the Minnesota North Stars becoming the Dallas Stars, but I am sure you would point out they are no longer north and consider it a different name. I am glad they arn't the Dallas North Stars though

                        As for Winnipeg, I was living there in the mid-90's and think the city only started to care about the team when they thought they might lose them (too little too late). Good for them they got a team back, but I question how long the support will last....it's a different league now, so it could happen, but when they left in 97 I said the NHL would never come back to Winnipeg and that was probably a good thing (So far it appears that I am half wrong, will the city prove me entirely wrong? I will wait and see).

                        /me
                        "Clearly I'm missing the thread some of where the NFL actually is." - Ben Kenobi on his NFL knowledge

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                        • #13
                          Any Polytubbies living in Winnipeg?
                          Apolyton's Grim Reaper 2008, 2010 & 2011
                          RIP lest we forget... SG (2) and LaFayette -- Civ2 Succession Games Brothers-in-Arms

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                          • #14
                            Dunno...but Jets fans are congregating on Portage & Main celebrating:
                            Unlimited space to host images, easy to use image uploader, albums, photo hosting, sharing, dynamic image resizing on web and mobile.
                            "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                            Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Move them to Quebec City, ****.
                              In Soviet Russia, Fake borises YOU.

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