Down to one group currently negotiating to keep Thrashers in Atlanta
There is currently just one group in active negotiations with the Atlanta Spirit interested in purchasing the Thrashers and keeping the franchise in Atlanta.
The group, not from Atlanta, is working with team president Don Waddell. A deal is not imminent, according to Waddell.
“My job is to try to find a buyer who will keep the team in Atlanta,” Waddell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “As long as they keep taking my phone calls, I’ll keep working.”
Earlier this month, Waddell was dealing with two prospective buyers, neither local, to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta.
Negotiations also continue between Atlanta Spirit officials and True North Sports and Entertainment on a deal to purchase the Thrashers and relocate to Winnipeg. Such a deal is also not imminent, however an agreement would likely need to be reached in the near future to accommodate relocation.
An exclusive negotiating agreement has not been signed allowing multiple on-going negotiations.
“As has been the case, I cannot comment on who we are talking to or the status of those discussions,” Atlanta Spirit co-owner Bruce Levenson said.
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324 comments Add your comment
C-Viv aka Mr. Winnipeg
May 19th, 2011
3:04 pm
So basically what you’re saying is, there are still absolutely no new updates with regards to this story?
toby
May 19th, 2011
3:05 pm
First
toby
May 19th, 2011
3:05 pm
I assume this is our Balkan? Crud.
Hockeyfan
May 19th, 2011
3:07 pm
I still find it hard to believe ANYTHING D-Wad says
PoweRForgeD
May 19th, 2011
3:07 pm
UUuugh I wish this would just be over and done with, fans from both cities are getting the short end of the hockey stick here
Brayne Varner
May 19th, 2011
3:08 pm
THE TORTURE CONTINUES!
Dudeguy
May 19th, 2011
3:09 pm
Enter your comments here
Russ
May 19th, 2011
3:10 pm
Apparently the True North deal will be finalized as early as Friday and announced in Winnipeg a week later by Bettman and Chipman.
SportsFan
May 19th, 2011
3:10 pm
Well it means no Lil John, Bruckheimer BS….down to 2 buyers…the Balkan and True North!
Gib Traf
May 19th, 2011
3:12 pm
Yep. Chris could have ended that post at the Title.
Badger Mike
May 19th, 2011
3:12 pm
The Balkan wants all 3. This group is not the Balkan. The Balkan is not in “official” negotiations.
chris
May 19th, 2011
3:13 pm
you people kill me. “currently negotiating.” read it. Cannot be JB Smith, because he wants to negotiate for all 3, and their is still exclusivity in the Philips and Hawks talks. JB has not entered the negotiating phase yet. DW has no reason to not want the Thrashers here. Be thankful he is at least trying to find local buyers.
Dudeguy
May 19th, 2011
3:13 pm
Haha. Can’t wait till this worthless franchise is moved!
Zinko
May 19th, 2011
3:14 pm
I Agree both ATL and WPG are getting SCREWED over. Enough of this. The NHL needs to go in some cave and not come out until this is solved. This is not fair to anyone anymore.
chris
May 19th, 2011
3:14 pm
“there”, not “their”… can’t believe I did that.
chris
May 19th, 2011
3:15 pm
Dudeguy, why do you want it moved? It is worthless because of the owners, nothing else. Why to you care so much care about posting something about how little you care about it?
Chris Vivlapeg
May 19th, 2011
3:15 pm
It’s Usher. He wants better choreography from the ice girls.
So Viv, how big is your igloo gonna be in Manitoba? I know they are planning on making you mayor of the 10 person town. Free snowcones too.
Hollywould
May 19th, 2011
3:17 pm
Agree with hockeyfan, can’t believe Waddell
Billsen
May 19th, 2011
3:18 pm
Dudeguy – isn’t there candy you could be taking from a baby or something? What a classless tool.
Hockeyfan
May 19th, 2011
3:18 pm
And what I said about D-Wad applies to Kincade
EA
May 19th, 2011
3:19 pm
Can there be an announcement Friday if there is no exclusive negotiations going on? I wouldn’t think so. I am so sick of all of the rumors.
Smoothie
May 19th, 2011
3:19 pm
This is BS! Why is Waddell working with one and TNSE gets to negotiate with “Atlanta Spirit officials”? What does Waddell have to gain in any of this? Either way he’s out of a job so why would he give a crap about doing all the necessary due diligence?
Chris – can you clarify if there is a difference between whom TNSE is working with versus who Waddell is talking to on the telephone?
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:20 pm
Getting kind of late for a relocation, don’t you think..
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:20 pm
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he is “not aware” of any looming deal that would see the Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg.
SportsFan
May 19th, 2011
3:21 pm
Not too late G52…first week of June.
Chris Vivlapeg
May 19th, 2011
3:21 pm
there is still hope folks, the fan club is holding the rally in a giant crater. our brave reporter will be there in a Jets jersey, even if it’s hot outisde.
Brayne Varner
May 19th, 2011
3:21 pm
imagine all the torture that Thrashers/Spirit employees are going through right now. not knowing if there job will exist tomorrow or not. Totally unfair to them and their families.
Can’t wait ’til we wrap this up with any definitive news at all. until then, pompous talk radio hosts and indifferent sports writers will string us all along. Enjoy the extra twitter followers. once this is all over, were done with both of you.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
3:22 pm
I will repeat what I just posted over on Bills blog…
DWTOO is right, it’s over…only not the religious zealot reasoning (!). I have resigned myself to that fate and now accept it for what it is. I am certainly not happy about it, but there’s nothing to be done by getting angry about it. Karma will deal with the Spirit clowns in due course…
Bettman SHOULD come in and keep us here and offer $80M reduced cost franchises to both Quebec and Winnipeg. Boom – everyone is happy.
Time to return to the highest level of the minors, the AHL. Perhaps we can get TNSE to put the Moose down here in Atlanta. We can rename them the Flames and can all get out all of our old red jerseys. We will embrace our hockey heritage. Guys like Dan Bouchard, Eric Vail, Tim Ecclestone, Bobby Simpson and Tom Lysiak – the guys who still call Atlanta home – should have a part in all this. Perhaps host a game between the Flames and Knights alumni. Be a part of a community – basically do the EXACT opposite of what Waddell has done. Model ourselves after the Wolves – in to win and forget about developing players for the bigs. Be an independent team – a home for the guys just barely not good enough for the NHL, and offer a great arena (Gwinnett) and a great place to call home. Sure, I will miss the NHL – but really…is coming in 25th-30th place in the NHL every year better than having a couple of AHL Calder Cup championships?
I can here it now – “Ladies and Gentlement – YOUR Atlantaaaaaa Flames!
Oh – and Chris…I will say in public that I apologize for ripping on you. You took the time to contact me personally to clear it up and give your side of the story…I respect that.
bananahead
May 19th, 2011
3:22 pm
so what is it that you don’t believe that DW said? You think a deal to keep the team here IS imminent? Or the fact that he was dealing with two and now just one? You think there was more than two? Or not less than one? Or… maybe you are just clueless and want to bash DW no matter what?
Don’t ever forget that DW ultimately answers to the owners, a litigation happy group.
Brett
May 19th, 2011
3:24 pm
waddell is negotiating whether they would be interested in a 15 or 20 year plan to slowly convert the thrashers into an all ECHL team
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:24 pm
NO WAY the NHL BoG put a team back in tiny Winnipeg, the Thrashers are as safe from relocation to Winnipeg as the Leafs are..
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:25 pm
“True North, which owns the MTS Centre, is looking to the province to help it manage the debt load it carries on the downtown arena in order to free up money to help pay for the relocation of the NHL team to Winnipeg.”
Dixie Drama: Gary Bettman’s non-denial denial, NHL’s calm before the storm, Keilback wants another shot, Thrashers down to last strike? | Illegal Curve Hockey
May 19th, 2011
3:26 pm
[...] Journal Constitution: Down to one group negotiation to purchase the Thrashers. Guess this is now True North’s contest to win or [...]
Tomahawk Chop the Atlanta Spirit Group!
May 19th, 2011
3:26 pm
If this town ever needed Tom Glavine to assume the role of CLOSER in order earn the biggest “Save” of the history of Atlanta, this would be it.
Kovy's Agent
May 19th, 2011
3:26 pm
What’s up with all the hating by locals? I can understand not liking hockey and thus not being emotionally invested in the ongoing negotiations, but why the open hatred and apparent glee that the franchise is likely moving from Atlanta? How does that reflect positively on the area, not to mention the negative economic impact on those who drew a paycheck from the organization that will likely be looking for another line of work soon? Seems awfully petty, and small minded to me.
DD
May 19th, 2011
3:27 pm
Where is Glavine and the big movie producer that want to keep the thrashers here, all talk no action. Also what about ted turner he wants them here. Be sad if they get purchased by canadians and now ATL unemployment rate is going to be even higher.
C-Viv aka Mr. Winnipeg
May 19th, 2011
3:27 pm
So is it just 90% chance we are moved now Mr. Winnipeg?
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:28 pm
The NHL BoG will probably have a little input as to the matter of placing a team in a small Canadian market when all the other Canadian small markets already lose money..
tim
May 19th, 2011
3:28 pm
DON”T BELIEVE ANYTHING DON WADDELL SAYS……..how does the man still have a job???
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:29 pm
Winnipeg’s battle cry, “We promise to lose less money if we even show up” is not changing the minds of many NHL governors..
Down to one group currently negotiating to keep Thrashers in Atlanta | SweetLittleAss.com
May 19th, 2011
3:30 pm
[...] http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-thrashers-blog/2011/05/19/down-to-one-group-currently-negotiating-to-ke... [...]
Chris Vilapeg (Can't offically change last name yet)
May 19th, 2011
3:31 pm
My igloo is two stories! I have the entire second floor just to do my award winning reporting! Snow shoes are packed and a snow mobile has been ordered to get to and from the games. Winnipeg is going to love me. I’m already on the payroll! Did I say that out loud??
David F
May 19th, 2011
3:31 pm
G52PIM228, why the continuous hate on for the city of Winnipeg and it’s people? We are all here throwing back ideas and having cordial communcation and all we see from you is your vile comments and absoulutely nothing constructive. Can you not keep to the subject and offer something else?
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:32 pm
I’m sitting around at AZCentral, minding my own business and you loserpeg trolls came around bothering me, if you did not wish to engage in this battle.. Tell me then, WHY did YOU start it..
bananahead
May 19th, 2011
3:32 pm
well said, Kovy’s Agent.
The last thing a city needs is the idea that it doesn’t have local support for business. I would hate to lose any professional sports team, no matter how irrelevant the WNBA is.
Smoothie
May 19th, 2011
3:32 pm
“Don’t ever forget that DW ultimately answers to the owners, a litigation happy group.”
Therein lies the rub. Please folks take the time to think about what might really be going on here.
bananahead
May 19th, 2011
3:34 pm
G52 is wrong. The NHL will, and should, have a team in Winnepeg. The fans there would support it well. I just don’t want it to be our Thrashers.
But all we hear from Canada is how Atlanta, and the south, doesn’t DESERVE a hockey team. They fail to realize that without expansion into major markets, the NHL would be irrelevant today.
My biggest issue is when the media complains about the lack of interest because if they were doing THEIR job, the interest would be there. When local media does nothing but put out negative stories, how is interest going to be positive?
SportsFan
May 19th, 2011
3:35 pm
Get your facts straight G52 – the government in Winnipeg is not footing any bills for the team purchase or team debt. Just improvements around the arena and downtown.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
3:36 pm
David F – that’s not entirely true. We have put up with Winnipeg trolls for months trashing us. You may not be, but if you take the time to go back and read some of the postings – there are some pretty nasty comments made about Atlanta by Winnipeg fans. Now they are returning to “dance on our graves”….such class!
SportsFan
May 19th, 2011
3:36 pm
G52 is your classic hide behind the computer bully – doesn’t work man. Stick to AZ then if it works for you there. I guess you need to be successful in life somewhere…have fun.
Chris Vivlamoremoney
May 19th, 2011
3:37 pm
It is disturbing that DW was put on the case. We all know his 5 year plans work out very well.
Mad Thrasher
May 19th, 2011
3:37 pm
If Don Wadell is handling negotiations, we’re DOOMED!!!!
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:38 pm
“True North, which owns the MTS Centre, is looking to the province to help it manage the debt load it carries on the downtown arena in order to free up money to help pay for the relocation of the NHL team to Winnipeg.”
“Winnipeg is not footing any bills for the team purchase”
So what you are saying is if I get the bank to forgive my mortgage so I have money for coke and hookers, the money is not for coke and hookers..
EA
May 19th, 2011
3:38 pm
It only takes one. No imminent deal to Winnipeg. No imminent deal to stay in Atlanta. It has “dwindled” down to one of each. Bettman is denying a deal to Winnipeg. What’s next?
David F
May 19th, 2011
3:39 pm
G52, start what exactly? For every dipstick from Wpg who may something you dont like, there are many others that are civil and offer constructive comments. All we see from you is your constant put downs and name calling. This shows your maturity (not) level. How does this make things better for Thrashe fans or for you exactly? By the way, you are also posing as Chris Vilipeg, so whats with that? You seem to have far too much time on your hands.
The Balkan
May 19th, 2011
3:40 pm
Kincade just twittered “Justice League of America interested in all three…..I just made the intro and will now back away.”
Chris Vivlamore
May 19th, 2011
3:40 pm
Glovesave29: Apology absolutely accepted. I’m more than willing to reach out to fans of the Thrashers and offer as much insight as I can.into what I’m reporting and why I’m reporting it. You are a class act.
Tim
May 19th, 2011
3:40 pm
I love how Chris gets called a Jets fan because he thinks the team might leave based off the facts he’s found. Come on Chris you are just supposed to report that the team isn’t going anywhere regardless of reporting. Maybe you can be a PR guy for someone who owes $2mil and pass yourself off as a reporter too.
HillMan
May 19th, 2011
3:42 pm
Since DW’s job is finding a buy to keep the team here we are in trouble. I would guess he has not been given the job to talk with those that want to move us. Since he was sooooo successful in his prior roles, one could only assume he will be successful in pushing each suitor away. At one time I believe we had 3 interested in keeping the team here, now down to one. Who in their right mind would want to talk to him after his track record. That is probably why we have had few serious offers.
SportsFan
May 19th, 2011
3:43 pm
G52 – It’s called an investment – why did Glendale give money to build the arena in the middle of nowhere? Well at the time, the city thought they would reap the $$ benefits of the spin offs from the arena…
Mad @ NHL - Take Some Action
May 19th, 2011
3:44 pm
Take a few minutes to tell the NHL “We are sick of this!”:
http://www.keepthethrashers.com/forwardlinkATL.html
They have done nothing to help us.
SportsFan
May 19th, 2011
3:45 pm
Viv – great job. Nice to see some sane reporting amid the “Balkan” and other chaos around…
Bob
May 19th, 2011
3:47 pm
This is a no news blog… lets face it TNSE have an offer in, AS is trying to leverage a ‘ghost’ to help jack the price a few million to cover the $130M in losses… there is NO, repeat, NO buyer really willing to purchase the Thrashers and keep in Atlanta…TNSE wants the deal done and will pay a higher price to get it done quicker… and that higher price has come with a concession on behalf of the Provincial government in Manitoba that will help TNSE with the difference between $110M and somewhere just south of $130M…end of story…have a rally, buy some beer, dogs and crank up the music…but the ’song remains the same’…
AW
May 19th, 2011
3:47 pm
Hockey sucks – goodbye thrashers and we appreciate you leaving before becoming a tax burden on those of us that don’t want you.
PuckedUP
May 19th, 2011
3:50 pm
Why do people keep ripped C-Viv? He is just reporting news, which is his job. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. It’s news. He has no agenda. If he did, then the Thrash would be staying, staying, staying. If they leave, does anyone think the AJC fishwrapper is going to keep an extra sports reporter with one less team in town?
Use some of that higher-level brain matter you were given.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:53 pm
“It’s called an investment ”
How did that “investment” work out for the last guy that tried the NHL in the peg.. The NHL in the peg lost 20 million which is about 29 million in todays dollars.. the sAME problems that plagued the TINY poor market STILL exist..
http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2010/12/8/1536097/nhl-relocation-winnipeg-quebec-city
HillMan
May 19th, 2011
3:54 pm
AW – you should probably do some siphering before you talk about tax burden. How many ushers, parklot folks, concession folks, ticket agents will be out of work? You will pay for that. How many waiters in nearby bars/resturants will be out of work You will pay for that. Oh and don’t you think some of the high priced hockey players give some tax dollars to GA. You will pay for that as well.
Burden – you will lose a blessing!
blazerdawg
May 19th, 2011
3:57 pm
Why does the NHL not offer Winnepeg an expansion franchise for $170M? More $$ for the NHL.
This way they get to keep Atlanta, a great market, and expand the NHL brand, while satisfying the folks in Manitoba.
Bob
May 19th, 2011
3:57 pm
G52 – You know not real facts about the Winnipeg situation back in 1995/6, none whatsoever.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
3:59 pm
I know nobody went the the jets games making it impossible to justify the building of a new facility..
PMC
May 19th, 2011
4:00 pm
Why not go ahead and throw something about the NFL lockout into this blog too….?
Empty Seats
May 19th, 2011
4:03 pm
G52, don’t worry. Soon AZZ Central WILL be full of Frenchies dancing on the deadsert puppy’s graves after you mooks lose ANOTHER 25 mill of taxpayers money. Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg J
Jets fan
May 19th, 2011
4:04 pm
Hillman, I absolutely agree with your statement to AW….as a Jets fan I am happy our government is thinking of “lending” financial support to bring the Jets back….the economic spin-offs would far outweigh what TNSE is asking for in $upport…..just salaries alone of the players will bring 10 million to the province of Manitoba a year…..to all you classy Thrashers fans from a Jets fan who lost his favorite team when I was kid and the only sport I have ever played, I understand the anxiety and frustration you are feeling…….Let’s not forget the commonalities we have instead of wasting our time bashing each other…..
Hockey fan 58
May 19th, 2011
4:04 pm
Even if the Thrashers haven’t been winners, do the math – hundreds of part-time Arena staff, the Zamoboni guys, front office staff, parking lot attendents, hotel maids, restaurant waiters and cooks, these people and Atlanta will all be affected if this team or any leaves the area. Stop dancing on this grave and think about the little guy for once.
David F
May 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
G52, wrong again, you like to take stories that suit youre cause of bashing everything and anything Winnipeg. For your information, during the last season in Wpg, 95-96, it was a lame duck team. In other words the team was going to be leaving at the end of the season and we knew this from the start. Naturally, the attendance dropped big time with that revelation. Lets say people in Atlanta knew that after the next season they are going to be relocated, how many would show up for the games. Got it? Of course, you like to exploit that one season, dont you?
Labiche
May 19th, 2011
4:07 pm
The best thing about this is, when the hockey gets the hell out of Atlanta, is that the NHL will NEVER darken Dixie again with its damyankee “sport.”
GoBackToAZ
May 19th, 2011
4:09 pm
G52,
The difference between the Thrasher fans and the Coyote fans are that the Thrasher fans actually know what they are talking about. You are lucky in AZ, you have a moron council in Glendale that likes to throw away money. So to come here and spew crap out of your mouth about Winnipeg makes no sense. Go back to AZ and look for an owner. Or at least brush up on your french. Can’t you see the Thrasher fans don’t want you here?
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:10 pm
“you like to exploit that one season,”
Ya, I’m confusing the farewell season with all the other season that the jets had at capacity.. NOT.. Nobody went to the jets games but EVERYBODY showed up to wave good-bye..
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:14 pm
Take the jets average attendance, then take the Thrashers average attendance, compare the two and realize why the NHL will NEVER move this team to the tiny cluster of Igloos..
The NHL will more likely vote for a guy with no money that promises to keep the team where it is than a relocating offer from a paper “billionaire” already asking his province for help..
Bob
May 19th, 2011
4:15 pm
Like I said, you know not anything about the situation in Winnipeg.
It was never about a lack of fan support or interest, it was about a greedy ownership who would not spend his own money to keep the team when the CDN dollar sunk to an all time low and he had a plethora of amazing young players, then he began cleaning house so he wouldn’t have the rising costs of being an owner through tougher times instead of holding out and being creative while keeping a great product on the ice (Like the TNSE does today – great ownership).
Bottom line was he did not want to lose a dime of his own money… so he tried to unload instead of working diligently within the community… 35,000+ turned up for a rally to no avail. all because he wanted to dump the team and keep his fortune intact… Good business people tried to get involved but by the time it was too little too late…at least in Atlanta, the AS lost $130M before unloading…and at least trying to find a buyer to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta. Good on them if its true…be thankful for that.
The folks in Winnipeg who kept that owner smoking stogies and laughing up a storm when he was bringing in the cash for years where hung out to dry at the first sign of a target on hi own piggy bank… and shame on him for running away from his responsibility to the fans and good folks in Winnipeg.
Anti-G52
May 19th, 2011
4:16 pm
HEY, G52PIM228 from Arizona Central is here. And just like AZC, he adds nothing to the conversation. Seeing the same posts that he posted for the last 2 years on AZC. Hooray!
HillMan
May 19th, 2011
4:17 pm
Labiche – FYI baseball was origianlly invented in England (called rounders) and reinvented in New York. Basketball in Mass. and football also came from England (rugby) and was first played in North America in Canada at McGill U. and later Havard.
So I guess all yankee sports should be moved out of Atlanta??
joey
May 19th, 2011
4:17 pm
lets face facts, betteman is the biggest douche there is in pro sports. how he manages to hang onto his job is beyond belief. sure almost 16 years he thought since wpg wasnt making any money with the team he would ship it into the dessert and watch slowly die while people would $70 or more for ticket and which you cant take your whole family too. fast forward that time. canada’s dollar is worth more than the US greenback and canada didnt have a disaster in the finacial world. places like wpg seem like a good idea. you cant tell me if you live in a southern state where you live next to the ocean or get plenty of sun that you wanna sit in a seat for almost 3 hours watching guys skate on ice thats barely skateable? betteman does everything in his power to put teams where dont belong and owners lose lots of money because of it. fans get frustrated because they lose a team and all the money they spent on it to begin with. if you cant pay the bills you should shut down and be foreclosed. you shouldnt have to move or w/e to put fans the mess of not knowing whats going to happen. im sure atlanta is a nice city. ive never been there. but im sure some people havent been to wpg. so dont knock a city you havent been to. guess what. that loveable winnie the pooh was named after winnipeg. and theres alot of good things about wpg, atlanta doesnt know about. also im sure there are good things about atlanta that winnipeg doesnt know about. but until you actually visit either city. you shouldnt say negative things. remember what mom said, “if you have nothing nice to say to someone, then you shouldnt say anything at all.”
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:18 pm
Go Yotes!
Thanks all he knows how to say.
David F
May 19th, 2011
4:20 pm
G52, also poses under several different names here bashing everything about Wpg and its people. A very sad individual indeed. Its amazing how IP addresses can confirm the truth of this moron.
Anti-G52
May 19th, 2011
4:21 pm
You know its bad when even Thrasher fans know the Phoenix Coyotes are a waste of space.
I may want a team in Winnipeg, but I’ll will be the first to admit that the good fans of hockey in Atlanta are getting shafted. After what the NHL has done in Phoenix, its sad to see them do nothing in Atlanta.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:21 pm
“betteman is the biggest douche there is in pro sports. how he manages to hang onto his job is beyond belief.”
Probably has a lot to do with revenues growing from 400 million to 3 billiom on his watch, eh..
Thrashers27
May 19th, 2011
4:22 pm
Can’t help it. After reading the article, htis was stuck in my head:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX5jNnDMfxA
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:23 pm
“Its amazing how IP addresses can confirm the truth of this moron.”
My name being the SAME in every form I participate in was not a big enough clue, Sherlock..
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:24 pm
“poses under several different names”
No aliasing is for Darren Fraud’s brainwashed teen zealots, that think blasting internet forms with their presence will make some kind of difference to the NHL BoG..
PMC
May 19th, 2011
4:25 pm
The AS haven’t lost any money whatsoever. They will recoup any seasonal losses and make a profit with the sales of the teams and the building.
Operating costs. It costs money to own sports franchises. Just like a car or a boat on a grand scale.
They didn’t lose money. It’s disingenuous. I have no problem with Winnepeg, they just want a team. I get it. Losing the team there was similar to the loss of the Hornets in Charlotte. Being wealthy doesn’t make a sports owner a good owner or knowledgeable about what they are doing.
We were never going to be in the top 15 in interest or attendance…. but seriously, they haven’t even competed at a reasonable level. This is an AHL franchise masquerading as an NHL team. Embarassingly bad hockey.
audette28
May 19th, 2011
4:26 pm
Heard on CBC last week that because WPG has everything in place & NHL is working on 2 different schedules, that the sale/relocation can take place AS LATE as July 15. We’re not even close to being out of the woods. For the local fools HOPING for relocation: drunk & stupid is no way to go through life, sons.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
4:26 pm
Look Bob – no one disputes the passion in Winnipeg. You do need to understand two things however…
1. In those days 16 out of 21 teams made the playoffs. The Jets made it 11 out of 17 years. In today’s format, you would have likely made it twice. That would certainly have affected attendance.
2. The days of the loonie outpacing the dollar are not going to be long lived. Your money will ease its way back to the typical level of about $0.75 CDN on the USD. That is where trouble will likely happen in WPG. The TNSE guys are loaded – because they make sound business decisions. Would they accept losses “for the public good”? Who knows. Buy it is highly unlikely. Until the NHLPA allows teams to pay salaries in the same monetary unit that income is derrived in, there is always that chance that you can lose ANOTHER team. And I don’t wish that on anyone….
Bob
May 19th, 2011
4:29 pm
There’s no way that the NHL can wait for Jul 15th to roll around in either Atlanta or Winnipeg markets… tickets need to be sold and without solid ownership and franchise location 100% confirmed that would slow the flow…
Gwinnett Fred
May 19th, 2011
4:31 pm
Would have to imagine Waddell is truly trying his damnest to keep the team here – because can he really think he would still have a job if they moved to Winnipeg?????
Ugh
May 19th, 2011
4:32 pm
There is only a 75% chance the team is moving, and just a 20% chance of that.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:33 pm
“TNSE guys are loaded – because they make sound business decisions. ”
I do not think David Thompson being born rich was a “sound business decision”.. Besides if they are so “loaded” why are they begging the province to free up money to move the team with..
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:34 pm
“Winnipeg markets… tickets need to be sold”
I’m pretty sure you can go buy Moose tickets..
Bob
May 19th, 2011
4:35 pm
glovesave29, Thanks for the feedback… there’s a lot of what if’s and what-a-bout’s to ponder. Hopefully Winnipeg will be given the chance along with the new ownership group. It’s too bad that it may come at the cost of another passionate fan base, and no I don’t wish that on anyone either – especially if you lose something that is a way of life for many people and their families and not just as entertainment value based on W’s or L’s or the state of a dollar…
RK in MB
May 19th, 2011
4:37 pm
@G52PIM228 – You sir, are an idiot. Not because you bash Winnipeg, just because you are stupid enough to think you count! You don’t. AS will do whatever they want to do with the Thrashers. You don’t count, I don’t count, no one posting here will make a difference in this. No matter how loud you speak, monay always talks over you. Winnipeg collected $13 million dollars trying to save the Jets. That’s from kids piggy banks and people’s savings. Tell us, what have you done to save either the Coyotes or the Thrashers besides posting comments behind some gibberish name? SFA, that’s what. Winnipeggers know what the fans in Atlanta are going through, we’ve been there ourselves. This won’t be pretty no matter what happens. Why don’t you try and take up a collection to offset the $25M Glendale is going to throw away at the end of next season. Hell, I’ll even give you a Canadian dollar to start you off.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:37 pm
If I were truly “loaded” I would not need the bank to forgive my house payments so I can afford a new car..
TNSE = Paper Tigers..
Anti-G52
May 19th, 2011
4:38 pm
So sad….. G52PIM228 has no friends letf on AZC so he has to come here…. So sad.
DawgDad
May 19th, 2011
4:39 pm
Doesn’t anyone realize the Atlanta Thrashers do not belong to “Atlanta”, and truly have not for some years now? We have absentee ownership bent on making a buck flipping this asset; they’ve admitted in court proceedings they never wanted to operate a hockey franchise in Atlanta except for that purpose and short-term only at that.
If they stay, I’m only interested if we get ownership committed to building a franchise long-term here in Atlanta. Otherwise, please leave, sooner the better.
Local hockey fans have been lied to and played for suckers. I’m done with this franchise unless it gets the right ownership, and that is likely a moot point.
The only hope we ever had was Belkin winning in court, and I’m not certain about that.
DW
May 19th, 2011
4:40 pm
C-Viv, I know you must report the facts but their are also reports out there suggesting TNSE wanting government assistance and are unhappy about ASG’s price and also Gary Bettman’s comments last night (nothing immanent) and we do not hear that from you?
Anti-G52
May 19th, 2011
4:46 pm
DawgDad…..
Barry Shenkarow in Winnipeg was no different with the Jets in 1995. He can talk and cry about trying to keep the Jets in Winnipeg all he wants, but the second he saw the dollar signs he could get by flipping it to Phoenix, he was working as hard as Bettman to move the team. There were groups in Winnipeg that wanted to buy the team in 1995, but Shenkarow with the help of the Winnipeg Free Press ( believe it or not ) did everything to sabotage a sale.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
4:48 pm
“groups in Winnipeg that wanted to buy the team in 1995,”
Two dozen kids clutching a combination of piggy banks shards and coins can not really be considered a serious “group” to purchase the team..
HillMan
May 19th, 2011
4:48 pm
DawgDad and others who think “events” and blog rants are useless are correct. I do think we Thrashers fans have a week or two window at the most to get everyone we know to put up or shut up. If each of the 4,000 – 6,000 or so core season tickets holders can get friends, family or co-workers to sign up for season tickets we can save this team. If their is a potential owner willing to keep the team here, why wouldn’t we get them off the fence and show them we can put 15,000 plus in the arena every night, as we did when the team first came here.
I have already done this with my cycle of folks and will be calling my ticket agent tomorrow to double my order. Let’s all stop talking, meeting and ranting and take action. We should treat this like we did when we were a city looking to get an expansion team – lets commit to the new owner.
Guffman
May 19th, 2011
4:49 pm
Do you want Chris to be more like Baghdad Bob and deny what’s happening to the Threshers? Do you really want to read stuff like this from Chris:
“Atlanta Thrasher fighters in Umm Qasr are giving the hordes of Winnipeg and NHL mercenaries the taste of definite death. We have drawn them into a quagmire and they will never get out of it.”
“It has been rumored that we have fired scud missiles into Winnipeg. I am here now to tell you, we do not have any scud missiles and I don’t know why they were fired into Winnipeg.”
Hockeysux23
May 19th, 2011
4:51 pm
who cares? Is a bad investment for anyone who wants to keep them here. Even if they had Mario and Grtezky in their prime playing on the same team in Atlanta. It still wouldn’t sell out.
PMC
May 19th, 2011
4:52 pm
HS23, you’re an idiot. of the 4 bottom teams in attendence this year the Thrashers are the only ones that have EVER operated in the black.
The fanbase was eroded by management and player failures, and the fact that Don Waddell has a job.
Now go back to watching cars drive around in circles.
Guffman
May 19th, 2011
4:54 pm
Oh, so G52 is a Coyotes backer. If I were you, you should be hoping the Thrashers go to Winnipeg. That will take some leverage that the NHL has over Glendale next year when you still don’t have an owner.
If the NHL doesn’t have a viable relocation option, the Coyotes might just stay for a couple more years.
I guess the thing that Atlanta and Winnipeg hockey fans have in common is wondering why the heck does Phoenix still have a team when no one wants to buy them without massive subsidization? You’re the team that should have moved.
Interesting take by the G&M on why Bettman fights for Phoenix and not Atlanta: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/why-bettman-fights-for-phoenix/article2028684/
DawgDad
May 19th, 2011
4:56 pm
Anti- . . .
I agree. I’m from St. Louis, where I witnessed the Hawks leaving and later the terrible way fans were treated by Bill Bidwill who owned and moved the football Cardinals, and by the NFL in holding season ticket holders hostage to paying for exhibition games to retain “seating preference” in the leadup to the Rams move (preference which was disclaimed at face value by the Rams). I’ve seen bad stuff, and the Thrashers treatment of local fans is bad.
The owners have a right to buy and sell teams, no question. The issue here is there never were good faith dealings with the Atlanta hockey fans – we were being used to turn a profit with NO commitment at the ownership level for building a strong, lasting local franchise. In my book, that is a fundamental foundational principle of pro sports ownership, one which owners and leagues have from time to time ignored to suit their personal needs.
Bob
May 19th, 2011
4:57 pm
RK in MB; Well put.
J E T S
May 19th, 2011
4:59 pm
It’s too bad we can’t have an intelligent discusion about this without insulting each other’s city or fans. People like G52 as well as some of my fellow Winnipers who are no better, make it make it tough to carry on an intelligent discusion.
Yes Winnipeg can support an NHL team now & it should not be compared to 1996. I am a die hard Hockey fan and of course would love to see the NHL back in Winnipeg but throwing salt in the wound of Thrashers fans is not how it should be done, lets show some class.
Also I would like to commend the Thrashers fans who are being logical about this (not G52=no class). The only 2 certainties are that the Thrashers are owned by a group who no longer wants to own the team and TNSE seems to be the only legit buyer. Anything else is purly speculative at best.
By the way GP52, the province is not chipping in for the team, they are helping out as it positively affects our economy outside of the team. Every dime of this purchase would be coming from the private sector.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
5:02 pm
So, still no announcement from TNSE other than begging for public funds, has anyone heard a peep from THEM..
DawgDad
May 19th, 2011
5:03 pm
“If their is a potential owner willing to keep the team here, why wouldn’t we get them off the fence and show them we can put 15,000 plus in the arena every night, as we did when the team first came here.”
It wouldn’t matter one whit. Attendance is not the problem.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
5:04 pm
“the province is not chipping in for the team”
Ya, the money is not technically for coke and hookers, I get it..
Winnipeg Citizen
May 19th, 2011
5:05 pm
I am not one to usually post online, but as most people here, this story is compelling to me.
I am originally from Portage La Prairie, near Winnipeg and now live in Winnipeg. I grew up playing hockey and watching the NHL. In my early years the NHL (and specifically the Winnipeg Jets) was the core of my universe. In 1996 I mourned the loss of the team I spent my first 21 years passionately following.
For the past 2 years I have read papers (both local and now thanks to the internet internationally) following the story of TNSE’s attempt to bring hockey back to my city.
While reading the papers based in the U.S., I am quite disgusted by what I am reading from the posts of my fellow Canadians here and in the forums from Arizona.
I want to apologize for the attitude displayed by the Canadians posting on these forums. Like in the United States (also Great Britain and every other country on the planet) there is a small, vocal group of jerks in Canada who have an inflated sense of entitlement and feel they are free to act like elitest snobs. Let me assure you that these baseless ignorants are not indicative of how the average Canadian feels towards the citizens of Atlanta and Thrasher fans. I personally feel We in Canada are no more “entitled” to hockey than anyone else.
Hockey, like all sports, breeds deep passion in its fans. While most passion is to be applauded, there is some that take that passion too far and let it replace empathy and common sense. It is sad that these people are the ones posting on these forums and are giving a skewed view of Canadian sentiment. Most people I talk with do not feel the same antipathy that these Canadian posters convey. In fact, most feel a bond having the shared experience of facing your team’s potential departure.
I really do feel for Thrashers fans. I know how it feels to know you might lose your team. I do think that the previous and current owners screwed the fans out of the NHL staying in Atlanta as they really did not seem to care.
If the Thrasher team has to move due to no local owners, then I am hoping they come to Winnipeg obviously. However, that does not mean that I am enjoying pain of uncertainty being heaped upon Thrasher fans and employees. If a local buyer is found, then I will applaud your victory. It is sad that one city has to lose to have another gain. Such is the cold hand of business I guess.
The whole situation is less than ideal. Unfortunately, there will be a winner and a loser either way it turns out. My hope is that whatever the outcome, that the citizens of both cities treat each other with grace and compassion. It has been sorely lacking so far.
Mike Phelan
May 19th, 2011
5:09 pm
G52PIM228: I thought we were rid of vermin like you once your feral dog team was bailed out by your government. I use my real name, vermin. What is yours?
DawgDad
May 19th, 2011
5:10 pm
“My hope is that whatever the outcome, that the citizens of both cities treat each other with grace and compassion.”
Get real. We are (1) hockey fans and (2) bloggers; “grace and compassion” are in neither dictionary, “boarding and slashing” might be more appropriate.
HillMan
May 19th, 2011
5:11 pm
I agree with J E T S we should all stay classy, however, every sports fan should be outraged by the owners, the league and media. There is a larger issue playing it self out again as it has in NBA, NFL and MLB towns all over North America.
My dad was a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan. When they moved to LA for years he hated baseball. Now the LA Dodgers have an ownership that may be even worse then these ATL clowns. When will the leagues and owners wake up and understand every time the allow moves and poor management they erode their fan base. The media is also to blame. If the media was truthful here in the ATL they would admit they had a difficult time covering this team due in part to personalities and lack of cooperation from this ownership group. Lack of coverage does help contribute to empty seats.
audette28
May 19th, 2011
5:19 pm
Bob– they addressed that on CBC– prospective buyers & the nhl know they will have ZERO problems selling tickets. The suites in the arena are already PAID FOR & in a local media poll a majority of those suite owners said they would happily cough up the extra dough for Jets games if they came. I will try to find the article on it.
jojo
May 19th, 2011
5:20 pm
DON WADDELL HAS BEEN ALOSER SINCE THE FIRST DAY IN ATLANTA.CURRENT OWNERS WERE NEVER COMMITTED TO WINNER. A HOBBY, HOPE TO TURN MILLIONS IN PROFIT. WELL ALL THE ABOVE MENTIONS CAN KISS MY………………….
J E T S
May 19th, 2011
5:25 pm
Yes HillMan, you are right. I don’t know how it turned into who’s fans are better or who’s city is bigger. I’m sure the ASG is the main issue here for the Thrashers sale and if the team performed on the ice, maybe it would be different. I’m sure with new ownership in place it would make a big difference but the fact is, the team is for sale. And the media without a doubt is making a mess of this and I’m sure its alot worse in ATL than it is here.
McLellan
May 19th, 2011
5:35 pm
The media keeps flooding the public with scenarios and innuendos. Bettman is absolutely correct when it comes to the media hype. It has to slow down and let the parties do what they have to do. I’m tired of this song and dance. Why don’t we just stop speculating and just wait and see what happens.
EXJet
May 19th, 2011
5:38 pm
I don’t want to see any hockey fan go through what we went through – period. Caution though – Impossible to know where or who the negative stuff comes from exactly (usernames are not always what they seem!).
greatwhitenortherner
May 19th, 2011
5:42 pm
why are you all trying to keep a team in atlanta. you had the flames and it failed miserably. then you have the thashers, ive watched the team play and the empty seats i saw told me that people are tired of hockey. give it up floks you just not interested. leave it for canadian citys that want and can support a hockey team. god you americans are a greedy lot.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
5:45 pm
“you had the flames and it failed miserably”
Guess the same could be said for Winnipeg if you use that kind of logic
“leave it for canadian citys”
Spell much?
“god you americans are a greedy lot”
dunno – look at your previous comment. Sounds kinda greedy to me….
You have the Winnipeg Free Press. Go there…
GatorFan
May 19th, 2011
5:49 pm
So the new update on SB Nation says Smith still wants to buy the Thrashers. It isn’t much but its news. But my 2 cents would be, even if this guy has the money, would Bettman and the BOG allow him into the club?
thrasherdawg
May 19th, 2011
5:49 pm
Winnipeg can get a team next year or the year after. Maybe at some point an expansion team.
If the Thrashers leave Atlanta, there will never be another NHL game here in my lifetime.
Paddy
May 19th, 2011
5:51 pm
Enter your comments here
audette28
May 19th, 2011
5:51 pm
ATL didn’t lose the Flames because of the fans. Learn your hockey history goof-whitenortherner.
da' boomer
May 19th, 2011
5:55 pm
anyone thought about a call to bernie marcus? i think he has a few bucks socked away
audette28
May 19th, 2011
6:08 pm
Ted, can we borrow a few mill?
Wow
May 19th, 2011
6:11 pm
bahaha G52 is from the Arizona Republic! He actually posts comments about nothing all day. There is no way this guy has a family or job…
wpgJetsfan
May 19th, 2011
6:15 pm
To the Atlanta fans, do not believe that some of the rude comments in your boards are coming from Manitoba. The AZ trolls from the AZrepublic are posing as Manitoban’s just to troll and start a fight with your fine Atlanta people.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
6:21 pm
I saw a lot of chatter about Winnipeg getting a team on this forum and decided to inject a bit of reality into the fantasy that the NHL will somehow return a team to the tiny frozen village..
Realistically, the NHL is as interested in putting a team in Winnipeg, as I am.. I mean the alleged “rich” buyer is already asking for help from the province, checks FROM the NHL will be soon to follow..
jerry
May 19th, 2011
6:24 pm
If having a hockey team means they have to be non competitive and have the lowest payroll in the league, I am not interested. Been there, done that.
Steve-o
May 19th, 2011
6:25 pm
anyone thought about a call to bernie marcus? i think he has a few bucks socked away
———————————————————————-
Exactly, where are those Home Depot guys when we need them? Marcus paid $250 mil for the GA Aquarium, so the Thrashers are practically chump change… Maybe he and Arthur Blank can partner on this!
OHL
May 19th, 2011
6:50 pm
I think you fans in Atlanta can figure out I have been enjoying some of the banter here. Believe it or not, I am not from Winnipeg. Never been to Manitoba or Alberta, only time in Western Canada was when a flight to/from Toronto had a stopover in Vancouver. I have to say though it is nice to see support for hockey down there, but some of you are horrible because you make cracks about straw huts, a dead goose, igloos and crass things like telling me to stick my extremities in the snow. For you who are like that I ask, where do you think that the players you root for come from? They grew up in the same type of town that I grew up in, so unless you want to insult the people you beg to stay, knock out the childish name calling.
I am laughing hysterically now that I read that G52PIM228 is not even from Atlanta but from Phoenix.
I have been watching these blogs for at least a few days now. Believe it or not, I have learned a ton of information from here and other internet sites that has given me a wealth of knowledge. I have a whole new perspective on expansion/relocation in the NHL. Some of it will amaze you as to what I’ve learned and how I support things today that I wouldn’t have dreamed of supporting a week ago. Some of it you will not like what I have learned.
But please, keep it classy and get away from the name calling. Some of us come here for information and only leave with a bad impression of Atlanta, Winnipeg and now even one guy from Phoenix.
The 27
May 19th, 2011
7:09 pm
G52 Give those Whineypeg Troll’s hell I love it… Screw’em this is a Thrasher blog anyway. All I have to say is come back in a week and if the team is gone off to Winnipeg I will eat some crow. But until then SCREW OFF!!! Also I don’t care if your being civil… I’m not until you troll’s are gone. Deal with it hoser’s! Oh and the Thrasher’s are not going anywhere. Well atleast not Loserpeg. Sorry, I’m sure you will come up with facts for us to read about. You dude’s need to get a life.
Pegger8
May 19th, 2011
7:13 pm
Just ignore the G52 comments, the dude needs therapy. Seriously . Greasy, overweight, unemployed, in his mom’s basement in his deserted little suburb. He has been on here the past few hours, and day after day. Get a life, its much to late for you to ever get a girlfriend. Better yet, go play some video games. That’’s what you do with the other 40% of your day most likely. Maybe post some more links to editorial pieces, seeing as you are so simple minded you can’t articulate your own thoughts and think for yourself. Pathetic. But flattering you are so jealous of Winnipeg and Canada in general you can’t get us off your mind!
Back to the topic, this “speculating on speculation” is getting old. My gut feel is that a sale to Winnipeg will happen, but the move won’t occur til 12-13. Definitely not the way I want Winnipeg to get a team back, but just an opinion based on all that’s been presented and “reading between the lines” what Bettman, Daly and owners/potential owners have said. This is of course very little, but the change in tone, etc.. is somewhat telling. And we wait……
Pegger8
May 19th, 2011
7:19 pm
Haha “The 27″ you ever hear the one about the “Pot” and “Kettle”? Look up “hypocrite” while you’re at it.
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
7:23 pm
Good. D-Wad is in charge. This deal will be all JACKED-UP,
Jim
May 19th, 2011
7:23 pm
If they are still negotiating with one group committed to keeping the thrashers in Atlanta, can anyone take a guess as to what the sticking points are? If it’s purchase price and the local group is short funds, could die hard fans take a super minority interest in the team? With guys like glavine and Lille jon voicing support how many others would step up? I know personlly I would invest 25,000 and have my super minority interest be drawn down against future season ticket sales. If 1000 individuals or local companies kicked in 25k that equals 25 million or 23% of the stated purchase price.
G52P1M228
May 19th, 2011
7:27 pm
kudos to atlanta, at least you’re not as stupid as Glendale to use public money on a financial sinking titanic
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
7:28 pm
stop using my name
i’m a fat SOB from arizona
I have the unemployment check to prove it
steve rosen
May 19th, 2011
7:28 pm
Well it seems to be to late. I just read this. The team has been sold,and will be going to winnipeg for next season.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
7:31 pm
I miss Winnipeg
great city !!
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
7:33 pm
Sorry Pegger8
I’ve changed my tune
I’m now in favor of Winnipeg getting a team
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
7:33 pm
“government in Winnipeg is not footing any bills for the team purchase”
“to free up money to help pay for the relocation of the NHL team to Winnipeg.”
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/True-North-seeking-debt-help-from-govt-in-NHL-bid-122067534.html
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
7:35 pm
I love Winnipeg !!
I love the eskimo pies
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
7:36 pm
Can’t wait to see all 12 Thrashers fans at the rally
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
7:37 pm
Guys wanna be me, chicks wanna be with me..
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
7:43 pm
Boys rule
The bizarro commish
May 19th, 2011
7:54 pm
Hi,
Bizarro commish here – I say the things that are 100% opposite of what the real commish really thinks and are sarcasm at its finest. For example, things like:
Yes, I would love to move a team from an affluent and growing city of 6M transplanted Americans to a town of 700,000 Canadian prairie farmers. That makes all the business sense in the world!
For my next move, I am looking to move the Panthers out of Florida and into (fill in the name of any tiny city in Canada).
Why? Obviously because I get a bonus when the financial health of the league goes down. And dont worry, our TV partners, and more importantly, their advertisers love when I move a team from a large US city to a tiny city outside of my country with 1/5 the number of people!
Good luck to the NHL if they move the Thrashers – as if the league was not on shaky financial ground and culturally irrelevant before….
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
7:55 pm
Name the Winnipeg team ?
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=366238
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:02 pm
Winnipeg Invisibles..
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 19th, 2011
8:03 pm
Yep seems like they are all but popping the champagne bottles up there in the great white north.
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:03 pm
Winnipeg Ice Fishers
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:03 pm
Why Bettman fights for Phoenix
ore than one person is asking this these days: How come Gary Bettman fights so hard to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix but not the Thrashers in Atlanta?
There are the obvious reasons – the NHL commissioner has a group of local politicians in Glendale throwing their taxpayers’ money at him in order to keep the Coyotes and maybe Glendale/Phoenix makes more sense to the NHL from a U.S. television standpoint than Atlanta. This despite the fact Atlanta is a much bigger television market (No. 9 in the U.S., compared to Phoenix at No. 13). Also, the NHL is in the process of failing in Atlanta for the second time, so it might be easier to let them go to Winnipeg.
Oh, we interrupt this blog for news that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports there is one group left talking to the Thrashers owners that is willing to keep the team in Atlanta. Alas, Thrashers president Don Waddell would not identify the group, said a deal is not imminent and then said this:
“My job is to try to find a buyer who will keep the team in Atlanta. As long as they keep taking my phone calls, I’ll keep working.”
Okay, sounds like these folks are really interested. At least they are until they decide Waddell’s phone calls are too annoying and let him go to voice mail.
As for the Coyotes, one person close to the situation has an interesting theory – the overriding reason Bettman fights so hard for them is ego. Letting them move could be seen as victory for Jim Balsillie.
When Balsillie made his play to buy the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ont., his message was that hockey would never work in the desert, only in a tried-and-true hockey market. He also made the mistake of enraging Bettman and the owners by running a season-ticket campaign in Hamilton in a previous attempt to buy the Nashville Predators.
The reason True North Sports and Entertainment of Winnipeg seemingly has the blessing of Bettman is that the company’s principals, Mark Chipman and David Thomson, are going about their business in silence. That is the way Bettman likes it.
Any leaks in this story are coming out of Atlanta, where the owners are fed up and don’t need to worry about displeasing the commissioner.
By giving up his fight to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix, Bettman could be seen as admitting Balsillie was right. So as long as the local politicians are willing to be relieved of $25-million (U.S.) per year, and the NHL owners are willing to let the Coyotes play on their tab, then Bettman will work hard to prevent any perception Balsillie was right.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:06 pm
NHL’s calm before the storm
So much for the rapper.
And the Balkan? Forget it. He’s busy running from debts and lawsuits.
Two potential “saviours” of the Atlanta Thrashers have been nailed to the cross of irrelevance.
Which means that light on the Manitoba horizon is growing brighter by the day.
First, the truth about Lil Jon, an Atlanta-born rapper who was reportedly ready to buy a good portion of the Thrashers.
Wednesday, Lil Jon cleared up that lil rumour.
“I love the Thrashers. But I’m not investing in them,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That’s a lot of money to buy a professional hockey team! I’ll help them out with some awareness, though.”
Doesn’t sound like Lil Jon got past the first step of shopping: looking at the price tag. If he was ever in the store at all.
Then there’s J.B. Smith, dubbed the Balkan, who apparently can’t be trusted in a store.
Smith, we were told, was in negotiations to buy the Thrashers, the NBA’s Hawks and Phillips Arena from the Atlanta Spirit group.
Turns out the mysterious (ad)venture capitalist is in more trouble than he is negotiations, as there’s reportedly a court judgment for nearly $2 million against him, of which he has yet to pay a dime.
That leaves one local group kicking the hockey team’s tires, even as Winnipeg’s Mark Chipman hooks it up to the hitch of one of his Birchwood Group SUV’s, pointed north.
Even Atlanta booster Tom Glavine, the former left-hander who considered a pitch of his own for the Thrashers, admits the city appears to be down to its last at-bat, facing an 0-2 count.
“There was always some sense that we had a little bit of time as long as Phoenix was still in the picture,” Glavine told the Associated Press. “Now … everything is on an accelerated path. There seems to be a consensus there is going to be a team in Winnipeg … unfortunately the bull’s-eye seems to be on the Thrashers’ back.”
Sensing the sights of the Canadian hunter trained on their team, Atlanta fans are scrambling to organize a tailgate party/rally at a previously scheduled select-a-seat event for season-ticket holders, Saturday.
TSN has asked Atlanta’s NBC affiliate for video of the event, which isn’t likely to match the 35,000-person, save-the-Jets mob scene at Portage and Main back in 1995.
More proof that Atlanta fans don’t care, the snobs from the Great White North will say.
The truth is, Thrashers fans have simply been taken advantage of far too long, and they’ve had enough.
The Atlanta owners have made Barry Shenkarow look like Mike Ilitch, redefining dysfunctional, too busy bickering with and suing each other to put a decent team on the ice.
Eleven seasons, one playoff appearance and not a single playoff game victory — name me one team not named the Habs or Leafs who’d thrive in that pail of crap.
Just like you can’t blame fans in Phoenix for not supporting their dead franchise walking, you can’t pin this one on Hotlanta hockey types. Nobody ever gave them a reason to believe.
So these last few days will likely be quiet down in Georgia. And they’ll likely be quiet, here.
The calm before the storm.
Listen closely, though, and you might hear the scribblings of a sale agreement being hammered out. Followed by the rattling of a trailer hitch.
As the abandoned dreams of one city are loaded up and hauled to another, where they’ll find hearts hungry to revive them.
Not with the help of rappers or mysterious, cloaked investors.
But on their own.
Just because they’re eager to believe.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:08 pm
I’m guessing the same Baldsilli fans that moved the Coyotes to Hamsterton via BK are probably the same idiots that wrote that garbage..
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:08 pm
If Kinkaide is right – why would any investment group ie True Nroth overpay $60M minimum for a business?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:11 pm
60M will be given to the NHL for the relocation fee
(in other words to help prop up the coyotes)
todb
May 19th, 2011
8:11 pm
Now that the TV deal is locked down expect to see a few more money losing franchises on the move.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:13 pm
“the owners are fed up and don’t need to worry about displeasing the commissioner.”
You mean the Commissioner that will recommend for, or against, relocation to the BoG before they vote, besides you know the good Saint Bettman works for the BoG doing NOTHING but working to implement their will, right, eh..
todb
May 19th, 2011
8:13 pm
Coyotes are dead dogs walking enjoy their last season!
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:13 pm
yup, that’s right Atlanta.. your team will be sold and moved to help protect the Coyotes
Thank You for saving my team !!
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:14 pm
“60M will be given to the NHL for the relocation fee”
Straight out of the Manitoba’s taxes..
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:15 pm
money well spent
Simmer down
May 19th, 2011
8:16 pm
I will be deeply disappointed if the team moves, but I don’t see the need for all the Winnipeg bashing. And the NHL will not fold if the team moves. I hope that we can keep our team and Winnipeg gets one, too, but if it has to be, I will wish the team well, and I will probably stop following NHL hockey.
Both cities should have teams. ASG and corrupt NHL managment are the bad guys here, not the Canadians.
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:16 pm
If franchises make it in NC and Tampa it should work here in Atlanta. D-Wad should be proud.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:16 pm
You are having fun getting to pretend to be as important as I, I’m glad you get to enjoy pretending to be.. Even if it is for a few fleeting seconds..
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:17 pm
you are SLOW Joe
very SLOW
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:20 pm
according to Sources: Deal will be finalized early next week to move the team to Winnipeg
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:20 pm
“money well spent” why? you overpaid $60M over fair market value.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:21 pm
it’s the relocation fee
see, you are SLOW
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:22 pm
and thanks for propping up the coyotes
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:23 pm
Who pays the relocation DA?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:25 pm
what does the relocation fee have to do with the price of the team ?
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:27 pm
Who pays the relocation fee DA?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:28 pm
just you
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:28 pm
Answer THE QUESTION DA.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:31 pm
lend me your crayons, and i’ll draw a picture of it for you
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
8:31 pm
Tom Cousins!!!!
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:32 pm
How cute, an impostor throwing a little tantrum..
Somebody needs a time out..
Joe "SLOW" Johnson
May 19th, 2011
8:33 pm
Tom Glavine agreed to pay it. DA
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:34 pm
no wonder the thrashers are moving
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
8:34 pm
Bettman set up the meeting to buy the team from the ASG by former Atlanta Flames owner Tom Cousins.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:34 pm
guy is like 80… he won’t live to see next season
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:36 pm
$60M is the relocation fee.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:38 pm
Bettman has a deal where ASG pays it. Sources say the payment will be made next by Sunday.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:39 pm
they are paying in Canadian money, cheaper that way
Big Wally
May 19th, 2011
8:41 pm
What’s sad is all these Winnipeggers coming on a Thrasher’s board, telling us we don’t need a hockey team. Don’t you folks have some igloos or something to build?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:42 pm
if I had an igloo it would melt in the desert DA
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:42 pm
ASG pays the relocation fee with Canadian money with favorable exchange rates.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:44 pm
cheaper fees to pay locking into a forward f/x contract today. smart move.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:45 pm
the retained earnings of True North are strong. need to put some goodwill on the balance sheet.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:48 pm
anyone compare the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar vs the yen today?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:51 pm
sorry talking to complicated for atlanta folk
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:52 pm
did you guys see that Dukes of Hazzard movie yet ?
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:55 pm
you would expense the acquistion costs you would not capitalize them to the balance sheet. i am telling you that right now. cheaper now under Canadian accounting rules.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:56 pm
you atlanta folk be dumb
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:56 pm
retarded hicks
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:58 pm
idiots
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:58 pm
Bo Duke lost the car in Uncle Jessie’s shed. You inbreds.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
8:58 pm
arizona ownz
thrasherdawg
May 19th, 2011
8:59 pm
The article’s title “Atlanta’s Hopes Dwindle” so we are only negotiating with one company to keep the Thrashers here. Two days ago there was no one…this is good news isn’t it?
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
8:59 pm
peace
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:01 pm
no , you had 2 local ownership groups before. read the f’n article
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:01 pm
NY and NJ holla
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:07 pm
2 local groups The Balkin and Lil John
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:08 pm
ASG owner leasing and financing available
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:09 pm
no wonder bettman prefers glendale over atlanta
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:09 pm
glendale has a nice temperature
James
May 19th, 2011
9:10 pm
Good luck on finding an owner who wants to loose millions on a hockey team in Atlanta.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:13 pm
ownz arizona holla
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:14 pm
read the article James good luck to you DA
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:14 pm
did you read the article? Glendale is not Winnipeg.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:15 pm
Yotes rule.. thrashers don’t even exist anymore
Wienerpeg Trolls
May 19th, 2011
9:15 pm
…..are complete idiots.
Donovan McNubb
May 19th, 2011
9:17 pm
Go away, troll.
Long live the Atlanta Thrashers!
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:19 pm
thrashers had to be sacrifices so the coyotes may live
deal with it
Fan
May 19th, 2011
9:21 pm
The NHL has become such a joke, begging for fan support in the southern US and changing the game into a dog and pony show with shootouts and a parade to the penalty box. Thankfully it is May and I can golf and forget about this joke league.. I will read about who won the Cup and worry about hockey when it snows. I can’t believe Thrasher fans would try to rally to keep the team,, it never works whether it is 10 people or 10 thousand.. Morally bankrupt owners and bailouts.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:23 pm
the Yotes howl at the full moon with blood in their teeth and mouth
Get The Puck Out
May 19th, 2011
9:24 pm
G52…Don’t go away mad just go the he double hockey sticks away.
We're Hosed
May 19th, 2011
9:25 pm
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/atlanta-thrashers-moving-to-winnipeg/article2029179/
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:27 pm
i told you now read the article. the Yote is hungry and drinks a thrashers blood
We're Hosed
May 19th, 2011
9:27 pm
from the link i posted: 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.
Some Months BACK!!!! ASG screwed us months ago…..
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:28 pm
bark at the moon
thrashers leavin soon
arizona rules
georgia blues
Fan
May 19th, 2011
9:29 pm
Looks like it is done folks…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/atlanta-thrashers-moving-to-winnipeg/article2029179/
Jetgirl
May 19th, 2011
9:29 pm
Globe & mail reporting the deal is done and to be announced Tuesday in Winnipeg. See you at Portage & Mail.
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/atlanta-thrashers-moving-to-winnipeg/article2029179/?service=mobile&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=Referrer%3A+Social+Network+%2F+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links&post_id=566751995_173893622665776
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:29 pm
suck on that ATL
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:32 pm
upon a sacrificed thrasher i signal the signed contract by a howl
StanFoster
May 19th, 2011
9:34 pm
BREAKING: Toronto Globe & Mail reports deal done to relocate Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg; formal announcement expected Tuesday. http://t.co/lSz1F6j
Randy Klym
May 19th, 2011
9:35 pm
News report out of the Globe and Mail saying a deal has been reached to move the Thrashers to Winniepg! Announcement due on Tuesday!! Let’s hope it’s finally true!!
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:35 pm
I love to lick big balls.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:36 pm
ALWAYS REMEMBER I TOLD YOU SUCKERS … THRASHERS DIE SO COYOTES CAN LIVE !!
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:36 pm
Glendale 1 Atlanta 0
Fan
May 19th, 2011
9:37 pm
See G,, they NHL wanted to temporarily fix the mess in Glendale,, Atlanta was always going to move. They didn’t want to cover the losses,, good for them.. Glendale will regret getting in bed with Bettman very soon.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:37 pm
there is blood on my face from the sacrifice of the thrasher. i am no longer hungry and i will wash the blood off my paws.
Andrew51
May 19th, 2011
9:38 pm
It’s over. A deal has been reached between True North/Spirit. Official announcement coming Tuesday. Winnipeg will have a team next season.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
9:38 pm
All other media sources deny this.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:38 pm
I love them big carrots too.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
9:39 pm
Someone please ban this twit. It’s like having Brian back all over again.
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:39 pm
I’m wiping the semen from my lips too.
not so fast
May 19th, 2011
9:40 pm
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Thrashers-sale-report-not-accurate-122268064.html
matt
May 19th, 2011
9:45 pm
apparently, they just were sold to business interests in Winnipeg. Steven Brunt from a sports network in Canada just split the bean during a Blue Jay telecast…official announcement next tuesday…sorry for your loss Atlanta, great game.
SorryATL
May 19th, 2011
9:47 pm
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2011/05/19/sp-thrashers-winnipeg.html
Sorry guys…. heading to winnipeg!
We will love them and cherish them and cheer when they punch people in the face… perhaps if you are kind and don’t get to surly about things you will come visit them in our fair Northern city. Friendly Manitoba is the place to be.
Tom
May 19th, 2011
9:48 pm
G52PlM228 – Are you related to Sage of Blueland?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
9:49 pm
let me check my used condom collection
G52PIM228
May 19th, 2011
9:55 pm
the thirst for thrashers blood is strong. i smell a scent and sense death. i must follow this scent to Glendale. i will eat a thrasher with toast and an orange.
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:00 pm
Oh Canada, our home and bla, bla, bla……..Meanwhile, at Thorburn’s house….”Honey, we get to sell the house in Sugarloaf and move to Winnepeg, Manitoba!” Mrs. Thorburn: “Is that where Survivorman ate ferns and rotten elk? Have fun Chris, but I’m staying here”….In honor of Winnepeg, Manitoba getting the Thrashers, lets all listen to Loverboy and the Barenaked Ladies.
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
10:02 pm
Sorry – hated Loverboy in the 80’s and I ain’t givin’ ‘em any love today. If I am going to listen to anything Canadian, its Rush.
James
May 19th, 2011
10:04 pm
You are a sick person G52PIM228.
Andrew51
May 19th, 2011
10:05 pm
@ glovesave29
With respect, you’re underestimating a key factor in Winnipeg: Television. Canadiens watch hockey on tv until their eyeballs fall out….ESPECIALLY the losing teams. Real money. When was the last time you saw the Thrashers on NBC? Exactly.
braveslose
May 19th, 2011
10:05 pm
Just saw on VS that Thrashers are outta here. Good riddance to bad rubbish! Team never cared. Fans should shed no tears! This is one fan that will not.
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:06 pm
“Bettman said: “I understand that there may be dissatisfaction there, but demonstrating your dissatisfaction by not going to games is an interesting strategy. It’s your absolute right. But if it becomes a turnoff for anybody who might want to buy the franchise, the long-term consequences could be severe.”
I don’t get it, you guys were not going to games on purpose?
Atlanta Flames Fan
May 19th, 2011
10:07 pm
Maybe we had it wrong all the time. Instead of “because the Coyotes stayed in Phoenix, TNSE then went after the Thrashers”, all along it was “the reason Bettman worked so hard to save Phoenix was because Atlanta was already going to Winnepeg and there was no place to put the Yotes”.
We knew all along that we were being lied to, just did not know to what extent!
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:08 pm
Report out of Toronto states deal will be done in a few days, team will be moving to Winnipeg. Where was all this support when they needed it? See ya!!!
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:08 pm
No more Whole Foods, Kroger, or Publix for the players and their wives. Now they have to hunt and gather. Kane, Slater, Thorburn will kick some Moose ass and be eatin good. Little, Andropov, and some other pretty-boys may struggle. Bogosian won’t eat at all. He’ll just look at the Moose in a stern way as it glides right by him, untouched.
Thrashers Had Two Atlanta-Friendly Potential Buyers, Now Just One, According To Report | TREND CITY
May 19th, 2011
10:11 pm
[...] Thе Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chris Vivlamore hаѕ posted hіѕ t&#… οn thе Atlanta Thrashers life down tο јυѕt one potential buyers group wіth аn interest іn keeping thе team іn Atlanta. According tο thе crash, team president Don Waddell wаѕ dealing wіth two non-local shoppers until recently. [...]
glovesave29
May 19th, 2011
10:14 pm
A51 – you wan watch all the games on TV you want – it doesn’t change anything about what I said. If you miss the playoffs 15 out of 17 seasons, and your money is worth on 75% of ours – it will fail. I am not wishing that on you at all, just a statement of the facts. It matters not if the Thrashers are on Vs. or NBC once a year or 20 times a year – we share in the TV money equally. Local TV is a different story – but again, Manitoba is a limited market. To the east Ontario is ML country – and I don’t know the allegiances in Saskatchewan….Flames and Oilers, i’d guess.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:17 pm
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.
Bettmman will travel to Winnipeg Tuesday to make it official.
Now it really is “Blueland”!
G52PimmsGayDrinkerFeb28
May 19th, 2011
10:18 pm
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.
The report also states NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to be in Winnipeg to make the news official.
The story was written by Globe and Mail columnist Stephen Brunt, one of the country’s most respected sports writers.
Tommy Glavine
May 19th, 2011
10:18 pm
Is there an airport in Winnipeg or do you have to take a train there?
Moose
May 19th, 2011
10:21 pm
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!!!!
@Tommy Glavine
May 19th, 2011
10:22 pm
There is speculation that if Winnipeg receives Federal matching funds, there could be an airport there by 2019
Tommy Glavine
May 19th, 2011
10:22 pm
Don Waddell is such a liar. From the beginning to the very end. WOW…some people have no soul.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:22 pm
planning on travelling to see your old team Tommy ?
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:23 pm
glovesave29, I would hardly call Manitoba a limited market for local tv. 50% of Manitobans who tune in is far better than the .23 Nielsen rating you guys got this year.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:24 pm
I heard Winnipeg bought Atlanta’s airport as part of the deal
PMC
May 19th, 2011
10:24 pm
Enjoy them Winnepeg. You’ll love Evander Kane.
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:30 pm
Classy of you PMC but I get sick to my stomach everytime I see Seguin score a goal this week.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:31 pm
While you Trasher fans are sitting here whining over a team u didn’t support, y Bruins are getting ready to go up 2 games to 1 over TB…Go cash in those frequent flyer miles for a trip to the Great White North or get NHL Center Ice tO watch Winnipeg!!! bwahahahahaha
Seguin got another goal btw!!!
Andrew51
May 19th, 2011
10:34 pm
@ glovesave29
But you DON’T share in the Tv $ equally….that’s not how it works. An investor group can SEE the team as a poor draw on television….or…having never appeared on a national network and see what a disaster an investment keeping the team in that market would be because television revenue is where the REAL money in the NHL is made. It’s going to work in Winnipeg, as it has to thunderous applause in Minnesota a 2nd time round where capacity is 99.7% in the largest economic downturn in 80 years. Its ok…You’ll see….
@Ggay2
May 19th, 2011
10:37 pm
Done deal. A friend of mine knows True North deal and at this point its a rubber stamp from Buttman thats required. Cya Thrashers, you don’t come to Winnipeg, we promise not to come to Craplanta. Go Hawks. Go Falcons. Go to hell.
Old Time
May 19th, 2011
10:37 pm
The AJC should be looking at the Spirit Group and the ground they stand on. If the Thrashers move that means Phillips loses 41 dates. If an NBA lockout kills next season (and it looks like it will happen) and loses another 41 dates. Then Phillips is pulling their naming rights so the “Atlanta Arena” will be a building with no tenants or naming money. I think the Spirit guys are trying to sell the Thrashers for the cash before they go belly up. True North is desperate and will pay more for the Thrashers than they would have the Coyotes with the NHL as the seller. I see the Thrashers getting sold, the Spirit group going bankrupt (and walking away with the cash), the NBA taking ownership of the Hawks and the city Phillips. The NHL and NBA should have never let the crooks into either league.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:37 pm
@Andrew51…buddy, don’t waste your time trying to explain revenue sharing and marketing to this crew, I’ve tried. You’re talking to a load of dolts.
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:38 pm
can’t be any fatter than atlanta chicks
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:39 pm
Can’t wait to see the “girls” that those hefty Canadians put on the rink as ice girls. If you get to be the “Moose”, look at all the Canadian Quarters you’ll save not having to buy a Moose outfit for your mascot. Just throw your sister and your girlfriend out there on the ice, eh?
@Old Time
May 19th, 2011
10:41 pm
Hey ‘tard, Spirit owns the arena, why have 41 games that lose money when you could have minimum 20 concert dates in place of those 41 games that make TONS of money. And 20 is a minimum, likely will be 30+. How could they possibly miss the Thrashers? They LOSE money. The original owners brought the team there in some delusional hope that they could cash in on a monster TV deal. DIDN’T HAPPEN. THRASHERS GONE!!!!!!!
OHL
May 19th, 2011
10:43 pm
I think this was a bad omen for you guys – http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/amateur/canadas-mightiest-midgets-120588684.html
@kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:45 pm
Listen, and you can attest to this, southern girls are so freaking fat the earth shakes when they walk. i’m not exaggerating, I went to an amusement park in Georgia and the girls walking around there looked like planets. But thats not just Georgia, its the United States. If you live on the Cdn/US border and you go just two miles over the border the size of people triples, and the further south you go the bigger it gets. Say all you want about Canada but the US reliance on McDonalds / Wendys / Subway etc bloats the entire country.
kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:51 pm
Freddy Mercury wrote “Fat Bottom Girls” in Canada. He was straight until Queen did a Canadian tour.
@kovyoverrated
May 19th, 2011
10:53 pm
Really? You honestly think that Freddy Mercury was ever straight? Lol. He may have wrote it in Canada but it was inspired by seeing your girlfriend eating buckets of KFC
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:55 pm
good for him
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:56 pm
i live in a desert, dunce
@G52
May 19th, 2011
10:57 pm
hey G52, were you one of the tools smashing windows at the G20? Could you list the G52 countries? Or are you one of those Patriots that can only name the United States and Mexico as countries?
KaiATL
May 19th, 2011
10:59 pm
Winnipeg wins
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
10:59 pm
coyotes win too
KaiATL
May 19th, 2011
11:04 pm
Just hope no stupid American politician throws money at this dump of an organization. Go jets go
braveslose
May 19th, 2011
11:15 pm
To all the hardcore Thrasher fans who defended the uncaring players through all their mail in unefforts over the years I have only one thing to say. Which I say from the bottom of my heart. Please. Please! Relocate with these prima donnas. Just take insulated undies. Hear it gets awfully cold where these bums are going!
@KaiATL
May 19th, 2011
11:16 pm
Mayor Sruggs did
We've Been Bamboozled.....
May 19th, 2011
11:21 pm
I would not be surprised if all of this was already in place months ago, and all of the parties involved have been bamboozling the fans in Atlanta the whole time.
You know, if we would have had ownership that didn’t spend so much time in courtrooms and meeting with lawyers, we might have had something here.
If this is true, at least we’ll get rid of all of those trolls from Manitoba out of here…..
We've Been Bamboozled.....
May 19th, 2011
11:21 pm
@braveslose STFU troll.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
11:23 pm
Save the Thrashers! New team name Winnipeg Nochance!
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
11:25 pm
save the yotes.. screw the thrashers
Kevin M
May 19th, 2011
11:26 pm
Apparently, some Globe and mail hack has stolen my name on here….to bad AJC, TSN, and Winnipeg deny Stephen Brunt’s habitual lying, fan sturring
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
10:17 pm
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.
Bettmman will travel to Winnipeg Tuesday to make it official.
Now it really is “Blueland”!
Kevin M
May 19th, 2011
11:28 pm
So where will the Thrashers be after the Winnipeg crowd gives up on their team for a third time? Kansas City?
G52PlM228
May 19th, 2011
11:32 pm
3rd time ?
what century do you live in ?
Kevin M
May 19th, 2011
11:32 pm
Andrew, the Thrashers were on NBC in 2006. Unfortunantly, all the big teams up north have stars or money teams and take all the games for themselves. At least Fox and ABC had regional games, not a 1 game Sunday brunch every week like NBC
Kevin M
May 19th, 2011
11:33 pm
1995, 1996 and whenever the canadian policians sell them out again. Wasn’t like the mayor of Hamiltion was too eager to get the Coyotes in 2009, same in Winnipeg now…
Thrasher@Fan.com
May 19th, 2011
11:34 pm
The Flames left Atlanta as contenders. The thrashers are leaving because they suck and they are really really suck. Winnipeg is a sucker town and it deserves the sucker team. Go thrashers!
Kevin M
May 19th, 2011
11:35 pm
The NHLPA so would rather have a team in Hamilton or Toronto where it actually could make money, but alas,….
Kevin M
May 19th, 2011
11:38 pm
Columbus has been for sale for 3 years since their inaugural owner died. Maybe we could get the Jackets if the Thrashers leave??
StevenBrunt
May 19th, 2011
11:39 pm
The NHL wants southern Ontario for a big expansion paycheque, a few 100 million + money to the Leafs/some to sabres.
they are not gonna let a team relocate there for a few peanuts compared to expansion
Southernhockeyfan
May 19th, 2011
11:41 pm
I know this is out in left field. but since it looks like the Thrashers are a lost cause, what would be the chances this one ownership group bringing another troubled team to Atlanta? Just a question.
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
11:46 pm
Kevin M is really in denial isn’t he? (Just to ease your mind, my name really is Kevin) Thrahers are leaving dude, and when this is announced Tuesday I’ll come right back here looking to see if you’ve crawled away with your tail between your legs when I ask, who is the idiot now? I told you they were leaving, so stop drinking the Kool-Aid this columnist has been pouring down your throat and accept the fact you’ll be getting the hockey package next year, hockey is out of Atlanta for good now…deal with it.
Sonny F
May 20th, 2011
12:10 am
Versus reported at 10pm that the deal with Winnipeg will be finalized tomorrow and announced by Bettman in the afternoon. Another source said the deal was not completed but was imminent.
Jason
May 20th, 2011
12:17 am
That’s ok… in a few years when the NFL puts a team into Toronto, it will end the Canadian Football League. We’ll have our revenge. And in five years, a metro Toronto city will pull the Thrashers/Jets away from small market Winnipeg. This will also be around the time that the NHL finally discovers that being a Canadian league with a couple of teams in the States doesn’t get a tv contract even from little ol’ VS.
Don’t be surprised if in fifteen or twenty years if there is an American Hockey League that puts the NHL out of business. Being a league of small Canadian markets simply can’t last forever against the economic might of American metropolitan markets.
Keep Hockey in Atlanta
May 20th, 2011
12:24 am
So this whole thing about a group to buy the Thrashers and keep them here was smoke and mirrors?
Old Time
May 20th, 2011
12:30 am
At the ‘tard who wrote @ Old Time, is your daddy one of the Spirit clowns? As I said with the NBA lockout and the moving of the Thrashers they don’t have 41 dates to fill next year they will have 82 and lose their naming rights. Have you been to Phillips lately ‘tard. It is a dump and needs serious renovation, I know your daddy doesn’t like to hear that but the truth hurts. Both leagues are finding out that they should not let the Spirit clowns join their respective clubs.
Flames
May 20th, 2011
1:29 am
Heart broken for a second time! My family will be destroyed over this. I will boycott anything that the ASG owns. I have become close with several of the players. I have spoken with several of them today and they said that they do not want the team to leave Atlanta. I just hope that this is a bad dream.
Smith reiterates interest in Thrashers, will speak to media “shortly” – Examiner.com | Watch News Daily
May 20th, 2011
1:33 am
[...] The AJC reported on Thursday that a non-local owner remains to purchase the team and keep them in Atlanta. Although, it’s unknown whether this is Smith’s group, while the Toronto Star’s Damien Cox reported that the deal to ship the team to Manitoba’s largest city may be bogged down why the parties argue about price. [...]
Anders Hedberg
May 20th, 2011
2:43 am
Jason,
Canadians currently own lots of what you think of as American and the rate of us buying you is accelerating. It’s not 1970 anymore. Things are changing – unfortunately for you. Your dollar is sinking, your unemployment rate is huge, your deficit is massive and your financial relevance on a worldwide scale is shrinking. Things are not getting better anytime soon. Economic might? Not anymore Jason – that was a long time ago.
Mat"T"
May 20th, 2011
4:33 am
So what your saying is our hope rest in DON WADDELL’S HANDS!!!! Zombies take me now.
Mat"T"
May 20th, 2011
4:38 am
Anders Hedberg-Thanks for the update on your fine country. How do you say it in French?
UhhhDouchebag Troll? Weren’t you a goalie for us a couple of years and couldn’t stop the biscuit from getting in the net if you were allowed to board up the opening? The U.S. will return even though The NHL will not, I don’t even need to say it for it is so. I guess the Canadian based NHL can’t afford to keep a team here even though all the U.S. based leagues can. Hmmmm.
G52PlM228
May 20th, 2011
9:29 am
Enter your comments here
SV
May 21st, 2011
3:17 am
Its the last hope in saving the thrashers, but i believe all fan should have closure with the team.
greatwhitenortherner
May 21st, 2011
8:25 pm
glovesave29, winnipeg had only 1 team. this is the 2nd time around for atlanta. a half empty rink does not support a hockey team. stop whineing you have basketball,baseball,and football. and as for bettman that idiot is pro american, if he could move all 6 nhl teams out of canada he would. why dont you have atlanta look into aquireing an AHL team the fan base in atlanta could support that brand of hockey. if canada with a population of less than 100 million can operate WHL,OHL,QMJHL,and MJ”A”HL im sure the U.S. could strike up at least2-3 leagues to help kids improve their game. that way the american kids dont have to move north of the border to play in the best hockey program in the world.
DisgustedFan
May 22nd, 2011
10:12 am
Hockeyfan, I agree with you. I haven’t been a Waddell basher, but now I believe Waddell’s earliest ‘achievement’ was selecting Patrik Stephan & his final ‘achievement’ was LYING to Thrashers Fans that he was still “Working……to try to find a buyer who will keep the team in Atlanta” when the deal was already done to send the Thrashers to Winnipeg. I hope I’m wrong.
xela54
May 22nd, 2011
2:37 pm
man some of you thrasher fans are just plain sore. trashing another city is just plain childish. grow up people. i can understand the atlanta fans wanting to keep their team in atlanta. you have to fill the rink with at least 17,000 fans so the organization can show a profit.