Could it be Thrashers are going nowhere soon?

The Hot Stove segment basically said that after 6-8 weeks relocation would be “on the table”. we all now that True North is basically waiting with cash in hand to buy the next team available so at that point i imagine the team would be moved quickly. They did sound fairly optimistic in the leagues ability to find a buyer though.

as for the on ice product, we got lucky and the Canes and Sabres both lost yesterday so that debacle in Edmonton didnt leave us any worse off. Wednesday against Buffalo is a huge game that must be won.

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Did anybody watch the presser last night of Bettman speaking after the Heritage Classic? I watched and it and Bettman was really pissed off at this question and walked off the stage after it. Who else saw it? I don’t know how to take his reaction, he was so visibly pissed off at it (he seemed to get even more pissed after the reporter asked a follow up, not listed below that was something like “in reference to what Gearon said”, here’s the question and answer:

Q. A question about Atlanta, lots of talk about Winnipeg on CBC tonight, everywhere. What’s your take?

COMMISSIONER BETTMAN: I don’t think there’s any new news about Atlanta. I know there was an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, but I hate speculation. I hate the stories, because it raises people’s expectations when they shouldn’t be.

If and whenever we have something to announce I promise you I’ll announce it. But let’s keep our eye on the ball. We just had a great event. And I don’t know what the CBC said. But if that’s what they were spending attention on during this game, I think they’ve taken their eye off the puck.

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The Oilers have beaten the Panthers, Lightning and Thrashers this season. Their only loss to a SE Division team: Carolina, and they play the Caps March 9.

The only teams with a losing record vs. Southeast teams this season are: Rangers, Islanders, Sabres, Leafs, Senators and the Wild.

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I don’t think the F.A.S., LLC are gonna be so easy to push out of the Hawks and all of Philips, plus the NBA doesn’t give two rosy red you know whatsabout them because last I checked they’ve IMPROVED the Hawks. No mystery how they did that either, using a hockey team as a means of self financing is easier nowadays than getting a loan and apparently easier than them agreeing to work together.

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“I don’t buy that whole 8 week deadline. Don’t you think we would have heard it elsewhere if it was true?”

Our own owner said it as well, it’s true. He said, paraphasing, there’s a sense or urgency, we’re not going to take another $20m loss.

They’re losing $20m per year on the Thrashers, that means they’re not going to own the Thrashers after this season. I think it’s 100% clear that the Spirit isn’t going to own the Thrashers past this season.

Hopefully we’re not being fed false hope here by Kincade, I can’t remember the last time he made a call correctly, anyone else know of one?

Only thing I know of for sure is we have no control over anything other than our own reactions to it. Show up Friday night and give a potential new owner a reason to buy this club. And in the meantime, continue to write the emails, make phone calls, etc. to the Mayor’s office, the Governor’s office, the Chamber of Commerce, and the NHL front office. Flood the lines people, and get your tickets for Friday night, it’s all we can do.

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“I don’t think the F.A.S., LLC are gonna be so easy to push out of the Hawks and all of Philips, plus the NBA doesn’t give two rosy red you know whatsabout them because last I checked they’ve IMPROVED the Hawks.”

Yep, that part of it makes little sense unless you consider that mabye these jamokes have burnt so many bridges and this whole experience has been so painful for them that they just want out. Mabye Gearon remains as a minority owner and a new group comes in as majority.

Mabye I should quit speculating and start sending out more emails and phone calls to the ones who can influence this. Mabye I picked the wrong day to give up smoking . . .

I’ll tell you this, the playoff race has gone out the window in my mind. I could not care less, only thing that matters to me is keeping the club in town, that’s the only win I want for this year, a playoff birth would be the cherry on top . . .

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Hear, hear Joe Friday! Sign Ladd, find new buyers that keep the team here. Life is good……

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Joe Friday – The thing about them is that they are great owners for the Hawks so far as I can tell, because they bought this team ALMOST soley for them as basketball afficionados. To me the Hawks were THE attraction for them for childhood fantasy fulfilment, then renting to yourself has many pros (money from right pocket transfers to the left), and the Thrashers are like a booster club for the Hawks. SOunds great for them, bucause I don’t think any of them are billionaires, maybe not even as a whole. That’s why this was enticing, how leagues (cough-NHL-cough) don’t see through this crap before signing off is beyond me.

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I can’t see ASG giving up the entire package of Philips, Hawks and Thrashers. We all know they’re cooking the books on the Thrashers anyway.

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It is interesting to note, how poorly the Hawks draw as well. Unless everyone parties in the corridors[which I have heard], you hardly see anyone in seats during the game.
Which brings me to the inept marketing that would change in the light of new ownership, one would hope.
Perhaps the Clowns would be minority owners in the whole deal, happy to leave the driving to the adults?
I hope that would be the worst case scenario.
Best case would be a complete sellout to a new entity.

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put me on the pk – AMEN!!!! those blue home jersey are the worst. i’d be embarassed to come out of the locker room wearing that thing

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Sqeaky Frommage and I are considering the “aints” approach to hockey on Friday. A couple of paper bags with some artwork…where can you find paper bags nowadays????

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The only reason the Hawks are in better shape financially than the Thrashers is tied to the $30 million-plus national TV revenues that NBA teams get. Otherwise revenues are virtually the same for both teams but the Hawks salary costs are much higher than the Thrashers. And, the valuation of the Hawks, according to Forbes’ somewhat mythical figures, is more than twice that of the Thrashers, and let us not forget that the Spirit refinanced the $123.5 million debt on Philips Arena through the NBA Credit Facility.

The only money maker is the arena itself, due to concert and special events revenues, and of course, the season lease agreements with the two teams.

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Kracker +1

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Oops, sorry, if you didn’t figure it out already, that typo says that “Kovalchuk would not no way, no how” sign here.

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We are starting to see the league back us. I think that if we get down to a deadline, the NHL will not allow the Thrashers to move. They disparately need this market towork. The population, the scope of the TV market, a new building. Everything the NHL needs to make Hockey work in America is in place. I think when push come to shove, the NHL will not let Atlanta be without a team. If the Thrashers do leave, don’t be shocked if another struggling team moves here within 3 years. There are probably a dozen teams is bad markets that would trade places with Atlanta in a second.

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Saturday’s game pretty much summed up that no one seems to be on the same page, especially defensively. You’d think that a conversation between coaches and D men or D men to D men would have gone something like this, “The next time number 4 goes to the net from down low, take the man NOT THE PUCK and knock him on his ass – maybe he’ll think twice about it the next time”. Hell, you teach that in Squirt hockey! Can you see Chris Pronger standing for that? That was flat out embarrassing. Maybe Stuart would have taken care of business if he was out there on the PK but neither Sopel or Oduya seemed to have a clue (and I like Oduya most of the time actually). Where has the toughness gone with this team?

Rammer, your team is playing like a no-check men’s league. Somebody please wake up!!!!!!!!

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I BELIEVE

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An owner to buy the Thrashers and keep them in Atlanta. Wouldn’t that be something. I wonder if Jeff Vinik has any friends that are just like him and wanting buy into the NHL? You can always dream anyway.

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“Hell, you teach that in Squirt hockey!”

Actually, that would be PeeWee hockey. They still are not allowed to bodycheck at the Squirt level.

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AtlFlamesFan – thanks for the correction! But even in Squirt’s, they end up at least standing in their path and somebody skates into them and they all fall!! The Thrashers D can’t even get in front of them to get run over!

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Buff-n-stuff, I agree Pavs should have been playing in Edmonton. Mason was in because he grew up in Red Deer, Alberta, which is midway between Edmonton and Calgary.

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Very interesting, Alan R., that we hear that players are putting Atlanta on their no-trade list so they don’t end up moving to Winnipeg! Oh, how we need some decent, hockey loving owners!!!

If they can work it out, let the Spirit boys keep the Hawks and maybe split the arena, something like that, then everybody will be happy. Something tells me, though, that nobody will want to crawl into the corporate bed with these guys.

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While people were throwing around the name of Arthur Blank when he has no connection with the sport, how about Tom Glavine? Not likely as a majority owners, but possible as part of a group, no? He is a high-profile local celeb, he loves Atlanta, he loves the sport of hockey, and he probably knows tons of people with the cash to pull this off. Throw Smoltz in the group with him. Thoughts?

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Glavine could work nicely as a well known front-guy, just as you proposed. But don’t cut Glavine short on the money front. I’m sure he has invested wisely…even so, he would probalby could at best be a minority owner.

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If [the ASG] can make a bigger profit shipping the team to canada than selling them locally, they will. Count on it. Perhaps so, at least that might be their desire. But if it is well publicized that a credible offer is in play from Atlanta owners, no way will Bettman allow a move. Even leaving Bettman and the rest of the NHL owners out of it, moving the team out from under new Atlanta owners would absolutely kill them in the court of public opinion in this town.

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Someone said they’d be embarassed of our home uniforms, that’s fine. I have grown to like the baby boy blue color. I played on a summer league team with an even more powdery blue than that. Not an intimidating color for ice hockey I must say, hence our monicker, The Smurfs.

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Kracker, if I were Bettman I’d threaten to sanction the FASG with cut profit sharing in order to force the possibility of bankruptcy if they try profiteering. Eff them if they do, they’ve killed this franchise and sullied the NHL brand. STEP UP, GARY!!! Do this if they pull such crap.

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Iron League 13, In response to you musical ideas, have you or anyone else noticed that music selection at the bulb is a VAST improvement over last season? Last year i would cringe at most of the music and was waiting around for ABBA to be played at any moment. I want the crowd pumped up…not dancing to ‘dancing queen’.

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Not only that, anyone who bought the Thrashers and kept the team in Atlanta, would go into the deal knowing they’d never make a cent. They’d have to lease the arena, no concession money, partial ticket money, and no other sources of revenue from the arena.

You can only run an NHL team, or any sports team for that matter, if you also run the venue.

We went through the same ups and down in Winnipeg in ‘95. Jets didn’t run the arena, made no money… There was also the rollercoaster ride. This unnamed source is going to buy, then it doesn’t pan out… Ups and downs, then the team left… Its all part of the process

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Buddha – That’s always possible. Glavine and Smoltz do have money. Glavine played, and was drafted by the LA Kings, before deciding to stick with Baseball. Smoltz is from Michigan, and is no doubt a fan of the sport.

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At least our uniforms don’t look like the Wild’s. That red and green makes it look like Christmas threwup.

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Chad-thanks for your perspective. One other note from the Hot Stove is that some players may balk at coming to Atlanta now for fear of one day having to relocate to Winnipeg. Winnipeg is a nice town with great people, but it is an outpost that may have a tough time attracting talent, similar to Edmonton. I hope you get a team, as long as it is not ours.

Also-FYI-there is actually more NHL fans in Atlanta since most of us are from up north.

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http://www.examiner.com/atlanta-thrashers-in-atlanta/sorry-canada-beware-of-reports-of-imminent-relocation-of-thrashers-to-winnipeg
I clicked it, the first thing that loaded was Bettman handing Lord Stanley’s cup to a Winnipegger so I decided i would just close it and point that out too.

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Your loss, Chad. I’ll summarize:

The Thrashers aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Apparently, the NHL has these little things called “rules” governing things like this.

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Tis really a shame the Thrashers couldn’t have won at least 2 of the last 4 heart-breaking games. None of the teams around them in the standings are doing much of anything and now even the Canadiens are slumping losing 2 more on the road. Montreal only has 9 of 24 games left at Centre Bell and they could be in trouble if Price starts to tire which it looks like he might be, much like Pavelec.

The six teams (MTL, NYR, CAR, BUF, FLA, TOR) directly above or below the Thrashers have a combined record of only 22 – 25 – 10 since February 1st. Rather pathetic really. The Southeast just a month ago was getting all kinds of props for being much strong this year and suddenly a lot of the progress is slip-sliding away. After Tampa wraps up their month-long homestand, things will get much tougher. Don’t count on them as being a lock for the division crown. And they know it as they are looking to trade one of their aged D-men for some forward help. Are teams finally starting to put a body on Steven Stamkos?

Of course, we all know who is hot as Hades and charging fast. And no, I don’t mean Arnold Palmer. Don’t know if the Devils can stay this hot, but they may have a certain dark force on their side!!

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@ Alan R

Your linked article… How does anyone in the Atlanta media know that TSNE hasn’t applied for relocation a year ago??

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Smoothie:

The Lightning may not win the division, but the only other team with a realistic shot is Washington.

The Bolts have earned 18 points in their last 13 games, while the Caps have 17 in their last 15 games. The bottom three can’t make that claim. Canes – 14 points in 14 games. Panthers – 13 points in 15 games. Thrashers – 9 points in 15 games.

So, despite their recent struggles, the Bolts still have earned more points than any other SE team in the past month.

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Mike – AS, LLC owns the team, not TNSE. How can anyone file for relocation without having anything to relocate.

Answer: They can’t.

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“Maybe Stuart would have taken care of business if he was out there on the PK but neither Sopel or Oduya seemed to have a clue (and I like Oduya most of the time actually).”

Stuart played all of :14 on the PK in the 3rd period. Either he was shaken up from the fight and not really all there, or Ramsay is a stinkin’ idiot for not using him to kill penalties at a crucial time. Why else do you trade for a guy like him if you’re not going to use him? I started out with a lot of faith in Ramsay, but two months of losing and the same lame-brain decision-making despite the continual losing have me thinking he’s not up to the challenge. It is not working out and now we’ll be stuck with Rammer too long cuz Duds won’t want to fire him too soon since they’re close friends. Time for our so-called leaders on this team to stand up and LEAD! Ladd, Byfuglien and Enstrom need to talk to Ramsay about making some different damn decisions!

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The blue uniform change in 2006 had a much more bad-ass look with the old, classic CCM sweater and not these silly form-fitting, ultra light designs. You put the two versions side by side and the old one kicks the new one’s butt. The older sweaters had more of an industrial, we’re taking no sh!te look to them. The new ones, not so much.

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R/L – that’s what I’m saying…I think Tampa is fully aware of their shortcomings and that’s why they’re looking to make another move. They know Washington IS capable of catching fire, have better goaltending overall and some guy named Alex who is due for a 15-20 goal month. Watch out for the Washington Ovechkins in March. Just sayin’.

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GOOD NEWS!!!! I was at the Thrashers Casino Night at Club Opera last night and I spoke with several friends. There are SEVERAL local people interested in buying the team and/or investing in them. I also spoke with Andrew Ladd and he told me that he wants to stay in Atlanta for a long time and that he loves it here. He told me that his agent is currently in negotiations with the Thrashers for a long term deal.

This was my post this morning before this blog even came out… The story from Kincade is true… I will confirm it.

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ahahahahahah, Joe Friday, classic….”Hopefully we’re not being fed false hope here by Kincade, I can’t remember the last time he made a call correctly, anyone else know of one?”
NO…I don’t ever recall that happening. My question is how in the world would Kincaid get a scoop like that?? Seriously?????? I’ll believe it when I see it also.
Sabres are in trouble, which IS good news for Thrashers. As stated by others, Carolina is the team thats the issue. We have 21 games left (?), we HAVE to go 14-7 or better to make the playoffs, my opinion.

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Wpgguymb-your city is an outpost, there’s several reasons you lost your last team.
Have fun attracting ANY free agents or being competitive.

Spud – Sabres are too small, all Darcy’s fault – time for his to take his money and buy a Mighty Taco franchise in Arizona right near the Ted’s out there.

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Who cares about the NHL……… all these bums get paid millions of dollars for doing what???? Are they savings lives or really helping people. If you ask me….. they are just taking more dollars from your pockets Atlanta fans. Long term deals being signed by owners who are supposedly broke (Look what Dallas is doing…….. NOT signing Richards because they have no owner in sight). Should we as a public keep supporting the owners league (Because that’s all it is) meanwhile we have people who are without jobs/ on welfare/ going to fight wars! As for hockey in Canada………let them have it. Why start up a keep the thrasher site when they are already leaving….. we sold Kovalchuk last year….. didn’t Winnipeg do the same with Selanne?
Go Falcons go…….

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Yes, Go Falcons Go, because Matt Ryan delivers babies on the interstate and Roddy White does neurosurgery in his spare time….

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Even tho every time I send him a critical email at 680 he takes it personally and blasts me back,, Kincade knows his hockey and wouldnt tweet this unless he was pretty sure….so I hope he’s right

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Thrashers have re-defined futility over the past months, but especially so in the last 10 games going 2 – 7 – 1 with 4 goals scored in their 2 wins. Strangely, the Thrashers managed to outshoot their opponents for this stretch of 10 games (31.2 vs 30.3).

Now some of that has been a byproduct of always being behind late in the 3rd, yet the Thrashers have lost two games recently where they’ve only given up a total of 42 shots (CAR & EDM) yet have yielded 8 goals (not counting ENG). In the last five, the Thrashers have averaged 35.8 SOG while only yielding 27.0 against. However, while scoring a respectable 15 goals (3 per), they have given up 3.6 per game for a save percentage of .867. That is Thrashers hockey history in a nutshell. Fade in February thanks to bad defense and even worse goaltending. Fun!

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Go Falcons, Roddy White goes to Thrasher games, you dipstick.So does Brian McCann. They get it, how about you?
And talk about billionaires arguing with millionaires….sheesh. NFL in rare form once again…

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A Memo from last nights interview with Bettman
COMMISSIONER BETTMAN: We don’t think so under current technology. We know that there are limits to what can and can’t be done. And, frankly, if the ice were not adequate, were not appropriate, were not amenable to competitive conditions – and most importantly if the ice wasn’t safe – we wouldn’t be playing.

Q. A question about Atlanta, lots of talk about Winnipeg on CBC tonight, everywhere. What’s your take?

COMMISSIONER BETTMAN: I think there is som news about Atlanta. I know there was an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, but I enjoy speculation about Winnipeg. As for having a buyer in Atlanta, I hate the stories, because it raises people’s expectations when they shouldn’t be.

Bummer….. Good luck keeping them Thrashers!
As Borat said………….. NAT

If and whenever we have something to announce I promise you I’ll announce it. But let’s keep our eye on the ball. We just had a great event. And I don’t know what the CBC said. But if that’s what they were spending attention on during this game, I think they’ve taken their eye off the puck.

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Joe Friday’s Hawks score three unanswered goals and lead the Blues 3-2 with 10 minutes left in the 2nd.

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Johnny Cash is another lying wiener-peg troll. Here is the exact quote from yesterday:

“Q. A question about Atlanta, lots of talk about Winnipeg on CBC tonight, everywhere. What’s your take?
COMMISSIONER BETTMAN: I don’t think there’s any new news about Atlanta. I know there was an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, but I hate speculation. I hate the stories, because it raises people’s expectations when they shouldn’t be.

If and whenever we have something to announce I promise you I’ll announce it. But let’s keep our eye on the ball. We just had a great event. And I don’t know what the CBC said. But if that’s what they were spending attention on during this game, I think they’ve taken their eye off the puck.”

I think he was speaking of your expectations liar…..

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Potential.

That’s why the NHL put a team in Atlanta… potential. A huge population (with tons of northern transplants), a new arena in the works (back then) and a large television market. I imagine that the NHL must be really angry that the Atlanta Spirit spoiled the league’s plans, that they refused to invest in the team, and that they pissed away all of that obvious potential. How do you right that wrong? It’s simple, solid ownership in the Atlanta market.

More so, the entire point of expansion into new, or “untraditional”, markets is to grow the NHL as a whole. The league is trying to increase their appeal and fanbase across the country, not just keep the “status quo” in pockets. Why is that so damn difficult for Canadians to understand? Oh, that’s right, it’s YOUR game. That’s great, but it’s OUR league.

You’ll have to excuse the snotty Winnipeggers. It may seem that they have nothing better to do with their time, and it’s true, they really don’t. Having been raised up north, I spent 30 years looking across the border and wondering what the hell the point of Canada was. Again, excuse them, because the ONLY thing they have is hockey. It has to drive you crazy to live in an outpost that offers nothing to the rest of the world. Well, except the Barenaked Ladies. They’re great in concert!

Go Thrashers!

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There was one very polite and articulate Winnipeg resident on the last blog, and I want to thank him or her for the post.

Winnipeg is home to some great people. It’s unfortunate that a disproportionate number of D-bags have felt the need to invade our blog space in an effort to demoralize us and troll us to death.

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It’s interesting that nobody’s made the connection yet. Kincade works for Dickey Broadcasting, and that company is related to Cumulus Media (It’s owned by members of the Dickey family and is a separate company, but there is a working relationship between the two companies.), whose Cumulus Radio subsidiary is the second largest owner and operator of radio stations in the US (behind Clear Channel). Remember when Time-Warner put the Braves on the market several years ago? The Dickey family was one of the local groups vying for the Braves (As was Arthur Blank and Ron Terwilliger.) and lost out when Time-Warner opted to make a deal with Liberty Media in order to regain the holdings in Time-Warner Liberty Media owned.

As shown by their pursuit of the Braves, the Dickey family does have the financial means to completely buy out Atlanta Spirit Group and perhaps they do bring people like Smoltz and Glavine in as minority owners (Maybe even Dominique Wilkins, since he was originally supposed to have bought into Atlanta Spirit, but due to the ownership situation with Steve Belkin, his attempt to buy into the ownership group fizzled out.) if they are in fact the seriously interested party in the whole ball of wax.

The Dickey family makes the most sense seeing as they are the broadcast home for the Hawks and Thrashers and maybe if they do buy the teams, they’ll put games on 99X like the Braves. Plus they wouldn’t have to worry about securing a radio broadcast partner since they already own stations they can air the games on.

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I am personal friends with Dickeys. I have talked to Lew Dickey about purchasing the team for some time now. He said that he wasn’t interested in purchasing the team. He still wants the Braves. I am still working on him though. He would be a GREAT owner for the Thrashers.

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Just a a FYI, Just heard on Buck and Kincade, He’s encouraging people to come out to next Friday’s and Sundays games because “You never know who will be in the building” He said there is someone who will be “kicking the tires” of the organization to see what is what.
So get out there Thrasher fans. I’m gonna be there, somewhere.

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Lol…

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Hockey-coach-strips-half-naked-throws-clothes-d?urn=nhl-324134

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What?? Kincade was telling people to go to a hockey game?? But it’s not his job (or the station’s) to build a fan base!!! Oh mon dieu Kincade.

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Patience, Thrasher faithful. Once this owner business blows over, you may issue a retort here:

http://www.hockeyforum.com/winnipeg-jets/151-winnipeg-arena.html

(you might even find some great deals on brand new, never worn Thrasher apparel!)

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“Any time you get moved you want to still be competing for something,” Wheeler said. “This team is right there.”

I guess Ramsay slipped something into Blake’s water bottle? Talk about drinking the kool-aid! Damn I’m not used to this, or good news.

Can we go win a GD hockey game now!? For once!

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Gary Bettman was on NHL Live today, They have GOT to get rid of that e.j.HACK, he is THE WORST Hockey has to offer…. Of course after the asg.

But The Commissioner was on… And THE BIG topic was Atlanta moving to winnipeg.
The Commissioner, sidestepped the entire issue, with his, now routine answer, “There has been a lot of ownership problems down there, I hate spectulation and I will not do so, let’s see what happens and when there is something to announce, we will announce it.”

His avoiding direct questions and saying when there IS something to announce, they will, well the writing is on the wall. If one teams moves to the winnipeg wasteland, then he will apaise
all those selfish canada fans and it will get them off his back for a year of so, until “they” want another team, then it starts all over again.

This team here would thrive, under a committed owner, whith these LIARS, NO WAY !

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The deal on Neal in Dallas is he’s been a bit difficult to motivate – he must not have been responding to the whiny voice of Marc Crawford. But then again, how would he have responded to the soft, soothing voice of Rammer? What if we would have gotten “Scarface” instead of Tampa Bay???

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I wasn’t going to post but whatever…. this entire fiasco is ALL on the NHL. They vet awful ownership groups NORTH and SOUTH of the border, and spin so many lies… Bettman can’t be direct with people and so we have rumours and half truths spinning for well over a year. Media NORTH and SOUTH spinning their own nonsense. NHL can’t even control their own media. The NHL fans are the ones that lose in this, paying good money only to be lied to and manipulated. Yes, i would like to see a team back in the peg, but if there is a return, the way NHL went about it is pathetic. So fans are left guessing and grabbing the latest stories etc… so to add to that, did anyone notice the Budwieser commercial yesterday during the Heritage Classic? Huge shot of wpg jets logo being hung back up on the wall… doesn’t say anything but for GB to say “I don’t want to raise wpgs expectations,” you sure are being a dyck about it.

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Can I dream a little here ( I deserve it after forcing myself to watch the ice ballet at Edmonton Saturday)?

Antro, Sopel and Little for Richards?

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Good to get back on the blog after being gone a week.

If hockey can’t make it in ATL, what does that say about the sport and the NHL? You would think most Canadians would want it to succeed and excel in other places. But for purely selfish motives they’d rather destroy the game. Fact is, as those who have been paying attention know, hockey has worked, can work, and will work in ATL. Given everything that has been put in place since day one against it working and that it still survives should be further proof. One owner who gets it is all Atlanta fans have ever wanted or expected. Make that happen and the selfish Canadians know they won’t get this team.

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winnipeg is not even the size of Marietta or Dunwoody or Athens or Anniston or Asheville or Augusta
Nee I go on ? I’ve been there twice and can say I NEVER want to return, middle of NOWHERE
with NOTHING to do or go to and it’s COLD all the time, except for a couple month’s a year.
winnipeg DOES NOT deserve NHL hockey, I’d rather see it in the Mountains of WNC than anywhere canada. Where do “they” get off, “owning” this sport ???

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asg in talks to bring back letemin, kovy and hosser so the team will be attractive to a new owner.

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Red Light, I don’t know if Shattenkirk or Chris Stewart scored, but the Blues have been playing better since the trade. Chicago 5, St. Louis 3. (The Blues won the last one, 9-3.) I can remember a time when Chicago and St. Louis had an enormous streak of consecutive playoff appearances. It was a foregone conclusion, in both cities, that there would be playoffs in the spring.

Red Light, now that 75-percent of the season is in the can, who do you think will win the Cup this year? I tells ya, I didn’t think Philly would be back, and so strong, this year. But they are. Do you smell a first round upset of the Flyers? Or a let-down by the Flyers in the playoffs? Or, are you thinking the Flyers, after coming so close last year, are the most bound and determined to finally end their Cup drought, dating back in 1975?

In pre-season, and honesty counts here, I had the Washington Capitals vs. the Penguins in the CF, and I had the L.A. Kings vs. Vancouver in the Western Conference Finals. I had the Capitals over the Penguins and the Canucks over the Kings, with Washington finally getting their 1st cup in franchise history. As it stands now, Washington isn’t scaring anybody, but Pittsburgh still looks like a very solid pick in the CF for the East. The L.A. Kings might not make the playoffs. Sigh. But Vancouver is humming right along. Chicago might miss the dance this year, after bringing home the Cup last year, then holding the firesale to get back under the cap.

Red Light, any teams you see as longshots surprises? In preseason, I had Anaheim and Minnesota as bubble team who might do damage, if they got in. I had TB and Montreal as bubble teams in the East, who if they got in, might be formiddable, after all. Aren’t preseason thoughts fun??? TB will likely win their division. Montreal looks like a solid pick to be a playoff team. Kudos to Carey Price, on an All-Star season. I didn’t have the NY Rangers anywhere near a playoff berth. And my pick of Buffalo to be the # 7 seed is another miss.

In the West, I am looking forward to seeing Phoenix, Nashville, and SJ doing some damage this year. Detroit has reemerged as a Cup contender, also.

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Portage and Main, you won’t get any sympathy on this blog after your remarks all weekend. You seemed to take great delight in taunting the Thrasher fans on this blog.

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Thanks for being one of the good guys, AG.

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glovesave29 – but you’re not giving back to THEM, you’re insulting a city, where people live and call home. Ignoring them is their true punishment and is the only thing that bothers them. You don’t think they know they are posting pro-relocation stuff on the Thrashers board?? What do you think they want? They want you to get pissed off and start attacking them, that’s the point.

Many people in Winnipeg want NHL so badly that they look for all sorts of news on it and of course it leads them to boards like this. And 99% of them dodn’t post anything, just take in the information. These same people followed the Phoenix situation very closely and know that over the last two years many “potential mystery ownership” groups were reported, its a rollercoaster ride that just when you think its done, something else comes out. We’ve been through it all and in the end if Phoenix stay, Atlanta stays and there’s no expansion, then Winnipeg hockey fans have been treated like bait and then discarded which is pretty brutal, not that I expect sympathy.

I know its maddening to read what some idiots write but I find it hard for people on here to trash my city in return, its personal that way.

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I hear ya AG – I generally don’t respond in kind. Can’t say I have ever trashed Winnipeg as I am not holding a whole city responsible for a few jerks. We realize the shortcomings of our market – and are willing to discuss it in an intelligent matter with anyone from anywhere in the world. There are some really knowledgeable fans here. It’s one of the really great hockey blogs that does not fall into immature name calling and finger pointing like on TSN or Rogers. Those sites also censor US based responses should they not agree with our point of view. Like I said before, I played in tourneys all over western Canada and have been to your town. You should be proud of your home, as we are ours. Each have their pluses and minuses. Gotta think someday the NHL will return to Winnipeg. Personally, I’d put my money on the Islanders. as the NY market is saturated and only the Rangers draw. The NCC is old and decrepit, and the latest 2 arena plans were scuttled by the government.

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http://www.examiner.com/atlanta-thrashers-in-atlanta/sorry-canada-beware-of-reports-of-imminent-relocation-of-thrashers-to-winnipeg

If anyone else has already posted this, I’m sorry. Anyways, this might make you feel better. It was convincing. The one thing I will say is that regardless of the calming points Mr. Foley makes on the league constitution and other laws/ rules/ whatever, I simply DO NOT trust that consitutions will protect this team. I shouldn’t have to elaborate on that, cuz I don’t wanna get political and it’s not that I don’t think he’s wrong per se…whatever dig it.

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Iron League 13: Kincade’s been dropping hints that the entity interested in acquiring the team(s) will be present at Philips this weekend, but nothing of substance yet.

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AG79: The Thrashers marketing dept. takes after its ownership. They really don’t care about the sport at all, and it shows. Don’t forget, our marketing folks decided to have the mascot “arrested” and put in jail until more seats were sold. There’s also this season’s overall slogan: “A Brutally Good Time!” If you’ve watched the team play in the last month, you’d take out the -ly and the Good and be more accurate.

The disappointing thing is hockey has grown at the grass-roots level around Atlanta over the past 10 years. There are a lot of kids getting the opportunity to play the sport that would have never thought about it before. There are adult leagues popping up with people who have lived in the area almost all their life. Yet when it comes to trying to get people to get out to Philips for a game, it can be a real challenge when the team has been on a downward trend for nearly all of its existence. I was speaking with an acquaintance today who said that her father was a season ticket holder until the playoff sweep, then he dropped them because he could tell things were about to start going downhill fast. There’s been signs of life, but November and December’s flashes of brilliance have given way to what we’ve grown accustomed to over the past decade.

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AG – the opportunities missed here would make you sick. Just 3 miles from Philips arena are Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Morehouse, Spelman and Clark Atlanta universities – fill the seats with college students and create a buzz in the arena as the base is built. Across the street is the CNN center and the Georgia World Congress Center – visitors galore. Olympic Park is a block away. The arena is in the middle of downtown. They refuse to hit the streets and develop the market a la Carolina. The Georgia Dome is a block away and shares a pavilllion with Philips for tailgating that is never used. They don’t have a team tourney for the local mens league / HS / College teams / kids leagues – ice or roller. They refuse to acknowledge hockey’s history here with the NHL Flames or IHL Knights. Even really reach for it and play on the (semi) local team with the greatest name in hockey history – the Macon Whoopee. It’s just frustrating. The marketing is left to the fans to bring the uninitiated. Once you are there, you’re hooked. They just refuse to do what it takes to bring in the crowds for that first trip to a game…

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i ment slamming, not “slowing”

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I am disappointed that nobody picked up on my Animal House dialogue. Beats talking about sending any team to Winnipeg, which is in the same area code as the Northwest Territories. Can’t go any places where I know my beer will freeze as soon as I take it out of my jacket.

Totally off subject-great job by NFL Network on Full Color Football – History of the American Football League. I am in an old school mood tongiht.

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Umm, hey Johhny, they teach the ABCs and alphabetization up there? The SPORTS tab menu, like most other respectable newpapers, lists their sports teams and events in order. You know, A goes first, then B, then C etc. I hope you followed that, if not I will spend the time to spell it all out for you, eh.

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I swear a snotty prick from the Peg coming on here with Johnny Cash as his monicker and talking sheet burns my ass like you wouldn’t believe. That said…

Johnny the reason no one talks about you far fetched conspiratorial wet dream is BECAUSE IT NEVER EFFING HAPPENED!!! I’ve heard this, I’ve looked for proof all over the web and can’t find anything other than you chuckleheads in the Peg stroking each others fantasies with such crap.

NEWSFLASH YOU TROLLING SCHMUCK: IT’S 2011 IF YOU CAN’T FIND A REAL ANSWER ON GOOGLE AFTER ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES OF SEARCHING IT’S PROBABLY BULL(bleep)!!!

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Weiner-peg, tehe. (giggle giggle)

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As for a sign:

F ind
U s
A
S avior
G ary Bettman

To be read vertically and horizontally

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atlantafanatic – Awesome!! Hope to see several of those Friday night.

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Strange, Curly, the loudest I ever heard the Knights yell was during the playoff games. Guess the 18,545 in the building those two games weren’t Thrashers fans?

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Johnny Cash just finished draining his monkey.

That’s all teenage boys have to do in Winnipeg.

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The more they troll, the more they motivate Thrasher fans to rally.

Keep going Winnitrolls.

Those poor monkey drainers in Winnipeg are getting nervous all of a sudden, the tide has turned against them….AGAIN

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No offense Curly, but I gotta disagree with you on the Knights bit even though I’ve never done it myself. It’s part of Atlanta hockey culture. In my opinion (I think it’s pretty good on this matter) people don’t want the Knights more than the Thrashers, but they loved the Knights and that team was FUN!!! Not the most skilled hockey, but seriously hard nosed hockey, again FUN!!! That was my favorite era of hockey that I experienced in this town, mind you the Flames left when I was a baby, but whatever. Don’t worry the new prospective buyers will get the memo on that if they don’t know already. If anything it tells them WE LOVE OUR TEAMS.

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I would like to see a Jets/Thrashers game. That’d be dope.

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Atlantafanatic – I like it, do it.

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As a lifelong Atlanta sports fan, I truly believe it’s in the best interest of Atlanta fans that the Thrashers and Hawks remain a package deal. I don’t think either team is nearly as financially viable on their own as they are as p

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Well, %^&$. You’re right. It is. I didn’t even notice the date. fine print and all.

Winner is not me.

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ALL THRASHER FANS! MAKE THIS YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE PICTURE!

http://i.imgur.com/VOtbn.jpg

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Ben – Those are all books they’d have to turn over to the NHL in the event a filing to move the team takes place. If King and Spalding doesn’t pursue those books, the NHL will. It will be then that the NHL sees exactly how things have been worked over here by the Spirit clowns.

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AG79, welcome to our blog. And you won’t find me bad-mouthing Winnipeg or the good folks of Manitoba. I felt very bad for the Jets leaving Winnipeg, bound for the middle of the desert. At the time, I thought … is the emerging “hotbed” of hockey interest … Phoenix, Arizona??? If not, then why is the team being relocated there? Truthfully, I am something close to wholly ignorant about how and why the Jets were forced out of Manitoba. I can tell you this much, their fans are knowledgeable and passionate about hockey. Even after it was announced that the Jets were in their final season, they still took the heeavily favored Red Wings to six games, before bowing out in 1996. I remember the good fans of Winnipeg staying, standing, and clapping after they’d been eliminated. In that moment, I felt very PROUD for Winnipeg and their fans, for the classy way then sent their team off to Phoenix. If you’ll recall, in the previous game in Winnipeg, the Jets were shelled, 6-1. That could have been their swan song, right there. The last memory that endured. Instead, the Jets went into HockeyTown, trailing 3-1 in the series, and forced the series back to Manitoba with a win. And in Game Six, despite the final score being 4-1, it was a competitive game, where the Jets exhausted all their energy to try to avoid elimination.

It’s got to be frustrating for fans of the Jets and Coyotes alike. The franchise is 2-17 in 19 series. But, it’s not as if they are constantly SWEPT out of the playoffs. In 1990 and 1992, respectively, the Jets held a 3-1 series lead on Edmonton and Vancouver, but they just couldn’t close it out. The Jets/Coyotes franchise has suffered some just heartbreaking losses in OT that could have shifted a series. In 1993, the Jets lost Game Six of their series with Vancouver in overtime, to be eliminated. The last time the Jets won a series occured in 1987, when they took Game Six, 6-1, over the Calgary Flames.

Phoenix has not won a playoff series since coming down from Canada. They had their chances, though. In 1997, down 2-0 in the series, Phoenix rallied for three wins versus the Mighty Ducks. They took Game Six into overtime, but lost at home. Then they were shutout in California, in Game Seven, by Anaheim. In ‘98, they once again gave the Red Wings a hard fought six game series. In 1999, the Phoenix Coyotes were eliminated by the Saint Louis Blues, 1-0, in overtime of Game Seven, in Phoenix. What can you say, but ‘heartbreaking?’ The Coyotes held a 3-1 series edge in 1999. The Coyotes lost Game Five, ALSO IN OVERTIME, versus the Blues. I can’t properly begin to tell you how agonizing that must have been for them. Two chances, in overtime, to close out the Blues, for their 1st series win in Arizona. Did … not … get … it done. The next year, they were ushered out in five, by Colorado. Hey, that’s the way it goes. Prior to last year’s brilliant season by the Coyotes, where many franchise bests were established, including most wins, most points, and fewest losses, they last made the playoffs in 2002, where they were quickly disposed of by San Jose, 4-1. Last year, they lost to Detroit in seven games. And had the Coyotes dropped games to either or both Nashville and Los Angeles down the stretch, they could have pushed Detroit back to 6th spot, making the Red Wings face Vancouver (# 3) in the opening round. And we know how that series went, SJ won! Phoenix, with a 1st round win, would have probably dead ended against Chicago in the CSF. (The Blackhawks did win the Stanley Cup.)

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Like I said in earlier posts on other blog entries, I really regret the tone of some Winnipeg hockey fans on these blogs, especially Johnny Cash. They are sentimentalists, pawns of Canadian and local media that want nothing more than to sell papers and online readership based primarily on speculation, rumors and misinformation. So-called journalists have essentially become hacks.

Much of Winnipeg’s sense of entitlement to an NHL team comes from the belief that it is still an important city in Canada; once, it was the third largest. But times have changed, economies have grown and it is essentially the largest urban area between Toronto and Calgary. Winnipeg had an NHL team for a long time but they lost it because of greedy owners, dumb politicians and the fact that they were a lousy hockey team. I had season tickets the year the Jets officially became the worst team in NHL history (I think it was seven wins).

Today, you’ll hear stories about an ownership base in Winnipeg that has the 20th (or so) richest man in the world. His fortune was inherited and none of it was made from professional sports. True North Sports might own an arena and the Winnipeg Moose; that’s been a solid investment. But I haven’t seen or read anything but media speculation that they want an NHL franchise. It’s a much larger and complex kettle of fish, one that poses serious risk and negative financial exposure for a group that has moved cautiously and within the limits of what the Winnipeg marketplace can accommodate.

There are some in Winnipeg who want an NHL franchise and I’d suggest that if the league chooses to expand then that’s an entirely different and acceptable set of circumstances. But spending months and months taunting Glendale fans with lies, slurs and insults got rabid Winnipeg fans nowhere. Now they’re migrating here and for that, I am truly sorry/

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Ben, all I ask … is that the next Thrashers owners … CARE about hockey and the fate of the franchise, especially by keeping it here. I don’t want some corporation looking for an “offset asset” for a tax writeoff.

Someone should CARE about this franchise. That’s the top priority. And hopefully, Gary Bettman has gotten better about properly vetting an ownership group. He’s sure taken his time with this situation in Phoenix.

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ZAvalanche, what about Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny? They can’t score and take the body? Granted, I have not been watching Altitude all year long, on Center Ice. I defer to your judgement, as a fan of the Colorado Avalanche.

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Duchene has now missed 20 games this season. Yes he is good, very young and makes young mistakes. He is also not so big and can get brushed off easily. Stastny is committing highway robbery this season at $6.6 mill a year. He hasn’t kept up with expectations at all, which brings me to my next point – well, two points. Biggest issue – we were killing it the first half of the season, like Thrashy was, then injury after injury after injury. Flash, Mueller, Duchen (for 20), Anderson for a lot, Stewart (broken hand), Foote (for being old), the list goes on. We are on pace for about 350 man-games lost. That is huge. So it forced Sacco’s hand (not really, but he will say so), and he developed ZERO line consistency. Game after game we probably rolled every single line combination mathematically possible. They players really get tuned into and comfortable with the guys they play with consistently. He has destroyed that completely. We have no flow, no confidence, zip. Yeah, I can understand when maybe a player is dragging a$$ and a small change needs to happen. I can recall at least 4 games where he benched, either for the whole game or parts of it, some of our star players – the player who HAVE to get the ice time to give us a chance – because of one turnover or missed assignment. The result is that the players are playing cautious, which is not their style, so they don’t get the bench which is humiliating to a player who is looked at as a leader. = bad coaching.

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Oh, and Fleischman and Mueller were lost for the whole season. Flash had embolisms in his leg and on blood thinners (100% out for the season, may never return to hockey), and Mueller is still dealing with serious concussion problems. Both are 20-30 goal scorers. And our freaking coach BENCHED Stewart for a whole game for a costly turnover – gimme a break – the kid is young. You think chastising him rather than saying “I bet you learned something from that one, give another go” helped his confidence? And Liles, out best D-man, he benched for a period and nobody knew why. The announcers thought it was ridiculous. What was the result? Liles came out and played like he had a grudge against the coach. As a former educator, I learned the hard way – positive reinforcement, as hard as it is to give sometimes, yields much better results.

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Brendan – You’d have better luck translating the Sumerian language, by hand, with no working knowledge of it, than you would have of getting AS, LLC’s books. It’ll take a court of law and/or an act of the Gods. Probably both.

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I will take Smoothie’s Aunt Millie to run this rig over A$$G any day.

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You must remember that the highlight of hockey in Winnipeg is when Bobby Hull joined the Jets in the WHA from the Blackhawks for $250K a year.

Some of the problems with the old team were already mentioned. Players were paid in US $ and at the time the Cdn $ was worth something like 70¢. Also, the Jets paid rent to play in their Arena and didn’t get a cut of the concessions. People have correctly pointed out that it was a doomed economic model. All three levels of government (Federal, Provincial and Civic) were all involved to one degree or another underwriting losses. The owners at the time of sale were essentially asking for a new, completely government funded facility with costs at the time being somewhere in the $200 mln range. The economy was tanking and the owners rode it out as long as they could, but they did make a handsome profit with the team sale to Phoenix, underwritten in no small way by the public trough.

Lots of Winnipeg hockey fans will tell you about the new economics of the new facility, ownership group, luxury boxes, fan base, etc. On some level, along with salary caps, a convincing argument can be made that a team could be viable these days. Some Winnipeggers think so, many do not. You can bet that if anyone tries for an NHL franchise in Winnipeg, it’s going to require public money. The Federal government is likely facing an election in May and 25-30% or more of all votes nationally come from Quebec who don’t have but want an NHL caliber facility. There is a long-standing rivalry between French Quebec and English Canada, Winnipeg being on the short of end of the government stick.

I only mention this because it’s some of the fuel behind some of Jet’s fans enthusiasm. Again, I really regret the crap some of them have hurled. Glendale blogs that have 4-500 entries of essentially named calling and racist/nationalist slurs doesn’t help clarify a complex situation. And if “reporters’ start giving life to these endless threads of bias and hate, you can only guess why Bettman and other NHL officials stay silent on the issue.

I was born and raised in Winnipeg. I left when I could, lived in Atlanta for two years so I know something about your civic pride and local mentality. From what I’ve read and understand, the Atlanta Spirit sound like survivors afloat in a lifeboat, fighting over who to eat first now that food has run low.

I think if the Thrashers are going to prosper (i.e. more than stay in Atlanta) there has to be some sort of ownership and management clarity, not everyone locked in litigation. It’s those fights, not the ones on the ice, that affect everyone in the organization and the community.

I hope it works out. I hope the Thrashers stay in Atlanta and I implore Winnipeg hockey fans to not pollute this board with taunts, catcalls and hostility. It’s not Atlanta’s fault they have an NHL team and Winnipeg doesn’t.

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Ken

You nailed it right on the button. If Winnipeg had concession rights they may well have weathered the strom. Correct me if I am wrong, but the Nordiques had similar problems (BTW, THANK YOU Eric Lindross, those who know, know what I’m talking about). In addition, there is NO WAY Montreal would have sent Roy to the ‘Diques. Never ever, ever.

That aside, the last sentence of your 5th paragraph says it all, you are spot on. I will be truly disheartened if I move back to Atl and there is no NHL. So I feel your pain. I am sure you have seen some of the posts rating the population and GDP of the current NHL teams’ cities vs the cities that are vying for NHL teams. Quebec City and Winnipeg come in at the bottom, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t necessarily prosper. While I deride some of the trolls that come on here, I do respect their passion for the sport. When it comes down to it, all we are is passionate hockey fans who love our team(s).

And I do remember the Golden Jet (if any of you don’t know who that is, you need to do some research). Brutally skilled player and a wrecking ball at that. Man, I hate Brett Hull for what he has done to my team over the years, but you gotta respect that family. Freakishly amazing. Two years in a row he killed us in the WCF game 7. Grrrrr.

Anyhow, don’t worry about the catcalls and the harassment from the very few Jets fans, we all have been down North Ave at 3 AM and guaranteed, it is a bit more hostile!

If you do end up with the team, I will be sad, very sad. But will root for ya unless a win by the “Jets” hurts the Avs

Cheers Ken, and thank you for being civil.

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I’m glad that many of the Thrashers have decided to not let a few of the trolls get the best of him. Anyone who goes to the AZCentral pages about the Coyotes saga, all you see is a handful of trolls, and a few Coyotes fans who fall for their comments.

I grew up watching the Jets, they were my team, and everyone I went to school with were fans. It was heartbeaking to see them leave. I remember watching the “Save the Jets” rally and seeing a little girl donate her piggy bank. Such images really define what Manitoba is about. We all pitched in and tried our best to keep what was important to us.

The owner of the Jets, Barry Shenkarow, wasn’t the best owner, but he really didn’t have the big pockets to keep the Jets in Winnipeg (he now sells real estate in Winnipeg). Manitoba Entertainment Complex (who ran the arena) did absolutely nothing to help the situation either. Manitoba in the mid 90s was in pretty dire straits, and the government would not help.

But you have to understand the view from Winnipeg. We had a team that was forcefully dismantled by the NHL upon entry into the league. We had a team that lingered at the bottom of the standings for years. We had a terrible arena with uncomfortable seats that were in some places blocked by obstacles. Yet even now, 15 years after the move, when you walk through the city, you see lots of people wearing Jets hats and jerseys. Go to any major hockey event (ie the Olympics and the Heritage Classic), and you will see Jets fans. The fans from Manitoba see the excuses “oh we have bad owners, our team has been bad too long, etc”, and we can’t help but shake our heads. We don’t even have a team, yet there are tons of fans. Or look at Edmonton, who has languished at the bottom of the standings for a few years, yet sell out every game with ticket prices that are probably 2-3 times more expensive than in Atlanta.

I really hope this situation has opened up the eyes of Atlanta Thrashers fans. You can’t take for granted that you will have NHL hockey just because Atlanta is a massive city and has a few large corporations that headquarter there. I sincerely hope that it works out for you, because it is a shame that fans should be screwed around by these people. But the years of poor attendance and lack of interest in the city may have taken their toll.

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Johnny Cash – I was at the Winnpeg Arena twice, small place and very loud. It was certainly not sustain an NHL team in the current era. Your new arena is very nice, should be able to support an NHL team at a minimum. Hope you get one someday as long as it is not the Thrashers.

And do us a favor-you wanna talk hockey you are welcome anytime. But you and your fellow idtiots are giving Canadians a bad name. With all due respect to some of our regular Canadian bloggers and my friends from Canada.

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Winning record – 7 of the last 9 Rawhide blogs have had 200 or more posts. Sounds alot better than 6 -14-5.

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Hey guys,
First time caller long time listener.
I will hang up and listen.

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Z – no worries man, I’m not easily offended save for a couple of resident trolls who seem to take delight saying the same thing over and over and over. I wish I had a rich aunt, uncle, step-grandfather, anyone who could help me keep the team in ATL. While Phil Foley makes some very good points in his Examiner article, I just have a real uneasy feeling because Bettman is so against saying anything of substance at this point. At this point, all I can do is hold out hope that once the PHX fiasco is settled and the new TV contract is done, Bettman will shift ALL of his attention and do his normal due diligence in acting in such a tricky situation as this. But my gut tells me to expect the worst…guess it’s conditioned into me following this clusterflop of a franchise.

As for all of the Manitoban guests here on this fair blog, perhaps they’ll all agree to move to Atlanta if things don’t work out for you in the Peg. We could use your passion and another 10,000 fans who will promise to pack the building once we get new ownership! And by the way, I’ve always love the Jets…never forget Teemu’s rookie season in 92-93.

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Smoothie, I could see ASG suing the league for not allowing them to sell the team out of town once the 7-year covenant is past. Not sure if the league is protected from that sort of litigation, being that they have to approve all owners anyway.

Didn’t the Rangers try to sue the league recently for Website content regulations?

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That is too funny!

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Trixie, Help my last post is lost!

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No worries, I kinda thought it would be worth considering a whole new team name and identity IF the team stays with new owners. At the very least, some effort put in to maybe a new jersey and such….

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The league doesn’t need fans in Winnepeg… Canadians will watch hockey regardless. The NHL needs teams to be successful in non-traditional markets in order to grow the popularity of the sport.

Move all the teams to Canada and it will be like a ‘tree falling in the woods’.

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Sorry again Smoothie, Z had a couple last night , but I am serious about believing that any member of your extended family could run the organization better than these clowns.

I prefer the Thrasher name, now we just have to live up to it.

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The Atlanta Half-Assed? The logo can be one butt cheek.

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Hokie… Perhaps, it is not about generating fans in wpg but more about stabilizing a league that has too many dying franchises. Anyway… Tipp should win coach of the year again, with the amount of uncertainty in PHX and lack of funds the guy can still bring out the best with what he has… just saying. That guy is a Jedi Master with Sith Lord tendencies…

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Portage… I agree on Tippett. I’d like to think he could have been the Thrashers Coach if we had pulled the plug on Coach Anderson sooner.

I don’t disagree that Winnipeg should get a team, but I don’t believe in giving up on non-traditional markets. If things stayed where they belonged, we wouldn’t have Spaghetti or Burritos.

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Does anyone else have trouble with the AJC’s posts deciding what you get to see and when? In other words soetimes it doesn’t even give the option to see certain pages or show all and even if you pick see all you’ll get posts from a day ago…like I just did. Basically I have to submit a comment to see the last post in most cases. So, I guess after this I can actually see the topic of the moment.

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I do think Atlanta is justified (that is)

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We need a new owner, granted.
We also ened a totally new identify. Get rid of all the uniforms we have had the fist 11 years.
Get rid of Blueland, the Sons of Blueland, the Legends of Blueland.
Deep Six Thrash and that stupid Ice Box Penguin

New name-Atlanta ??

Just start over and put the past in our rear view mirros.

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See ya next year, Thrashers err Jets…. Well Atlanta fans can Go West and be the kings of wishful thinking…

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We are not moving to Canada, Bruce told us so.

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Folks from Winnipeg are welcome to talk hockey on this blog, your contributions are more than welcome. You are all supposed to be such great hockey fans and wonderful people – please act that way. FYI team isn’t going anywhere because there’s a TV deal to be had. Just look at Phoenix if you want proof that there will be no movement. Have a great day.

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I hope the Islanders move to Kansas City… then we can put Nashville in the Southeast and put Washington in the Atlantic.

Atlantic Division that is… or Ocean, either is fine.

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Be mindful to not insult the city of Winnipeg. We hate the trolling, but I respect the polite and articulate hockey fans from Winnipeg, and I respect the city.

It is no “outpost,” and 750k isn’t anything to laugh at. Even if you compare it to Atlanta’s 6+mil.

I do not welcome insults from our Winnipeg brethren, but I do welcome them to talk hockey with us. They, like us, are NHL fans.

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Joe-I agree on Johnny

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I vote on Atlanta Fire as the new name.

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GaVa-Kansas City was a flavor of the day once, later replaced by Hamilton.

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tonyb – Agree on the Winnipeg fans posting here. Nobody is going to say a word to intelligent hockey discussion or even adult debate. I have never bothered to even look at a blog from up there for two reasons. I don’t care what they think will happen and I can imagine what they are saying about this city. Some people are sensitive to the trolls since we have already had one team load the franchise on trucks and drive north. They act like they are the only city that ever happened to.

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WIth all due respect…..”Putting a franchise in a market the size of Winnipeg. Dude, it sits by itself in the middle of nowhere. Raleigh has millions of people within a 3 hour drive, Winnipeg has maybe, a nice contingent of moose and elk, but were are the paying customers.” Calling us trolls……… again really classy people. We actually used to go hunting after Jet games for Coyotes…. Penguins……Panthers……… and yes Thrashers! You forgot to add we are a city with a bunch of Indians…. I say Indians because I am one (Thank you).

Please note- THIS IS THE VERY REASON YOU WILL LOSE THE THRASHERS BECAUSE SOME OF YOU GUYS ARE NAIVE ARROGANT PEOPLE. Yes, please don’t say Atlanta is swelling at the seams when you have a whole city immigrating after Katrina (Sad people of New Orleans there). As for Hagman….. his name is Niclas Hagman (Knowledgeable hockey fans!). If Atlanta was smart and need a forward/ D-Man, they would get an old skilled vet like Kovalev and trade for John Michael Liles. Let Ladd (The torpedo) rip it up and give the puck to Kovalev while Liles is a great pass rusher.

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This blog happens to be pretty much the only ‘respectful’ and knowledgeable I have come across in a long time. Usually blogs consist of a bunch of a-holes spewing mental diarrhea under complete anonymity with no fear of reprisal other than a little denigration by another anonymous person.

I have never been to Winnipeg, never had a reason, but I wouldn’t say no to a trip there, just other places I would rather visit. I know you are hockey fans, so am I and have been playing for quite some time – best game on the planet hands down. I truly welcome posters from other markets and value a well constructed opinion, which is why I love this blog. We have gals and guys here who know what they are talking about and that makes it fun and a tremendous distraction from all of the crap that life requires.

I won’t trash ‘Peg or the vast majority of it’s citizens as I am sure that when it comes down to it, they you all are probably much like me. However, to the abusive trolls I will hold back not a bit (though Trixie’s filter may hold me back if I typed what I thought . I won’t trash a city till I have experienced it (looking at you Auburn, Butte, Miles City, Louisville, LA, Sacramento, Plano, etc.).

So troll aggressively if you like, but it does nothing to me except reassure me that I have better places to visit. Cheers and rock ‘em Thrashy!

BTW, Brendan, a preemptive congrats on beating the Avs tonight…….

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THIS IS THE VERY REASON YOU WILL LOSE THE THRASHERS BECAUSE SOME OF YOU GUYS ARE NAIVE ARROGANT PEOPLE.

No, the only reason we would ever lose the Thrashers is money. And trust me, we tend to find the money when we need it. The buyers are starting to line up.

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Hokie, Johnny Cash isn’t a very smart troll is he? Just a troll, from wiener-peg.

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Was Rawhide classless when he said to Uncle Milty to come back next year

Did he disrespect the city of Winnipeg?

My answer to your question, and the answer to this one, is one in the same.

No disrespect intended, but If you don’t understand now what I’m getting at, then you never will.

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Johnny, you are ignorant. Liles is the poster boy for the AVS D, he will not be traded and Atl doesn’t have anything to trade him for except maybe Buffy or Bobo or Pav. The D is the Avs problem and losing lilies WILL NOT HAPPEN. Figure it out, and do some research moron. And yeah, Atl IS bursting at the seams. When was the last time you have visited? When was the last time, without a storm, that it took you 2.5 hours to drive 25 miles? Yeah, “that is bursting at the seams”. Atl is 10 times the size of ‘Peg and growing constantly. Come on down and witness the awesomeness!

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Please let me know when the incessant back-and-forth ceases! Maybe then we can begin to talk about on-ice affairs, as none of us can control what happens off the ice, except for creating a better atmosphere inside Philips Arena.

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JamesC I really think that an expansion team is in the realm of possibility. I also think that if Edmonton does not build a new arena, you would be on the short list as I don’t see the NHL relocating that team out of Canada.

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Winnipeg fans showing up here are like rubber neckers on the highway, only difference is you’re hoping the corpse is brought to you, enough of the nonsense already, it’s pointless to argue amongst fans. Our fans simply need to stop responding to them, and they’ll go away.

Has anyone else emailed, called, etc any politicians or the NHL? Any replies? I only have one reply, from the Governor’s office who said he will continue to work on building a good business and economic environment in Georgia, but the Thrashers are a private enterprise over which he has no control. Then he (his staff member anyway), advised me to contact the owners of the Thrashers, the Atlanta Spirit Group, with my concerns. Oof.

Like Smoothie, Bettman’s lack of directly addressing us is giving me the impression that this is a fait accompli . . . only thing left to do is show up for the games. If Friday’s game isn’t a standing room only sellout, we might as well help them start packing at the end of the game. Anyone have a ticket rep that will tell them how sales are going for Friday?

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With all due respect tonyb the Edmonton Oilers will NEVER move to Winnipeg from oil rich Alberta…would make zero sense.Plus Edmonton’s metro area is over 1 million people,they have 5 Stanley Cup Championships,rivalry with Calgary,tradition etc.etc.Just like the Islanders will NEVER move from the NYC market….unless the move is lateral to the Barclay Center in Brooklyn when it opens in a few years and they can join the NBA’ s New Jersey Nets there.

Bettman is right in trying to stabilize the various franchises where they are.Nashville,Carolina,Tampa,San Jose,Dallas,Florida and Anaheim are all drawing well and prove that the NHL can work in a non-traditional market.Phoenix’s problem is the arena’s location…40 miles from Scottsdale….maybe the new owner there will solve some of their issues.Hopefully Atlanta works itself out and in a few years a more stable NHL expands to Winnipeg,Quebec City,Houston,Kansas City,Seattle and either Hartford,Cleveland, Milwaukee or Portland. I would like to see the NHL at 36 teams eventually (2015 to 2020) and back in some of the markets that previously supported it.

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Red Light-back to talking hockey? Good move

Johnny Cash-if you are going to be from Winnipeg, change your name to Ian Tyson please.

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Surely any name change should involve the word “FURY”!!! We had it first and our fans our FURIOUS!!! LET’S GO ATLANTA, HOCKEY IS NEEDED HERE, NOT JUST DESERVED. READ THIS AND PLEASE COMMENT!!

http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/jbartyhi/31676/

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Red Light – I’d like to see Esposito brought up. He’s not getting time in Chicago. Not surprised.

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Thanks DWTOO!! You just knew I was going to go there!

Speaking of which, he’s been eerily silent lately. Wonder if he’s really serious about buying his own tkt for Friday or Sunday.

Stroz – you better read my damn article, I quoted YOU!!

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WBF, wow, you see this???
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6147411
I’m SHOCKED and this is awesome. This guy is a real fan!! I was born in Olean, pretty cool stuff.
Next hope, that a true rich fan comes out of no where and buys the Thrashers!!!!!!!!!!! Please god, I’ve been good!
RL, we’re OUT for Friday, Baby will be here, induced Friday morning!!!

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Tampa gets a good owner, Buffalo gets on too, WHY NOT HERE ????

Where IS the NHL in assisting Atlanta, If these LIARS want to sell the team so damn bad, where is
Gary Bettman ? Asleep at the wheel or trying to be on TV too much. I am losing a lot of respect for Bettman, he seems to give a crap abpout Atlanta and it’s FANS !

P.S. winnipeg is smaller than Asheville,N.C. area 100 mile radius, so is Anniston,Alabama,
plus lots to do and see in those towns, Nothing to see or do in out of the way winnipeg, Sorry Folks.
If Thrashers have to move, move to Birmingham, then we could all still attend !

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Sorry GS29, was typing as you posted!

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I have been a fan long enough to not get excited by rumors.

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RP – that’s what’s on Eklunds latest posting, so you KNOW it is wrong!

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Stroz – thanks man! You are ever the humble hockey servant!

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31 years ago today…

USA 4
USSR 3

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Ok, so what’s the trade rumor ATLFAN1?

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Thrashers – No chance on expansion and if there was every single fan of the NHL should have a problem with it. This league is too big already. I’m sorry I don’t follow other North American sports, but are there any other major league sports with over 30 teams yet? I don’t think so, but I don’t care enought to check. Anyways, if my asssumption is right, then just think about the NHL in 30+ markets, that’d be ridiculous to the umpteenth degree.

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Alright alright………. you Deadlantans win! “I walked the line.” Please sell out those games so we can add two/ three wicken players for Winnipegs playoff run next year (MAKE SURE YOU ALL ATTEND THIS FRIDAY AND THE NEXT 10 GAMES ATLANTA). Priceless…..Atlanta sounds lke a beautiful place with all the murders/ peachtree racing/ the people on this blog who hate Winnipeg. As for Edmonton coming here….. no chance……….. we need a rivalry next year! LOL

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Glovesave-

I was loading planes at Buffalo Intl Airport – my boss stuck is head in the belly of the aircraft I was loading to tell us the USA had just beat USSR 4-3. We beat those commie bastards.

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Tom Lysiak – wow, very informative post, well researched sir! ‘Twould be nice if Mr. Turner did indeed ride back into town on his buffalo with his cowboy hat waving in the wind to signal to all Atlantans that he was back and that he will surely put an end to this fiasco by helping the circus of clowns out of town before they “run their carnival cruise of lies aground!”

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tonyb, etc – You can debate the size of Winnipeg vs Atlanta but that’s not the issue. What you need to debate is the percentage or even number of hockey fans in those cities. You could have 10 million people but if they don’t care about hockey it doesn’t really matter. Personally, I find it crazy that a city of 6 million (you number) can’t find at least 15,000 people to go to a hockey game (even at below average NHL prices) but I understand there have been challenges in your market. Now I am not trolling in the least and I respect Atlanta hockey fans and wish you good luck but there is no sense sitting here saying Winnipeg is an outpost, no man’s land with only 750K so it’ll never work. True North is developing an entire city zone that would be to support an NHL team, including a hotel, bars, likely a casino (still rumour) so they are not relying solely on the hockey team. They know what they are doing and when they get a team it might not be the Leafs but it definitely won’t be losing 20 million a year. There is so much going on with that group and their plans it would surprise you.

Regardless defending Winnipeg and explaining here why Winnipeg will work as an NHL city isn’t of interest to this forum. Personally I would just like to understand how the NHL as a whole has gotten to this point where so many teams are losing money and there can be a fiasco like Phoenix where the league owned one of the teams for 2 years, and a little city of 250K is spending hundreds of millions to keep a team there, that’s scary that its come to that.

Atlanta isn’t in a situation like that which can be good or bad since Glendale will sell the farm to keep them since they built an arena and are convinced they would be doomed if the team left so they will do whatever it takes. Atlanta doesn’t have that crisis but that also means the owner could sell if he chose to someone outside the city. I don’t know that much about your situation in Atlanta other than it appear the current owners aren’t the best . He doesn’t sound that reliable and I hope he doesn’t screw you guys around in the end.

It seems like certain people know bits of things and pass it along on twitter or blogs like they are fact, either depressing the hell of out the fans or giving them hope, up and down, repeatedly. It’s so difficult to know what the truth is anymore and just when you think you know what’s going on, a report comes out 20 minutes later that turns that around. I would just love 20 minutes alone with Gary Bettman and a polygraph!

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ZAvalanche – you pegged it.This BLOG is respectful because the demographics are “intelligent folks” that love and care about hockey in Atlanta.

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ag79, You are showing you don’t know ALL the facts. When the Thrashers started here, They sold out game after game as an expansion team. They set records for an expansion team, beating Tampa and San Jose.

The problem is these owners, the FANS are disgusted and fed up with their Lying among other things, They are THE WORST owners in professional sports ! The fans have been played as fools
by these owners, and they have finally had it. If… If there were to a NEW Owner, Attendence would soar again and the team would make money and start to grow again. don waddell has to be fired, as he is one of THE Biggest problems this franchise has ever faced. Between the owners and waddell, they have done EVERYTHING possible to ruin NHL hockey here.

So when you “canada” fans spout off, know the facts, realize them for what they REALLY are and
understand hockey WILL make it here, but a new owner is The First Objective, after that, it’s gravey !

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Thanks Smoothie. You don’t need “six degrees of separation” to tie Ted to this cluster#$%. Ted Turner, clean up your mess!!!!

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Iron, I am thinking a good stroll down Bankhead Hwy around 1 or 2 AM will do the trick (if he doesn’t change his name). I had a lot of late nights at Tech and walked down North Ave to the MARTA for 2 years, not one incident except for an indigent person asking for $$. ATL isn’t bad, I love that city!

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Did we not learn from AS that this whole group ownership of multiple assets isn’t a good thing. Just bring in another group to spend money on the Hawks is what this sounds like to me.

First thing to do is move out of the Bulb and out into the ‘burbs — yeah, yeah, I know it costs too much money to build another NHL size arena but I’m really thing that is a big part of the problem with regular attendance unless we are playing very well consistently in the regular season or in the playoffs to attract the Buckhead crowd.

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Tom Lysiak, I was moved by your post. However, I do have trouble recalling exactly who installed Don Waddell as a “permanent fixture” in the organization. Was it Ted Turner? Did “billionaire” Ted chose the Wadster? Or was that Stan Kasten’s doing? Or was that “gem” the work of Harvey Schiller? Also the one who refused to return the phone call of Brian Burke, about the possibility of becoming the team’s 1st General Manager. Bygones.

So, I’m not really sure how “involved” Ted Turner was, or how likely he’d be to return to power. And even if he did, would he surround himself with the likes of Schiller, Kasten, and Waddell again? ‘Cuz if so, I’ve seen that. We’ve all SEEN that. But if “Billionaire Ted” wants to return, maybe this time he’ll actually have a plan. What a concept!

Truthfully, I don’t know what’s occupying Ted’s time these days. A girlfriend? A wife? Galloping across the plains, and pretending it’s the 1800’s, in his own little world? I can’t say. When I think about rich, powerful people who know hockey, this guy doesn’t appear on the radar.

But … but … he doesn’t have to be a hockey genius to be a GOOD OWNER. All he has to do … to be a good owner … is fork over the money to someone who is competent and capable enough to oversee an NHL franchise. To be a good owner, he has to ‘get out of the way’ of the GM and let the GM do his job. If the GM falters, then the GM gets fired. That’s called accountability. If the GM hires bad scouts, hires a dunderhead of a Head Coach, or just plain makes bad trades and contracts … he’s got to answer for that. What owner would really want to let a buffoon waste his money? And it issss the owner’s money. So far, my running total of NHL owners who don’t think a GM should be held accountable for wasting all their money is … pretty much just the Atlanta Spirit, LLC. But their plan was … (1) to sue their own counsel to recoup the financial damage that their inaction and irresponsibility has done to the “value” of their NHL franchise, while (2) cutting the budget to below the floor of the cap. Interesting strategy. I can’t name another owner that has endeavored down that path in the past. Who knows? It might work. Maybe the AS, LLC are pioneers! From now on, when franchises lose money due to poor decision-making and no accountability for results, the team attorneys should BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!

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Scratch Anne Cox Chambers off your list, too…she’s 91.

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Moose Hedberg is on a roll. I wish we had paid him the extra money to stay here.

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For the first time in a very long time the Thrashers don’t have to worry about games in hand. That said, the rest of the Eastern Conference teams are now in a logjam. While Tampa Bay is now 15 points up on Atlanta, the Caps are 14 up on Atlanta, and the Hurricanes are 5 points ahead of Atlanta, the Thrashers shot at the playoffs are compromised more than ever because of those teams that are now well within striking distance: Buffalo-even, Toronto-one point back, Florida-3 points back, and the red-hot Devils now only four points back. I hate the terminology “must-win” games, but if there were ever three that fit that bill- the next three certainly are.

If there was ever a time that this team needed strong play from Antropov and Bergfors, this is it! The two have combined for 2 goals and 3 assists in the last eight games in February. Obviously, that’s not good enough. Blake Wheeler could be a key factor in these next few games and hopefully he’ll rise to the occasion.

However, much of this is going to depend upon Pav and the defense in front of him. Tonight, watch the number of quality chances Buffalo gets, and see how many shots Pav has to face on second, third and fourth attempts. Keep a running tab yourself and don’t rely upon the game stats. In my mind, that will determine whether the boys are up to the task, both tonight and over the next three to four games. Every defenseman on the team has a minus rating since Dec. 26, and that should tell us all we need to know. That has to be reversed, and quickly!

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Sorry, Rawhide I was kidding. Yet again the refresh and the page/show all icons couldn’t get me to the end of the posts.

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I hear there’s a retirement community in Florida who is interested in buying the team…

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World Be Free – I’m in Winnipeg but unlike most trolls I support that your team stays in Atlanta. As said previously, Winnipeggers are just jealous and envious so most speak immaturely. It’s the only way they get by. And don’t worry…if Bettman has anything to say about this, he’ll keep the team in Atlanta. There’s no way he wants a team back in Winnipeg….and I can’t say I blame him. Sorry Winnipeg, time to face up that we’re just a minor league city and always will be. We don’t even have single-A ball here. Sad…

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WBF – I think it’s amazing how many of us agree on the need for a make-over of sorts for this tem. That’s exciting to think about actually and in and of itself would attract a lot of positive attention.

Yes, we need to change the look, but having a contest to pick the name would go far and because of that I’d support it. New roster or not it’s funny how humans perceive things.

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galleria rather too geez

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Has Kincade (or anyone else in the know, for that matter) indicated that the potential buyer is not a group or corporation, but a single PERSON?

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Has Kincade (or anyone else in the know, for that matter) indicated that the potential buyer is not a group or corporation, but a single PERSON?

There’s currently no published clues as to whether the interested party or parties are corporations or individual(s).I just hope the buyer is willing to spend some dough to make our team what it should have been from the very start: Winners.

Yes, there will be those “expansion team blues” that we had during the first couple seasons. After that, we should have at least been competitive. Instead, we had some horribly low salaries under AOLTW. Now, we find ourselves with …horribly low salaries under AS, LLC.

We need stability, first and foremost. I sure as hell hope whoever buys this team makes it a stable franchise here, in the city of Atlanta.

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Kincade’s just trying to rally the troops, would be my guess, but rally them, don’t plant false rumors to get people jazzed up.

Incorrect.

This is from C-Viv himself:

ajcthrashers Chris Vivlamore
For those asking on #Thrashers ownership: I’m told someone “kicking the tires” but any deal would not come together quickly.
16 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Kincade isn’t trying to “rally the troops,” however, he might be a little too enthusiastic about it all. Obviously, Vivs knows something, too. We’re just not privy to such information as yet. I imagine we’ll know more if something materializes.

Has anyone heard if Friday night is close to a sellout? if it’s our standard 10k for the Panthers type of draw, it’s say goodnight, Gracie.

Tried to get a response from Ben on that via Twitter yesterday, but mum is the word. If I’m feeling adventurous, I may call the ticket office and ask. It can’t hurt to try, right?

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ZAvalanche…. having lived in Winnipeg all my life I can explain why NHL hockey will work here.

We have an arena that is bought and paid for by our ownership group. All revenue the arena receives goes directly to the ownership group which was not the case back in 1996. GB has visited our arena and deemed it more than adequate for a market of our size. The ownership has very deep pockets with one partner having a net worth of close to 20 billion.

The passion for hockey in Winnipeg is something that can’t be properly described unless you attended a game here. A common misconception you’ll hear is that Winnipeg doesn’t have the corporate and fan support do afford NHL prices. Completely untrue. I would be confident in saying that IF a team returns to Winnipeg that we would sell 10,000 season tickets within one week.

All of this being said….. the passion and knowledge for hockey on these boards and it’s evident to this Winnipeg resident that Atlanta deserves their team but the owners wish to focus all of their attention on the Hawks.

The comparison between Atlanta and Glendale is moot. They have a great team, cheap ticket prices, $1.00 beer nights and FREE parking for Coyotes games and still can’t come close to selling out any game.

Your fans DESERVE NHL hockey and I hope you guys get to keep it. Same can’t be said for Glendale.

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They have a great team, cheap ticket prices, $1.00 beer nights and FREE parking for Coyotes games and still can’t come close to selling out any game.

Wait, WHAT? $1 beer and FREE parking? AND there’s a winning team, there?

So, I went and looked it up. Coyotes extended their win streak last night in Philadelphia to eight games. Five of those games were played at home. In order, here are those games, and the attendance (well… tickets sold, anyway) for them.

Coyotes vs:

Wild (5 Feb): 14,587 (83.4% full)
Avalanche (7 Feb): 9,508 (54.3% full)
Blackhawks (12 Feb): 17,283 (98.8% full)
Capitals (14 Feb): 13,856 (79.2% full)
Thrashers (17 Feb): 10,576 (60.4% full)

A little shocking, to say the least. Cheap beer and free parking here would certainly get more fans in the building. Especially if we’re not playing well. Those beers would sell super fast at a buck a pop.

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Iron – I don’t think the team will move venues anytime soon for the various reasons posted previously. I think Philips is a nice arena and is just too new to jettisoned. Maybe make it into another convention center? I dunno what they would do with it.

Move up north inside of 285 would be nice. I like the Cobb Galleria location idea quit a bit, most of the stuff is new up there and is pulling in some #s. 400 and 285? I don’t think there is room to put a facility up there. North Side Hospital is on the east side there and office buildings on the west. Maybe a little further south along 400? Think of what an arena would do to Buckhead? There are still some nice places in Buckhead but if you walk down the streets most of the unique, original, shops are boarded up. Kind of sad really. The 5 years I was in Atl I lived in Alpharetta, which was nice in the fact that I was maybe 5 minutes drive from the Cooler for easy access to sport court and ice. Sucked balls though for getting into town every morning when I went to Tech or headed downtown for a game or just some fun. Just getting past Holcomb Bridge took forever then tack on another 25 mins to ride MARTA from North Springs to North Ave. Ugh. I have promised myself that when I move back it is either going to be Dunwoody or somewhere in town. I don’t even want to think about how much of my life has been wasted sitting in the car.

Anyhow, yes, I vote on the Cobb Galleria area. Doesn’t really matter where you put it traffic is going to blow anyway. However, if they do put it there it should come with the stipulation that MARTA gets extended at least up to 75-285, the Cobbians now rue the fact that they could have had it but voted it down.

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JMT —– WHAT!? $1 beers????? Damn. A $4 beer would be a steal in my mind. One thing that hurts Thrashy is that they don’t own any parking space. I can’t speak for other teams but the Avs own a huge amount of their parking space and make a killing on it. 4,534 spots at an average of $25 a spot. If fills every game so there is an extra $113 k per game! Then you add in the Nuggets, same thing and the Rapids (lacrosse) for probably 3/4 of that. Not a bad move by big Stan Kroenke to require that he owns the lot. Just that in and of itself, over the course of the season, just for the Avs that is over $4.6 million right there (and of course add in the Nuggets and Rapids). I don’t know what the game day operating cost of the facility is (looked but couldn’t find it) but I bet that takes a big chunk out of it and they are operating in the black even with the Avs disgusting attendance.

So yeah if a new owner decided they want to chunk out the money for a new arena better move it closer to your demographic have full ownership of the entire facility and parking.

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An in case any of the rest of you read that, I think Adrian Dater could learn a thing or two from Rawhide about passionate writing…….and he gets paid by the Denver Post!

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ZAvs – I’ll go poking around for it when I have some extra time. All I remember about it, is it was written in November, and it called for the Thrashers to be contracted or moved, along with a couple others.

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It would be cool if the Thrashers just won some games. I have been a fan since 2001 and I’m tired of watching this team lose year after year.

And someone already mentioned it but there are only two places that will sell out for a loser and that’s Toronto and the NY Rangers. The Rangers will sell out because of the arena they play in and Toronto because it’s the hockey capital of the world. If the NHL was really serious about adding a 7th team to the NHL they would not worry about Winnepeg and the other towns that want a team they would put a second team in Toronto. That’s the logical step for another team in Canada but I guess the Maple Leafs would freak out if they did.

Also 8,000 households is what the Thrashers deserve. They have never won so they have never had a chance to add fans via bandwagon jumping. Every franchise has a core of bandwagon fans and the Thrashers have never had that. We all saw what happen in 2007 when the team finally made the playoffs, Philips was packed. In Atlanta if you want to draw fans you better win. Only UGA and the Braves will draw well if the team is bad. The Thrashers, Hawks, and Falcons better win or they will have a ton of empty seats.

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