While Bettman hides, Thrashers’ slow death near complete
Burning of a Winnipeg Jets banner this weekend likely won't stop move. (AP photo)
So the slow death continues.
Still waiting for commissioner Gary Bettman to show his face in Atlanta so he can reaffirm the NHL’s “covenant with our fans” that he recently spoke so eloquently about.
Our Chris Vivlamore has a new blog posted this morning, stating that the last potential bidder to purchase the Thrashers and keep them in Atlanta is “probably, but not completely” out of the picture.
The team’s sale to a Canadian outfit and move to Winnipeg seems to have been a fait accompli for a while now, notwithstanding the constant denials by Bettman, Thrashers’ ownership and anybody else who’s worried more about their own reputation than what’s wrong or wrong.
The only reason we know the move won’t be completed today is that it’s Victoria Day in Canada and the banks are closed. Alas, Bettman/NHL (relocation fee) and Bruce Levenson/Atlanta Spirit must wait on their millions.
I’ve written a lot on this subject and I’ll have more to share with you if and when this deal is complete in the next few days. But I can’t top what was stated by Thrashers winger Chris Thorburn, who was interviewed by Fox 5’s Buck Lanford. There’s no embedding code for the video but here’s a link to it and the transcript of Thorburn’s comments:
“Just for owners to turn their backs on you, it kind of makes you mad. Obviously we don’t know every aspect of the deal and where they’re coming from because it hasn’t been publicly noted in the paper. But from everything we’ve heard, from rumors that we’ve heard, it’s discouraging just knowing that they’re trying to dump us. That makes a guy mad.”
Chris, I’m sure the fans thank you for speaking out.
By Jeff Schultz
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252 comments Add your comment
Canuck76
May 23rd, 2011
5:39 pm
Gotta admit I’m pretty stoked about seeing the Vancouver – Winnipeg rivalry again. I was twelve when we won the last game of the regular season in ‘89 against Winnipeg. The winner of that game was to go to the playoffs – and we took Calgary too 7 games!!
I feel bad for US taxpayers about having to empty government coffers to pay for sport arena’s and franchises. Up here in Canada, we focus government spending on priority items like health care, good public education etc. It will be fascinating to watch Glendale’s budget in the next couple of fiscal’s and how they manage teacher/police/firefighters salaries.
schmeckdawg
May 23rd, 2011
5:40 pm
FOGHAT
You have no idea! Please see my post from 5:01.
nechopper
May 23rd, 2011
5:41 pm
A city like Atlanta cant support a NHL team. Your city is NOT hockey.
gcs
May 23rd, 2011
5:42 pm
@Mr. Bettman,
You better pray you never have to change planes in Atlanta.
.
Hedley Lamarr
May 23rd, 2011
5:45 pm
Kincade has never been wrong in his life. Just ask him…
Paddy
May 23rd, 2011
5:45 pm
Bettman would have done alot more to keep the Thrashers in Atl if he didn’t hate the ASG so much. I hate to say this, it is addition by subtraction. Now the ASG needs to get out of sports. Leave this town and with it all the bad memories and decisions. The buying public has already turned their back on buying Hawk tickets. What is the reason they are still in our great state of Georgia? Out damn spot, out!!!!!!!
schmeckdawg
May 23rd, 2011
5:49 pm
Hedley Lamarr
No truer words were ever spoken!!!!!!!
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
At least the mayor of my town had the common sense to do WHATEVER it took to KEEP the team..
Urban Renewal
May 23rd, 2011
5:53 pm
Atlanta need to tear down that hunk of junk called Phillips Arena.
poor journalism
May 23rd, 2011
5:58 pm
Kincade’s obvious reluctance to criticize the ASG b/c they employ him is a disgrace to 680. Grow a pair, do your job, and stop editing your opinion.
Atlanta Deserves Better
May 23rd, 2011
5:58 pm
Atlanta should tear down that hunk of junk called Phillips Arena.
I hope the Atlanta Spirit Group goes totally bankrupt.
Todd
May 23rd, 2011
6:03 pm
I stopped listening to 680 last year. Kincade is one of the most pompous arrogant pricks in this city. He’s really not that smart but pretends he is. And what is he? Like 5′5. Short loser.
Just saying
May 23rd, 2011
6:04 pm
The Commish, no the first thing they will say when they get to Winnipeg is, ‘I need a drink’.
schmeckdawg
May 23rd, 2011
6:08 pm
poor journalism
NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could have left work a little early today to listen to his show. I’d have loved to know what that meat whistle was saying. He has been swearing up and down for weeks now that the Thrashers would never leave Atlanta.
Brendan
May 23rd, 2011
6:10 pm
Such a shame that our elected City officials, and Governor Deal, are content to watch $30 million in lost income revenue waltz out of our state. At least, we can’t call it “outsourcing.” Sorry to hear the lease the Thrashers had on Philips Arena, until 2019, was severed so easily and inconsequentially. Sorry to hear that the owners renegotiated the price of “naming rights” for Philips Arena so easily, to prepare for this JETTISONING.
And, most of all, sorry to hear that this move (1) pleases the NHL, which will get $60 to $90 million in the sale, (2) pleases the Spirit, who never wanted this team, (3) pleases the Philips Corporation, (will pay less for the naming rights) and (4) pleases the Mayor of Atlanta, and Governor of Georgia (who apparently don’t like hockey, nor fear any sort of backlash at the polls). With all these “pleased” entities, I’m surprised there isn’t some article about what a RAGING SUCCESS this endeavor has truly been.
Meanwhile, am I the only one thinking that, today, we are LESS of a major city, having lost a professional franchise, and the concession sales, parking revenues, and millions and millions of dollars of State income tax?
...... $pirit $tinks
May 23rd, 2011
6:13 pm
Atlanta should at least keep the Thrashers name,
like the Cleveland Browns did.
The ASG Are Morons Party 2011
May 23rd, 2011
6:21 pm
The ownership group is the only ones to blame here and if Ol’ Kincaid is saying otherwise, he’s just being a blowhard to try and get ratings and permanently move to CT for a job. (Good luck…. we won’t miss you… or listen to you.) The utter failure of this ownership group can be summed up with this – they promoted Don Waddell – quite possibly the worst GM in sports history. Atlanta would pack Philips if we had competent people putting together a complete, competitive team.
*The preceding message was brought to you by The ASG Are Morons Party 2011*
Eileen
May 23rd, 2011
6:34 pm
Former coach John Anderson interview today–”ownership not commited to hockey”.
Brendan
May 23rd, 2011
6:37 pm
Thank you, Eileen. I’m dying to hear quotes from the following, “Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, Ray Ferraro, Graham and LuAnn Snyder (Dan’s parent’s), Jeff Odgers, Dan Kamal, Darren Eliot, Matt McConnell, and Ted Turner.”
Jeff, can you get quotes from these persons?
Singing Annie Warbucks
May 23rd, 2011
6:40 pm
I just came up with a couple of positives about the Thrashers leaving.
#1 – NO MORE PARKING TICKETS DURING THRASHERS GAMES THANKS TO OUR IDIOT MAYOR’S DEAL WITH ‘PARK ATLANTA’. THAT ALONE HAS CUT DOWN ON ME GOING TO GAMES WITH ALL THOSE NEW PARKING METERS ALL OVER DOWNTOWN.
#2 – NO MORE GETTING ASKED FOR CHANGE BY “BEGGARS” WHILE WEARING MY THRASHERS JERSEY GOING TO AND FROM THE ARENA
#3 – MORE CONCERTS / EVENTS –
POSSIBLY TWO NIGHTS OF THE SAME SHOW IN A ROW
#4 – I WON’T HAVE TO TRAVEL WITH MY THRASHERS CLOTHES AND TAKE PICTURES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD SHOWING MY THRASHER “BLUELAND” SPIRIT
Ha Blueland — maybe tomorrow it will live up to it’s name for the world to see.
Liberty Media
May 23rd, 2011
6:41 pm
We at Liberty Media are very delighted with the drama that has unfolded around the Thrashers. It allowed us to bid $1 billion on Barnes and Noble and continue operating the Braves in the middle of the pack in MLB without anyone in Atlanta noticing.
Stupid fans (and media). They believe what our management team (McGuirk and Schuerholz) tell them to believe.
Brendan
May 23rd, 2011
6:42 pm
Jeff, please add one more name: Ex-Head Coach Bob Hartley. I’m dying to hear what he has to say about the relocation.
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
6:47 pm
It’s May 23rd, I’m lookin’ around, still no team in loserpeg..
sobaka
May 23rd, 2011
6:47 pm
Big Daddy has it right: for the NHL to have failed in a market as prominent as Atlanta is an embarrassment to the league, and it does not speak well to the future of the league in the US. What needs to happen is for those who actually care about the NHL in Atlanta to work together to find a committed owner who will put an honest effort in keeping the team in town. Let’s be honest: had Raleigh, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, or Denver had teams with the record that the Thrashers had, those cities would have also lost their NHL franchises. The difference with those cities is that they had much better ownership than the Thrashers. The Blue Jackets were by no means better than the Thrashers, yet they are still at least breathing because the owners here, while inept, do NOT attempt to suck the life out of the franchise. Same goes for the Miami group. As was pointed out before, leadership starts at the top. You can have the best fans in the world, like the original Cleveland Browns, but a bad owner like Art Modell, ruins it nevertheless. There are plenty of monied people in Atlanta; it’s the fans’ obligation to track them down and get them to buy the team, with the understanding that the fans will support the team. That is why the Wild are successful now in the Twin Cities, as opposed to why the North Stars failed there less than a decade before the Wild came on the scene. It’s time to pick yourselves up, collect yourselves, get over the grief, and move to the task ahead. It’s not easy, but nothing in life worth having is easy.
Eileen
May 23rd, 2011
6:48 pm
Brendan, my computer is having problems and won’t let copy a link. You can find the whole interview from Sirus if you google it. He did say the ASG are “nice nice guys”????? Also, that Atlanta is a hockey city,
Bob Hartley
May 23rd, 2011
6:48 pm
I was fired because I called Don Waddell a big lying “cat” and then went and spit in Levenson’s face. I dragged a team in the playoffs with guys that were old enough to earn Social Security or bad enough to play D league hockey.
ITS OVER !!!!!
May 23rd, 2011
6:56 pm
HEADLINES: MAY.23.2011
It’s finally over. The cheque is ready to be signed.
The day hockey died..in the south..forever.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/jetsmeter/
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
7:16 pm
Other than begging the province for cash to help buy the team, has anyone heard anything official from TNSE.. I don’t think the thrashers are moving anywhere..
wpgJetsfan
May 23rd, 2011
7:20 pm
Well Folks it appears the Press Conference is going to be dalayed since there is a Kid Rock Concert at the MTS Centre Tomorrow.
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
7:24 pm
I remember back when Kid Rock was cool..
The Nature Boy
May 23rd, 2011
7:25 pm
@ G52PIM228 …gutsy post, but you gotta be wrong…EVERYBODY has the Thrashers going to Manitoba….is that a state or province or a city…no clue..I have no passion about hockey…but reading posts from Thrasher’s fans makes me feel “sad”…I hope don’t get beat up here, but I’m thinking the Northern transplants stuck with the Flyers,Penguis,Bruins etc….Atlanta is NOT a hockey town, folks….it aint rocket science…
Artie B's not Walking Through That Door, People
May 23rd, 2011
7:25 pm
Jeff, I’ll repost this from before, because I really think there’s something here.
2 angles you need to go on from here on:
1. Look at what the San Antonio Spurs have and the Cleveland Cavs have. NBA team, owning the facility and having a (gasp) AHL franchise in the same building as well. This makes sense for the ASG. Manitoba will have to jettison its AHL franchise, Spirit will have 44 more open nights now to fill the building as well as a full staff who can sell, service and work the franchise. The overhead will be far less than what it is for an NHL franchise and they can set ticket prices more in line with what the market has tolerated in Atlanta so far (Chick fil A nights, 50% off, BOGO offers).
2. If the Thrashers leave, the blood of many great ASG employees will be on their hands. There’s no way they keep the same staff numbers losing a hockey team and going into a lockout in the NBA. Bruce and company may get off as close to breaking even as possible (when you factor in the under valuation of the arena and Hawks in the Turner deal and whatever they get out of King & Spalding) but it would be at the expense of scores of innocent people who gave it their all for that franchise that Bruce and the Gearons could care less about. Don’t let the ownership group get off from that.
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
7:34 pm
“EVERYBODY has the Thrashers going to Manitoba”
Yup, everybody except the people that matter..
sobaka
May 23rd, 2011
7:37 pm
G52PIM228 is spot on when he asserts that TNSE will hold up Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the federal Canadian government for big bucks to bring the team north of the border. The arena holds just over 15,000 fans, so even if it’s sold out at a high ticket price each night, how do they make money? Any NHL team averaging 15,000 fans per game is undoubtedly hurting. Unless they are counting on team paraphenalia and apparel sales and TV/radio rights and sponsorship from Atlanta, I don’t see any way that the team is profitable in Winnipeg. In fact, supporting the team will place a tremendous drain on the local economy. Undoubtedly TSNE is counting on the emotional euphoria of having the NHL come back to Winnipeg in getting people to vote and spend money in a manner that they know is inappropriate and unsustainable. Eventually the piper has to be paid, and as before, Winnipegers will complain that the league and the players are out to make too much money. Guess what, we didn’t ask you to come into the league in the first place. When the hangover wears off, you’ll still have to pay the bill, and that won’t be fun!! Winnipegers, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. Everything about this tells me that TSNE will be just as onerous to Winnipeg as ASG was to Atlanta. It will be their turn to get screwed, and justice will be served.
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
7:55 pm
“Any NHL team averaging 15,000 fans per game”
The VERY best the team can do is 24th.. TNSE will be perpetual revenue sharing recipients.. You figure a billionaire not afraid to beg for Manitoba tax money, defiantly will not be afraid to attach to the NHL’s teet..
TonyCee
May 23rd, 2011
7:55 pm
From a business and exposure standpoint, leaving Atlanta for Winnipeg makes zero sense. Actually, if Bettman wanted to go retro, putting a team back in Hartford would be more logical — east coast, close to Boston and NY markets, plenty of media coverage. And as one scribe accurately pointed out on another site, and I’m paraphrasing, “Do you think the ‘Peg locals are going to show up on a Tuesday night when it’s 30 below to see the Florida Panthers?” The Thrashers are a young, multi-cultural team that’s a player or two away from being really good, in a must-have market in the US. Atlanta has always been known as a lousy sports town, but I see no reason why this can’t work. Look at Nashville.
G52PIM228
May 23rd, 2011
7:57 pm
“leaving Atlanta for Winnipeg makes zero sense.”
I don’t think the BoG vote for the TNSE deal..
G52PlM228
May 23rd, 2011
8:09 pm
Then again, I eat my boogers, so you never know
Wayne stuck in AL
May 23rd, 2011
8:14 pm
Ironic that the exclusive window for the Hawks/Philips “sale” ends when the Thrashers are about to be sold down the river.
thrasherdawg
May 23rd, 2011
8:14 pm
APB
Can someone please find David McDavid.
Wayne stuck in AL
May 23rd, 2011
8:19 pm
If any good comes out of this, it’s John Kincade’s reputation has been torn to shreds.
nechopper
May 23rd, 2011
8:19 pm
G52PIM228 is feeling the sad for the loss of the team that the city of Atlanta could not support. Now turns his anger towords the city it is going to. DICK ENVEY? Must be….
sobaka
May 23rd, 2011
8:25 pm
This is one of those surreal situations where nothing is as it seems. Think back to the Balsillie attempt to take the Predators to Hamilton; it made no sense, going from a growing metropolitan area to a rust-belt over-the-hill burgh, and it never happened. Balsillie was going to hold up Hamilton for the arms and legs that it did not have, and as a result the deal flopped. He tried the same with the Coyotes. Why? Because he is an insufferable megalomaniac who thinks he can pull the wool over everybody’s eyes. Sports and nationalism are a toxic mix, and people like his exploit that to the max for their benefit. To what end? Political ambition, I say. The Canadian equivalent of Donald Trump. In the case at hand, I foresee the sale going through, but then Winnipeg and Manitoba balking at the deal because of the add-on surcharges. Thompson, being ever savvy, blames the government for ignoring the will of the people, gains in popularity. Meanwhile, ASG gets stuck with the team for another year, during which time a buyer to keep the team in Atlanta is finally found. Eventually, Manitoba ponies up to pay for a franchise fee for an expansion fee, @ $120 million. So the NHL ends up with $120 million, not merely $60 million, Thompson gets the glory of bringing hockey back to Winnipeg (and for $50 million less than currently debated), Winnipeg and Manitoba get soaked (which is what they deserve for trying to be major league when they clearly are not), and ASG gets a much-deserved financial beating. But to top if off, Bettman gets the credit for keeping the Thrashers in Atlanta, and NBC stays happy at retaining the league in a top-10 US city. It happened in the Twin Cities-North Stars-San Jose-Sharks ordeal back in 1990, and this has all the fingerprints as that one. With Thomson’s fame, his popularity soars, and he runs for Prime Minister. There are too many sinister characters with dubious motives to take anybody at their word here.
G52PlM228
May 23rd, 2011
8:26 pm
You should all hail Glendale. The only true sports city in the nation !!
Flagstaff
May 23rd, 2011
8:30 pm
*envy
nechopper
May 23rd, 2011
8:32 pm
This time next year Phoenix will annonce they are moving to Quebec city…. Just like tomorrow Tharshers are to be announced they are moving to Winnipeg…. GO JETS GO…..
G52PlM228
May 23rd, 2011
8:33 pm
sobaka… i recommend you start drinking heavily, if you have not done so already
otherwise, that was worth a good laugh
G52PlM228
May 23rd, 2011
8:35 pm
http://illegalcurve.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Bill-Daly-Interview.mp3
listen to Bill Daly say in hos own words
Winnipeg is a viable market
sorry rednecks… this has been done in the backroom to move the team out of mayberry
G52PlM228
May 23rd, 2011
8:38 pm
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly appeared in an interview on The Illegal Curve Hockey Show Saturday morning. This quote caught the ear of Illegal Curve.
When asked on today’s show about the market potential of the city of Atlanta:
“I would acknowledge that Atlanta historically has been a difficult sports market, and I can’t exactly put my finger on it as to why that’s been the case. You make good points when you point to the fact that the Atlanta Braves make the playoffs 13 consecutive years in baseball, where it is a little more difficult to make the playoffs. And they are having difficulty selling out their home playoff games, which, you would think in most markets is unheard of. So, Atlanta has proven to be a very difficult market.”
G52PlM228
May 23rd, 2011
8:56 pm
The NHL went to great lenghts to improve the game for rednecks….
between periods they have 2 zambonis racing around to entertain you.