Winnipeg Appears NHL's Only Option for Thrashers.

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeHere is an interesting article from the Spector blog about the NHL possibly making a return to Winnipeg. All I can say is whatever KDP, what does he know about Winnipeg? I wonder if Kevin can find Winnipeg on a map or even knows where the city of Winnipeg is at?

Spector Blog --- Since mid-May various reports suggesting the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports & Entertainment and their subsequent relocation this summer to the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, may occur in the near future has generated considerable stir in the NHL world.

As of this writing there's been no confirmation a deal is in place or imminent but various media sources claim it's either all but done, or will be in a matter of weeks, perhaps even days.

It remains to be seen when an official announcement could be made, but unquestionably this is the closest the city of Winnipeg has come to getting back an NHL franchise since their beloved Jets were sold and moved to Phoenix, becoming the Coyotes, in 1996.

Winnpegers in particular and a majority of Canadian-based hockey fans in general are thrilled by the prospect, but there is some question if the city of roughly 750,000 souls can be a viable hockey market, given its market size, location and other economic factors.

Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe raised those questions in his May 22, 2011 column, suggesting the Thrashers would enjoy an initial rush of strong support in Winnipeg until the team's losses started to pile up, Winnipegers realize the sticker shock of attending NHL games, and American TV interests make it clear they're not interested in televising games involving a Winnipeg team.

So are the Thrashing moving to Winnipeg?

Image via WikipediaThere seems to be a buzz around the "Internet" that the Atlanta Thrashers are going to be moving to Winnipeg, I know we have seen and heard this story before but this time it sounds like this might actually be true. Of course Gary Bettman denies that there is a deal in place to sell the Thrashers to True North, which would in turn relocate the team from Atlanta to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Here is the link to the interview that was on Sports Radio 1290 A.M. CFRW out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. [Click to listen]

Stephen Brunt; Globe and Mail ---- An agreement to sell the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers to a Winnipeg group which plans to relocate the franchise to the Manitoba capital is done.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bob McCown and Damien Cox discuss Winnipeg...

This is an video of Bob McCown and Damien Cox on 590 A.M. in Toronto about the prospects of an NHL club returning to Winnipeg, MB. Seems like a lot of gloom and doom stuff here. So are we to believe that some in the NHL would rather have the NHL losing money hand over fist than to have the NHL return to Winnipeg, Manitoba? Seems to be almost an elitist type attitude to me, we are to believe that somehow Arizona where no one goes to the games and is ranked 29th in the NHL for attendance is more worthy of having an NHL franchise than Winnipeg. Yeah! There is no logic what-so-ever to that line of thinking.

What about Manitoba Moose?

Image via WikipediaHere is the latest in the NHL to Winnipeg saga. I don't know, personally I have always like the Moose Logo, it's fitting for that area because there are lot moose running around the Canadian Prairies and Midwest. Moose are indigenous to that area.

James Mirtle, Globe and Mail Blog --- What if the long-awaited Return of the Jets really wasn't the return of the Jets at all?

Amid all of the talk of the NHL's return to Winnipeg this s pring, there's also long been the suggestion that True North Sports & Entertainment would not bring back the Jets but instead "promote" their AHL franchise, the Manitoba Moose, to the big leagues.

Which would mean keeping the Moose logo, colours and uniforms.

The latest to report on this was sportslogos.net, quoting "a reliable source" within True North.
“True North has spent considerable time and money promoting the Moose brand, switching away from that would be like essentially flushing money down the toilet,” the source said.

You have to imagine there'll be some resistance to this move, as there's a great deal of nostalgia still associated with the Winnipeg Jets brand, 15 years after they originally left Manitoba.

That trademark is apparently still owned by the NHL and would presumably be easy to acquire, but all indications are True North would go against public sentiment and stick with their brand.

Atlanta Spirit, True North in negotiations about Thrashers sale, relocation

Image via WikipediaThis newspaper article gives me hope that we could still see the NHL return to Winnipeg, Manitoba.  That being said I have to remain realistic and I am not going to hold my breath just yet, but I do like where this conversation is going.

By Chris Vivlamore The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ----- The Atlanta Spirit has begun negotiations with True North Sports and Entertainment on the sale of the Thrashers, which would result in relocation to Winnipeg, according to a person familiar with the NHL’s sale process.

A deal has not been completed and it is also not known how long the two sides have been negotiating. However, the fact that talks are on-going could mean the Thrashers would relocate to Manitoba perhaps as soon as next season. "I have never confirmed nor denied specific parties we have been talking to in regards to a possible sale of the Thrashers," Atlanta Spirit co-owner Bruce Levenson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday.

Typically, confidentiality agreements are signed between parties in negotiations which would prohibit Atlanta Spirit ownership from identifying suitors NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, reached via e-mail, said there was "nothing I'm prepared to say at this point." A True North Sports and Entertainment spokesperson had no comment.

NHL owners do not have to get league approval get league approval to identify potential buyers and work out an agreement to sell their franchise. However they would have to get permission to negotiate with a party interested in relocation. Once an agreement in principle has been reached, the NHL’s Board of Govenors would be asked to judge the acceptability of the new ownership.

Bettman willing to rewrite history in Winnipeg, Quebec...

I am going to keep following this story and I will link up any news I see pertaining to this story. I believe the NHL is failing miserably in non-traditional hockey markets and I believe the NHL needs to correct these mistakes. I find it interesting that Bettman is now open to going back to markets in Canada that had teams previously.

CHICAGO — Gary Bettman seems more open than ever to bringing NHL franchises back to Winnipeg and Quebec City.

The NHL commissioner has been open about the league’s interest in the two cities recently. He says it has more to do with the economics of the sport than a change in his point of view.

“I think people tend to rewrite history,” Bettman said Sunday night in an interview with The Canadian Press. “When the Nordiques and the Jets left, there was no building and no possibility of a building. And there was no one who wanted to own a team there any more. You can’t maintain a team in those circumstances.

“Those two factors have apparently (changed). In one case it’s been reversed and in another case they’re trying to reverse it.”

Bettman is confident Winnipeg’s MTS Centre is capable of housing an NHL team and has heard from key officials in Quebec about their desire to build a new arena there.

Just as importantly, he has received serious interest from prospective owners. Mark Chipman and David Thomson of True North Sports and Entertainment made a serious pitch to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and return them to Winnipeg, and Bettman says he’s heard from more than one “substantial” group in Quebec.

Interestingly, a painful year for hockey fans could wind up being a major factor in the rebirth of big league hockey in the two cities. Bettman credits the salary cap system that came out of the 2004-05 lockout for making it possible.

“I don’t think you would have found owners interested in those markets without the current economic system,” he said.

The most likely scenario that would see the number of Canadian NHL franchises increase is through.