So you say there is a chance? Winnipeg Jets?

Every since the Jets left Winnipeg for the Desert I have wondered if Winnipeg would ever get another NHL franchise? I have kind of held out hope for the day I could watch an NHL game on Boxing day in Winnipeg. Also, that would make the NHL 150 miles from my front door. Stay tuned.

On Friday, as news spread out of the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy hearing that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated that if the team had to be relocated in Canada, the league would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton -- the reaction, as always, was cautionary.

First, we stressed that Bettman's "alleged" comments came in the form of an affidavit quoting a third party, Coyotes' lawyer Earl Scudder.

Second, we stressed that Bettman qualified the statement, that "if the Coyotes had to be relocated to Canada," the NHL would prefer Winnipeg over Hamilton.

Well, turns out there's no need to stress anymore. According to documents filed in court, the Globe and Mail reported Monday that Bettman e-mailed deputy commissioner Bill Daly on April 4, after talking to Scudder, and wrote: "I told (Scudder) that at some point, if we don't have an alternative, I will have to start looking at the moving (of the Coyotes) option."

When Scudder asked about Southern Ontario and Hamilton, Bettman said, "I responded that it's a league opportunity, the building (Copps Coliseum) is too old etc. and, frankly, if this team had to move it should first be offered to Winnipeg."

Note that Bettman did not qualify the latter statement with a "if we have to move to Canada." He said if the Coyotes had to be relocated, they should be offered to Winnipeg. Period.

It really makes you wonder what the folks at True North Sports and Entertainment aren't telling us. Do you think the NHL -- which has several (probably more than we know) financially troubled franchises other than Phoenix -- hasn't lined up a list of potential locations in a worst-case scenario?

Do you think Bettman or Daly haven't called Chipman or a True North representative, or even met with them, to say, "Hey, remember when you guys (Chipman and TNSE president and CEO Jim Ludlow) flew to New York 18 months ago to pitch Winnipeg as an NHL city to our board of governors? Just wondering, are you still interested? Do you have the financial wherewithal to afford an NHL team?"
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