The hearts of Winnipeg residents and Atlanta fans skipped a few beats Thursday night as a report broke that a deal was completed to sell the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment for the purposes of relocation.

From Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail:

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 likely excitement in Winnipeg was a bit premature as immediately after the story began circulating, so did the denials. USA Today's Kevin Allen, Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, Darren Dreger of TSN, CBC Sports and Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution all contacted their sources and reported that a deal was not completed. Bettman had earlier refuted rumors earlier on Thursday during his weekly radio show.

During the second intermission on TSN, Dreger reported that he was told there were still plenty of hurdles to overcome before a deal would be done. Bob McKenzie said he was told Brunt's report that the NHL's Board of Governors approved a sale months ago, as long as the two sides could complete negotiations for the purchase, was also inaccurate.

From the Winnipeg Free Press:

The Globe and Mail is owned by True North partner David Thomson. The story was written by Globe and Mail columnist Stephen Brunt, one of the country's most respected sports writers.

Sources close to the deal say progress has been made and a deal could be reached in the coming days but nothing has been signed.

A high ranking source with the Thrashers said nothing has been completed although a deal is expected to be finalized.

Moments after the story broke, VERSUS' camera caught Commissioner Bettman in the stands during Game 3 of Tampa Bay/Boston; and sure enough, he was looking down checking his Blackberry that likely has been keeping him busy since.

By all accounts, the Atlanta-to-Winnipeg deal will happen in the very near future, but when you're dealing with very large financial transactions, it's going to take some time. Meanwhile, fans in Atlanta can only continue to wait and hope for the best.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Report-Thrashers-move-to-Winnipeg-done-but-den?urn=nhl-wp5287

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/494068/thrashers_logo.gif

I would have preferred the Phoenix Coyotes to move to Winnipeg. That way it would be the original Winnipeg team coming back home! What a great story that would have been! And I think the NHL make a huge mistake in not allowing that to happen. They could have had some incredibly positive publicity and the greatest happy ending of all time! But at least it appears we will get another team in Canada and that's a good thing in my opinion.

I would have preferred the Phoenix Coyotes to move to Winnipeg. That way it would be the original Winnipeg team coming back home! What a great story that would have been! And I think the NHL make a huge mistake in not allowing that to happen. They could have had some incredibly positive publicity and the greatest happy ending of all time! But at least it appears we will get another team in Canada and that's a good thing in my opinion.


I agree 100% with you Marv. That indeed would've been a fantastic story! However, Gary Bettman I am sure wants to keep the Coyotes in Arizona to save face for himself. He knows that move was a HUGE mistake, but probably doesn't want to admit it.

I agree 100% with you Marv. That indeed would've been a fantastic story! However, Gary Bettman I am sure wants to keep the Coyotes in Arizona to save face for himself. He knows that move was a HUGE mistake, but probably doesn't want to admit it.
I think you're right. It would be just like Bettman to put his own selfish interests ahead of those of the league. How that guy is still commissioner I'll never know. :rolleyes:

I think you're right. It would be just like Bettman to put his own selfish interests ahead of those of the league. How that guy is still commissioner I'll never know. :rolleyes:


I know, I mean I think he was an assistant to David Stern in the NBA before getting this gig. It's obvious to me that Bettman wanted to "Americanize" the NHL and for the most part, he's failed.

I know, I mean I think he was an assistant to David Stern in the NBA before getting this gig. It's obvious to me that Bettman wanted to "Americanize" the NHL and for the most part, he's failed.
In his zeal to Americanize the NHL he put teams were they didn't belong. He should have never put a team in Atlanta since a franchise (the Flames) had already failed there. And putting a team in Phoenix was just wrong. I mean Ice hockey in the desert?

In his zeal to Americanize the NHL he put teams were they didn't belong. He should have never put a team in Atlanta since a franchise (the Flames) had already failed there. And putting a team in Phoenix was just wrong. I mean Ice hockey in the desert?


Exactly! He was putting all these hockey teams in warm weather locations.

So will the Atlanta Thrashers become the new Winnipeg Jets?

And it looks like Atlanta will NEVER get another NHL Team...

Birmingham, Alabama would've been a better location because the WHA Bulls were located there and they would've been a good fit in the NHL since Atlanta and Birmingham are in the deep south.

So will the Atlanta Thrashers become the new Winnipeg Jets?

And it looks like Atlanta will NEVER get another NHL Team...

Birmingham, Alabama would've been a better location because the WHA Bulls were located there and they would've been a good fit in the NHL since Atlanta and Birmingham are in the deep south.
If the Phoenix Coyotes had been moving back to Winnipeg they would have been called the Jets since they are the original Winnipeg Jets franchise. Since it is the Atlanta Thrashers that moving to Winnipeg it's being reported that Truth North (the ownership group in Winnipeg) will be considering other names. One suggestion that has come up is to call the team the Winnipeg Falcons in honor of the amatuer hockey team from Winnipeg that represented Canada in the 1920 Winter Olympics and won Canada's first ever gold medal in men's ice hockey.

This marks the second time Atlanta has lost a team to a former WHA venue [Calgary was home to the Cowboys from I believe 1975-77].

Winnipeg can have the Ducks. Canada needs more teams. Quebec could use another team as well.

The Thrashers have fans?!?!?!

:eek2:

The next team that may be on the relocation chopping-block is...Columbus!

I really do feel that Cleveland should acquire The Blue Jackets, we have better fare with professional teams here...though they can't win it all, but they have a bigger fan base than Columbus, a city that's mostly a College Town that'sfacing problems in OSU. (And if Miami has 4 teams and is the 44th City...why can't Cleveland have 4 teams)?

I'm crushed by this move. I've followed the team since day 1. Other than losing a loved one or a job, I can't think of a worse feeling.

Unfortunately, they never had a chance with this group of owners. These owners never wanted to own a hockey team. They only wanted the Hawks and Philips Arena. If they weren't tied up in lawsuits, they would have sold the team years ago.

Can't really blame the fans for not showing up in big numbers the last few seasons. They had good attendance the first few years and the couple of years where they played well and the one season they made the playoffs. At some point, you have to put a good product on the ice. If they had spent more on free agents and marketed the team better, the fans would have shown up more. There are tons of transplants and hockey fans in Georgia. They just never converted many of them into Thrashers fans.

It sucks Gary Bettman and the NHL saved Phoenix the last 2 years and they did nothing to find new ownership in Atlanta. Bettman certainly didn't want to go back to Winnipeg. Did you see his lack of excitement at the press conference? They did this only for the relocation fee to recoup their losses in Phoenix.

I will try and still follow them in Winnipeg, but it's not going to be the same. I think they will have problems with that 15,000 seat arena once the newness of having them wears off and if they continue to fail to make the playoffs. Once those 3-5 year season ticket commitments end, I wonder if people will still pay top dollar. Quebec will likely be the next city to get a team once they get a new arena. Kansas City already has an NHL ready arena.

I understand how you feel T.J. I went through the same thing when Vancouver lost the Grizzlies to Memphis. And there were a number of parallels to the Thrasher's situation. An ownership that had ulterior motives and therefore never did the things necessary to make the team successful in Vancouver. And no help from the league. I agree with you it's a shame that the league has put so much of it's time and resources into keeping the Coyote's in Phoenix but did nothing to help Atlanta. I also share your concerns about the building in Winnipeg. It is shy on both seats and private boxes. It's hard to imagine they'll be able to generate enough income. I suspect the league was between a rock and a hard place. There were no local owners willing to take over in Atlanta and the league couldn't afford to step in and run the team because they were already doing that in Phoenix and couldn't afford both. So it was move to Winnipeg or fold the team.

I'm sure that the next team to move is Columbus or Phoenix. The Coyotes may move to Quebec or Kansas City and I DO hope The Blue Jackets move to Cleveland...that or be the 31st NHL Team...and I wouldn't hold my breath for Atlanta having a Hockey team anytime soon...but hey, Washington has a 3rd Team in baseball, maybe 3rd Time's the charm?

Winnipeg hockey fans are flooding into online marketplaces after a season ticket drive for the city's new NHL franchise sold out in only 17 minutes.

"I'm so excited we got our team back and want to go celebrate with the rest of you," wrote one fan searching for a season ticket on Kijiji, a website for local classified ads.

True North Sports and Entertainment announced Saturday that they had reached their goal of selling 13,000 season tickets for Winnipeg's new NHL franchise.

Since then, Winnipeg hockey fans have taken to Internet ad boards in search of tickets.

One Craigslist poster, who went by the name Johnny, declared he was willing to spend more than $6,000 on a pair of tickets for the unnamed team's first season.

Some fans aren't as eager to shell out money for the coveted tickets.

A Kijiji poster berated some season ticket holders for selling their seats at inflated prices, declaring they weren't true hockey fans.

Just 17 minutes after tickets went on sale to the general public on Saturday, a chart on True North's season ticket campaign site declared that all 13,000 seats had been claimed.

More than 7,100 tickets had already been snatched up over the past three days by AHL Manitoba Moose season ticket holders, who were allowed to buy early.

Ria McDonald is one of the many NHL devotees driven to online message boards after she couldn't score tickets on Saturday. She posted a Kijiji ad seeking tickets to 10 games.

"I was hoping to grab some tickets and take my four nephews out to a game," she told CTV.ca by phone.

McDonald is originally from Portage la Prairie but now lives in Edmonton. She describes herself as a long-suffering fan of the Winnipeg Jets, the NHL team that left Winnipeg for Phoenix, Ariz., in 1996.

Winnipeg's MTS Centre is the smallest venue in the league, accommodating only 15,000 seats. Individual tickets for the new franchise ranged from $39 for an entry-level seat, and up to $129 for the best seats in the house.

Some ticketholders are now selling individual seats for the team's first season online for thousands of dollars.

The listed prices haven't deterred McDonald who said she is checking her Kijiji posting at least five times a day. She hasn't received any responses yet.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110605/winnipeg-nhl-season-tickets-online-sales-110605/

I thought i read somewhere that the provincial gov't, while not interested in putting money into acquiring a team, was suggesting that it may contribute to possibly improving the arena? Wasn't it built with possible expansion of seating?
You are all right about Bettman - he's invested so much into this phoenix phiasco that he couldn't stand in the way of this deal; the league governors will get their losses on the 'Yotes covered this way. It's still a mess - and while Winnipeggers were essentially threatened by Bettman that they'd better buy up 13,000 tix (and they answered him big-time), i'd like to hear a current tally in Phoenix, Miami, Raleigh, Tampa Bay...

One major difference between Phoenix and Atlanta, is that in Phoenix you had the city of Glendale fighting to keep the NHL.

Bettman who wasn't happy about the team moving to Winnipeg, also won't be happy should Vancouver win the cup. It looks like I may have to eat my words that I posted in another thread that I don't think Vancouver will win the cup.