According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Atlanta Spirit the ownership group of the Atlanta Thrashers is in negotiations with True North Sports and Entertainment a Winnipeg group interested in buying the Thrashers.
The article goes on to say that the two sides haven’t gotten into an exclusive negotiating period nor was the paper aware of how long the two sides have been talking. What does seem clear however is talks are ongoing and the rumors surrounding the possible relocation of the Atlanta franchise seems very real to this point.
“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.
Speaking to NHL Live Radio last week, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the situation regarding relocation comes down to ownership…
“It’s the reason we ended up leaving Quebec City and Winnipeg,” Bettman said. “Those teams moved when nobody wanted to own the club there anymore. If you get to that position, where somebody is not prepared to own the club anymore and you can’t find a new perspective purchaser, then you are really between a rock and a hard place.
“We know that the current ownership of the Thrashers has been trying for a long period of time to try and sell the franchise and they haven’t been able to do it. … If they can’t find local ownership, then we might all have to deal with that. But I know they have tried very hard and I assume that they continue to try very hard.”
For the Atlanta Thrashers, the question now seems to be when will the Thrashers move as opposed to if.
The NHL still needs to be careful if Winnipeg is the new destination for the Thrashers. Keep in mind this is a city that once had an NHL team but couldn’t hold onto it for various reasons. A couple of those reasons was the area the old Winnipeg Jets franchise played in and a poor economy surrounding the team. Since then the city of Winnipeg has constructed a new arena and it seems as though the city is better prepared financially to support an NHL franchise. Yet there is still some concern.
If the Thrashers were to move to Manitoba there would be even more change across the NHL landscape. For instance since Atlanta would be well west of Atlanta the NHL would almost be forced into moving a current Western Conference team to the Eastern Conference to balance everything out. That’s certainly a bridge that could be approached if and when the time comes.
For now NHL fans in Atlanta should start becoming very concerned on whether or not they have an NHL team based in their city next season.
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
