Lots of reports Atl -> Wpg is a done deal

[IPostedWhat]

One other thing worth stating: Don Cherry was one of the first people to 'guarantee' that Winnipeg would have a team for the 2011-2012 season.

For as much grief that Cherry takes from the media and other people, he was 100% correct on this one. Attaboy Grapes!!

Even a broken clock gets a nut every now and again.

 

[devs30rko]

if the isles can pull off a winning season in a better area it'll happen, too much money in the area not too. but it might take a few years

 

[jstewismybastardson]

its like outside the white house the night Osamas killing became public

Fans are yelling to shut down Portage and Main. #Winnipeg #Go... on Twitpic

police about to shut down the intersection

 

[dash]

Even a broken clock gets a nut every now and again.

You've got to modify the banner on this page, buddy. I hope we'll see the Jets logo up there soon.

 

[dash]

It's just a shame that Backin_72 (great poster from the swamp) who hailed from Winnipeg is no longer with us. Terry, I'm sure you have a smile on your face tonight.

 

[Darkstone42]

Now, I think it's pretty clear that the reason the Coyotes are staying in Phoenix is because I'll be there for five years.

 

[BlueandWhiteForever]

I love how TSN is in full denial mode just because they didn't get the scoop.

 

[dash]

I love how TSN is in full denial mode just because they didn't get the scoop.

Dreger is showing just how much of a swarmy weasel he really is...Even Blob McKenzie has his panties in a bunch.

Stephen Brunt is one of if not the best sports journalist in Canada. He's as credible as they come, in my opinion.

 

[BlueandWhiteForever]

Dreger is showing just how much of a swarmy weasel he really is...Even Blob McKenzie has his panties in a bunch.

Stephen Brunt is one of if not the best sports journalist in Canada. He's as credible as they come, in my opinion.

Exactly. Brunt is a guy who never reports anything unless he is 100% sure he has the right information from credible people. Dreger on the other hand is still a sad little panda because Sportsnet got tired of him. Plus he has been drinking too much of MacKenzie's Kool-Aid.

The denials from the NHL and TN are understandable because they wanted to make the big announcement themselves.

 

[devs30rko]

i look at it this way.


there are 2 types of reporters in the hockey world.

those who want to work for the NHL

and those who want to work for themselves




well judging by how much work tsn does in full conjunction w the nhl (aside from games, having 5 gms at the draft lottery is a pretty good example however) i think its safe to say that guys like dreger, mac you name it want to work for the nhl, so they'll say what the nhl wants them to.

you know, kinda like 'bettman has no plans to fly to winnipeg on FRIDAY' in reference to a teusday announcemnt.

 

[forty_three]

imo the reason behind why the Thrashers and why not the Coyotes all boils down to the fact the league and its owners own the Coyotes and the Thrashers werent league owned.

The league tentatively approved the sale of the Thrashers to True North (Stephen Brunt says this happened months ago) because the league doesnt want to own another club.

I still question why the league owns ANY team. There are suitable buildings in a few places, clear interest from those areas, AND owners like Balsillie with the resources and desire.

But the league handles these deals with absolute abandon. They make decisions much like kindergartners on a playground do when picking teams for kickball. And the frustrating thing is their decision affect every one of us fans but they clearly don't give two shits about what any of US think.

The league was not going to reject True Norths interest to buy the Thrashers since A) there was no real credible local owner stepping forward to buy them and B) there was no other potential owner in another american city stepping forward to buy them.

What the league will probably do now is take that 50 to 60 million dollar relocation fee that True North is paying in the deal and fund the yearly losses in Glendale that arent covered by the city itself ($the $25 mill per year) if Bettman thinks the Hulsizer deal is dead and/or the board agrees to take it off the market and continue owning the team and running it

What business person HONESTLY takes one deal to fund losses from another? Seriously. $50mm in relo fees flushed? How is that NOT going to be passed down to the consumer (you and me)? Or how about this; move both teams and collect $100mm to 120mm in relo fees that you DON'T have to flush.

The decision between making $0 and $120mm should not be a difficult one.

 

[SLY]

Good points 43... Even the reasoning they give for trying to keep Phoenix grounded is just ridiculous. I understand not wanting to constantly be relocating teams, but a league should never own a team. Just doesn't look good in fans' eyes. Conflict of interest IMO.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

It was only a matter of time before the Thrashers moved, I'm glad it finally happened. Winnipeg could not possibly do worse than Atlanta so no matter what this is a step in the right direction.

 

[SLY]

Agreed. Florida and Phoenix now need to relocate and the league will be fine.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I still question why the league owns ANY team. There are suitable buildings in a few places, clear interest from those areas, AND owners like Balsillie with the resources and desire.

really though? maybe interest from the cities but wheres the money guy? why didnt anyone from one of these other cities step forward and buy the Thrashers then? Gary has said since last playoffs that he had another potential buyer ready to come forward for Phoenix ... where is he?

dont get me wrong its a joke that the league owns a team. But they got themselves into this mess and now bettman is being his weasily best in order to maximize return while still keeping his manifest destiny non-hockey market growth ideology

What business person HONESTLY takes one deal to fund losses from another? Seriously. $50mm in relo fees flushed? How is that NOT going to be passed down to the consumer (you and me)? Or how about this; move both teams and collect $100mm to 120mm in relo fees that you DON'T have to flush.

The decision between making $0 and $120mm should not be a difficult one.

Thats the NHL!

The league has been funding the losses of the Coyotes from profits/revenues of other owners. If Im a random owner from a high revenue market, funding the shitshow in Glendale using relocation fees is alot more palatable than having to personally write a cheque from my own team. It basically gives the Coyote at least a couple more years in Glendale.

Something like relocation revenue would never ever gets passed down to the end consumer anyways. Trevor Linden said during the lockout that increasing player salaries arent the reason that ticket prices are so high and was pilloried for it. But he's right. Its all about demand. And speaking just from my point of view in the Vancouver market, people paid $250 for "nosebleed" 3rd round playoff tickets. And I dont mean they paid scalpers $250 ... this was the price the team was charging for the worst seat in the house (if there is one?)

So no ... the money from the relocation fee isnt going to go back to the average fan in the form of lower ticket prices. Its either into the owners pockets so an owner like Francesco Aquilini can go out and get a new Zegna suit or Gary convinces all owners that the relocation fee can all go into a G4S truck and they back it into the massive sinkhole that is the Glendale Coyotes.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

wow ... Bettman is trying to put the screws to the Thrashers owner

from the Hockey News


According to a highly placed source with knowledge of the inner workings of NHL ownership, all sides can accurately say that a deal is not complete, despite the fact that all signs appear to the Atlanta Spirit LLC and True North reaching an agreement in principle to sell the team for $170 million.

What still has to be determined, according to a source, is how much of that purchase price goes to the Atlanta Spirit, a group that is hardly dealing from a position of strength when it comes to selling the team. It has been widely reported that the purchase price of the team is $110 million, with an additional $60 million going to the NHL in the form of a relocation fee.

Apparently, the Atlanta Spirit owner Bruce Levenson wants a bigger piece of the purchase price and is trying to get a portion of that $60 million from the NHL. It’s believed the league, meanwhile, not only wants the $60 million relocation fee, but a portion of the $110 million purchase price. In fact, there’s a possibility that the Atlanta Spirit might end up with only $80 million to $100 million of the purchase price. It should be noted that the relocation fee for the Thrashers seems to have come out of nowhere. There was no relocation fee when the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993, when the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995, when the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996 and when the Hartford Whalers relocated to Raleigh, N.C., in 1997.

And the NHL is completely in the driver’s seat on this one. Levenson is a motivated seller, largely due to the fact that he has been losing $40 million a year on the Thrashers and is desperate to sell before he loses any more money. In reality, Levenson is faced with the prospect of taking what the NHL lets the Atlanta Spirit have or absorbing crushing losses for at least one more season.

Bettman is using his leverage in this situation to his full advantage, as he usually does. And anyone who thinks Bettman does not have the full backing of all the league’s owners is likely ignoring the fact that he has handled the Phoenix and Atlanta situations brilliantly.

Think about it. The NHL was faced with the reality that one of the two franchises was going to move to Winnipeg. So instead of ushering the sale of the Coyotes to Winnipeg, he instead told True North to remain patient. Then he set about getting another $25 million out of the city council in Glendale to offset the Coyotes losses for another season and will get at least $60 million from the sale of the Thrashers, which will more than cover the additional $15 million the Coyotes will likely lose this season, an amount the league must cover since it still owns the team.

In most sales, a relocation fee usually only applies when an existing team that is located geographically close to the new location has the potential to suffer financially by the move. But that certainly is not the case with Winnipeg, whose nearest NHL competitors are located 456 miles south (Minnesota), 750 miles west (Calgary) and 1,320 miles east (Ottawa).

So essentially a money grab by the NHL is being couched as a “relocation fee.” Is a perennial money loser worth $170 million? Certainly not located in Atlanta. But it is in Winnipeg, which is exactly where the Thrashers are headed

 

[SLY]

 

[SLY]

Thats pretty fucked up.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Atlanta Thashers season ticket seat selection for next year starts tomorrow

/airfare not included

 

[The Q stache]

It may not be at the top of the list, but Ive always felt there should be a team in wisconsin. Alot of those people go nuts for UW hockey