We at OSG World HQ and the Satellite office are all big Atlanta Thrashers fans. We know a good portion of the folks in the front office and we've been around the team since their inception. We also know that Hockey is in trouble in Atlanta. We don't deny that. We realize the group that owns the team doesn't have the resources to compete with the Red Wings and Sharks and other high budget operations.
((Thrash in action//Courtesy: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images))
We also are aware of the possibility that they might at some point no longer be in Atlanta. That being said, we raise the collective eyebrow at the uproar and rumors that are floating around that not only are they moving, but they will be sold, right after the Olympics are over. That rumor, which started on the website Hockeybuzz.com has made the rounds and has folks in the rumored destination for the team...Winnipeg flipping out. It also made the Thrashers have to address the rumor on their website.
The original post from Hockeybuzz.com is RIGHT HERE
The Thrashers response on AJC.com is RIGHT HERE
We suspect that the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle here. We actually saw the Hockeybuzz post yesterday and decided against running it because we felt that it was just that...a rumor. We enjoy the site, but they bat roughly about 50% in terms of accuracy.
It would not surprise us if sometime in the future that the Thrashers relocate. They have had very little success thus far. When they have played well and competed for a playoff berth, people came and watched and they would if the competed again. However, the front office has failed to develop many players and signed way too many past their prime players to support them.
We know for a fact that the Spirit group which owns the teams just can't arbitrarily dump them. They are intricately tied to the Hawks and to the arena and there will be a significant penalty if they bail out on short notice.
Keep an eye on this however and don't be surprised in another year or so it actually does happen...just our 2-cents.
In the meantime...check out this high-larious PSA Spoof we found on the You Tube:
POSTSCRIPT: Okay, so you want to know where we're coming from in all of this...
Here's our background:
In the Earl Scudder deposition during the Jerry Moyes trial in Phoenix against the NHL...
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that moving the team (( the Coyotes)) to Winnipeg was “considered only if there were no other options.” Daly: “In the event there turned out to be no options in Phoenix -- and only in that event -- we thought it was worth exploring what might be available in Winnipeg” (TORONTO STAR, 5/17/09).
October 5, 2009...
Al Strachan on the "Satellite Hotstove" on Hockey Night In Canada...
"... ((Strachan)) suggested a Toronto-based group is working to purchase the club ((the Thrashers)) and move it to Winnipeg. Strachan said the investors include real estate firm Osmington Inc. and billionaire media magnate David Thomson.
He also said there was more to the story than idle speculation.
"This is not a torqued story. This is a good, solid business story," Strachan told CBC News on Monday.
"There is a desire on the part of these people to move Atlanta to Winnipeg, but as I stress, it is not imminent."
Any deal would need approval from the NHL board of governors, Strachan said, adding there are also many legal hurdles to be dealt with in Atlanta.
Another issue is what role True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the MTS Centre and the Manitoba Moose, would play in such a move.
"The sport seems to be on a revival in areas that know hockey and Winnipeg is one of those," Strachan said. "The city has changed a lot since 1992. You've got a new facility there and I think the feeling is that the city would give a lot more support to it than they did last time.
"True North Sports and Entertainment chair Mark Chipman has not commented on the rumours..."
That's our smoke that we've known for quite a while...
The HQ is awaiting the fire...
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