((HT: Hockeybuzz.com/Tessier))
Okay, Peter Tessier of Hockeybuzz ((Eklund's site, for those of you outside of hockey circles)) has it that it will be the Coyotes heading back to Winnipeg to hang out in the MTS Centre NEXT SEASON, not the Atlanta Thrashers.
Yes, David Thomson and True North would be involved. That much we have all figured out along the way- regardless of which team is playing beach blanket bingo with The Bettman. There is, apparently, the standard hook of "x" number of season ticket pledges and/or purchases as part of the switch.
But, if this in fact the move on the board, that makes you ask about the guys over at Ice Edge Holdings. If IEH is now out of the loop, the HQ guesses that they are having issues getting a suitable lease agreement with either the league as their intermediary and/or the City of Glendale over Jobing.com Arena.
David Thomson and True North would not have the same problems satisfying any kind of an exit strategy for the Coyotes if they were to relocate. The HQ thinks the checkbook is ready for any number.
Issue 2B: The AHL's Manitoba Moose...
Honestly, there is talk of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon ((SK)) Blades moving to the town of Estavan and the Moose going west, but this could go either way. Honestly, there should be no issue with the Moose being a secondary tenant in MTS with the Coyotes as the primary. Ninety dates with hockey locks up one-quarter of a calendar year for the building guaranteeing a client and a busy winter season.
SUNDAY LATE PM UPDATE: OSG Sports has been in contact with sources close to the Coyotes organization Sunday evening. Their take is that Ice Edge is still at the front of the line with the National Hockey League and that True North hasn't moved ahead of them in any fashion.
The phrase "one in a million chance" was used where a Coyotes-to-Winnipeg move was concerned. There is still the thought of the Saskatoon gambit where the future Phoenix schedule is laid out.
More when we know more...
1 comment:
What, so no one in their right mind wants to lose $20 to $50 million a year operating a hockey franchise in Phoenix?
Stephen Brunt in the Globe seems to think that Canada will be stuffed full of NHL teams in the coming years. He says as many as three teams will be moving to Canada soon. That means Winnipeg, Quebec, and Hamilton all get teams.
If the economy continues to muddle along, the NHL will be forced to abandon markets that couldn't make money even during the boom years of 2005-2008.
Bettmann will get his comeuppance, and the NHL may get a chance to return to sane economics.
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