Daly Can't Guarantee Thrash In Atlanta Next Year...

OSG sources north of the border let us in on a statement made by Sportsnet Radio FAN590's Greg Brady this morning where he "...spoke to an Atlanta Thrashers player via text message. He's been told to expect a major announcement regarding franchise relocation..."

While NHL #2 Bill Daly denied any kind of imminent announcement on any kind of a move-sale-proposed move-proposed sale, the lack of a full denial of a sale was glaring in the following quote from the 4th Period:

"We are working closely with the Thrashers' ownership to clarify the situation going forward"

Notice Daly says nothing about there "not" being a sale, it's referred to as a "situation..."

Eklund and his "Hockey Buzz" site have something happening meeting-wise with True North/the league/Spirit over the next few days, but OSG sources are saying that they've already met once earlier this week.

The only issue that Eklund brings up that is a concern for owners is the idea that the relocation fee would be going to cover the Coyotes losses over this season and next, and not given to the owners to cover their own expenses...

The AJC's Jeff Schultz, within the last hour, had a Q&A session with Daly:

The short version...

"Can you guarantee the Thrashers will be in Atlanta next season?"
His answer: "Nope."

Former Braves great and NHL draftee Tom Glavine was on the NHL Home Ice program this afternoon and expressed the problems of the Thrashers franchise being two-fold... the lack of winning and the ownership "chaos."

Glavine admitted that the team's future, in his mind, was "uncertain at best."
XM HomeIce has the full interview up hyah... thanks, SiriusXM Radio...

You tell me where this is headed...

1900 UPDATE: Gary Bettman had his own go 'round on his hour on NHLRadio...

The highlight... thanks to nhl.com

"So in the final analysis, 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. OK, so now Tuesday night the Glendale City Council, despite everybody's speculation that the team was moving, says we want to keep the team here, we vote the amount of money needed to keep them here for a year and it's done, and then immediately everybody turns their attention in the media to something else -- 'Well, therefore another club has to be moving.'"

Well, yeah...

More when we know more...

FRIDAY UPDATE: We know more...

11Alive's Jeff Hullinger caught up with Bruce Levenson at Thursday's Hawks-Bulls game, and Levenson continued to speak in circles...
((HT: WXIA-TV Atlanta))


Daly was a guest on TSN Radio's "Game Night" program and maintained that everything was still in motion in Atlanta to keep the team in Atlanta- despite what he told Schultz the day before...

"We've been working with local ownership for quite a long time now, in terms of trying to find a new local ownership in that market," Daly told Jim Tatti and Scott MacArthur. "Luckily, that has gone largely under the radar screen, but the fact of the matter is that it has been transpiring.

"We believe what we say, which is that we're committed to the markets in which we put our franchises. We should make all reasonable efforts to keep franchises there, but there comes a point in time where if those efforts aren't successful, you move on."