The Shady Deal Behind the Thrashers Potential Move to Winnipeg

Are the Jets coming back? Will the NHL finally return to Canada? Did Bettman finally admit that hockey won't work in the South? Oritt Blum is here to break down a possible relocation that could send shockwaves through the NHL

Although ESPN.com reported that no official deal has been made, True North, the group negotiating to bring a team over the border, confirmed that talks are in the works with the group that currently owns the Atlanta Thrashers. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was vague about the possibility of the move.

“I can tell you with certainty that there is no deal for this team to move. Am I predicting that there will never be or that there won’t be at some point in time? No, I’m not saying there is or there isn’t,” he announced on his weekly radio show.

Gary Bettman, vague? Never.

One of Atlanta’s main owners, Bruce Levenson, has been unsuccessfully searching for a buyer for the past two years who would keep the team in its current city. Atlanta has been in this position before, in 1980, when the Calgary Flames moved to Alberta. Then again, is it really worth keeping a team whose average attendance this season, 13, 469, was ranked 28th out of the 30 teams in the NHL?

The average attendance at a Thrashers home game.

On Thursday, Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail reported that the Thrashers current owner, Atlanta Spirit, had reached a deal with True North Sports and Entertainment. That newspaper happens to be owned by the family of billionaire David Thomson, head of True North alongside businessman Mark Chipman.

Loyal Thrasher fans are putting up a fight, as they staged a rally Saturday before the select-a-seat event being held for season-ticket holders (which is simply one more attempt to sell tickets; most season-holders enjoy their exact same seat every game if they’re shelling out the money for it).

The Thrasher’s management under True North is interesting to look at as well. True North owns Winnipeg’s MTS Centre, which would be the Thrashers new home ice if the reports are accurate. The arena opened in 2004 to house the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose, but there have been talks that True North will sell the Moose once it acquires an NHL team.

If the deal is finalized, True North will feel immediate and intense pressure to produce results. If it doesn’t see a quick attendance increase, the owners may start bringing in their own people to replace familiar faces.

As for the players themselves, southern Manitoba will definitely be a different pace of life from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. The temperature contrast will take some getting used to also, since Winnipeg winters give a whole new meaning to the word freezing.

Financially, Winnipeg’s numbers look favorably at maintaining a hockey team on the national level. Its income per capital matches that of Vancouver, which boasts high profits nearly every season. Forbes Magazine lists Thomson, chairman of media conglomerate Thomson Reuters, with a net worth of $23 billion, placing his family as the richest in Canada. With the Canadian dollar equally as strong as the American dollar, Thomson would certainly use that to his advantage as he builds up the franchise.

The potential move has already received support and encouragement from the Canadian broadcasting network, CBC Network Sports. “If Winnipeg were to land an NHL franchise, we’d be ecstatic,” executive director of the company Jeffrey Orridge said.

Also, this means more Don Cherry. Is that ever a bad thing?

He believes the franchise would pull in larger audiences than the Thrashers by attracting local viewers, as well as any non-local with an interest in the Winnipeg area.

I personally think it would be a shame to keep the Thrashers where they are, just like I think that Glendale, the city that paid $25 million to keep the Phoenix Coyotes for one more season, just lost a solid $25 million. Winnipeg has 750,000 people; I refuse to underestimate any city in Canada’s ability to consistently fill a 15,000-seat stadium. I simply refuse to believe that this team wouldn't sell out the building on a consistent basis.

However, it’s definitely worth keeping in mind that Thomson’s interest in this is probably not purely for profit. I don’t know whether this leads me to think he could easily get bored if he doesn’t see the results he wants or that he would be willing to spend time, effort, money, and patience to really see this franchise through, though.

Either way, I don’t like the way the NHL has been conducting some of its business. I understand keeping things quiet, but conflicting reports don’t look good for either side.

- Oritt Blum