It appears that last Tuesday's Glendale City Council meeting (and their 25 million dollar pledge to keep the Coyotes in Arizona for another year, as the NHL tries to find an owner) put an end to all discussions about the Coyotes moving to Winnipeg (for now) and put all eyes on the next franchise in crisis, the Atlanta Thrashers.
In December 2010, the Atlanta Spirit Group (ASG) emerged from a five-year legal battle for control of the Thrashers. Finally, there was clarity on who owned the franchise and it has given the ownership group an opportunity to sell the money-losing franchise.
Needless to say, ASG would have preferred new owners to keep the team in Atlanta, and as a tenant at Philips Arena - which ASG retained ownership of, along with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks - but it appears there is little or no interest locally in the team at ASG's asking price of 100 million dollars.
Enter True North Sports and Entertainment. The group led by businessman Mark Chipman, and backed by billionaire David Thompson, who has quietly built a strong and trusting relationship with the power brokers of the NHL. The Winnipeg-based group has patiently sat and watched as the hockey world has surmised that they will soon get a team, consistently giving "no comment" to all that ask.
As Nick Kypreos reported a month ago, True North and NHL have had an agreement in principle for the relocation of either the Phoenix Coyotes, or the Thrashers. When asked on Hockeycentral at noon previously, Commissioner Bettman wouldn't comment on the agreement, but a source told Sportsnet that "Gary has promised Winnipeg a team for this year".
And while ASG, True North and the NHL refuse to publicly say that the three groups are meeting, we have been told by sources close to the discussions that there have indeed been talks going on for a long time.
Over the weekend, it was believed that a Memorandum of Understanding between the Atlanta and Winnipeg groups was being contemplated; we were told today that has yet to be signed. All of this on the heels of Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week, that there was no guarantee that the Thrashers would be playing in Atlanta next season.
Another source noted today, that there is a chance that negotiations could be completed by week's end, and an announcement of the team moving to Winnipeg could come soon after. There appears to be some last minute local discussions, which of course, Mr. Bettman would welcome.
