Breaking News: Thrashers relocating to Winnipeg

From ESPN.com

True North Sports and Entertainment has completed its deal to purchase the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers, clearing the way to move them to Winnipeg, a source tells ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.

True North has scheduled a news conference for noon ET on Tuesday at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, at which a "significant community announcement" will be made.

True North has been in negotiations with the owners of the Atlanta Thrashers to buy the NHL team and move it to Winnipeg. The deal is worth $170 million, the source told LeBrun.

That price reportedly includes a $60 million relocation fee that would be split by the rest of the league.

The Thrashers entered the league three years later as an expansion franchise, but ownership problems, a losing team and dwindling attendance doomed the club. The team ranked 28th out of 30 teams this year with an average attendance of less than 14,000, despite contending for a playoff spot until late in the season.

Assuming the deal goes through -- it still must be approved by the other owners -- Atlanta would become the first city in the NHL's modern era to lose two teams.

The Flames moved to Calgary in 1980 after eight seasons in Atlanta.

True North was making its announcement one day before the start of the Stanley Cup finals, which begin Wednesday in Vancouver between the Canucks and the Boston Bruins. While there was no prohibition on announcing major news during that series, the league preferred to get the Thrashers' sale off its plate before opening its signature event.

It remains to be seen whether the franchise will bring the Jets team name back into the league with Winnipeg's return. A source told LeBrun the name of the Winnipeg team is "still not determined."

But the NHL will not realign its divisions for the 2011-12 season, meaning Winnipeg will play in the Southeast Division, a league source confirmed to LeBrun.

Thrashers fans were hoping for a late local buyer to keep the team in Atlanta, but those hopes were not realized.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said on his weekly radio show on Thursday the inability to find an owner which wants to keep the team in Atlanta is a barrier the league can't overcome.

"It would be one of those head scratchers where you say, 'Look at all of this great corporate opportunity, look at all of this grass roots hockey, why doesn't somebody want to own a team here?' " Bettman said. "And that would be a difficult, but unfortunate situation to be dealing with if it has reached, or does reach that point."

Bettman was asked if Atlanta would have hopes of having another NHL team if it loses its second franchise.

"The only time we move is when we don't have a choice, and that typically happens when nobody wants to own a club there anymore," Bettman said. "The prospect of leaving Atlanta isn't something that I'm particularly fond of. So I can't even contemplate the notion of what would happen after that in terms of coming back. We respect the importance of Atlanta as a city. It's a big market, but this is a franchise that's got a problem in that market."

It's not like you watch hockey Mikel

It's not like they'll be any better of a team. They have the same players the Thrashers had. I'm still happy about it though!

Same shit, different venue.

However, They will have bigger attendance numbers do to moving, which can help teams, like it helped the Athletics when they moved from Philly to Kansas City.

Super Perfect wrote:

However, They will have bigger attendance numbers do to moving, which can help teams, like it helped the Athletics when they moved from Philly to Kansas City.

The who?

Jarrett wrote:

Super Perfect wrote:

However, They will have bigger attendance numbers do to moving, which can help teams, like it helped the Athletics when they moved from Philly to Kansas City.

The who?

the baseball team, now the Oakland Athletics

Hahaha.. Super fooled Jarrett.

And I do watch Hockey.

They're looking to call themselves the Jets now, like the old Winnipeg team from long ago...