Is a Thrashers move to Winnipeg imminent?

According to the Vancouver Province, it is:

There are more than a few rumors buzzing about the league suggesting the NHL is about to make a pitch to take over the Atlanta Thrashers with the end game being to move them to Winnipeg. Repeat, these are just rumors at this stage.

According to sources which purport to be close to the story, the league would raise roughly $160 million U.S. for the project and put $35 million of that money into a kitty to run the team on a temporary basis. They would then offer the remaining $125 million to the legal battling owners of the Thrashers in hopes that that would be tempted to take the money, in part to end their losses and perhaps make the resolution of whatever disputes remain between them easier.

Given there is virtually nobody at the Atlanta games these days despite the fact the team has had a surprisingly good season to date, the league would then arrange ownership in Winnipeg—likely with the ultra wealthy Thompson family—and then move the club as quickly and as expediently as posible.

After the Ilya Kovalchuk trade a little over a year ago, I noted that every great player Atlanta has ever known has eventually left for one reason or another. Apparently I was thinking too micro. If the Thrashers do pack up the ole Mayflower truck and head off to the great white north, I can’t blame them. Nor do I think I’ll feel sadness. I doubt I’ll be alone. While I consider myself a hockey fan, (At least by southern standards. I watched every minute of the last Olympic tournament; I watch the Rangers games regularly, plus whatever other games I can find on television) I do not consider myself a Thrashers “fan” in the truest sense. Sure I want them to do well, but the team never has quite captured my heart, nor has it captured the heart of the rest of the potential fan base. Maybe it’s because, I don’t know … Atlanta is not a hockey town?

A Thrashers relocation would make Atlanta 0-for-2 with pro hockey. (If you count the minor league Knights, who won an IHL championship in 1994 only to move to Quebec two years later, 0-for-3. Renamed the Quebec Rafales, the franchise folded in 1998.) Nobody mourns for the old Flames, and aside from the occasional throwback worn in a rap video, you hardly see any mention that they ever even played in the south.

If not this year, it will be the next year, or the year after that, but eventually the Thrashers are going to move to Winnipeg, or Hamilton, or the dozen other hockey-crazed Canadian cities which are lying in wait. While I won’t feel happy about it, I won’t feel sadness either. The Thrashers franchise is like a dog with terrible owners who is up for adoption – you just want them to find a good home, somewhere where they’ll be loved and treated well. Hockey wasn’t meant to be played in front of 12,000 disinterested fans from the southern United States.

Give another franchise back to Canada, it’s the least commissioner Gary Bettman could do.

…

On the ice, the Thrashers’ playoff hopes continue to sink. The team lost its fourth straight contest Monday, dropping them to 9th in the Eastern Conference standings. In an effort to turn things around, general manager Rick Dudley is actively exploring trade options.

Different Evander, similar results

Did you see that that right cross from Evander?  The Thrashers season ended came to an end Saturday night, and again there will  be no playoffs. But at least they went out fighting. Here’s Evander Kane’s knockout of Penguins cheap shot artist Matt Cooke in the season finale. Just a few months ago, Cooke knocked the Bruins’ Jordan Leopold out cold. This time, Cooke goes down in “one shot, bro”. Ronnie from Jersey Shore would be impressed:

Friday Linkage

Some links to get you through the first Friday of the NCAA tournament, aka the 2nd best Friday of the year.*

(In honor of March Madness, these links are gonna feature the super annoying and repetitive SHOUT THE COLLEGE THEY ARE FROM motif prominently featured on the Bristol Network.)

• Ken Sigura (from? AJC!) reports that Joe Johnson (from? Arkansas!) will play tonight vs. the Bobcats after missing the last 2 games with a sore Achilles’. Said Joe: “It going to be good to get back out with the fellas’ and start us a new streak”
• Former Falcons-TE Alge Crumpler (from? North Carolina!) is now a New England Patriot, as reported by the Boston Herald. Those same Patriots will be one of five teams to work out Tim Tebow (Nazareth) according to the Sporting News. The others are Buffalo, Seattle, Cleveland and Washington.
• My biggest worry about the Braves going into the year, is if the team will be able to stay healthy. With so many veterans, most with spotty injury histories, in key spots, the pessimist in me frets that something is bound to break down. My biggest concern, the back end of the bullpen, where a 38-year old Billy Wagner and a 40-year old Takashi Saito are the supposed solutions. This article from ESPN’s injury guru Stephania Bell, posted on March 4, assesses the risk of re-injury for Wagner (Ferrum College), Saito (Tohuku Fukushi University), Tim Hudson (Auburn) and Troy Glaus (UCLA).
• The Thrashers have now won two straight and are just 3 points back of a playoff spot. Nik Antropov (from? Kazzinc-Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk) scored 2 goals last night in the 6-3 win over the Sens; he now has 21 for the season.
• Great article on Josh Smith (Wheeler High!) and his improved shot selection from Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated. Josh Smith’s evolution as a player is undeniable, but I agree with Brett Lagree’s response over at Hoopinion, which notes that while Smoove’s three-ball attempts no longer waste a few Hawks possessions each game, its evil cousin, the long-two, still does:

Chris Ballard makes ample use of Hoopdata in his profile but still ignores the elephant in the room those 3 (well, 2.9) long two-point jumpers Smith takes per game, those shots he makes 28% of the time.The Hawks gain little if Smith eliminates the three-point attempts but takes more long two-point jumpers that he can’t make any more often (and are worth one point less when he does) than he can the three-point shots.

*- the one Friday every year where I end up watching Friday all afternoon while boozing on the couch.

Midweek linkage

The Falcons seem to be done with free agency, and won’t make any significant moves until the draft. The Hawks are off until Thursday. The Jason Heyward show rages on, but otherwise it’s been a pretty slow week in the Atlanta sports world.  Here are a few things to get you through hump day.

• Brent Grimes will remain with the Falcons after signing an exclusive rights contract with the team yesterday. Undrafted in 2006, the former Shippensburg Raider was a huge surprise in the secondary last year, leading the team and tying for 5th in the league with 6 interceptions in 2009. His freakish athletic ability was always known by Atlanta’s coaching staff, but it wasn’t until the MNF game in New Orleans, when he intercepted Drew Brees with what seemed like a 60-inch vertical, that people around the league took notice. With the addition of Dunta Robinson and the re-signing of Brian Williams, it’s unlikely he will be a starter next season, but if we’ve learned anything about Grimes, it you can never count him out. Along with Chris Owens, Chevis Jackson, and Williams it should be a spirited competition for the second corner and nickel positions.
• Per David O’Brien, the talk of spring will sit today with a sore back. Jeff Porter tells DOB that it’s just a precaution, but as the unofficial chair of the Atlanta Department of Homeland Anxiety, I’m issuing a Yellow Alert advisory to the fanbase. Also included in the blog, a mention of Troy Glaus’ encouraging start to spring, which includes a streak of eight straight singles. It’s only spring training, but Glaus and Eric Hinske are already in mid-2002 form.
• Jair Jurrjens threw another pain-free PB session and is officially ready to pitch, reports Mark Bowman. He’ll make his spring debut Thursday night vs. the Yankees and should be ready by opening day barring anything going horribly, horribly wrong. Between Jair’s shoulder, McLouth’s eyesight and J-Hey’s ailing back, the fanbase anxiety levels may actually be higher than Yellow Alert.
• Michael Cunningham wonders what, exactly is wrong with the Hawks. Included is an illuminating quote from Marvin Williams: “Sometimes offensively, sometimes defensively.” Thanks Marv, good insight indeed. You forgot to mention the two biggest reasons, both named Mike: Sometimes Woodson, sometimes Bibby.
• Bret Lagree over at Hoopinion provides a great response to Cunningham story, and dispels the notion that the Hawks have been a good defensive team under Mike Woodson.
• 48-year old defensemen Chris Chelios is back in the NHL after being called up by the Thrashers. Sure to be a hall-of-famer whenever he hangs it up, Chelios will join a Thrashers team that has lost 3-straight and sits 4-points back of Boston for the final playoff spot.

That’s all for now, enjoy your Wednesday. We got Braves-Mets this afternoon, before an exciting Thursday, when the Hawks will travel to DC to take on the Wizards, Chelios will make his Thrashers debut vs. the Blue Jackets, and Jurrjens will pitch against the Yanks. To close us out, here’s the number-1 song from January 25, 1962, the day Chris Chelios was born:

Thrashers hanging in there

Remember the Thrashers?

It has now been a month since the Ilya Kovalchuk trade, and while it has only played 7 games due to the Olympic hiatus, the team is playing better hockey post-Kovy than anyone could have hoped for, with 4 wins and 3 losses (2 in OT) since February 5th.

Last night’s 6-3 barrage over the Islanders, sparked by 4 goals in the first period, was a pleasure to DVR through this morning. Niclas Bergfors, sent from New Jersey in the Kovalchuk deal, scored the first goal and later added an assist. Clarke MacArthur, acquired at the trade deadline two days ago and not expected to contribute much scoring, also added a goal in his debut.

Still a relative flop at the box office, the team is holding strong in the standings, currently qualified for the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s 8th-seed. Sure, that probably means getting swept by the Caps, but as the hoops team from the same nest can attest, nothing ignites a young team like a “nobody believes in us” playoff series.

Not many in Atlanta are paying attention, but there might be two playoff teams in Philips Arena this spring.