Thrashers Fly North to Winnipeg

Image via WikipediaAs the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup finals between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks gets under way, one of the league's Southern-based franchises is migrating north.

The Atlanta Thrashers, who have been in business since 1999, were purchased by a Canadian group which is moving them to Winnipeg, Manitoba in time for next season (pending NHL approval, of course).

This is Winnipeg's second chance at an NHL team, just like the second chances the league gave Minnesota and Atlanta.  The first time, they lost the Jets to Phoenix in 1996 because it was a small market with an old arena and a declining Canadian dollar.  Winnipeg is still a small market, but they have a new arena (MTS Centre) and the country's currency is doing much better these days, thank you.

This is the second time Atlanta has lost an NHL franchise to western Canada, with the Flames having moved to Calgary in 1980.  The Thrashers have made the playoffs maybe once in its history.  Its home rink Philips Arena didn't sell out much.  And the owners had problems in promoting hockey to a region more enamored with football and NASCAR racing.  So it was no surprise when they couldn't find anyone who would keep the Thrashers in town.

It also isn't much of a surprise that Atlanta is considered one of the worst areas in North America when it comes to supporting pro sports.  Thanks to the historical mediocrity of its teams, people find reasons to stay home.  Even when the Braves win baseball championships year after year, empty seats still abound.

The NHL's track record of putting teams in non-hockey markets has been spotty.  They've done well in Dallas, North Carolina and Tampa Bay, not so well in Florida and Nashville, and hanging by a thread in Phoenix.

The move of the Thrashers to Winnipeg (or any other team) normally means that they'd be changing divisions next season, in this case from the Southeast to the Northwest.  But the situation is complicated by the Phoenix Coyotes, who would have moved back to its original home (and become the NHL's version of the Oakland Raiders) had the city of Glendale, AZ not raised $25 million to keep the team there at least one more season.  The NHL owns the Coyotes at the moment, trying to sell the team to the right buyer who would either keep them in the desert or go elsewhere once the legal issues are cleared up.  So as it stands, the Winnipeg Whatevers would remain in the Southeast next season.

For the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba, the return of NHL hockey is vindication among the faithful that they never should have left town in the first place.  For Atlanta, it only proves that ice belongs in a glass of lemonade on a hot summer's day.

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