2011-2012 Winnipeg Jets Thread

[Stealth22]

Winnipeggers need to cool their jets...pun intended. Officially, the deal is not done yet, and while I agree with TSN (Dreger and McKenzie) saying that it could get done, I'm not going to buy into any rumors or speculation until its 100% official.

[95teetee]

also, couldn't the NHL (read: Bettman) squash a move no matter who bought the team?

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by Stealth22
Winnipeggers need to cool their jets...pun intended. Officially, the deal is not done yet, and while I agree with TSN (Dreger and McKenzie) saying that it could get done, I'm not going to buy into any rumors or speculation until its 100% official.

No kidding. I was watching Sportsnet last night and it went like:

<10 minutes on Atlanta moving>
Then I think it was Dreger comes on and goes
"We should add that True North Sports has denied that a deal has been made. And we have not received confirmation from anyone involved, so we'll wait to see what happens."

So I go . What happened to journalistic duty? Or, fact-checking? They just spent 10 minutes reporting it like it was fact, and then go "Oh btw, it might be bullshit."

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Stealth22
Winnipeggers need to cool their jets...pun intended. Officially, the deal is not done yet, and while I agree with TSN (Dreger and McKenzie) saying that it could get done, I'm not going to buy into any rumors or speculation until its 100% official.

The deal is as good as done. That said there are probably some final details (i.e. signatures) that need to be completed before it is 100% official. As a result, all parties involved with not sat that the deal is done until the last document is signed.

This is well beyond just rumours or speculation anymore.

The NHL _is_ returning to Winnipeg and it is just a matter of a few days before it is made official.

[Jlude]

Originally posted by sputnik


The deal is as good as done. That said there are probably some final details (i.e. signatures) that need to be completed before it is 100% official. As a result, all parties involved with not sat that the deal is done until the last document is signed.

This is well beyond just rumours or speculation anymore.

The NHL _is_ returning to Winnipeg and it is just a matter of a few days before it is made official.

Agreed.

I know it sounds like BS... and everyone knows "someone"... but it's done.

I'll bet anything on it.

[Dren]

Its going to happen soon. I just wish they would come out and say it. Winnipeg's Mayor said this :


Winnipeg's mayor says it's just "a matter of time" before a deal to move the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg is announced.

Sam Katz says the deal to bring an NHL team back to Winnipeg "is going to happen."

He says there is an understanding the deal will move forward but nothing is signed, sealed and delivered yet.

Excitement about the return of NHL hockey is growing in the city with fans now buzzing about what the team should be called.

Thomas Steen played for the Winnipeg Jets for 14 years and is now a city councillor.

He says he's trying not to get too excited until the deal is official.

[Stealth22]

Winnipeg mayor says its "just a matter of time" until the deal is done.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=366351

Let me just clarify the point I was trying to make in my last post. I'm expecting it to become official in the next few days, and I'm not going to be surprised when it happens. But at the same time, I dont think that anyone (particularly the people of Winnipeg) should get too ahead of themselves.

EDIT: Damn it..

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Stealth22
Let me just clarify the point I was trying to make in my last post. I'm expecting it to become official in the next few days, and I'm not going to be surprised when it happens. But at the same time, I dont think that anyone (particularly the people of Winnipeg) should get too ahead of themselves.

Your point makes no sense.

Winnipeg residents want and are anticipating an NHL team and you believe that it will happen in the next few days. Yet you warn people not to get "ahead of themselves".

Ahead of themselves regarding what?

An NHL team is coming to Winnipeg. What more is being expected?

[Stealth22]

Well, all of this speculation is relying on this one report from the Globe and Mail. If it takes a little longer to get done, some people might start crying.

Like I said, I'm not going to be surprised when it happens, and I'm happy to see the city get a team, but some people in Winnipeg need to calm down a little.

Don't start the parade until it's official. Just sayin.

[Jlude]

Originally posted by Stealth22
Well, all of this speculation is relying on this one report from the Globe and Mail. If it takes a little longer to get done, some people might start crying.

Like I said, I'm not going to be surprised when it happens, and I'm happy to see the city get a team, but some people in Winnipeg need to calm down a little.

Don't start the parade until it's official. Just sayin.

I have friends that have been waiting 15 years for this to happen, I bet some of them would actually cry if this doesn't happen this time

[Stealth22]

^ Listening to a clip from TSN Radio. Darren Dreger has a high-level source who says the deal is NOT done, and if he revealed the source, he claims that this Globe report would go away pretty darn quick. His source also says that it is not close, and this is not a situation where the deal is verbally done and just needs signing off on. He even remarked (via his source) that they were closer to buying the Coyotes a year ago than they are now to buying the Thrashers.

Again, just take everything you hear/read with a grain of salt, and that includes Darren Dreger too. Could a deal happen very soon? Absolutely. Will I be surprised when it does? Absolutely not. Is there still a remote possibility that someone buys the team and keeps it in ATL? According to Dreger, while it is a remote possibility, its not something that can be 100% ruled out.

TSN (Naylor/Dreger) maintains that their rule is, they report "done deal" when it is in fact, a 100% done deal. Until then, people in Winnipeg should be cautiously optimistic. Chances are that yeah, you're getting a team. But until its official, don't get too excited.

My $0.02

[sputnik]

Both sides are correct.

It is done enough to get excited and to expect an NHL team in Winnipeg.

It is not done enough for the NHL or any partners to make an official announcement.

[Jlude]

Originally posted by Stealth22
^ Listening to a clip from TSN Radio. Darren Dreger has a high-level source who says the deal is NOT done, and if he revealed the source, he claims that this Globe report would go away pretty darn quick. His source also says that it is not close, and this is not a situation where the deal is verbally done and just needs signing off on. He even remarked (via his source) that they were closer to buying the Coyotes a year ago than they are now to buying the Thrashers.

Again, just take everything you hear/read with a grain of salt, and that includes Darren Dreger too. Could a deal happen very soon? Absolutely. Will I be surprised when it does? Absolutely not. Is there still a remote possibility that someone buys the team and keeps it in ATL? According to Dreger, while it is a remote possibility, its not something that can be 100% ruled out.

TSN (Naylor/Dreger) maintains that their rule is, they report &quot;done deal&quot; when it is in fact, a 100% done deal. Until then, people in Winnipeg should be cautiously optimistic. Chances are that yeah, you're getting a team. But until its official, don't get too excited.

My $0.02

I will agree with you.
Nothing is done until it's DONE.

But... the chances of someone buying Atlanta are very remote (other than True North). Atlanta Spirit Group has been trying to sell the Trashers since they acquired them in the Hawks, Stadium, Thrashers deal in 2004. They only took the hockey team to get the basketball team. If someone wanted to buy them, they would have already. I know it was an issue with some lawsuits that prevented the team from selling years ago, but I dunno.


Either way... I will say this, I'm gonna be super hateful if this doesn't go through. Plus I'm already sour, my accountant just informed me that my company isn't big enough to expense my season tickets... fuck. Oh well.

[PGTze]

As mentioned previously the 'Jets' new owner also happens to own the Globe and Mail, where it was first reported. The writer was also Stephen Brunt, who has a great deal of integrity and respect in the sports journalism world. If it were anyone but him breaking the story I would be skeptical of the situation, but I really don't think Brunt would have ran with the story unless he was certain.

The Thrashers leaving Atlanta makes a great deal more sense than the Coyotes situation IMO. Atlanta is a huge city but competing with the NFL, MLB, NBA, as well as NCAA sports in a 'non traditional hockey market' was never going to work, especially now that there isn't even an ownership group that wants them. If someone were to try and buy the Thrashers they would have to be renting the arena from the Atlanta Hawks owners making turning any sort of profit impossible. At least Pheonix has the ownership of it's own building as well as the help of Canadians wintering in Arizona to help boost ticket sales.

[Stealth22]

Funnily enough, I was at a Flames game, and two Jets fans were in the crowd. One of em was talking how he "knew someone" that was in the loop, and said that while everyone is looking at and hoping for Phoenix, its actually Atlanta thats moving to Winnipeg. This was back in like, March I think, when everyone thought the Hulsizer deal would fall apart, and the Coyotes would move up to Canada.

At the time, when I overheard him say that, I was like, "meh, maybe". And he turned out to be right.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Stealth22
Funnily enough, I was at a Flames game, and two Jets fans were in the crowd. One of em was talking how he &quot;knew someone&quot; that was in the loop, and said that while everyone is looking at and hoping for Phoenix, its actually Atlanta thats moving to Winnipeg. This was back in like, March I think, when everyone thought the Hulsizer deal would fall apart, and the Coyotes would move up to Canada.

At the time, when I overheard him say that, I was like, &quot;meh, maybe&quot;. And he turned out to be right.

Technically the Hulsizer deal did fall apart. The league still owns the team today.

The only reason that Phoenix is around next year is because they City of Glendale gave the league another $25 million to cover the team's losses next year.

I suspect that TSNE were shopping both teams and went with Atlanta at the end due to the lack of government interference in Atlanta and the fact that the NHL didn't own the team either.

[sputnik]

ROFL @ Phoenix

Apparently seasons tickets to see the Coyotes are starting at $10/game.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyo...-glendale.html

[Jlude]

255/ticket!! That's gross... I won't be paying that for season tickets... f that. I draw my limit at 150/ticket.

[D'z Nutz]

Hahaha Tampa Bay Lightning season tickets were as cheap as $240 for the whole year a couple years back

[Speed_RaSiR]

Personally, I hope Winnipeg DOES get the Thrashers. This way it will finally silence the abundance of mis-informed trolls in Winnipeg who have nothing better to do then read AZcentral and troll other cities teams\fans.

A bit of a back story, I'm a Calgary boy, relocated to Phoenix been a loyal Coyotes fan since I got here along with the thousands of other fans THAT DO EXIST.

Although Canadians might think TSN is the mecca of valid sports news, It's not. I'm willing to bet 99% of the Winnipeg\Canadian trolls have never even been to Phoenix or Atlanta for that matter. Hockey does work here, I can't speak for Atlanta. Yes attendance has been down in the past three years and previously. Its been a calamity of bad ownership and lack there of. Bottom line is, who is going to go watch a team that might not be there next year and is barely marketed locally. The Coyotes used to have a stable 15-16k nightly attendance record. With a hockey minded owner and proper marketing I'm sure the team will do just fine here. Plus the city is full of US East Coast\Canadian snowbirds all winter. Westgate is an AMAZING facility, it's no wonder the Glendale City council is fighting so hard to keep the Coyotes here.

I have been to numerous NHL arena's including obviously the Saddledome and recently the TD Garden in Boston for their last home game. Both where ROCKING. Just like the Coyotes recent playoff run which was PACKED with loyal fans having a great time.

sputnik, this is not a jab directed at you specifically, I still think you're a cool guy and wish you well. I find it funny that we used to be next door neighbors and then collectively moved to exact polar opposite sides of this hockey debacle.

So hopefully soon we can all focus on what's really important here, HOCKEY. Matter of fact I'm willing to place a $5 wager on the first Phoenix\Winnipeg game with you sputnik. Here's hoping for an awesome rivalry!!!