Winnipeg welcomes NHL back to Canada

WINNIPEG, Canada — Winnipeg welcomed the National Hockey League back Tuesday when True North Sports and Entertainment announced it was buying the Atlanta franchise and moving it to the Canadian Prairie city.The deal between True North and Atlanta Spirit Group, which is reportedly worth $170 million, was announced at Winnipeg's MTS Centre.Winnipeg has been without an NHL team since 1996 when the Jets moved to Phoenix.The announcement that the Thrashers will relocate to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season comes just one day before Wednesday's opening game of the NHL championship series between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins.The deal also reportedly includes a $60 million relocation fee that would be shared amongst the owners of the other teams who still have to sign off on it before it becomes official. That isn't expected to be a problem.There was no word on a name for the new Winnipeg team but it inherits the rostered players, protected lists and draft spots from Atlanta.Atlanta has suffered from poor attendance, ownership difficulties and a string of losing seasons since joining the NHL in 1999 as an expansion franchise. The Thrashers averaged less than 14,000 fans per game last season."I will miss the great people of Atlanta," said Thrashers forward Evander Kane via Twitter. "I want to thank all the Thrashers fans that supported us in Atlanta for my two years there. Very unfortunate there will be no NHL hockey."This is the second time Atlanta has lost an NHL team. The Atlanta Flames spent eight seasons in the city before relocating to Calgary, Canada in 1980. Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

Add comment

Nick
Content

Submit