Thrashers headed to Winnipeg

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=367433

Yea, I know we sort of had a thread on this. Thought it was a big enough deal for a new topic.

It's just awesome to see the NHL back in Winnipeg. I had just started getting into hockey when the Jets left in 96, and I thought that sucked. Hopefully the new team will be called the Jets.

As for Atlanta, never thought they deserved a team in the first place. Yea, you feel sorry for the few true fans that were there, but for the most part they were a team that nobody cared about.

 

So after you subtract the relocation fee, they only paid $110 million for the team.

 

Supposedly Bettman's remarks at the presser were met with stone silence.

"We are very happy to be back in Winnipeg"

Yeah, never mind the fact that you (yes you) helped grease the wheels to send the Jets out of town, midget.

 

Not sure that the team and league isn't trading one losing situation for another. Time will tell. Sad to see Atlanta lose a team. Ownership really botched that for many years. Hopefully the new owners will run things better.

 

Dozens of fans in Atlanta will be devastated.

 

The Atlanta-to-Winnipeg move begs another question - is the NHL ready for another round of expansion? (no)

 

There was support from the public for hockey in Atlanta. But not when the owners and Don Waddell continued to let a mediocre at best product skate on the ice. One playoff appearance in the Thrashers' existence that ended almost as soon as it started ain't the fans' fault, yo.
I'll miss having a chance to see the NHL live and in person in a relatively short drive. But I won't miss paying out the nose for gas, tix, parking, beer, post-game strippers, etc., or buying a new Orr jersey that I can afford to have beer spilled on.

 

Winnipeg? Can Hartford and Quebec be far behind?

 

ESPN had a chart that showed that the Thrashers had the third worst attendance in the NHL last season. How is it even remotely possible that the Islanders, a team with history and a fanbase could be last?

Granted, that question comes from someone who hasn't watched a NHL game in about six years.

 

As a casual fan, I would say that the arena is a dump and the shit play of the team the past few years may have something to do with it.

 

Number of playoff wins, Atlanta Thrashers history:
0

I don't blame the city, which admittedly can be a crummy sports town some parts of the year.

 

Because nobody wants to go to the Nassau Mausoleum and the Islanders have been a joke since their miracle run to the Wales finals in 1993. Since the lockout, the Islanders have only managed above 80 points once in six seasons. They have finished higher than eighth in the Eastern Conference once in the last 17 seasons, finishing fifth in 2002.

During those 17 seasons, they have made the playoffs five times, four of them as the number eight seed. They have lost all five series and have won a total of six playoff games out of the 26 they've played.

That's a pretty nice recipe for disaster.