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Whiteshell Wild
- Jul 11, 2006
- 1,452
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Yes Winnipeg, there is an ownership group trying to bring back the NHL.
Scott Brown, the communications director for the company that owns the Manitoba Moose and the MTS Centre, spilled the beans in Thursday's Globe and Mail.
Not that the franchise will be making a return trip from Phoenix, but given the Coyote Ugly situation south of the border, and the glowing comments that Jets draft pick Teemu Selanne made in the middle of his quest for a second Stanley Cup with the Ducks, you had to figure that, eventually, someone in the media would pick up on a non-Hamilton angle to this story.
The idea for the article certainly didn't come from within the city. In fact, nothing has been made locally about what the Moose had to say. There was no splashy news conference, not even mention in today's Free Press. While some like to paint Winnipeg as the kid with anger management problems, who insists it deserves the Coyotes back NOW, the community could best be described as "once bitten, twice shy."
Flash back to the late 90s. Manitoba's premier uses a "Save the Jets" platform to get re-elected. For as long as the franchise's future remained in doubt, he received death threats. His party hasn't been back in power since the team left town. And in the summer of 2007, it was said that a politician actually gave himself the "kiss of death" by declaring that he would bring back the Jets if re-elected.
No one wants to be the guy who boasts that he'll get the NHL to give the city a second chance, only to do nothing, or fail. It brings back terrible, gut-wrenching memories. That hollow, empty feeling of the Jets leaving for Phoenix. It's not a pretty picture.
But for once, the True North Sports & Entertainment elected not to play coy when it came time to talk about the possible return of the NHL. For years, Mark Chipman has admitted to "studying" the possibilities, including taking a look at the Edmonton Oilers finances. But never would he say that he was pursuing the return of the Jets.
Thursday, as it turns out, was exactly 18 months to the day that the Toronto Star reported that, "the people in Winnipeg call the league pretty much every day about a team, more than anybody else," according to an unnamed high-ranking hockey source.
But with no one publicly admitting that they would not only advocate, but actually be willing to own an NHL franchise in the River City, the huge question mark that led to the team's demise in 1996, still hung over Winnipeg like a dark cloud, 13 years later.
Until Thursday.
Which likely begs another question from observers both inside and beyond the Perimeter: Is there really NHL money in Winnipeg?
Look no further than the city's current sports landscape. The MTS Centre, a jewel of a building, cost $133 million. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a team that hardly matters to anyone unfamiliar with the eight-team Canadian Football League, were recently sold to David Asper, who pledged a $100 million investment towards a new stadium and commercial developments, with profits being funneled back to the team. Heck, when the chips were down in 1995, Manitobans from all walks of life -- both current and former residents, from business tycoons right down to kids with piggy banks -- donated $13 million in a matter of days all in an effort to Save the Jets.
Those numbers pale in comparison to Balsillie's $212.5 million offer for the Coyotes, but according to a report by Forbes that came out late last year, the team is the least valued in the NHL, worth $142 million.
Regardless of what happens with the Dust Up in the Desert, one thing is certain: the Manitoba Moose / MTS Centre ownership has made its intentions clear. Not loud and clear. Soft, polite, and in private, where necessary, but clear.
Clear enough that two simple sentences, calmly stated in a national newspaper, have a Keith Tkachuk sized question mark fading from the landscape of Portage and Main. Fading fast.
Scott Brown, the communications director for the company that owns the Manitoba Moose and the MTS Centre, spilled the beans in Thursday's Globe and Mail.
Owner Mark Chipman talks regularly with NHL brass about a second coming of the Jets, according to a spokesman, but prefers to keep the conversations private.
"We take a wholly opposite approach to Mr. Balsillie," said Scott Brown. "We're pretty sure it's the right approach."
Not that the franchise will be making a return trip from Phoenix, but given the Coyote Ugly situation south of the border, and the glowing comments that Jets draft pick Teemu Selanne made in the middle of his quest for a second Stanley Cup with the Ducks, you had to figure that, eventually, someone in the media would pick up on a non-Hamilton angle to this story.
The idea for the article certainly didn't come from within the city. In fact, nothing has been made locally about what the Moose had to say. There was no splashy news conference, not even mention in today's Free Press. While some like to paint Winnipeg as the kid with anger management problems, who insists it deserves the Coyotes back NOW, the community could best be described as "once bitten, twice shy."
Flash back to the late 90s. Manitoba's premier uses a "Save the Jets" platform to get re-elected. For as long as the franchise's future remained in doubt, he received death threats. His party hasn't been back in power since the team left town. And in the summer of 2007, it was said that a politician actually gave himself the "kiss of death" by declaring that he would bring back the Jets if re-elected.
No one wants to be the guy who boasts that he'll get the NHL to give the city a second chance, only to do nothing, or fail. It brings back terrible, gut-wrenching memories. That hollow, empty feeling of the Jets leaving for Phoenix. It's not a pretty picture.
But for once, the True North Sports & Entertainment elected not to play coy when it came time to talk about the possible return of the NHL. For years, Mark Chipman has admitted to "studying" the possibilities, including taking a look at the Edmonton Oilers finances. But never would he say that he was pursuing the return of the Jets.
Thursday, as it turns out, was exactly 18 months to the day that the Toronto Star reported that, "the people in Winnipeg call the league pretty much every day about a team, more than anybody else," according to an unnamed high-ranking hockey source.
But with no one publicly admitting that they would not only advocate, but actually be willing to own an NHL franchise in the River City, the huge question mark that led to the team's demise in 1996, still hung over Winnipeg like a dark cloud, 13 years later.
Until Thursday.
Which likely begs another question from observers both inside and beyond the Perimeter: Is there really NHL money in Winnipeg?
Look no further than the city's current sports landscape. The MTS Centre, a jewel of a building, cost $133 million. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a team that hardly matters to anyone unfamiliar with the eight-team Canadian Football League, were recently sold to David Asper, who pledged a $100 million investment towards a new stadium and commercial developments, with profits being funneled back to the team. Heck, when the chips were down in 1995, Manitobans from all walks of life -- both current and former residents, from business tycoons right down to kids with piggy banks -- donated $13 million in a matter of days all in an effort to Save the Jets.
Those numbers pale in comparison to Balsillie's $212.5 million offer for the Coyotes, but according to a report by Forbes that came out late last year, the team is the least valued in the NHL, worth $142 million.
Regardless of what happens with the Dust Up in the Desert, one thing is certain: the Manitoba Moose / MTS Centre ownership has made its intentions clear. Not loud and clear. Soft, polite, and in private, where necessary, but clear.
Clear enough that two simple sentences, calmly stated in a national newspaper, have a Keith Tkachuk sized question mark fading from the landscape of Portage and Main. Fading fast.
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