Shannon on NHL: Winner-Peg

Tuesday night in Winnipeg, 2,000 rabid hockey fans were celebrating at Portage and Main. An event that many thought would never happen.

The town was too small. The arena was too small. The season-ticket base was too small. The corporate support was too small. All in all, many thought that Winnipeg needed the NHL much more than the NHL needed Winnipeg. But as of Tuesday at 11 A.M. CT, the NHL returned to Winnipeg.

Over the weekend, word leaked that a Tuesday press conference was a “possibility”. Negotiations on the agreement between Atlanta Spirit and True North were inching closer to a conclusion. Lawyers in Atlanta, Winnipeg and New York worked through the weekend and the wee hours of Monday night to get an agreement that all sides could live with, pending League governors’ approval on June 21 in NYC. Then and only then, did commissioner Gary Bettman’s chartered jet leave a New Jersey airport en route to Winnipeg. Then word was sent out to the other owners in the NHL that the True North deal was done. An hour before, Canada’s wealthiest man, David Thomson, boarded a flight bound for Winnipeg knowing he and his partners owned an NHL team but unsure of the timing of the announcement.

Most of the press conference dealt with a thorough season ticket campaign. Seven price points with three- and five- year commitments and a not-so-subtle number of 13,000 season tickets. Doable? For sure.

What became apparent during the announcement was that True North’s leader, Mark Chipman, had compiled an impressive group and a complete vision for this franchise. This would not be the Thrashers coming to town and telling the locals what to do. True North will own and run a mature organization in a state-of-the-art, albeit small, building. If they sell out, they will have a solid gate of near $1.3 million per night. Their 50 suites, at $180,000 for the season, will not only sell out but I suspect they will have a waiting list.

Questions will arise about corporate support, but True North has already been on the street discreetly talking to big Canadian companies about coming on board and getting a good bang for their buck. It won’t be Toronto money, but it will be more than the $8-$10 million that some had projected.

There were a lot of questions answered Tuesday, and just as many to be asked.

Bettman told Sportsnet that the team will play next season in the Southeast Division with the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lighting and Washington Capitals.

There is still no name for the team, no logo and no uniform. The new owners have just started discussions with the league on colours and styles.

As for a name, my best guess is that it won’t be Jets. That time is past — this is a new time and a new team.

While they are distancing themselves from Winnipeg’s hockey past, there appears to be some distancing from Atlanta’s hockey past as well. We already know that Don Waddell, the Thrashers’ president, isn’t coming north. There are appears to be a very good chance that general manager Rick Dudley and head coach Craig Ramsay won’t be here either. True North have their own people and their own style.

True North’s vision, it seems, goes beyond just bringing the Thrashers to Winnipeg. They have the confidence and knowledge to run this franchise as they see fit. This team is quickly becoming a true Winnipeg team – owned by Winnipeggers and run by Winnipeggers. That too, is something that many thought would never happen.