The Atlanta Thrashers have reportedly been sold to a group intending to move the franchise to Winnipeg.
According to the Globe and Mail on Thursday, the Atlanta Spirit — the group which owns the Thrashers — has agreed to sell the team to True North Sports and Entertainment, and an official announcement is expected next Tuesday.
The Winnipeg Free Press cited a True North official as saying the report was untrue, but confirmed a deal “could be reached at any moment.”
National Hockey League by-laws require that any team seeking to relocate, must submit a written application to the league office by January 1 of the year preceding the one in which the move is to occur. One exception to the rule would be that, if a majority of the teams consent, the league can accept a later filing date.
That means the Thrashers can conceivably move prior to this coming season, or for the 2012-13 campaign.
Winnipeg hosted the Jets in the NHL from 1979 through 1996, before the franchise relocated to Phoenix, which recently had agreed to pay the NHL $25 million to keep the Coyotes in Glendale for the 2011-12 campaign.
Earlier in the week, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that the league is working on two separate schedule drafts for next season — one with Atlanta and one with Winnipeg.
True North Sports and Entertainment owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre.
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