As someone who understands the loss of a franchise, it tempers my enjoyment knowing that the hard core Thrasher fans are losing their team.  In fact over 2 years back (May of 2009) when the Coyotes were facing a move, I wrote a column entitled Pain and Loss of Losing a Franchise.  ( http://illegalcurve.com/2009/05/07/pain-and-loss-of-losing-a-franchise/ ) While it was about Phoenix the principal is the same for Atlanta.

So while we Peggers’ will be ecstatic knowing that NHL hockey is coming back to Winnipeg, we aren’t completely unmindful of the hurt this will cause Thrashers nation.

For what it’s worth, even though I’m a Thrashers fan and am sad to see things get to this point, I’ve been very impressed with you guys and have become a fan of the show. If worse comes to worst, I’ll probably still follow the team for as long as most of the current ATL players are around and listen in whenever I can.

Because anyone who purchases the Thrashers by themselves will still have to pay rent to ASG. Without an equal cut of the arena (similar to Dallas), the idea of owning the hockey team by itself is laughable. It’s one reason why a lot of Thrasher fans think this has been a sham all along- ASG has always planned on selling the team to True North.