Atlanta Thrashers: Why Moving to Winnipeg Is Not a Bad Thing

Even though we have yet to get a final deal that undeniably verifies the Atlanta Thrashers will be moving to Winnipeg this summer, it seems the hockey world views the move not as something that could potentially happen, but something that is inevitable.

In a recent article written on Yahoo! Sports, Nicholas Cotsonika describes this move as "bringing the game back to its rightful place in the Canadian prairie."

Some of the residents of Atlanta disagree with this — about 300 of them to be exact — and rallied outside of Phillips Arena to try and open the eyes of the hockey world and convince us that hockey does, in fact belong in Atlanta.

There is only one problem with this: the facts don't back up their claims.

I did this comparison a while ago in a similar article about why Phoenix should be allowed to move to Winnipeg, and I will cover the same things here.

35,000 fans showed up to the Save the Jets rally that was held.

To put that into a larger perspective, the population of Winnipeg is about 684,100 people, meaning that about five percent of the population of Winnipeg showed up to this rally.

300 people showed up to the "Save the Thrashers" rally.

The population of the city of Atlanta is just a hair under 541,000 people, meaning that .05 percent of the population of Atlanta showed up to beg the NHL to save their team.

This is about on par with their regular game attendance as well.

Capacity seating at Phillips Arena is about 18,500. This past season, the Thrashers averaged just under 13,500 per home game. 

5,000 seats unoccupied per home game, with seats that cost about $100 or more per game leads to significant losses that add up over time.

In fact, the Atlanta Spirit Group, the current owner of the Thrashers, has reported their losses at approximately $130 million.

I'm sorry, Atlanta. This is the second time the NHL has given you a team. 

You lost the Flames back in 1980, a team that later went on to win the Stanley Cup, and now you have shown that Atlanta doesn't want this team either.

Yes, the 300 fans that showed up at the "Save the Thrashers" rally will be very upset at the loss of this team. 

Yes, there are probably more than just the 300 that came to the rally that will also be upset about this.

But think about this question, is saving the feelings of a group of people that represent the vast minority of a fan base of a failed franchise worth keeping a team in a city that has now proven for a second time that they will not support the game of hockey?

Wouldn't it be better for the game as a whole to move this team back to a market that has ownership in place that not only has enough money to purchase the team, but also has a brand new arena ready to go for this franchise, and also has a rabid fan base that will support their team no matter what their record is?

One of the gentleman in the "Save the Thrashers" video describes what the NHL and True North Sports and Entertainment are doing as "criminal." 

My response is very simple. The thing that would be criminal is to allow a team that has failed financially and does not have a strong enough core fan base to stay in the same place simply because the fans are upset.

I'm sorry Atlanta, but just as I said with Phoenix, it makes more sense to move this team to Canada.