The Malik Report
Simmons: Atlanta-Winnipeg deal’s all about red tape
by George Malik on 05/22/11 at 06:55 AM ET
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The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons’ weekly notebook, acerbic as always, takes not of a very simple fact—the reason there’s no “agreement” between the Atlanta Spirit, the owners of the Atlanta Thrashers, and the NHL and/or Winnipeg and/or True North Sports and Entertainment involves the reason the Thrashers are laving Atlanta to begin with: the owners can’t agree on a thing without their lawyers present:
There are nine partners involved in the ownership of the Atlanta Thrashers, not to mention two or three times that many attorneys. When you add in the Winnipeg True North side, the National Hockey League side, what you get are enough legal minds in a room that no one can determine what day of the week it is, let alone how this deal is going to get finalized.
It will be done, just as the 2004 sale of the Thrashers got done, and that took 372 signatures on contracts that were so thick they needed to be placed in binders. It’s one thing to agree on a price, it’s another to agree on terms when so many different parties and agendas are involved.
Another problem: It’s hard to find agreement when there is clear animosity between some of the Atlanta owners and there is definite animosity between some of those owners and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. It will all be settled, but not necessarily within the next few days or minutes.
Continued with talk about everything from the likely rise of the salary cap to $62-63 million (it’s not a rumor when SportsBusiness Journal’s Liz Mullen quotes Bill Daly as she is an impeccable source) to the Atlanta Flames’ divorce rates, and if you want to watch Rick Dudley talk to Sportsnet about the uncertainty with which he’s approaching his everyday job, enjoy:
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