NHL approves Winnipeg franchise

The NHL board of governors has unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg for next season.

True North Sports and Entertainment bought the team last month and announced it was bringing the Thrashers to Winnipeg, which lost the Jets to Phoenix after the 1995-96 season. The vote by the board on Tuesday was the final hurdle in the process to relocate the team.

The votes on the sale and the relocation were unanimous among the league's owners.

"We are very honoured by the NHL board of governors' unanimous decision today," Mark Chipman, True North's chairman of the board, said in a statement.

"We know that the fans of this province have an appetite for NHL hockey that is rivalled by few in the league and intend to work very hard to make Manitobans proud of our franchise for years to come."

There was a different emotion in Atlanta.

"It's a sad day for hockey fans in Atlanta, but the franchise is going to a good place and run by good people," Thrashers president Don Waddell said. "I wish them well, because a lot of good people that are going to go with them."

The sale is reportedly for $170 million US, including a $60-million relocation fee that will be split by the rest of the owners. The Thrashers are the fifth NHL team to move since Gary Bettman became the league's commissioner in 1993.

True North announced May 31 that a deal had been struck with Atlanta Spirit, the then-owners of the Thrashers,to move the team to Winnipeg. It was subject to Tuesday's approval by the NHL governors.

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News of the tentative purchase in May sent crowds of cheeringWinnipeg fans into the streets, where singing and impromptu games of road hockey broke out. The city's famous downtown intersection of Portage and Main was shut down to traffic as an estimated 1,000 people gathered there. About 1,000 more celebrated at The Forks marketplace.

Season ticket sell-out

True North then launched a season-ticket drive, hoping to sell 13,000 packages to prove fans' commitment to the team and send a strong message to the board of governors.

Those wanting the most expensive season tickets were required to commit for five years, while those looking for cheaper seats had tosign up for a three-year term.

After a pre-sale to season ticketholders of the Manitoba Moose the American Hockey League team that was based in Winnipeg but now moving to St. John's the NHL season ticket packages went on sale to the general public.

The 13,000 goal was reached in two minutes, with 15 more minutes needed to finish processing the sales.

Another 8,000 names wereadded to a waiting list, which could have been longer but was capped by True North.

No name yet

The next order of business is the announcement of the new team's name.

Therewere some expectations the name would be announced after the relocation vote, but that has not happened.

True North chairman Mark Chipman had talked about keeping the Moose name because he had built up the brand over the 15 years the AHL team had played in the city.

He acquired the team in 1996 and moved it from Minnesota, right after the NHL's Jets flew out of Winnipeg for Phoenix, becoming the Coyotes.

However, Winnipeg fans seem to be favouring the Jets name, going by the signs being waved and vintage jerseys being worn on the streets of the city Tuesday.

Curt Keilback, the former voice of the Jets as the team's play-by-play man, has also told CBC News he favours the Jets name. And he said there are many others, including members of the Jets alumni, who feel the same.

It was the name of the team when it was the flagship franchise in the World Hockey Association in the 1970s and the name it kept when it joined the NHL in 1979.

The NHL owns the rights to the Jets name, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently told Rogers Sportsnet the league would make it available if True North wants to use it.

Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said the new team name should certainly incorporate the word Winnipeg. "When you have any star entertainer, all night long you will hear Winnipeg, how ya doing? Winnipeg, it's great to be here. Those are just total facts, and it makes sense to be Winnipeg."

A man who creates names for a living believes the Jets should be readopted.Naseem Javed, founder of the NameBank, which came up with Telus, said there is a real science to finding names for sports teams, and Jets is a great choice.

"Based on rules of marketing and good branding, Jets is still the best name because it not only has history, but it is short, clean and very identifiable," he said.

If the club isn't ready to announce its name and logo before Friday's NHL draft in Minneapolis, theplayersdrafted to play in Winnipegwill likely pull on a sweater that simply says NHL, said general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.

True North spokesman Scott Brown said unveiling the name Friday at the draft is an "interesting possibility" if a decision on the name is made by then but so far no final decision has been made.