So the NHL is (almost certainly) out of Atlanta. Who’s to blame? Not the fans, says The Globe And Mail’s James Mirtle:
Most, especially in these parts, will blame Atlanta itself for the loss. But picking through the ashes of the city’s second NHL franchise, with an announcement still to come, a few things are very clearly not on the fan base. This was, for one, a franchise that never won a single playoff game in almost 12 years of existence. One run by Don Waddell for every season but this past one, a period during which the Thrashers posted a record of 308-401-45-66, an average of less than 31 wins for every 82 games. More importantly, this was a franchise owned by a group that had absolutely no interest in owning them. That group was known as Atlanta Spirit, an unwieldy bunch of nine investors from three cities who purchased the team, along with the Atlanta Hawks, in 2004. Two were family members of former owner Ted Turner. And all were big basketball fans. Almost immediately, they began to quietly try to unload the NHL team.
It’s a good piece. Read it here.