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Thrashers update: Bettman preaches patience, speculation for announcement continues

NHL in Winnipeg

Hockey fans celebrate at Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, after reading a report in The Globe and Mail newspaper that an NHL team might be moving to Winnipeg, Thursday, May 19, 2011. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and True North Sports and Entertainment denied a deal has been reached to sell the Atlanta Thrashers to True North, which would relocate it to Winnipeg. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Woods)

AP

While Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz seems to share his city’s impatience for the arrival of the Atlanta Thrashers, others are requesting that hockey-starved fans take it easy. Both NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger are asking people to calm down a bit about the situation.

Bettman said that “people need to take a deep breath and pause” because the deal isn’t done yet, also claiming that the league would only allow a team to move if there was no alternative. Much like deputy commissioner Bill Daly and other NHL executives, he didn’t deny that the Thrashers might move, either.

To be fair to the citizens of Winnipeg and Manitoba overall, they’ve been waiting about 15 years. Selinger noted that he is “totally excited” about the prospect of Winnipeg getting an NHL team again, but he echoed Bettman’s advice to remain patient.

“We know there is a lot of excitement about it in Manitoba,” he said Wednesday. “We know that we’re very well positioned in terms of the growth of our economy and our ability to support hockey. But we have to put our confidence in Mark Chipman and True North and have the patience to let them do their job.”

As much as those officials want to stamp out excitement, people are still on pins and needles to hear an official announcement. Sure, some celebrated the reports almost a week ago, but many are probably worried about getting burned again.

The uncertainty of the situation
is prompting a lot of outlets to throw out their guesses for when an official announcement will be made. Here’s the latest take on when an announcement might take place, via Ken Campbell of The Hockey News.

All that is left to be determined, said a source, is when the announcement will be made by the NHL. It will either be done between now and the Stanley Cup final or between the end of the final and the draft. It is expected there will be an extended layoff of several days before the Stanley Cup final begins, which would give the league time to make the announcement of the sale and relocation.

The league is apparently of two minds when it comes to making the announcement. If it does so between the conference finals and Cup final, it would remove the speculation that would hang over the Cup final, but might also be a dominant topic when the league wants the focus to be on the series between the league’s top two teams. But if it waits, it risks having the speculation of the sale hanging over the final.

Naturally, we’ll keep you up to date as this situation progresses. Chances are there might be some more news (or at least a few extra rumors) this week.