Neither Don Waddell nor the Thrashers name will accompany Atlanta’s hockey team when it relocates to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Waddell, the team’s general manager from its inception until his promotion to president last year, said he’ll remain on the job until the sale closes and then part ways with the franchise. And while the Canadian buyers haven’t rechristened the team yet, they did not purchase the rights to the Thrashers’ name as part of the deal, Waddell said.
“They bought the assets of the company, excluding name and logo,” Waddell said. “That remains with our ownership group, Atlanta Spirit.”
True North Sports and Entertainment, the group buying the team from the Spirit, plans to announce the team’s new name in the coming weeks. Options, among others, include Winnipeg Jets (the name of the NHL team that left the city for Phoenix in 1996), Manitoba Moose (the name of True North’s minor-league team that has played in Winnipeg) and Winnipeg or Manitoba Falcons.
Waddell’s future is uncertain beyond the deal’s closing, which is expected to occur shortly after a ratification vote by the NHL Board of Governors on June 21. Waddell just knows he won’t be moving to Winnipeg.
“I’m going to stay here through the close of business,” he said. “When we hand the keys over to Winnipeg, we want to hand it over in the best condition that we can. Assuming that happens sometime after the Board of Governors meeting and after the draft [June 24-25], then I’ll explore my options. Whether that is staying here in Atlanta or looking to move in another direction, I will evaluate that when the time comes.”
Waddell was hired as the Thrashers’ general manager in June 1998, about 16 months before the franchise’s first game. He was named team president in April 2010.
He said he thought the Thrashers “were off the table for moving this year” until an unexpected deal three weeks ago to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona for another season. That led the Winnipeg group to instead pursue the money-losing Thrashers for immediate relocation.
Waddell said “I don’t think any stone was left unturned” in the search for a buyer to keep the team in Atlanta, but acknowledged he wonders how differently things might have turned out if the club had experienced more on-ice success.
“There is no doubt if we had more success, maybe we would have had a better turnout at the gate,” Waddell said. “That’s something we always look back at: If ... we could have duplicated the year [2007] we won our division and went to the playoffs, we were set up to try to continue to build the momentum in the marketplace. But that didn’t happen.
“When you look back at things, if you can win more, certainly you’re going to get people excited, so that played a part in it. I think there’s lots of things that played a part in our lack of success, and that would have to be right at the top of the list.”
Etc.
No word on whether the Winnipeg group will retain Rick Dudley as the team’s general manager and/or Craig Ramsay as coach. True North chairman Mark Chipman will interview them, as well as some other staff members, “to make sure he gets a feel for the people we have here with our organization,” Waddell said. “And he’ll make decisions up there.” ... True North announced ticket prices for the soon-to-arrive team — $39 to $129 per game — and launched a season-ticket campaign, requiring three- to five-year commitments. ... Waddell said the growth of youth hockey in metro Atlanta “is one of the positives” of the Thrashers era. Despite the loss of the team, he predicted participation will continue to grow.
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