Wednesday's news, but we missed including it in this stream: on the subject of the Atlanta Thrashers potentially being sold and moved to Winnipeg, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed's spokesperson Reese McCranie described the city's role in the ongoing story, saying among other things, "We are aware that the ownership of the Thrashers is having difficulty and they may leave."
According to the mayor's spokesperson, the NHL has never approached Atlanta with a deal anything like the Phoenix Coyotes one extended to Glendale, Arizona, and the city would not take part in one if it had been offered. Reed has discussed the potential Thrashers exit with business leaders, and that there's nothing more the city government can do to keep the team.
That's the mayor's spokesman, of course, not the mayor himself, as has been cited elsewhere. And there are certainly more people involved than just those associated with the mayor. But Atlanta hockey fans are becoming more and more convinced by the day that their team is long gone.
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