Now here's a little slice of news that could potentially change everything, if it's true: the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena are on the market in addition to the Atlanta Thrashers, CBC Sports' Elliotte Friedman reports. While this wouldn't necessarily make the Thrashers any more likely to remain in Atlanta instead of relocating to Winnipeg, it would still be a major development that would make one wonder why exactly the Thrashers must be sold out of town to begin with, since the Atlanta Spirit Group has long insisted it wants to retain its NBA team.
I'll let Friedman tell it:
In fact, it appears that the Hawks and the Arena will be sold before the Thrashers. However, the reason the hockey team remains available is that the new ownership (which apparently is local) has no interest in buying it.
Take it for what it's worth at this point, as it's just a single report from a source that doesn't exactly frequently report on Hawks news, no offense. But as entangled as these two franchises have been for about a decade now, it's very much worth paying attention to any report of the two possibly breaking up.
For more Thrashers, join Bird Watchers Anonymous. For more hockey, visit SB Nation's NHL hub.