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Potential Atlanta Thrashers Buyer J.B. Smith Probably No Longer A Potential Buyer

One of the Atlanta Thrashers possible plans to keep the team in Georgia was having J.B. Smith, long-rumored as a potential buyer, block the move by buying the team himself. 

That looks quite unlikely now, however, as Craig Custance -- the Sporting News' national hockey writer -- posted some things on Twitter Wednesday afternoon that make it seem rather unlikely that Smith has the funds available to buy the Thrashers. Custance wrote that he was "also told that JB Smith has not made any payments on judgment and that 'several creditors are also seeking payment from JB Smith.'"

This isn't good news for those hoping the Thrashers might be able to stay in Atlanta. Even though it always seemed that Smith was probably a long-shot to buy the team, this all but confirms one less possibility of keeping the team in Atlanta. 

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Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.