On a recent Winnipeg Goldeyes telecast on Shaw TV, Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz hinted that a deal to bring the Jets (or a reasonable facsimile) back to Winnipeg could be secured if a number “of very complicated things fell into place.”
“It’s certainly not impossible,” Katz said. “It’s not something that would happen overnight. I would say in the next two-to-five years, perhaps. It would involve the MTS Centre and certainly the Chipmans (Winnipeg’s wealthy Chipman family) would have to be involved, although I don’t think they would necessarily be the major shareholders in the club.
“It would be a very complicated deal. First of all, an NHL team would have to be made available and I think that’s coming. If that happens, there is a chance something could be arranged to bring an NHL team to Winnipeg. I really believe that.”
For months (maybe years) there has been a belief among certain Winnipeg business people that the money is already in place to bring an NHL team back to the ‘Peg. That’s not crazy talk from semi-delusional 35-year-old unemployed males who live in their mothers’ basements. There has also been a more recent belief that if someone, anyone (even Jim Balsillie) can break down the NHL’s cartel, there is a good chance half-a-dozen teams in failing markets could become available.
This week, if Balsillie gets a favourable ruling from Phoenix Judge Redfield T. Baum, there is a very good chance he’ll be able to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and move the team to Hamilton, Ont. If that happens, other teams will soon become available to the highest bidders. You can almost see the Islanders moving to Kansas City as we speak.
The Chipmans, as wealthy as they are, have made it clear they won’t be bringing a team to Winnipeg all by themselves. Just too much coin. But with some help, they have the building (a building that’s way too small, just ask the Columbus Blue Jackets, but that’s for another day), that could play host to an NHL team. The team would lose money, but it certainly would have considerable fan support.
In order to get the help they need, the Chipmans have already reached beyond the Perimeter Highway. One of the current investors in True North Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the MTS Centre and the Manitoba Moose, is the Toronto/Stamford, Conn.-based Thomson family.
The Thomsons, owners of Thomson Reuters, Thomson Financial, Thomson Legal, Thomson Scientific, et. al, have a stake in True North today. The family owned the old Eaton’s site in Winnipeg where the MTS Centre now stands and have been investors in the company since the early days.
The key person in this alleged NHL ownership group is David Thomson, who runs the multi-billion dollar Thomson business conglomerate from the head office in Stamford, Conn.
Lately, there has been talk that the Thomsons will soon take over the major shareholder position in True North from the Chipmans.
If that’s true, and there is still some question that it is, the NHL will be in Winnipeg in two-to-five years, just as Mayor Katz suggested on our Shaw telecast last week.