Just Because You Say It's Obvious...

Doesn't make it true.

From The Fourth Period: "Atlanta's in trouble, everyone knows it. They're losing way too much money every year. That being said, it's going to take a few years (at most, five), to move them (be it to Winnipeg, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Hamilton, or anywhere)."

David Pagnotta, the TFP editor, was making the same false claims on a live chat with Puck Daddy last week. Here, he's taking a page out of President Obama's book and trying to give himself credibility by denying that anyone disagrees with him.

Ben Wright put it nicely on the Blueland Blog when he responded to the ludicrous Manitoba rumors thusly: "Think about it- if the NHL is hesitant to move out of Phoenix where the team is bankrupt, why would they want to move out of a city the size of Atlanta when the team has zero debt, pays its bills, has an arena lease, and packed the building on opening night."

Those of us who have been paying attention to folks who actually know what they are talking about will remember DW addressed this last year at a town hall meeting. At that time he said that he spoke with Gary Bettman who assured him that the league isn't worried about the Thrashers franchise at all. "We pay our bills," DW said. There are several franchises who don't.

Economics are the ONLY thing that drives whether or not a team will move. With that in mind, you have to look at Atlanta as a huge market that is still growing. The league would be insane to pull out. On the other hand, some more "traditional" hockey markets are in serious decline economically. How long is Detroit going to keep selling out The Joe if the team starts slipping in the standings and the local economy continues its nose dive? If the Bills start winning football games and the Sabres don't turn things around, where are those folks going to spend their sparse dollars? Will there be a hockey team on Long Island in two years? In the desert of Arizona? Can Cubans in Miami even pronounce the word hockey? Will Oren Koulis and Len Barrie try to trap each other in diabolically elaborate death traps before this season is over?

The Thrashers are way down on the list of teams that are in danger of being moved if you're building your list on facts and logic. On the other hand, if you're building your list based on Canadian jingoism and a Tim Hortons-induced sugar high, we're right up there with Phoenix.