On learning Jaromir Jagr signed a big one-year deal with the Dallas Stars, most hockey watchers seemed either confused (Why would the Stars bring in yet another player over 40?) or snide (Ha! Another has-been player for an irrelevant team in a city that doesn’t care anyway). As a Texan, born and bred, I get my back up when anyone starts in on our fair state. And, as a hockey fan from Texas, I feel the Northern media has once again missed the point.

The Stars are not bringing Jaromir Jagr to Big D expecting him to be what he once was. They aren’t expecting him to win any scoring races. Heck, I’d argue they aren’t even bringing him in for leadership or to share his Zen philosophy of training or eating. Dallas has secured the services of Jaromir Jagr for one reason: Star Power.

It’s no secret the Dallas Stars have suffered in recent years. Times have been hard, with the team coming oh-so-close to the playoffs and petering out at the bitter end.  The reasons (excuses?) are many:  Ownership difficulties, bad marketing, loss of focus, exorbitant ticket prices in a dreadful economy, and competition with collegiate and NFL football and MLB, as well as a popular championship-winning NBA team …  Really, the list of the Stars’ woes seems endless.

All of these factors have contributed to the franchise’s downward spiral, but none of these has hurt more than the loss of the face of the franchise, Mike Modano.  In Dallas, star power is required to get the public’s notice.  It is football country and in order to turn heads away, a team needs to either win or have a true super star (preferably both).  That person must have the cocky swagger we Texans like, but he also must be humble and human (see Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, or, say, Matthew McConaughey).  He needs to have a presence that demands notice and skills that make people say, “you gotta see this guy!”

Jaromir Jagr meets all of those criteria.  He has the kind of personality Texans adore.  He has massive talent that he attributes to a higher power.  (Texans doubly love that.)  He is confident in himself and his skills.  He works hard. He’s personable, quirky, has a good sense of humor and is quick to laugh.  And he is the kind of player who flirts with the media.  He winks and smiles and teases — and Texans like their personalities big — the bigger the better.

Is he slowing down?  No doubt.  Will he shine like he did in his mulleted glory days?  Perhaps not.  But he is almost guaranteed to provide enough dazzling moments of otherworldly brilliance to get people in Dallas talking about hockey again.  He is the kind of  player who transcends the sport he plays.  He is the kind of player people mark their calendars to come and see.  He is the kind of guy you want to see before he retires.

He is what hockey in Dallas has been missing:  He is a true star, now with a capital “S.”

Photograph:  Geneen Pipher/Hockey VIPs Magazine

Editor’s note:  The following is a rough translation of an interview with Pavel Bure on his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame.  The interview appeared in the Russian publication Sovietsky Sport.

Q:  Are you surprised that in 2012 you were elected to both the IIHF Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Pavel Bure:  Oh, for sure. I did not even care!  So, I made a double?  A funny coincidence!

Q:  Do you think the Hockey Hall of Fame’s decision was affected by Igor Larionov’s presence on the selection committee?

Bure:  I have seen Igor often in recent years — in Helsinki, when I was accepted into the IIHF Hall of Fame, at the funeral of [Russian hockey great] Vladimir Krutov … On this subject he did not say for sure. But I have many things in common with Larionov. I lived in his house when [I] first came to the Vancouver Canucks.  Igor was a great player and a very good man.

Q:  For you to get into the Hall of Fame, where only six Russian players have been accepted, is very prestigious?

Bure:  Yes, it is very honorable. I know that the NHL Hall of Fame is a conservative organization. They consider greatly before making a choice. But, [if] I had my way, I would have even more of our [players] in the museum.

Q:  They are mostly taking those who distinguished themselves in the NHL?

Bure:  Not a fact. What?  Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov played for the Montreal Canadiens?  Or  Anatoli Tarasov coached the Toronto Maple Leafs? Look at what they contributed to the development of hockey.

Q:  What do you say to critics who write that Pavel Bure has no business in the Hockey Hall of Fame without a Stanley Cup?

Bure:  To be honest, I do not read them.  And the attitude is simple — do not change the past. Some things happened, some things not. This is life.  And I’m glad it worked out that way.

Photograph:  Wiki Commons

Hockey super star Sergei Fedorov will skate no more.  As we speculated several weeks ago, the former NHLer retired to take the helm of CSKA Moscow, the Russian club where he first honed his craft playing on a line with Alexander Mogilny and Pavel Bure.

One of the most colorful and decorated Russians ever to don an NHL jersey, Fedorov is returning to the team from which he defected in 1990.

Fedorov had been skating for Siberian powerhouse Metallurg Magnitogorsk since leaving the NHL for the KHL in 2009.  In that time, his popularity soared in the country he once believed he would never set foot in again.

Officials hope Fedorov’s Red Army homecoming heralds a change in fortune for the once-dominant Russian squad.  The club has struggled in recent years, and many in the Russian media believe his name will attract the top free agents the team has been unable secure in recent years.

In its heyday during Soviet times, CSKA — which stands for the Central Sports Club of the Army — crushed all who stood in its path.  If there was a good prospect to be had, that player was simply drafted into the Soviet Army and was, thus, compelled to play.  The names associated with CSKA are staggering:  From Sergei Makarov, Vladimir Krutov, Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov, to Bure and Mogilny, to the players comprising the Detroit Red Wings’ vaunted “Russian Five” (Fedorov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Vladimir Konstantinov) — the powerful CSKA had them all.

Fedorov has been quoted in the Russian media indicating the team will pursue big-name free agents, including Alexander Radulov, with whom the Nashville Predators are parting ways.  He has indicated Radulov — who has won the Gagarin Cup (the KHL’s version of the Stanley Cup) — would be welcome in the CSKA camp.

Fedorov’s retirement from competitive hockey seems to finally close the book on an exciting, intriguing, sometimes frightening chapter in hockey history.  When Fedorov was young, the world was a very different place and players who defected, left home and family expecting never to return.

Fedorov, like Mogilny before him, helped pave the way for the Russians coming to the NHL today. Unlike Fedorov and Mogilny, today’s Russians leave of their own free will and are free to return at any time.  It is hard to contemplate the life-and-death decisions these early Eastern-bloc players were forced to make.  Fedorov has said he didn’t know how his family back home would be treated, didn’t know what would happen to him if his escape plans were uncovered, and had no idea how hard it would be to suddenly find himself a stranger in a foreign land who no longer had a country to call his own.

Despite the hardships and heartache, Fedorov thrived in Detroit, becoming a star on and off the ice.  While Fedorov electrified hockey fans with his otherworldly skills, his good looks and off ice courting of famous beauties kept the gossip page editors drooling.  He glimmered and shone in the glare of the limelight and somehow seemed destined to eventually end up in California among the “beautiful people.”

He played almost a full season for the Anaheim Ducks, maintaining the level of play observers had come to expect.  Following the NHL lockout, which killed the entire 2004-05 season, Fedorov’s offensive production fell off.  He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets early in the 2005-06 season.  Though his offensive output was no longer what it once was, Fedorov brought some much-needed star power to the fledgling Blue Jackets.  And though the team struggled, fans in Ohio were treated to the hockey stylings of one of the best to ever play the game.

Fedorov finished his NHL career with the Washington Capitals who, at the time, were a run-and-gun, offensive juggernaut.  Fedorov brought veteran leadership and a calming presence to a group of exuberant, budding young super stars — particularly countrymen Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin.  The team made the playoffs each of his three years with the club, but was never able to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

In 2009, with a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Fedorov’s NHL career came to an end.  The following year, Fedorov was at last going home, signing a contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he could fulfill his dream of playing alongside his younger brother Fedor.

In 20 NHL seasons Fedorov played for four different teams, skating in 1248 games, and amassing 483 goals and 1179 points.  He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (1997, 1998, 2002).  He won the Selke Trophy twice (1994, 1996) and captured the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1994 and the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1996.

Photographs:  Fedorov with Magnitogorsk by Tatiana Markina/The Hockey Goddesses; CSKA Ice Palace by Geneen Pipher/Hockey VIPs Magazine; Fedorov with Washington by Shannon Valerio/Hockey VIPs Magazine

 

Reports out of Russia indicate former NHLer Sergei Fedorov will retire from competitive hockey and take over as general manager of the venerable CSKA Moscow hockey club.

Russia’s Sport-Express reports that “reliable sources” have Fedorov taking the helm of his old club as soon as May 1.

The once-dominant CSKA Moscow — the feared Red Army team to people of a certain age — has struggled in recent years. No longer the juggernaut it once was, the club is looking to regain some of its lost luster. The Sergei Fedorov brand is big in Russia and a CSKA homecoming would bring some much needed panache to Russian hockey’s grande dame.

In taking the position, Fedorov would unseat Sergei Nemchinov, another former NHLer and contemporary of Fedorov’s.

The newspaper speculates that the addition of Fedorov, along with the freshly inked — and vastly monied — corporate sponsor Rosneft, could enable the team to at last secure big name free agents “including even Alexander Radulov.”

Those hoping to see Fedorov in the GM’s seat might cool their jets a tad, as until a few weeks ago the Russian media had ex-NHLer Pavel Bure all but assured of the CSKA spot.

Fedorov left the NHL in 2009 to join Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where his brother Fedor was signed, saying he was helping fulfill his father’s dream of seeing his two sons on the same team. In 20 NHL seasons Fedorov played for four different teams (Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals), skating in 1248 games, and amassing 483 goals and 1179 points. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (1997, 1998, 2002). He won the Selke Trophy twice (1994, 1996) and captured the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1994 and the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1996.

Photograph: Kontinental Hockey League

Who knew Canucks fans were so easy to rile?  The same fans who have spent the entire season questioning/groaning about/cursing Bobby Lu (that’s Roberto Luongo to those of us outside of YVR), were quick to jump to his aid when former NHLer Val Bure Tweeted that he didn’t believe the team had the chops to make it to the Stanley Cup Final and pointed to goaltending as one of the reasons why.

“I will not pick Vancouver to Win stanley Cup that’s for sure,” Bure had the audacity to opine.

“How dare you?!” Those reading in Canucks nation cried in almost universal outrage.

His reply to all comers, in between discussing the carrot cake he was sweetly making for his wife’s birthday, was a steadfast “I’m sorry, that’s what I think.”

During the course of the day, Bure was hit with a barrage of nasty comments:  Some pointing out his own lack of a Stanley Cup ring, some questioning his hockey knowledge and one wanting to know how he could fail to support the team his brother played for all those years ago.

Throughout the day, he put on a clinic for would-be NHLers and ex-NHLers on how to be engaging and interesting on Twitter.  He didn’t get all huffy and self-righteous the way Dan Ellis did when fans took him to task on Twitter a few years ago.  Instead he used a mix of humor, humility and straight talk (e.g. “I think I know hockey way more then you ever will.”)

While some may take the last remark as arrogance, Joe and Jane Fan at home can’t deny this is true.  And, like his opinion that the Canucks will once again fail to capture hockey’s holy grail, the truth sometimes hurts.

We urge you to follow @ValBure for opinions and discussions on all manner of topics from hockey and religion to fitness, wine and the best ingredients for a carrot cake.

Image:  From Twitter

When you’re a collector, opening a pack of hockey cards is a bit like Christmas morning. You have 5 or 10 or maybe even 36 little presents to pore over and examine, then take out to play — trade — with your friends. As you break the seal on the pack, you wonder: “Will my guy be in there?” “Will I get a good card I can trade to get more of what I need?” As a collector, it’s all about business — getting what you need either through luck of the draw or by leveraging what you receive in the pack to get more pieces for your collection.

When you’re a fan, opening a pack of hockey cards is kind of like looking through a yearbook. You look for your friends: “Oh! There’s Ilya Kovalchuk!” “Look there’s Marian Hossa” You remember hated rivals: “Ugh Eric Staal” And, of course, the popular kids, “That Sidney! He’s just everywhere!” It’s fun to look at cards as a fan. You can appreciate the statistics, the uniforms, the weird pictures that are sometimes selected. You think about your team in relation to the guys you got in your pack.

When you’re a female (or perhaps gay) fan, opening a pack of hockey cards gives you an added bonus.  In addition to all of the above, you get to look at the players from an aesthetic point of view. It’s fun for me sometimes to peruse my cards for a handsome face. Some of my fellow female fans will cry out at me for admitting this. They will say in smug, self-righteous tones, “I like hockey for the GAME!” Heck, so do I, but I also like attractive men and, indeed, hockey has a few.

These ladies mean well, it’s hard after all to be taken seriously as a fan when you’re a female. The automatic assumption is always that you are there for one of two reasons, 1.) your guy dragged you there, or 2.) you’re there just to oogle and/or attempt to pick up a player. But I think we ladies need to relax. We know we know the game, we don’t have to pretend we are guys to prove it. So what if I happen to find Jose Theodore attractive? Does that mean I can’t understand the game too? I think not.

So, being all of these things — collector, fan, female fan — I thought I’d break open a pack of hockey cards and evaluate from those perspectives.

I’m a Collector!

For years now I have collected Vyacheslav Kozlov cards. Around 2006 I began collecting Michael Garnett — a relative unknown goalie who had a nice stint with the Atlanta Thrashers organization. Both players are now in the Kontinental Hockey League, so I know I won’t be finding any in my 2011-2012 Upper Deck Victory pack. But perhaps I can find something to trade for what I need.

A quick flip through finds two noteworthy cards: An Alexander Semin red parallel card. And a Nicklas Backstrom red parallel card. Nice. Each might fetch $3 or $4 dollars on eBay or net a nice trade with someone who needs it for their collection. There are a couple of interesting inserts, but nothing that really wows me. Other than that, the cards are fairly run of the mill — Lubomir Vishnovsky and Chris Stewart, for example might — and I stress might — get 50 cents a piece (more like 5 cents). Not that I plan to try to sell them. I prefer trading and those two probably won’t be causing mass hysteria on the trading block.

I’m a Fan!

A second shuffle through the cards and Alexander Semin catches my eye once again. He’s a favorite of a friend of mine and we’ve spent large amounts of time discussing Sasha’s “care factor.” That red parallel jumps up in value for me because of that. I also love the Vincent Lecavalier card. As a Thrashers fan, I can’t say how many times I got to watch this amazing player do his thing. He’s a star in the league, but imagine if he played in Canada. One thing I like about this set in general is that it puts the pronunciations under the player’s name. I think that’s pretty cool. If only I could find a “Mo DAH no” card and send it to the Canadian media. Perhaps then they’d say his name right?! (Don’t make me bust out the “a” with the little umlauts because I’ll do it! ä — there!)

This pack came with two Sidney Crosby cards — a Game Breakers insert and a regular card. Both nice. Mr. Popular — natch. There’s a Milan Hejduk, whom I love and deem to be completely under-appreciated. And, there is a Dany Heatley card that you can’t help but giggle at. He’s in a nice hockey pose, but making the goofiest face. Who decides which pictures to use? I’ve always wondered that. So many cards over the years have had me screaming, “Why would you choose that one?!”

I’m a Female Fan!

OK boys, now’s the time to stop reading. On second thought, feel free to stick around. We hear all about your love of Megan Fox and Fox News’ Kimberly Guilfoyle (what?!) so how about reading on as I once again discuss this Alexander Semin parallel card — this time we’ll be talking about the AQ — Adorableness Quotient — of this card. Just kidding. It is a nice card though, of a fairly cute Cap. There I said it. And I will be keeping my hockey fan cred too thank-you-very-much!

Photographs: Geneen Pipher/Hockey Goddesses

Cha-ching! Yashin Back in Moscow

After a brief fall flirtation with the New York Islanders, Alexei Yashin has joined CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. The former NHLer spent a few weeks working out with his former club, prompting speculation he might rejoin the team. The magical reunion did not happen and he signed with the venerable Russian squad known as the Red Army team. Yashin is cashing in though, as remains on the Islanders payroll through the 2014-15 season.

Kozlov Reclaims Lucky Number

When Slava Kozlov signed up to play in the KHL, he seemed to have resigned his signature No. 13, opting instead for No. 72 — a number he donned in the days of the Soviet Union and during his first go-round with CSKA Moscow. He took this number again, wearing it once more for CSKA Moscow, whom he signed with at the end of the 2009-10 NHL season. What’s old is new again this season as Kozlov is once again donning No. 13, the number he made lucky during his 18 seasons in the NHL.

Photographs: Alexei Yashin from cska-hockey.ru; Vyacheslav Kozlov from dynamo.ru.

Former NHLer and Hockey Goddesses fave Yan Stastny has signed with the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Based in Nuremberg, Germany, the Ice Tigers were Stastny’s first professional squad. As we reported last week, Stastny recently parted ways with his former club, CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League.

In Nuremberg he joins a few other ex-NHLers Ryan Bayda (Carolina Hurricanes), Eric Chouinard (Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild) and Sven Butenschön (Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks).

Photograph: From the official website of the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers.

It’s the start of the hockey season — normally a source of great excitement and joy in my family — but I am bereft. My team is gone, spirited away to a better place. A real hockey market — where people actually deserve it.

Right.

I can’t express how tiresome those sentiments have become. But before I spiral into despair over the loss of my Atlanta Thrashers, I thought I would attempt to compile a list of things that are keeping the gossamer thread of love for the NHL intact for me. You know, the kind of exercise completed by depressed people and Oprah disciples trying to force themselves to be more grateful. So here is my self-indulgent, things-that-keep-me-hanging on list…

1.) Fantasy Hockey
If it weren’t for my long-standing fantasy teams, I may have thrown up my hands in disgust and just gone back to being a college football fan like I (as a person living in the South) am expected to do. But I have built many good friendships through my involvement in fantasy hockey and am the commish of a 12-16 team all-girls league. Looking forward to helming my own virtual teams once again has helped me through the bleakest of bleak times.

2.) Boomer Gordon, on-air personality for Sirius/XM’s Home Ice channel
Oddly, I used to kind of dread hearing his voice. It’s not your typical “Hey! I’m a radio guy!” voice, and I used to think he sounded a little drunk on air, but over the five or six years I’ve been listening, he’s become a true favorite. He can be excessively harsh, but has always been fair about the Thrashers, where most people haven’t. Maybe it’s because he is an Islanders fan. No matter, his show has been the one hockey program I could bear to listen to this summer.

3.) Jaromir Jagr
Thank you Jags for returning to the NHL! The anticipation of seeing one of my longstanding favorites has given me something to look forward to, now that I have no team to call my own.

4.) The KHL
I know it sounds crazy, but bear with me. Regular readers know that Sasha and I are Russophiles. We’ve been studying Russian and have traveled to Moscow several times now to watch hockey and raise some hell. My all-time favorite player (anyone care to name him?) is still playing over there, and I try to follow his career from afar. Being able to still be interested in hockey (any hockey!), I think, will help me pull out of this funk so I can one day love again.

5.) Anger
Now that my team has been stolen away, I have powerfully negative feelings toward certain players who dissed Atlanta and, of course, the team I used to love. Hate is the other side of love after all. And just maybe looking forward to cheering against a team will help heal my broken heart.

I’d love to hear from other Thrashers fans — how are you coping with the loss of the team? What keeps you hanging on?

Former NHLer Yan Stastny has parted ways with his Kontinental Hockey League team. He joined CSKA Moscow — Russia’s most celebrated hockey club — in 2010, signing a two-year pact.

The CSKA press service reports Stastny and the team severed ties by “mutual agreement.” Last season, Stastny appeared in 49 games, scoring 12 points.

Photograph: From KHL.com.

Click on BBC World News and remember that this is just a game. Look around your city and see those less fortunate. Contemplate for a minute that you could have a disease with no hope for a cure. Imagine the many, many things that would be worse than your city losing a hockey team.

That’s what I did today. Yes, I spent about 15 minutes with tears in my eyes. Then I shook myself and (hard as it was to do) forced myself to acknowledge that it could be so much worse. What happened in Atlanta is very upsetting but, in the end, the sun will rise tomorrow.

Tomorrow, God willing, I will still have my family, my friends, my health. I will have a home to live in. There is no war in the streets. My city hasn’t been destroyed by a tornado. There was no tsunami here. No nuclear meltdown. I have the freedom to choose what to do with my life. I have food on my table and money in my pocket. I am blessed with the leisure time to worry about such things as sporting events, where grown men play a child’s game for a living. Though I feel like I’ve lost my best friend, the most important things in my life are real and unchanged.

I guess I have arrived at the last stage of the grieving process. I accept what has come to pass.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate the idea of my Thrashers in Winnipeg. I hate that I will never get to take my daughter to a Thrashers game. I hate what the Atlanta (no)Spirit Group has done to the image of the city I love. But I will get over it. As goofy as it sounds to paraphrase Sting, I am going to do it anyway.

I love this team and I’ve been forced to set it free. Because I love the team, I have chosen to mentally release them, along with all of the anger and hurt. It’s a relief. In so doing, I have realized I can remain a fan. This is still my team too. And, in spite of it all, I still believe in Blueland. I hope the people of Winnipeg will cherish this team and honor its past. I hope that fans in both cities will someday realize we were really fighting over the same thing. We all love hockey and, in the end, we are on the same team.

Photo: Thrashers fan from Reuters.

In this edition, we have a letter from a family outlining the downward trajectory of the Atlanta Thrashers after a very promising start. The writer brings up several points that are seldom mentioned when discussing this issue: The effect of the NHL lockout on a fledgling market and the impact of losing Dany Heatley, an immensely popular player in the market. In addition, she mentions a lack of marketing to the unique market that is Atlanta and explains the needs (which were unmet) in an up-and-coming market. Let’s take a look:

May 19, 2011 12:44:50 AM
To: GBettman@NHL.com

Dear Mr. Bettman,

I doubt I can say anything that hasn’t already been said about my team, the Atlanta Thrashers. I will just say that I feel the city deserves a real chance to succeed. Despite 10-ish years (I am excluding the lockout lost season), the Thrashers have never given fans a chance to love them.

The ownership group has been outstandingly apathetic, never marketing the team well when it did have super stars and just throwing up their hands, letting star after star walk away.

What a Mess!

There are many things that have added up to a perfect disaster for the Thrashers:

Dany Heatley’s departure seemed to start the decline — people here adored him and we lost a relatable, marketable personality when he left town. A personality like this goes a long way in attracting curious would-be fans.

The loss of countess other super stars (Heatley, Marian Hossa, Marc Savard, Ilya Kovalchuk, etc.).

The lockout year killed the excitement and momentum of the early years — a brutal thing to happen just a few years into our franchise. No season, no All Star Game (it was our year that year).

Open hostility on the part of the owners toward the fans (ask any season ticket holder about this).

Inability to sustain any on-ice success.

A mere four playoff appearances. The 2006-07 playoff failure also seems to be a huge turning point in the franchise’s brief history.

Not to mention the economy, which has hit Atlanta harder than many cities.

A fan base that doesn’t know the game as well needs a teacher. I think Nashville and Dallas are two shining lights. Their example was not followed here.

Constant rumors of relocation don’t do anything to help lure fans either. Why come out for a team that won’t be around next year?

The diversity of the city needs a different, unique approach. The ownership group never courted diverse audiences or tailored their marketing message to reach different audiences. The potential is here to have a truly unique team and fan base. The team already boasts the largest number of black players of any team and that’s so perfect for this city! That kind of diversity is one of the foundations of this city. Think what this team could do for would-be players of diverse backgrounds if ownership committed to doing so! What a legacy to leave for generations.

But perhaps above all of this is ownership locked in a battle against itself in court for years and years. What a mess!

All of the above is a recipe for disaster. How could any team in any market succeed like this? Wouldn’t you like to know what solid ownership could do here in this vibrant, now recovering market — the capital of the New South?

Making it Work

With so many examples of how once-troubled franchises turned it around, I — a simple, humble fan — just ask for one real chance with committed, passionate owners. I am a native of Houston, where I have seen the Dallas Stars come to the state and enflame the love of hockey in kids and adults all over our great state. In point of fact, my old high school, just 30 minutes from Galveston Beach on the Gulf of Mexico now has a successful hockey team. Wow! The Stars, and to a lesser extent, the Houston Aeros, made that happen. The Thrashers have done good things for hockey in Georgia, but it could be so much better! I am a journalist in Atlanta and have lived here for 10 years. I truly believe this market can work. It worked early in the franchise’s history with Heatley and Kovalchuk, before the ownership and year after year of dreadful teams made it nearly impossible to lure fans.

Your Vision

I dislike the term “deserve” in reference to any city and a sports team, but I believe you made a visionary plan for expanding into non-traditional markets. This plan can work. The fans that exist in Atlanta — and there are many — will come back, and I truly believe that with the right ownership, new fans can be created thereby expanding the game we so love.

I know you’re very busy and probably do not have time to read messages like this, but should you get it and take the time to read it, I want to thank you. Thank you for reading and thank you for your vision of hockey in the South. You are not wrong to believe in that vision and you would not be wrong to trust in the people and the city of Atlanta.

Thank you again for your time.

Sincerely,

The B Family,
Three true Southern hockey fans

* I have replaced names with initials.
** These letters appear as they were sent to me. No editing has been done.

Photo: Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk from atlantathrashers.com.

As you might be aware, I asked the Blueland faithful to send me their letters to NHL Commish Gary Bettman. In this third edition we hear from a passionate fan who pleads with the NHL brass for a fair chance for Atlanta to succeed as a hockey market. She also touches on many of the issues the hockey fans in Atlanta want people who don’t live here to understand.

Got a letter of your own? Please e-mail kaatiya[at]hockeygoddesses.com. We’d be delighted to post your letter here too. In the meantime, Thrasher fans STAY STRONG!

Mon, May 16, 2011 at 12:22 AM
Dear Commissioner Bettman,

I am writing to you in hopes of helping keep the Thrashers in Atlanta. There are numerous reasons why I believe we should not lose our hockey team. I know you already know the stats about the growth of Atlanta, the TV market and the corporate promise of Atlanta. However, I don’t know if you’ve thought about the impact of losing hockey in Atlanta will have for the game of hockey.

There has been a constant fight amongst the fans and the poor ownership, and can best be described as toxic. As a result, I do not believe the owners invested money, time, energy or passion into the hockey team. I fell that ii is apparent they are willing to just give up and sell the team without any hard and time consuming search. They have only been able to legally and seriously discuss selling the team for a few months. Mr. Bruce Levenson has never cared about the fans and created animosity when he told season ticket holders to “just deal with it”. I can’t believe the NHL cares about their fans, but allowed owners to have such a volatile and untrusting relationship with its fans. His comment for us fans to have interested buyers to contact him showed how serious they are about being owners of a team. Your average fan does not have enough money or contacts to just call up in a short period of time, if ever. If we are given time, maybe we as fans can find owners with the help of the NHL though. It would be a dream come true if I could own even 1% of a hockey team and I’d never forget the passion and love I have for the game and loyalty to the fans.

It’s been up to the fans for the most part to market and sell the team. I strongly believe the grass root efforts to grow the fan base is working. Also, after all of this we know how close we are to lsoing them. Despite, the team’s struggles and no marketing late in the season, attendance was there for the games on the weekends. We continue to bring friends, family, and co-workers to games. Most people can’t help but to fall in love with the game after watching it live. I remember numerous times when I’ve heard people say they couldn’t wait to come back to see a game. The owners have not put forth the effort and energy to market and sell this time to the community effectively.

If you question hockey’s growth here, I can give you just a few personal examples of how it is. My brother-in-law grew up loving the Flyers. He still is devoted to the Flyers, but the Thrashers are his second team and even admitted to me theThrashers may actually be his favorite now. My five year-old-nephew, Noah, LOVES the game of hockey. His favorite athlete is Zach Bogosian. He tells everybody his favorite thing to do is go see Bogie and the Thrashers. I’m an Auburn University alum and huge fan of the football team. This past season, I missed two AU games to attend Thrashers games. If you would have told me that even a year ago, I would have never believed it. I missed games in AU’s magical national championship season to watch Thrashers hockey! I remember watching Coach Chizik and the players after their first spring scrimmage and thinking that group would accomplish something special. I never knew it would happen in two years and result in a national championship. I get that same feeling with the Atlanta Thrashers team. I leaned over to a friend and told them I had that same feeling and he looked at me and said he agreed, there’s something special with this group. Please, don’t just take that away from a group of devoted fans without a fight.

The team is finally just that, a team. I know Ilya Kovalchuck was a great player, but the team was centered around him. After he left, it felt like a shift had occurred and people were more positive about the Thrashers. We have a team with multiple players fans have found something to appreciate in and grown to admire both individually and as a team. Just when we have a team that fans are starting to watch come together and develop is just the beginning. I can’t help but have the feeling that if this group stays together in Atlanta, you’ll have a team that we will love because we watched them come together through all the growing pains and struggles into a competitive, fun and successful team. The signings of Dustin Byfuglien, Chris Thorburn and Mark Stuart to extensions of multiple years this past season finally gave us fans excitement, hope and optimism. Please don’t take that away from us so fast and without an attempt at a fight and search for new owners. This team was pieced together so beautifully last year by Mr. Dudley (in his first year as GM) and in some odd sort of way (intentional or not) resembles the city of Atlanta. It really feels like our team. The fan base is growing and minorities are probably the fastest growing group of fans. The city is just starting to embrace this team and with infectious personalities like Buff, Evander Kane and Andrew Ladd, growth is limitless regardless of skin color and social and economic classifications.

Also, just look at the youth of Atlanta. Darren Eliot said there were 270 players at the Thunder AAA tryouts this past weekend. That despite all of the uncertainty of the home town NHL team that these kids follow and get inspiration from. One of the youth teams last year won a national championship and this past season I know I saw a story on another youth team winning a national tournament. If the Thrashers leave, the NHL loses these youth. High school hockey is just now taking off. If the Thrashers are not in Atlanta, the youth (and the public) will lose interest and the much needed support the Thrashers and the NHL provide. You never know, but the NHL leaving will stunt the growth of these players and the sport itself. We may just have the next Cam Fowler, Blake Geoffrion, Sidney Crosby, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien or Tim Thomas in our growing hockey market. You take away the team they know, support and love and you take away their support system, love of the sport and any devotion they had because the NHL turned their back on them. The Thrashers being here provides the youth with inspiration, support, a goal to work towards and role models. Please don’t abandon the youth in one of the fastest growing hockey markets.

This franchise has had to endure a lot. The horrible accident and death of Dan Snyder left an indescribable mark on the franchise. Dan Snyder is still remembered and loved in Atlanta. I remember how everybody said we would fall apart after the Kovalchuck trade. We didn’t, and I think you could ask anybody associated with the Thrashers, but it finally feels like we have a team, hope and potential. I will never forget Feb. 6, 2010, the first home game after the Kovy trade. The team had endured a trip from hell in the middle of the worst blizzard to get from DC to Atlanta. The game was delayed, but the fans were there in full force to support our team. The arena was loud and showed support for our new look team. There was no negativity and players’ post game comments thanked the fans for their support. It feels like we are finally a team and building together as a “family”. To have that ripped away so suddenly, would abandon the region and the future of the game of hockey.

I don’t understand how the NHL could preach about fan loyalty, but then rip a team away from an emerging market. Fans of the Thrashers wouldn’t even get the chance to say good-bye or thank you to their team. Even if all we get is a guarantee of one more year, it buys us time to search for an owner(s), who do care and will share our love and support t for the team. Maybe a grassroots effort from fans will be what gets our team new owners.

Wow, this turned out to be a lot longer then I intended. I will admit if felt cathartic to get that all out in this time of confusion, rumors and uncertainty. Thank you for your time and bringing the best game of all to this Southern belle’s life. Please, don’t let it leave without helping us fight for our beloved Thrashers.

Sincerely,

S.W.

* I have replaced names with initials.
** These letters appear as they were sent to me. No editing has been done.

Photo: Thrashers fan tailgate from Getty Images.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I am posting some of the letters Atlanta Thrashers fans have sent via e-mail to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the subject of relocation. Below are several passionate letters sent on different days by the same fan.

This man’s growing frustration and exasperation is evident. And why wouldn’t it be? This drama has been dragging on for weeks now. It is high time for someone in an official capacity to level with the people of Atlanta (and, let’s face it, Winnipeg too). Even if the news is the absolute worst, we deserve the truth. We deserve to know we are being heard! We spent thousands of dollars over the years “investing” in the team as management asked of us fans. Instead of our ticket reps. calling and asking us to re-up, let’s hear from someone in a position of power who can tell us just why, exactly, we should bother re-upping when the team is moving?! Where is the common courtesy we fans, er, customers (perhaps I mean suckers?) deserve?

As before, I have substituted initials for the author’s name. The letters are otherwise unaltered. Keep those letters coming Thrasher fans!

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 3:00 PM

Good Afternoon,

Keeping this brief: I appreciate all you’ve done to keep the NHL in Phoenix, Tampa, and Carolina. I hope you will exercise similar efforts in keeping my Thrashers in Atlanta. We have awful ownership that has hamstrung us for years.

Respectfully,
E.M.

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Monday, May 16, 2011 2:00 PM

Hopefully this subject line isn’t already in the “mark for deletion” bin, but I am writing again to plead on behalf of Atlanta NHL fans facing the loss of yet another NHL franchise. I appreciate your statement last week confirming my suspicions that folks are just making stuff up. Supposedly Winnipeg is driving hard to grab my team and shuttle them up north. I have several points:

1. Atlanta has not had quality ownership for 8 years.
2. Other NHL cities have had the benefit of the NHL fighting hard to keep them in their cities.
3. Atlanta deserves just as much effort.
4. The NHL has invested a large amount of money keeping the Coyotes in Phoenix. Please don’t try to recoup those expenditures to the detriment of Atlanta fans.
5. No threats of boycotts. Just a heartfelt plea to keep my Thrashers in Atlanta.
6. If you build it, we will bring our friends back. We have never left.

E.M.

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 2:31 PM

Many of us watched in horror as the Flames were dispatched to Calgary. I even witnessed my hometown Minnesota North Stars relocated to Dallas. While the Wild has been a well run organization, our Atlanta Thrashers have been run more poorly than any franchise in professional sports. The misnamed “Atlanta Spirit Group” never wanted the Thrashers, in my opinion, and only took them as a part of a package deal to obtain the Atlanta Hawks. Now the guys want neither. We as Thrashers fans are devoted to our team. And have watched approvingly as you fought well to keep Nashville, Carolina, Tampa, Pittsburgh, and recently, Phoenix in their locations. Please remain consistent and help us look out for the local interest, which seems very prevalent in your bylaws. There appear to be local buyers. We deserve at least as much effort as Phoenix. While I know the situation is moderately different, the loss of the Thrashers would be devastating to the Atlanta community, and the NHL as a whole would look bad.

Thank you,
E.M.

To: gbettman@nhl.com
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:18 AM

Swirling unconfirmed reports continue to call the move to Winnipeg a “done deal”, yet the NHL is silent. We deserve better than that from the NHL. Winnipeg fans deserve better than that. If this is a done deal, made months ago as some in the media are speculating, then all this “working to find a local buyer” is a sham. If no deal is done, and the Thrashers remain in Atlanta ultimately, Winnipeg fans will be understandably devastated.

Hockey fans are proud and passionate. We will spar with one another, but there is a measure of mutual respect that binds us together, both north and south of the border. Does the NHL actually care about us? More than lip service and autoresponses? Make all the claims that Phoenix and Atlanta’s situations are different that you want to, the fact remains that Phoenix was fought hard for. Atlanta is being allowed to swing in the breeze. We have had abysmal ownership the past 8 years and we have endured it, while still making a respectable showing to games. We have been publicly excoriated by our ownership group when we dared to question a rise in season ticket prices after consecutive losing seasons. “Deal with it,” was the message, verbatim. Such contempt for fans, yet we still do NOT rank as the lowest attendance in the league. You have allowed this to go on. If the Thrashers are ultimately moved for 2011-2012, the NHL will be the laughingstock of professional sports. It is common knowledge how awful the misnamed Atlanta Spirit Group is. You know it firsthand.

Assuming no NHL official goes on the record between now and Saturday afternoon, my son and I will be at our tailwake party. He’s been a hockey fan since 1998, right before the first year the Thrashers played. We discussed the Flames, and how “this was going to be different, and the NHL has a good market down here”. He played roller hockey for 4 seasons in Snellville, one of which I coached (primarily because there was a team without a coach), and he joined a travel league of under 8 year olds. From then until now, we’ve followed the Thrashers, but no time more than 2010-2011. He was excited to see his favorite player from the 2009-2010 cup champion Blackhawks in a Thrashers uni (Dustin Byfuglien). We watched every game televised, listened to Kamal call untelevised games and made it to a few games at Philips, including the final game vs the Pens. That place is a great atmosphere, even with all the turmoil of “imminent sale to Winnipeg”. And next season he is going to college in Nashville. I had considered buying him a partial season ticket package, just so he’d have a chance to remember the great times (and great “shouting at the TV” evenings) this season. He is my last kid to leave the house, and I will be devastated if the Thrashers leave. I have no delusions that my presence at a tailgate will change a gutless ownership group that just sucks more than gravity, but we will be there in our Thrashers jerseys. One from 1999, one from 2011. Potential bookends to a team franchise that had so much squandered potential. From dumb decisions such as the one to hang ones goalie hats on Damien Rhodes, through the Dany Heatley/Dan Snyder tragedy, the Kovalchuk departure, the Marian Hossa “hired gun”, all the way to possibly end with not so much as a real chance given to our great city to support a franchise that was hamstrung from 2003 on. Atlanta Spirit Group should keep the acronym, but change to Atlanta Shame Group.

E.M.

Thrash Fans: Have a Letter to Share?
Send an e-mail to kaatiya[at]hockeygoddesses.com

If you have been following the saga of my Atlanta Thrashers, you know all of the arguments being made for — and against — relocation of the franchise to Winnipeg. Though I have so much in my heart for the Thrashers, I have found myself unable to post about it here. Maybe I am still in denial.

Nevertheless, I have answered the call to action from Thrashers fans far more organized than me. I’ve written letters, I’ve debated with Winnipeg fans, supported the tailgate/rally, contacted my ticket rep., badgered members of the media, begged, pleaded, taken the insults being thrown at my city and the fans of this team, even cried a little bit in private. Not that it matters. It seems the Thrashers’ ownership group has been hell bent on moving this team all along, having worked a backroom deal months ago. I can honestly say I did what (little) I could.

I’ve asked some of the great people I’ve met through social media to forward me some of the letters they sent to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (and others). I received quite a few. I will post them here as a small sampling of the sentiments of Thrashers fans everywhere. These people say what I cannot. My heart is too full, too broken. Here’s our first installment of “Letters to Gary…”

Mr Bettman,

Please don’t allow the Atlanta Spirit to relocate my Thrashers this soon after beginning their search for a buyer. I am aware they have been wanting to sell my team for the entire time they’ve owned them, but did not have clear title to do so until December 2010. Given the unknown duration of litigation, I’m sure you can imagine why no outside buyers would have seriously considered the purchase from the Atlanta Spirit until after their lawsuit was settled.

Five months is not enough time for due diligence. Five months is not enough time to determine relocation is the only answer left. Five months is not enough time for Atlanta Spirit and the NHL to determine that there are/aren’t local buyers interested in the purchase, and it’s not enough time for local buyers to complete their due diligence required to determine whether or not the purchase of the Thrashers is a real prospect they want to pursue.

Given the NHL by-laws regarding relocation requests (have to be entered by Jan. 1st) there is not reason to rush this sale. If it turns out on December 31st that a relocation deal is the only deal on the table, then I completely understand the need to enter the request to the NHL to move my team. I implore you to allow more time for this process to take place.

Best regards,

M.W.

* I have replaced names with initials.
** These letters appear as they were sent to me. No editing has been done.

Thrashers Fans: Have a Letter to Share?

We would love to have any letters you wrote to Gary Bettman, team representatives, NHL brass, city council members — anyone you might have been appealing to. Please send copies of your letters to kaatiya [at] hockeygoddesses.com . Thanks!

Photo: Ilya Kovalchuk by Goddess Kaatiya. Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved.