Decius wrote:
] ] Aside from buying teams through bankruptcies, NHL owners
] ] could offer to buy and fold teams in flawed markets. One
] ] banker suggested the league could afford to reduce the
] ] number of teams to as few as 22 using this strategy, and
] ] that many owners, realizing their teams would never make
] ] money, would be willing to accept $50 million to $80
] ] million for their franchise.
] ]
] ] Said the banker: "Since it will make the NHL a more
] ] financially stable league, I'm confident that those banks
] ] that lend to the NHL will give the league the money, at
] ] least $500 million, to do this in a heartbeat."
]
] An interesting analysis of the finances in the NHL.

I really don't care about hockey, and I care even less about whether the Thrashers leave Atlanta or disappear altogether, but I was impressed by the analysis here, which is more interesting than I would have expected from a source like ESPN. (Perhaps I underestimate ESPN as a source of business/finance analysis ...)

RE: The risk of losing the preds or the thrashers...