atlanta — Atlanta is making its third bid for an NHL team after losing both the Flames and Thrashers.
Former Spartan Anson Carter announced Tuesday that he is leading a group that formally asked the league to begin the process of adding an expansion team to the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Carter's group is the second to express serious interest in bringing another team to Atlanta, which was home to the Flames from 1972 to 1980 and the Thrashers from 1999 to 2011.
Due to ownership issues and low attendance, both teams relocated to Canadian cities, with the Flames moving to Calgary and the Thrashers moving to Winnipeg, where they are now known as the Jets.
Ryan Smith, owner of the NBA's Utah Jazz, is also interested in joining Salt Lake City's NHL expansion team.
The league has said it is not prepared to consider adding to its current 32-team lineup, but is open to discussing new teams with any groups that would like to collaborate. Expansion costs could be at least $1 billion.
The NHL is unlikely to move forward with expansion until the arena situation for the Arizona Coyotes, who currently play in a 4,600-seat college rink, is resolved.
“The league values Anson's passion for bringing NHL hockey back to the Atlanta area, and he has certainly kept this topic on our radar screen for several years in a row,” said Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley. he said. “As we have made clear, there is no expansion-oriented process in place at this time, but it is always good to know that there is legitimate interest.”
Mr. Carter, who played for eight NHL teams from 1996 to 2007 and lived in Atlanta for 15 years, is the founder of the Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment Group, based in the affluent suburb about 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta. is leading.
The group is proposing a new Frank Gehry-designed arena to be built on the redeveloped site of North Point Mall.
“There is no question that the best league in the world will grow with its return to Metro Atlanta,” Carter said. “I have been in discussions with Commissioner (Gary) Bettman about returning an expansion team to Fulton County Metro Atlanta in 2019. I've come,'' he said. We cannot enter the market knowing that NHL franchise decisions are determined exclusively by the NHL Board of Governors. ”
Suddenly, a city that hadn't had a hockey team in more than a decade had two groups competing for a franchise in a league riding the wave of highly successful expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.
Atlanta businessman Vernon Krause has proposed an 18,000-seat arena as part of a large mixed-use development in southern Forsyth County, less than 10 miles north of Carter's group's proposed arena.
Last week, Krause told WSB-TV that he and his wife recently traveled to New York and met with Bettman and Daly to discuss the possibility of an expansion team.
Both proposed arenas would be located along the Georgia 400 Freeway, which cuts through Atlanta's vast northern suburbs. Studies show the area is home to a huge number of potential NHL fans and would represent a notable change from the downtown arena that the team previously called home.
The Flames played at the Omni, and the Thrashers played at what is now known as State Farm Arena, a 17,000-seat facility built on the Omni property after the original arena was demolished.
State Farm Arena is still home to the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, but it has undergone extensive renovations and can no longer share a hockey team. Additionally, Daly said he believes new teams in the Atlanta area will have a better chance of long-term success if the arena is located north of the city.
Carter, who currently works as an analyst for TNT and Canadian Sportsnet, said his partners include Neil Liebman of Top Tier Sports, Peter Simon of Simon Sports, and Aaron Zeigler of Zeigler Entertainment Group. He said that included.
Carter said the North Point Mall development proposal would include a stadium for soccer and lacrosse, a performing arts venue, an esports center and a practice facility, as well as retail, dining, hotel and residential elements. Stated. Insurance giant New York Life will be a partner.
Details about how the project will be financed and what public funds will be needed have not been disclosed, but Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin and Fulton County Commission Chairman Rob Pitts said in a statement through Carter's group: announced and expressed support.
Cleveland 3, Grand Rapids 2 (OT)
In Tuesday's AHL game in Cleveland, Cross Hanas and Elmer Soderblom scored for Grand Rapids, which lost 3-2 in overtime.
Sebastian Cossa stopped 27 of 30 shots for the Griffins.
Tuesday's NHL game
(Location) Philadelphia 3, San Jose 2: Owen Tippett scored the go-ahead goal in the third period for the Flyers, and Morgan Frost had a goal and an assist.
Joel Farabee also scored for Philadelphia, where head coach John Tortorella is not suspended. For the Flyers, Cam York (Michigan State) and Travis Konecny each had two assists.
Philadelphia, which has won and lost its past eight games, is now in third place in the Metropolitan Division, four points ahead of the New York Islanders.
Former Red Wing Filip Zadina scored two goals on the power play off an assist from Luke Kunin for San Jose, which lost 10 of 11 games, and Magnus Crona finished with 39 saves.
New York Rangers 1, (at) Carolina 0: Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves for the second consecutive shutout, and the Rangers defeated the Hurricanes in a matchup of top teams in the Metropolitan Division.
Adam Fox scored late in the first period, and Carolina used extra skaters in the final two minutes to defend the goal.
Carolina goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 23 shots, but the Hurricanes' winning streak ended at three games and in the regular-season finale against the Rangers, who trailed by six points with 17 games remaining. New York won the season series 2-1.
Forward Jake Guentzel made his Hurricanes debut less than a week after being acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh, taking just over 15 minutes and making one shot on goal.
playoff tracker
atlantic ocean
▶ Panthers (92)
▶ Bruins (91)
▶ Maple leaves (82)
metropolitan
▶ Rangers (88)
▶ Hurricane (84)
▶ Flyers (74)
Wildcard
▶ Lightning (74)
▶ Islanders (72)
(Top 2 wild card teams advance to playoffs)
(Does not include Tuesday's game)
▶ Red Wings (72)
▶ Capital (69)
▶ Devils (66)
▶ Buffalo (65)
▶ Pittsburgh (64)
Lempe suspended for 4 games
New York Rangers forward Matt Lempe has been suspended for four games for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the head.
The NHL's Office of Player Safety announced the suspension after a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, giving the high-profile rookie a 10-game suspension, the first of his career.
Rempe, 21, has taken the league by storm, appearing four times since being called up from the minor leagues. He had a few borderline hits, and his rough play and fisticuffs cost him 54 minutes of penalty time, just under his total time on ice of 56 minutes, 28 seconds.
Then came the hit on Siegenthaler on Monday night, drawing a five-minute major and a game misconduct charge. In a video explaining the basis for the four-game suspension, the league said Lempe raised and splayed his left elbow in a dangerous manner to make contact rather than completely remove it.
Siegenthaler was injured while playing and did not return.
Rempe was forfeited his $17,083 salary as part of his suspension. He will miss games at Carolina, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, as well as the home game against the New York Islanders, and will be eligible to return March 19 against Winnipeg.
Flames waive rights to Ronnie
The Calgary Flames waived their rights to draft pick Tuesday after 19-year-old Topi Roni was found guilty in his native Finland of rape charges that occurred while he was a minor.
Roni was sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence by the Helsinki District Court, his Finnish Elite League team announced on Tuesday. The team Tappara Tampere announced that they had terminated his contract.
The Flames, who selected Roni 59th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, later announced they had removed him.
Roni, 19, apologized in a statement on the Tappara Tampere website.
Ronnie was indicted in October. His Finnish team announced that he would be stepping away from their activities during the investigation.
The incident occurred in 2021. Case documents were sealed, so the details of the allegations against Ronnie were unknown.
Michigan area hockey this week
Tuesday
▶ Buffalo 7, Red Wings 3
▶ Cleveland 3, Grand Rapids 2 (OT)
Thursday
▶ Arizona at Red Wings, 7 (BSD/97.1)
Friday
▶ Grand Rapids, Iowa, 7 (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ Western Michigan, St. Cloud State, 8:30
▶ Cedar Rapids NTDP U18, 7
Saturday
▶ St. Louis, Red Wings, 12:30 (NHL/BSD/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids, Iowa, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ Michigan State, Ohio State, 6:30 (Big Ten/1240)
▶ Michigan vs. Minnesota, 8 (Big Ten)
▶ Western Michigan, St. Cloud State, 7
▶ Minnesota State University Michigan Technological University, 5
▶ Cedar Rapids NTDP U18, 7
Sunday
▶ Red Wings, Pittsburgh, 6 (NHL/BSD/97.1)
▶ West Michigan, St. Cloud, 7 (if required)
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