I have a little bit of speculation on recent history, if I may be permitted to post it here.
We all remember that video of supposedly Bettman's reaction as he's reading texting about the Thrashers deal to be relocated to Winnipeg. Many people read that as Bettman being unhappy at the news. But we also should remember that Bettman on various ocassions spoke about Winnipeg deserving to get a team again, so now I'm starting to think that he wasn't at all unhappy about Winnipeg getting a team, he was unhappy about it being the Thrashers. I'm speculating now that Bettman had already slated to tell the League that if a solution can't be found for the Coyotes situation by this December that then the process should get under way to have the Coyotes moved to Winnipeg for the 2012-13 Season. And his realignment proposals were already in hand for that possibility. What happened though was that the owners in Atlanta forced his/the League's hand and moved up the timetable for Winnipeg getting a team one year sooner than Bettman had started to anticipate.
These realignment meetings to be held in December may have already been slated in, even if the Thrashers hadn't been relocated, if the Coyotes were still without a solution in Phoenix.
And now, rather than the League moving on to deal with the situation in Atlanta after December, they are still faced with trying to find a solution to what has become an overly prolonged problem in the desert.
Sorry if someone already came to this conclusion earlier. I haven't been following the Phoenix situation lately.
We all remember that video of supposedly Bettman's reaction as he's reading texting about the Thrashers deal to be relocated to Winnipeg. Many people read that as Bettman being unhappy at the news. But we also should remember that Bettman on various ocassions spoke about Winnipeg deserving to get a team again, so now I'm starting to think that he wasn't at all unhappy about Winnipeg getting a team, he was unhappy about it being the Thrashers. I'm speculating now that Bettman had already slated to tell the League that if a solution can't be found for the Coyotes situation by this December that then the process should get under way to have the Coyotes moved to Winnipeg for the 2012-13 Season. And his realignment proposals were already in hand for that possibility. What happened though was that the owners in Atlanta forced his/the League's hand and moved up the timetable for Winnipeg getting a team one year sooner than Bettman had started to anticipate.
These realignment meetings to be held in December may have already been slated in, even if the Thrashers hadn't been relocated, if the Coyotes were still without a solution in Phoenix.
And now, rather than the League moving on to deal with the situation in Atlanta after December, they are still faced with trying to find a solution to what has become an overly prolonged problem in the desert.
Sorry if someone already came to this conclusion earlier. I haven't been following the Phoenix situation lately.
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