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Former Atlanta Flames Broadcaster Questions Winnipeg As A Market

More and more former members of Atlanta's hockey community keep coming out of the woodwork, complaining about mismanagement of the team and praising the fanbase as a whole. Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Atlanta Flames Ken "Jiggs" McDonald isn't sold on Winnipeg as a market, as he told of Canadian-based Simcoe.com:

Sure the city of Winnipeg has grown in size since the Jets left, but mom and pop can’t afford tickets anymore. Maybe they can have the luxury of going to one or two games a year, but forget about paying for exhibition and regular season ticket packages.

McDonald also questions Winnipeg's ability to find corporate sponsors to offset the lack of revenue from "mom and pop."

Additionally, McDonald takes issue with the suggestion some folks have made that the Thrashers' move to Winnipeg will start a trend of more American NHL teams relocating north of the border

So many people say it’s a Canadian game and it should only be played in Canada. That’s like people in the U.S. saying football is an American game and it should only be played in America. If football is OK to play in both countries, why not hockey?"

To comprehend the full extent of McDonald's crankiness, read the complete story at Simcoe.com.

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Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.