http://www.mlive.com/sports/flint/in...ani_arena.html
this is especially cool to me, as perani arena is where i grew up playing (back when it was the IMA sports arena.) i go to several saginaw games a year, but this is just phenominal!
http://www.mlive.com/sports/flint/in...ani_arena.html
this is especially cool to me, as perani arena is where i grew up playing (back when it was the IMA sports arena.) i go to several saginaw games a year, but this is just phenominal!
and confirmed. the plymouth whalers are moving to flint next year
another domino has fallen. the US developmental team is leaving ann arbor and moving to compuware arena where the whalers are vacating. so that arena will have a tenant again.
"We've got a lot to cover. The good news is...I've got the time and I ain't going anywhere." -CM Punk, AEW Rampage, 8/20/21
"I see things in black and white and I have a zero tolerance policy for ****ty people." -Jon Moxley, AEW Dynamite, 1/6/21
Perani arena is worse, but if they pour money in, it has a really nice layout.
The embarrassment of a franchise continues....
How the Flint Firebirds unravelled
FLINT, Mich. — When Ontario Hockey League commissioner David Branch brokered a face-saving settlement in November for fired Flint Firebirds coaches John Gruden and Dave Karpa, he hoped he had permanently extinguished the flames.
Branch said team owner Rolf Nilsen signed a binding agreement then that not only prevented him from firing his coaches again without OHL consultation, but also forbid him from meddling in hockey-related activities.
Over the last three months, Nilsen breached that pact, resulting in the team’s hockey operations being taken over by the league on Thursday after both coaches were fired for the second time.
Branch said Thursday the league has hired an independent consultant to investigate what has transpired with the franchise.
“The owner made decisions to terminate the coaching staff and violated the agreement,” Branch said. “There are other things that will come to the surface for us to undoubtedly consider that will be coming out in the days and weeks to come. But right now, our focus is on the players.
“What we did was claw back everything [Nilsen] has done in violation of the agreement and now we’re rebuilding it and putting our people in.”
Multiple sources indicated the Firebirds unravelled again shortly after the agreement with the OHL was signed in November. Nilsen quickly hired Sergei Kharin as “special advisor,” effectively serving as Nilsen’s proxy, enabling the owner to effectively remain in control of hockey operations.
Kharin, 52, played seven games in the NHL for the Winnipeg Jets in 1990-91. He spent the last several years working in car sales in Michigan, also coaching in various youth programs.
Empowered by Nilsen, Kharin orchestrated the trade of New Jersey Devils prospect Connor Chatham to Windsor in early January, but sources said Kharin did so without the consent or knowledge of Flint general manager Terry Christensen.
“If he [Nilsen] was involved in trades, that is another violation of the agreement,” Branch said....
http://www.tsn.ca/how-the-flint-fire...elled-1.440435
Last edited by Haile SpikedLemonade; 02-20-2016 at 04:45 AM.
coastal (02-20-2016)
Yup. The owner isn't very... savvy. Hopefully they move on from him and someone else buys the team. The fan base has been good, so it's not going anywhere right away.
Quite frankly, hasn't Flint suffered enough already?
Permanently ban the owner and get someone new in there.
I think the OHL will be looking for a new owner shortly.
The firebird are "tanking" too. You know, trading off players for picks. Normal hockey stuff
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I think the OHL will be looking for a new owner shortly.
The firebird are "tanking" too. You know, trading off players for picks. Normal hockey stuff
coastal (02-22-2016)
It'll be interesting seeing hockey played on brown poisonous ice.
Also how is there a team called the "whalers" in a place that's probably 1000 miles from the closest ocean?