Congratulations to Mark Chipman and Craig Heisinger of the Manitoba Moose on making big news today with the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Moose franchise. I have the privilege of sitting next to Mark and Craig at AHL Board of Governors Meetings and I can attest that they are two great guys who love hockey and the city of Winnipeg. I will miss our chats at our meetings. They have been fantastic stewards of hockey in the Province of Manitoba over the years and this move the NHL will be a success because of their leadership.

 We’ll see over the next few weeks what will happen to the AHL team that was playing in Manitoba. It will be discussed as a part of the upcoming Board of Governors meetings in early-July if not sooner. Manitoba was a very well-regarded stop with fantastic support in the AHL and hopefully we will find another great market for that team to go. There are certainly going to be some moving parts during this process. It should be very interesting.

 Who do you like in the Calder and Stanley Cup Finals?

 The Calder Cup Finals are knotted at a game apiece between Houston and Binghamton. I like Houston in that series, especially if it goes to seven games. They seem to have a knack in getting that done as they’ve won their last two series in seventh games including over us in the West Division Finals.

 In the Stanley Cup Finals, I am cheering for Boston. There is no real great hockey reason for it but I have really taken to Tim Thomas. He’s incredible to watch and when he talks to the media, he is so sincere and thoughtful. You never really hear soundbites full of clichés and I like that. I am also cheering for Rich Peverley of the Bruins to get his name on the Stanley Cup. He’s a former Admirals out of our ownership group which makes him special for me. I know that Dan Hamhuis, who plays for Vancouver, is a former Admiral but he pre-dates our arrival in 2005 so it’s just not quite the same. It is cool, however, that a former Admirals player is getting his name on the Stanley Cup, whether it’s Rich or Dan.

 I will say that I expect the Stanley Cup to be a great series. Vancouver is very impressive and Boston is just flat-out tough so hopefully we’ll get some great hockey over the next couple of weeks to end the season.

 The Admirals Garage Sale is coming up on June 14-15 with lots of great stuff for sale. Be sure to check out the latest news on the sale here on the website as the sale nears.

 Go Admirals!