4 replies to this topic

[ladiesandgentlemen]

Very sad...

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Augusta (Ga.) Lynx minor league hockey team has suspended operations and relinquished its membership in the ECHL.

The league said Augusta players will become unrestricted free agents but did not offer further details Tuesday.

"We are very disappointed for our fans, league partners and the other member teams of the ECHL," commissioner Brian McKenna said in a written statement.

The league is revising its playing schedule to account for the loss of the Lynx, who were one of six teams in the ECHL's American Conference Southern Division. The Lynx were affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL...

The loss of the Augusta franchise leaves the Princeton-based ECHL with 22 teams in 16 states and British Columbia.

CBS Sports

[sugarmama]

What crap. So much for the "our future is brighter than ever" message they were trying to push when the Ducks left 'em.

[Dark Knight]

Wow... too bad indeed.

[DropThePuck]

Hope their players will find new teams. How unfortunate.

“We’ve known there have been issues for some time now,” said Florida Everblades owner and general manager Craig Brush.

“It’s unfortunate. The owners of the team are in the car business. They were planning to sell the dealerships, but the deal fell through.”

Brush said the league discussed taking over the franchise, but it would have taken too much money. Lynx owner and general manager Dan Troutman told the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle on Friday that the team needed $200,000 to $300,000 from an investor to keep the team running.

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[Duckbill]

You would think Tampa would have stepped in and at least tried to help out their affiliate. How is the sport supposed to improvge its standing in the US if a team affiliated with an NHL club is allowed to go under in what should be a good market.

I would like to think that if the Lynx were still affiliated with us, that we would have done something to help out. $200K-$300K for some of these owners shouldn't be too much, and should have been looked at as an investment in their own prospect's developments.