Pack Your Bags (Updated)!

*Update! There has been some news since this was posted on the 15th (learn to read the date commenter). The Johnstown Chiefs made the announcement yesterday that the move to Greenville is official, but pending approval. The ECHL board of governors will be meeting this afternoon to approve this move.*

By now everyone has heard of the River rats purchase by the owner of the Charlotte Checkers. If you managed to miss it you check out this article from Woody, you can also read this letter from the President and CEO of the River Rats ownership.

Of course this will mean a lot of changes for the Everblades. The Checkers are selling their ECHL team to allow them to become an AHL team. Who will buy the ECHL franchise is still an unknown. There is a new arena being built in Orlando, although it does sound like another professional sports team in the arena might not be feasible.

The status of the Johnstown Chiefs are another unknown. The team has been facing rumors of a possible move to Greenville, South Carolina. You can read this article for a more detailed view. The old stomping grounds of the Grrrowl (I love that Wikipedia is already predicting them coming back even though there hasn't  been an official announcement) may be ready for a hockey team again. It would also allow a nearly seamless transition for our division.

Of course I can speculate on what will happen until the cows come home. We won't know what the ultimate outcome will be until the 2010-2011 season starts.