Canes Country reports that Charlotte Checkers owner Michael Kahn will hold a press conference today to announce that he has purchased Carolina’s AHL affiliate, the Albany River Rats, and detail his plans to move them to Charlotte and begin play there in 2010-2011.
AHL In Charlotte To Become A Reality Today
The sale represents the second major franchise shift in two days, following yesterday’s announcement that Edmonton was reactivating the Roadrunners and moving the franchise to Oklahoma City. More moves are expected in the near future as four other affiliation agreements are expiring, including those of the Lowell Devils, Syracuse Crunch, Hartford WolfPack and Texas Stars.
The River Rats leaving town could spell the end of professional hockey in Albany, a stalwart city for the AHL over the last seventeen years, however, rumors have surfaced surrounding a local car dealership magnate’s efforts to purchase the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and move them to Albany for 2010-2011, but nothing substantive has come of these talks just yet.
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