With that in mind, it appears that after 40 years of professional hockey, the Flint Generals will fold.
It's a sign that the end has come. Junior league hockey is in and the Flint Generals can no longer call Perani Arena their home.
"We were unable to reach terms of agreement with the Flint Generals and we've a signed agreement now with the Michigan Warriors, who will play as our main tenant," Firland Management President Jim Cain admitted.
So the bottom line is the Generals will not be back.
Tuesday afternoon, though, reports indicated that a new group of owners were ready to step in and take over the Generals.
Cain says the group didn't move fast enough. "We had to make a decision moving forward for scheduling reasons with the Warriors."
If the Generals 40-year run is over, nobody has told General Manager Peter South. "It showed in the playoffs that there are true hockey fans in this town who want to see a successful team. I thought we were on the verge of building the franchise up again and we could have had something really good for quite a while. It'd be a real shame if it isn't."
Former players agree that the writing appears to be on the wall.
"I think it sucks. It sucks, and I think it will be greatly missed here in Flint," Lorne Knauft said.
If the Generals plan to officially announce that they're folding, nobody seems to have an answer.
We've been trying to get confirmation one way or the other on if the Generals have, in fact, officially folded, but the team's one remaining owner, Brandon Bordeaux, is out of the country.
Calls to the International Hockey League have yet to be returned.
