Report: Whalers Going to Minneapolis

The Hartford Whalers reportedly are close to moving to Target Center in Minneapolis.

The Toronto Sun reported Thursday that Whaler owner Peter Karmanos at first favored a move to Columbus, Ohio, but changed his mind because of lack of an arena and now is on the verge of sharing Target Center with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA.

Columbus residents will vote next month on a referendum to approve the use of tax dollars for a new entertainment complex. A recent poll in a Columbus newspaper revealed that 55% of Franklin County residents said they would vote against it.

If the deal to move to Minneapolis is completed, the Ogden Corp., a company with a major financial stake in Target Center, would pay the state of Connecticut an indemnity fee reported at $20 million, the Sun said.

On Wednesday, Karmanos visited a site near Raleigh, N.C., and said, “I’m very impressed with the area. It’s very pretty, it has a good climate, and it looks like the [proposed] arena will be state-of-the-art. This is the kind of place that could work well.”

Karmanos has been on a cross-country tour that began Tuesday in Columbus. He also is looking at Las Vegas, San Diego, Cincinnati and Kansas City, Mo.

Karmanos announced last month the team would leave Hartford after rejecting Connecticut’s offer to build a $147.5-million arena and to guarantee the club projected annual revenues of $50 million.

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Beginning today, Tampa Bay center John Cullen, 32, will undergo six months of chemotherapy to battle non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Doctor’s last month discovered what was described as a “large mass” in Cullen’s chest. There are no signs the cancer has spread.

Cullen has talked several times with former Pittsburgh Penguin teammate Mario Lemieux, who was found to have Hodgkin’s disease four years ago.

“I told him to be as positive as he can,” Lemieux said before Thursday’s Penguin-Lightning game. “He’s going to go through some very tough times in the next few months. For him to be positive every day is a big issue, but John is a tough person.”