The Wheeling Nailers, an East Coast Hockey League team that is the affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens of the NHL and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL, has indeed been put up for sale, owner Jim Brooks announced in a press conference on Thursday. Brooks confirmed that the goal is to keep the team in Wheeling and not have it move.
Jim Brooks: Goal is for the Nailers to stay in Wheeling. That's why announcing this now.
— Jamie Peklicz (@Nailers_Off_Ice) January 19, 2012
The Nailers will play out the rest of the season as if it were all normal, Brooks confirmed. A previous report indicated the team would go in the dark if new ownership was not found.
The Nailers have been in Wheeling since 1992 and have been in existence since 1981, making them one of the oldest minor-league hockey franchises in America.