The Chilliwack Bruins have been sold to a group that plans to move the team to Victoria, according to minority owner Moray Keith.

Keith told CKNW sports reporter Jim Mullin Thursday afternoon that an agreement is in place that would see the team moved to Victoria. Keith and business partner Jim Bond own a 25 per cent share of the Bruins, but the pair was outvoted by team president Darryl Porter and National Hockey League general managers Brian Burke and Glen Sather, each of whom also own a quarter of the club.

On Friday, Keith texted the Times to say "I am caught by a confidentiality agreement. But the [CK]NW comments seem pretty accurate."

Keith and Bond, who own the company that operates Prospera Centre, had submitted their own bid to buy the team. Mullin told the Times that Keith now plans to go to the Western Hockey League's board of governors and ask whether there are any WHL teams he could move to Chilliwack. Failing that, he will ask for another expansion team for the city.

If those options fail, he hopes to bring a British Columbia Hockey League team to Chilliwack. Keith has agreed to sell his portion of the Langley Chiefs, but retains the rights to the name "Chiefs." A new Chilliwack Chiefs would be coached by Harvey Smyl, who has been non-commital when asked about his future in Langley.

Keith previously told the Times that he would appeal to the board of governors to stop the sale of the Bruins, should it come to pass. However, Mullin said Keith doesn't believe the league will veto the move.

The Times was unable to contact Keith on Thursday. By Friday, Keith had been told that a confidentiality agreement prohibits him from saying anything further. That forced Mullin to cancel a scheduled live on-air interview for Friday morning.

Keith texted Mullin today: “Jim [Bond] and I are working very hard to ensure there will be hockey in Chilliwack. I am sure there are a lot of fans who are very frustrated. We are working to correct that. Chilliwack is a wonderfully supportive hockey community. They deserve a situation they can be proud of."

News of the sale flies in the face of promises from Porter and Western Hockey League commissioner Ron Robison, who have said they would like to keep the team in Chilliwack. It also comes despite the efforts of former Chilliwack mayor Clint Hames to keep the team in the city.

Hames, a passionate and involved Bruins fan who was instrumental in bringing the club to the Fraser Valley five years ago, had contacted Robison and several of the Bruins' owners to try to get to the bottom of rumours about the team's exit.

Hames told the Times that, of multiple offers to buy the team, the only bid ever seriously considered was the one that would see the team move to Victoria.

He said Sather, Burke and Porter have ignored a competing bid by Keith and Bond to keep the franchise at Prospera Centre.

"I was told by [Bruins co-owner] Brian Burke that [Keith and Bond's] offer would not be considered and that the only offer they are considering is an offer from Victoria," Hames told the Times via Facebook, where he is an outspoken member of a Keep the Bruins in Chilliwack group.

That contradicted what Bruins president and co-owner Darryl Porter told the Times when he said that the owners were carefully wading through multiple offers to buy the club. Porter had told fans that the owners were doing what they could to keep the club in Chilliwack.

Robison, the WHL commissioner, had told both Hames and the Times that moving a team is the last resort and that the league preferred to keep the Bruins in Chilliwack.

Robison has refused any further comment on the issue. A league spokesperson said the WHL will only comment "when there is news to report."

Even before news broke of the sale late Thursday, Hames was unsettled by all the rumors: "I am not sure what may have changed in the league's thinking between a few days ago and now in Mr. Robison's public comments and his comments to me.

"If the team goes, it would appear that neither [the league nor Porter] were particularly forthright in their comments."

Hames believe that the situation has been hushed in order to "eliminate the opportunity for fans to get excited.

"I fear that the decision has been made and the league is simply waiting for the Bruins to be eliminated from the playoffs to make the announcement," he said. "I would encourage fans to write the league or email the commissioner."

The league's board of governors votes on every sale of a club. In 2005 it rejected a proposal by Porter, Sather and Burke to move the Tri-City Americans to Chilliwack. Instead, the league gave the trio an expansion franchise.

Now, Hames and other fans are hoping that the board of governors will take a similar stand on moving the Bruins to Victoria, especially in light of the bid by Keith to keep the team here.

However, the league has remained silent and wouldn't even tell the Times whether it would issue a statement before any board of governors vote.