Ice Edge holdings has dropped out of the race saying that they intended to pay up to $150 million USD to buy and keep the Coyotes in Arizona (as long as they came to some sort of lease agreement with the city of Glendale).

This leaves the NHL and Balsillie as the only bidders and, of course, the Canadian billionaire has offered the highest amount.  After increasing his offer by $30 million, Balsillie notified the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix that he is willing to pay $242.5 million.  He plans to move the team to Hamilton.  Meanwhile, the NHL (with commissioner Gary Bettman strongly opposing the sale of the team to Balsillie) has offered just $140 million with the intention of keeping the team in Arizona.  The NHL board of governors voted 26-0 with three abstentions against Balsillie as an owner.

A judge is going to review Balsillie’s bid on Friday to decide whether he will allow him to vie for the team against the NHL’s wishes. 

I don’t even know what to say anymore and I don’t know how I feel about the team staying in Phoenix and I don’t know how I feel about the team moving to Hamilton.  Of course, I’d love to see another NHL team in Canada but there are some things that I don’t like about this deal.

First of all, I do think Balsillie is a shady character.  His desperation for an NHL is a little scary, to be honest, since he’s gone after the Coyotes as well as the Nashville Predators in the past.

Secondly, I don’t really want Ontario to have a third NHL team.  Call me selfish but I would like to see Quebec get a second team or they could try to market in the prairies again (Saskatchewan, Manitoba). 

What do you think?  Would it be good to have the team move?

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According the the judge, there were too many problems to resolve before the June 29, 2009 closing date that had been set in an effort to speed things along.  Incredibly, Balsillie’s plan was to have the team in place for the 2009-10 season.

I don’t mean to be rude but I find that slightly arrogant.  First of all, setting a close date that is so soon really seems like a sign of someone who is used to manipulating and pressuring people in order to get what they want.

Second, if you care about a team, you aren’t going to want to rush such a major transition.  Moving from Phoenix to Hamilton is a huge deal and, while I understand that the Coyotes are in trouble, I don’t think rushing a move is the answer to their problems.

Anyway, I know NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is celebrating since the league had argued that “the bid was designed to skirt league rules on the transfer of ownership and relocation and should be rejected for that reason.”  I am inclined to agree after what I’ve seen.

I am not sure, however, that I agree with the NHL’s assertion that the Coyotes could still work in Phoenix despite the fact that in the 13 years since the team moved to Arizona, they’ve actually lost $300 million.

On the other hand, Balsillie has unsuccessfully tried to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.  While the Preds continue to struggle, the Penguins have just won the Stanley Cup which could really spark interest in their market.  Maybe it’s good that they stayed exactly where they are.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the Coyotes from this point forward.

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To be perfectly honest, I don’t completely understand some of the jargon being thrown around but I will say that it’s pretty clear that the league was unhappy when Moyes tried to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The NHL holds an "irrevocable proxy" according to documents filed in an Arizona court and I believe that they will fight any efforts to sell the team.  “As a condition to providing this support, the league required Mr. Moyes . . . to execute proxies in favour of the commissioner of the NHL to control the equity and operation of the (club).  Moyes asked that he be allowed to retain his titles to avoid public embarrassment, and the league so agreed, but with the express understanding that he had no authority . . .  to take any action outside the normal course of business, including filing for bankruptcy."

I don’t know what to say about that but it looks like Moyes was trying to pull a fast one on the league.  I’m guessing that BlackBerry millionaire, Jim Balsillie, flashed some major cash in front of him and Moyes was tempted.  Of course, the Coyotes owner is denying the claims and says that the NHL “was only given voting powers on certain matters and that bankruptcy is not included because it is not a voting matter.”

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There’s just one catch – Balsillie would want to move the team to southern Ontario.  I don’t like the idea but Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to weigh in on the matter: "I’d love another NHL team in Canada . . . particularly southern Ontario can support another team.  I have even (mentioned) to a couple of NHL owners I think southern Ontario is ripe to support more than one NHL team."

Uhhhh… I am one of the Canadians who actually likes Harper and I just want to say that I find it very bizarre to have our nation’s leader weighing in on this potential move.  I know he’s a hockey fan (and we’re a hockey loving country) but I’m sure he’s got better things to talk about.  What am I missing here?

Anyway, I’m sure earning the support of the prime minister bolstered Balsillie’s spirits but I’m equally sure that it has the NHL (particularly commissioner Gary Bettman) seeing red. 

Bettman doesn’t want the team to move and believes that it can still work in Phoenix.  His plan is to do his best to make sure the team stays right where it is.  My only question about that pertains to the fact that the Coyotes got into financial ruins somehow, right?  If it was a good hockey market then would the team be on the brink of bankruptcy? 

"We generally try to avoid relocating franchises unless you absolutely have to," he said. "We think when a franchise is in trouble, you try and fix the problems. That’s what we did in Pittsburgh and Ottawa and Buffalo prior to our work stoppage. That’s what we did when the perception was that five out of the six Canadian franchises around the turn of the century were in trouble. We fixed the problems. We don’t run out on cities."

Here’s my thing – is Ontario the only Canadian province that can get a new hockey team?  Every time I hear chatter about a move, it’s always about Ontario.  Guess what?  That place already has the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs so why not share the love a little bit?  The population in places like Saskatchewan has grown considerably and continues to grow and I think that it is a market that is ripe for the picking. 

What do you think?  Where should the Coyotes be?  Should they stay in Phoenix or move?

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