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?

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: TSN

I can’t understand how anyone would:

• think keeping the team in Phoenix is a good idea
• offer to take over the team and keep it where it is
• believe that there is a viable market here for an NHL team
• feel it is a good investment
• etc, etc, etc….

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I know that there are some amazing fans in Phoenix and I wish that hockey was huge in every city but it’s just not realistic.  You can’t force people to go to the games, buy jerseys and become fans overnight (or ever).  It’s not even at the point where it’s underperforming anymore – this is outright failure and I’m sad about it.

It’s crazy to me to think that a group (headed by Jerry Reinsdorf) actually put in a bid on Friday to purchase the team for $148 million.  There’s another offer (or letter of intent, I should say) from a group headed by Canadian-born businessman, Daryl Jones.  He wants to bring the team to Canada.

I’ll admit that I am not particularly business-savvy but I can’t see how they think they can turn things around.  It’s the desert – a lot of people aren’t interested in seeing people fight in skates.  It’s an American city and although there are tons of U.S. fans and some successful teams, Arizona already has an NBA, NFL and MLB team.  Hockey just gets lost in the mix.

I know the NHL believes that the Coyotes could do well with better management and “a better product on the ice” but that’s a lot of variables that are beyond anyone’s control, really.  People take over teams all the time only to watch them go up in smoke (ahem… Tampa Bay).

I would be worried if I were Wayne Gretzky and/or any of the players on that team. I wish they would just get this settled as soon as possible so that everyone can move on and begin to deal with the fallout.

Do you think that the team should stay in Arizona?  If not, where should it go?

Post from: Hockey Beat

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.

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat