The Phoenix Coyotes are so desperate to fill seats (despite the fact that the home opener sold out) that they are giving away free tickets but there’s a catch – they have to win certain games.  The first of these singled-out contests (there are five in total) is the game against the Los Angeles Kings on October 24, 2009.
The promotion, which has been dubbed “join the pack,” is meant to create a more loyal fanbase and it could work.  When you’re facing bankruptcy and being sold/moved to another city, you’ve got to try everything.
With all of the drama over the …read more

Things might be up in the air for the Phoenix Coyotes in terms of their bankruptcy hearings and ownership but the season is about to begin and it looks like they are, at least, still trying to sort out their roster.

Ryan Hollweg has been added to the Coyotes’ lineup and I know that there are a lot of Toronto Maple Leafs fans who aren’t crying about him leaving.  After attending the club’s training camp tryouts, he was offered a one-year deal but I don’t know the financial details.
In 25 appearances with the Leafs last season, he collected a whopping two …read more

The Phoenix Coyotes have moved full steam ahead in regards to replacing Wayne Gretzky as the head coach.  This team is such a hot mess right now.  I’m seriously hoping that, in spite of all of this drama, they can improve their record and find some focus.
Dave Tippett has been tapped as the next head coach and will be trying to bring the team to where Gretzky could not in the four seasons he was behind the bench. 
Tippett had a relatively good track record during his time with the Dallas Stars who, under his guidance, made it to the …read more

Well, it’s finally happened after a summer of speculation.  Wayne Gretzky is stepping down as the head coach and director of hockey operations of the Phoenix Coyotes.  I know that it’s probably best for the team since The Great One isn’t the best coach but it’s still a little sad.
Gretzky feels that it’s time to move on and was hoping, as the team’s managing partner, that the bankruptcy proceedings would have been finished by now.  I thought it would be decided by now as well and it’s pretty frustrating that the team is just hanging there waiting for the other …read more

The NHL upped the price on the Phoenix Coyotes and set a relocation price of somewhere between $101 million and $195 million in documents.  At that time, three buyers had placed bids on the team – James Balsillie’s PSE Sports and Entertainment, Ice Edge and the NHL itself.
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 …read more

With more reports coming out about the future of the Phoenix Coyotes, I’m left scratching my head.  Last week, it was reported in the Globe and Mail that the team has actually lost more than $60 million (roughly $20 million over the past three seasons)!

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 …read more

The Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy case well underway, coach Wayne Gretzky is fighting to keep his personal finances private.  The city of Glendale has filed a motion requesting that the Great One hand over his income tax returns but his lawyers have responded by saying that he is actually a resident of California, a state that has clear privacy protections in place.  They also claim that his personal finances have nothing to do with the Coyotes’ bankruptcy case and I have to admit that, in the grand scheme of things, I can’t see why it would be so important for him …read more

An Arizona court ruled yesterday that Canadian billionaire, Jim Balsillie, could not buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ontario.  The 21-page judgment determined that “there wasn’t enough time to deal with all the unresolved issues raised by the unprecedented case.”
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 …read more

For once, Gary Bettman and I can agree on something – if the Phoenix Coyotes get moved from Arizona, they should return to Winnipeg (they were the Winnipeg Jets up until 1996).

Okay, so maybe Bettman didn’t say those words exactly but court documents have revealed that the NHL commissioner would prefer to see the Phoenix Coyotes move to Winnipeg than Hamilton.  I think that’s the smartest thing I’ve ever heard him say.
Honestly, I know that a lot of people are all for it moving to Hamilton but I just don’t think it’s right to have three teams in the …read more

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has given Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes $38 million (USD) of the league’s money in an effort to help the team maintain operations.

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 …read more