Balsillie's Back: Is Hamilton Ready for Another NHL Rollercoaster Ride? [Archive] - Page 10

phxatty

Aug 11, 2009, 10:48 PM

SOF (the secured creditor - and therefore the biggest dog in the room) has agreed to a deal with JR and now is behind his bid. According to "tweets" also near a deal with Ice Edge, who says their financing is in place. That is a big deal and a serious blow to Ballsack's chances.

Why? Because the judge has demonstrated a clear desire to not reach the anti-trust or relocation issues. If the secured creditors are happy, then the only issue is whether Moyes is a creditor. Otherwise, there is more than enough to satisfy the creditors under both the JR and Ballsack bids, and the only issue is what collateral damage is caused to the COG under the Ballsack bid. I think the judge now has what he wanted to compare the bids and take care of the creditors without breaking the COG lease, causing injury to the citizens who taxed themselves to build the arena, ruling on anti-trust issues and the like, and rewarding a scumbag like Moyes.

Big hearing on all this Sept. 2nd. Not a good day for Ballsack.

Make-it-seven should turn its attention to an expansion team because Ballsack has struck out for the third time. Like I have said from my first post, if anything good comes out of this it will be to put pressure on the NHL to award the next franchise to a Canadian city. I think all hockey fans, including the fans in the sun-belt states, agree that it is good for the NHL to expand in Canada, which is the true home of hockey.

vid

Aug 12, 2009, 1:51 AM

We'll take you more seriously if you cut out the "Ballsack" bullcrap.

phxatty

Aug 12, 2009, 2:26 AM

We'll take you more seriously if you cut out the "Ballsack" bullcrap.

Sorry. I don't like the guy. He may be a champion in Canada, but down here he is just a scumbag. Frankly, he slams the people of Arizona regarding a situation he either knows nothing about or just plainly lies about, and plays up the nationalistic card, laughing at everyone else, including the media, who line up to play his game. You can like him if you want, but your a sucker then IMO.

I not trolling, but I am not going to show any respect for Moyes or Ballsack. Do you have any idea what relocating the team will do to the City of Glendale and the taxpayers? Not that I suspect you care, but their ability to post bonds for the foreseeable future will be non-existent. The City's credit rating will be ruined. No new roads, schools, infrastructure. You get it? That is why the City is doing just about anything it can to keep the anchor tenant in a building Moyes promised his team would occupy for 30 years.

He may be your white knight, but he is a d***bag down here. I can only hope he loses this fight and the one he is waging with Nortel.

vid

Aug 12, 2009, 7:50 AM

If you were mature about your dislike of him you wouldn't call him "ballsack". That's just juvenile.

Distill3d

Aug 12, 2009, 8:17 AM

Sorry. I don't like the guy. He may be a champion in Canada, but down here he is just a scumbag. Frankly, he slams the people of Arizona regarding a situation he either knows nothing about or just plainly lies about, and plays up the nationalistic card, laughing at everyone else, including the media, who line up to play his game. You can like him if you want, but your a sucker then IMO.

I not trolling, but I am not going to show any respect for Moyes or Ballsack. Do you have any idea what relocating the team will do to the City of Glendale and the taxpayers? Not that I suspect you care, but their ability to post bonds for the foreseeable future will be non-existent. The City's credit rating will be ruined. No new roads, schools, infrastructure. You get it? That is why the City is doing just about anything it can to keep the anchor tenant in a building Moyes promised his team would occupy for 30 years.

He may be your white knight, but he is a d***bag down here. I can only hope he loses this fight and the one he is waging with Nortel.

I'm wondering if you posted this from your BlackBerry?

Either way, aside from offering the perspective as one of the twelve Coyotes fans known to exist, the only agreeable/relevant comment you have made on the situation was about Balsillie potentially winning the auction and Bettman saying he owns a team without a league.

As for the city of Glendale, I think you just lost sympathy around here with that statement about the worst case scenario. You forget that the Coyotes WERE the Winnipeg Jets, and that Winnipeg continued to function and build roads, bridges, schools, and other infrastructure in the time since the Jets left. Or perhaps even the case of the Colorado Avalanche, they did used to be the Quebec Nordiques. After the team left town, Quebec still built new roads, schools, and other infrastructure. So, please don't even consider laying that guilt trip on us.

In fact, isn't the city of Glendale home to the University of Phoenix Stadium? And isn't THAT home to the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL? So is the Coyotes leaving town really going to have that bad of an affect on Glendale or Phoenix. Seems to me that it would probably go unnoticed. Oh, and wait, wouldn't hosting Superbowl XLII have boosted the economy of Glendale more in one week than the Coyotes have in the 5 years they have played there?

I would also venture to say that if the situation is going to be so dire for Glendale if the Coyotes did leave town, sports leagues (which includes the NHL) are expanding into markets that have been abandoned in the past. One needs to look no further than either Minneapolis-St. Paul in Minnesota who lost their team to Dallas in the early 90's, or Denver and Atlanta who lost their teams to New Jersey and Calgary respectively in the early 80's. However, after years of attempts, empty promises, and broken dreams, the NHL hasn't returned to Hamilton in 80 years.

I also think that you're fighting for a losing cause. Open your eyes, the Coyotes days in the Copper State are numbered. If Reinsdork buys the team, its gone to Vegas after 2 - 5 money losing seasons. Him and Bettman are just less vocal about the plan, however it stinks worse than rotten potatoes in tropical heat.

DHLawrence

Aug 12, 2009, 1:58 PM

In fact, isn't the city of Glendale home to the University of Phoenix Stadium? And isn't THAT home to the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL? So is the Coyotes leaving town really going to have that bad of an affect on Glendale or Phoenix. Seems to me that it would probably go unnoticed. Oh, and wait, wouldn't hosting Superbowl XLII have boosted the economy of Glendale more in one week than the Coyotes have in the 5 years they have played there?

"Well, now what do we do? The Coyotes are gone."
"What do you mean? There was one in my yard last night."
"No, the hockey team!"
"Wait, we had a hockey team?"

phxatty

Aug 12, 2009, 2:51 PM

SteelTown

Aug 12, 2009, 3:22 PM

Think Glendale/Phoenix is going to approve Reinsdork agreement for:

$15 million to Reinsdork for each money-losing season
Relocation clause
"Coyotes tax district" - 11.5%, which retailers and the Cardinals oppose

Seem like a horrible plan especially if Arizona is worried about their credit.

Distill3d

Aug 12, 2009, 4:01 PM

You have no idea what your talking about either from an economic effect on Glendale, or the number of fans the Coyotes actually have. You likely have not even been to Phoenix. You only know what you read on slanted blogs and articles. I have lost interest in attempting to educate you or even offer another perspective. Have fun in your collective circle j*** about how "Canada good, sun belt bad."

Hamilton is not a major league city. Phoenix is. Moyes and Ballsack have made the NHL look like the minor leagues. JR will keep the team in Phoenix, they will win, the fans will pack the building, and the Coyotes will likely win a Cup before your beloved "insert Canadian team" does.

I have been to Phoenix, for 3 - 5 days, every winter for the last 10 years. I've been to Coyotes games in BOTH arena's, and I am sadly disappointed in the lack of interest. However, I understand it the lack of interest in the Coyotes, especially since they moved to Glendale. In the simplest term, they really aren't that great of a team. They're mismanaged, and save for maybe Shane Doan, the players really only want to be in Phoenix because its warm during the winter. I'm not surprised one bit about how empty the seats were at the games I have been to.

Seriously, the Toronto Maple Leafs suck too, but 200 people have to die in the same plane crash before you can get bumped up the waiting list to buy season tickets. If you're lucky enough to be the sucker at the top of the list, you pretty much have to mortgage your house, chop off your dominate arm, and fork over your first born child in order to pay for them. And that's just in the rafters.

Do I care about the "economic impact" of the Coyotes leaving Glendale? No, in fact, I do not care. I don't care if Glendale becomes a sink hole after the Coyotes leave. I mean I wish the city no ill will, but if its economy is SO wrapped around the Coyotes, they have to be bankrupt by now too! I'm only drawing up the point that other cities have lost their team too, but they've continued to function with no issues without one.

Trust me, this isn't a Canada vs. the Sun Belt thing. Its a more traditional hockey market vs. the Sun Belt thing for me. I've said previously, someone from Milwaukee or Indianapolis could have interest in buying the Coyotes to relocate to their city and I would support the bid.

You have to be BLIND not to think that Reinsdork isn't going to move the Coyotes in 5 seasons.

flar

Aug 12, 2009, 4:05 PM

All of the current bids are looking to buy an NHL team, not an NHL team in Phoenix. The NHL in Phoenix is toast within 5 years no matter who gets the team.

Mille Sabords

Aug 12, 2009, 4:39 PM

I not trolling, but I am not going to show any respect for Moyes or Ballsack. Do you have any idea what relocating the team will do to the City of Glendale and the taxpayers? Not that I suspect you care, but their ability to post bonds for the foreseeable future will be non-existent. The City's credit rating will be ruined. No new roads, schools, infrastructure. You get it? That is why the City is doing just about anything it can to keep the anchor tenant in a building Moyes promised his team would occupy for 30 years.

Your passion for Glendale is touching, but your city's credit rating is shot one way or the other. As has been pointed out, even if the Coyotes stay, the bidders who want to keep the team there depend on heavy subsidies from the city - a sales tax plus a $15-a-year direct cash handout every year they lose money. Hey, if I'm that owner, I've got a great tax writeoff right there. I'll make SURE I lose money and get my cheque every year from the city. After 5 years, that's $75 million, I'll sell the team for a profit (since the value of franchises keeps going up) and since there's that relocation clause, anyone can buy it. You guys are f***ed one way or another.

You know what, this is a great case study of institutional subprime. If Glendale City was stupid enough to fork over so much cash for an arena, and they put the future of schools and roads on the table for a gamble on ICE HOCKEY... in PHOENIX, ARIZONA... well, you guys are the suckers. Someody did a great snow job on you all. You will have to pay, dearly and for years, for that mistake. Many other cities have learned the hard way that pro sports is a business like any other. Here in Ottawa, the government charged the NHL owner of the time for a highway interchange!

So unless there's something else we need to be educated about, we'll happily leave beautiful Glendale to its accounting tribulations. If you do keep the team, I seriously hope for you that more people actually go see them. It's a privilege to be in the NHL. Good team or bad team, it's a privilege. All the whining I hear about the Coyotes not being that good a team, I'm sorry, just don't cut it. You're a true hockey fan, you go see your team come hell or high water. We in Ottawa trek out to the boonies to see our Senators and the place is sold out or almost sold out every game, even last season when we didn't even make the playoffs.

Distill3d

Aug 12, 2009, 4:47 PM

The damage being done with the Coyotes is irreparable. There is no way the team is going to recover in Phoenix. Its not like Calgary or Edmonton where both have threatened to pack up and leave town and stayed without any serious side effects. Then again those situations are seriously different than this.

MistyMountainHop

Aug 12, 2009, 4:53 PM

You have no idea what your talking about either from an economic effect on Glendale, or the number of fans the Coyotes actually have.

2009 NHL Average Home Attendance and Average Ticket Price (Source 1 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance), Source 2 (http://www.andrewsstarspage.com/index.php/site/comments/nhl_average_ticket_prices_since_1994_95/))

Montreal - 21,273 - 100% - $64.26 USD
Toronto - 19,312 - 100% - $76.15 USD
Calgary - 19,289 - 100% - $55.81 USD
Ottawa - 18,949 - 100% - $48.82 USD
Vancouver - 18,630 - 100% - $62.05 USD
Edmonton - 16,839 - 100% - $54.17 USD

Phoenix - 14,875 - 85% - $37.45 USD

With much lower ticket prices, Phoenix still can't fill their arena.

Distill3d

Aug 12, 2009, 5:11 PM

here, just to prove the Canada vs. Sun Belt thing, but a Traditional Hockey Market thing:

Hockey Market:
Chicago: 22,247 - 111.2% - $52.22
Philadelphia: 19,545 - 100.2% - $60.25
Detroit: 19,865 - 99% - $46.60

Non-hockey Market:
Atlanta: 14,626 - 78.9% - $48.51

make sense yet?

Jamaican-Phoenix

Aug 12, 2009, 6:12 PM

I'm wondering if you posted this from your BlackBerry?

Either way, aside from offering the perspective as one of the twelve Coyotes fans known to exist, the only agreeable/relevant comment you have made on the situation was about Balsillie potentially winning the auction and Bettman saying he owns a team without a league.

As for the city of Glendale, I think you just lost sympathy around here with that statement about the worst case scenario. You forget that the Coyotes WERE the Winnipeg Jets, and that Winnipeg continued to function and build roads, bridges, schools, and other infrastructure in the time since the Jets left. Or perhaps even the case of the Colorado Avalanche, they did used to be the Quebec Nordiques. After the team left town, Quebec still built new roads, schools, and other infrastructure. So, please don't even consider laying that guilt trip on us.

In fact, isn't the city of Glendale home to the University of Phoenix Stadium? And isn't THAT home to the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL? So is the Coyotes leaving town really going to have that bad of an affect on Glendale or Phoenix. Seems to me that it would probably go unnoticed. Oh, and wait, wouldn't hosting Superbowl XLII have boosted the economy of Glendale more in one week than the Coyotes have in the 5 years they have played there?

I would also venture to say that if the situation is going to be so dire for Glendale if the Coyotes did leave town, sports leagues (which includes the NHL) are expanding into markets that have been abandoned in the past. One needs to look no further than either Minneapolis-St. Paul in Minnesota who lost their team to Dallas in the early 90's, or Denver and Atlanta who lost their teams to New Jersey and Calgary respectively in the early 80's. However, after years of attempts, empty promises, and broken dreams, the NHL hasn't returned to Hamilton in 80 years.

I also think that you're fighting for a losing cause. Open your eyes, the Coyotes days in the Copper State are numbered. If Reinsdork buys the team, its gone to Vegas after 2 - 5 money losing seasons. Him and Bettman are just less vocal about the plan, however it stinks worse than rotten potatoes in tropical heat.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the art of "nailing it".

Bravo.

Jamaican-Phoenix

Aug 12, 2009, 6:28 PM

You have no idea what your talking about either from an economic effect on Glendale, or the number of fans the Coyotes actually have. You likely have not even been to Phoenix. You only know what you read on slanted blogs and articles. I have lost interest in attempting to educate you or even offer another perspective. Have fun in your collective circle j*** about how "Canada good, sun belt bad."

Hamilton is not a major league city. Phoenix is. Moyes and Ballsack have made the NHL look like the minor leagues. JR will keep the team in Phoenix, they will win, the fans will pack the building, and the Coyotes will likely win a Cup before your beloved "insert Canadian team" does.

Coyotes fans? You mean all 4000 of them if you're lucky? Seriously buddy, tell me(since you're apparently such a fan of them Coyotes) what are the tailgate parties like? Or getting together with friends to watch the game either at home or better yet at the arena?

I've never been to Phoenix, but I know people who have. I hear mixed things about that place. Now here's a question for you....Have you ever been to Hamilton? If not, what do you know about Hamilton? I hope you haven't been basing your arguments from "slanted blogs and articles"...

Canada is good, but sunbelt isn't bad. I'm just against trying to expand hockey to places where an enormous majority of the population don't care for it while perfectly viable markets in Canada(and America) suffer.

As for your major league city crap, I call bullshit. Hamilton is part of a heavily populated area that is insane for hockey and has promised a new arena to boot. Also, don't let the Hamilton Tigercats hear you say their city isn't big league. Which brings me to my next question; why is it, in your mind, Phoenix is a major league city but Hamilton isn't?

To be perfectly honest and fair, the NHL is minor league as far as America is concerned. Especially when you put it alongside giants such as MLB and the NFL.

If you think JR will keep the team there, youa re sadly mistaken. He's already asking for millions of dollars in concessions and probably will move your precious team away to some other city. Then you will know what it feels like to be a Quebecer or a Winnipeger.

Now this part cracked me up...

"they will win, the fans will pack the building, and the Coyotes will likely win a Cup before your beloved "insert Canadian team" does."

I'm pretty sure they said the EXACT SAME THING when the Coyotes came to Phoenix and nothing's changed. As long as they suck they won't win and most teams that don't suck have a staunch majority of their players being Canadian. Hell, when Anaheim and Ottawa were going for the cup, Anaheim had more Canadian players on their team than Ottawa and Ottawa was the Canadian team.

SteelTown

Aug 12, 2009, 9:45 PM

Of course the NHL doesn't want Richard Peddie added to the deposition.

NHL agrees to 4 depositions in Coyotes bankruptcy case

August 12, 2009
The Canadian Press
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/617049

PHOENIX — The NHL has agreed to allow depositions from commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly and two of the league’s owners in the contentious bankruptcy proceedings of the Phoenix Coyotes.

However, the league wants Judge Redfield T. Baum to reject the proposed deposition of Toronto Maple Leafs owner Richard Peddie.

Lawyers for Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie want to question Peddie over what role the Maple Leafs might play in the proposed relocation of the Coyotes to Hamilton.

The league contends the relocation issue is moot because the NHL board of governors has overwhelmingly rejected Balsillie as an owner.

vid

Aug 12, 2009, 11:03 PM

the fans will pack the building

That's the problem. They're in this situation because fans haven't been packing the building!

Elmira Guy

Aug 13, 2009, 12:20 AM

If you were mature about your dislike of him you wouldn't call him "ballsack". That's just juvenile.

THANK YOU!!!

I thought I was the only one getting annoyed with that schoolyard level nonsense.

Elmira Guy

Aug 13, 2009, 12:30 AM

Hamilton is not a major league city. Phoenix is. Moyes and Ballsack have made the NHL look like the minor leagues. JR will keep the team in Phoenix, they will win, the fans will pack the building, and the Coyotes will likely win a Cup before your beloved "insert Canadian team" does.

Because the overwhelming majority of Americans have never heard of Hamilton does not reduce the feasibility of it being home to a financially successful NHL franchise. Something Phoenix has yet to do.

And if Phoenix is such a "major league city", then how can it be so dependent upon a hockey team which the locals clearly are not interested in supporting???

Oh, and no offence, but that last little rant really displays your ignorance of the game. Thanks for the chuckle. :)

MolsonExport

Aug 13, 2009, 2:42 AM

Hamilton is not a major league city. Phoenix is.

Ya know, judging by the skylines, I would say that it is the other way around! :jester:

flar

Aug 13, 2009, 2:43 AM

The NHL has also argued that Hamilton isn't a major league city, but is Raleigh a major league city? Is Columbus? Nashville or Edmonton? As an urban area, how is Phoenix and its agglomeration of suburbs different from Hamilton? Hamilton is an actual city, and part of an urban area that is much larger than the Phoenix metro to boot. A Hamilton team draws from a larger population with proportionately far more hockey fans (or paying customers, if you will). Phoenix has had over a decade to prove itself a major league NHL city, and has failed miserably any way you try to measure it.

SteelTown

Aug 13, 2009, 11:29 AM

Balsillie continues to do his best Rocky Balboa imitation

August 13, 2009
Steve Milton
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/617451

As everyone involved -- especially the NHL -- has come to realize, it sure doesn't take Jim Balsillie's people very long to climb up off the mat.

Less than 24 hours after absorbing two blows to the head in Judge Redfield T. Baum's Phoenix bankruptcy court, PSE -- Balsillie's hockey company -- came out tossing some hard punches yesterday.

Balsillie's bid to buy and move the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes was hurt when a lawyer for SOF, the largest secured creditor and previously a tentative Balsillie supporter, declared in court Tuesday the hedge fund has worked out a deal with Jerry Reinsdorf and will likely support his bid to buy the team and keep it in Glendale.

The same day, Baum agreed with an NHL request that he would decide on Sept. 2 whether Balsillie is a qualified bidder for the team, given that the NHL has already rejected his application for ownership.

Balsillie is attempting to turn the Sept. 2 hearing from a perceived negative into a major positive.

As requested by Baum, PSE asked that the court order the NHL to provide PSE with a 14-point list of internal NHL documents and correspondence.

Each of those requests is aimed directly at supporting at least one of Team Balsillie's seven core beliefs and assertions :

1) That the NHL's treatment of Balsillie's ownership applications is not consistent with the principles of bankruptcy and antitrust laws.

2) That there is a "reasonable" relocation fee that Balsillie would willingly pay the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs if he is allowed to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes to move them to Hamilton.

3) That Hamilton is indeed a viable NHL market and that a team in the city would not measurably impact the economics of either the Maple Leafs or the Buffalo Sabres.

4) That the underlying reason the NHL board of governors recently rejected Balsillie's ownership application, publicly declaring him "unfit" to join the NHL lodge, was to protect the Leafs' market.

5) That the NHL, contrary to commissioner Gary Bettman's sworn statements, has indeed kept an active "territorial veto" in its constitution.

6) That a central issue is not just the principle of the NHL's right to self-determination but includes a specific prejudice: that Balsillie has been deliberately treated differently than other would-be NHL owners to punish him for buying the Coyotes from bankruptcy (and probably also for the 2006 Nashville imbroglio).

7) That Balsillie's rejection was the first the NHL has ever applied to a prospective ownership transfer or relocation on the basis of the proposed owner lacking "good character and integrity."

Everywhere but in NHL legalese, the character and integrity issue is, of course, a ridiculous joke, considering what Balsillie has accomplished in his working life and some of the scoundrels whom the NHL has approved as owners during Bettman's tenure alone.

More on NHL scoundrels SP5

So step No. 7 surely coincides with Balsillie backing Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes' request to question Bettman, vice-commissioner Bill Daly and league executive committee members Jeremy Jacobs and Craig Leipold. The NHL agreed to those depositions yesterday.

Balsillie's lawyers will surely demand to know from the quartet how it was determined that Balsillie has less character than several approved NHL owners who were convicted felons.

And, if the NHL continues to insist that part of Balsillie's rejection was on a doesn't-play-well-with-others basis, his lawyers will certainly question why the league supports a bid from Reinsdorf who, as Chicago Bulls owner sued his own league in 1990 over TV rights, costing the NBA $10 million in legal fees, and who was cited by an independent arbitrator as a central figure in the owners' collusion case of 1985-86 which cost Major League Baseball $280 million in fines and reparations.

What, the NHL figures Reinsdorf will be less of a free-wheeler in hockey, which he has rarely seen, than in baseball and basketball, which he loves?

Balsillie and Moyes also have proposed a deposition of Leafs CEO Richard Peddie over the territorial issues. At the very least, should the Leafs state they don't have a problem with another team in their area -- which they surely must do or face outraged, embarrassed heat from the Canadian Competition Bureau -- then that is on the record for all future attempts to bring a team to Hamilton.

If Baum agrees to the requests for all, or most, of the depositions and information, Balsillie may be able to recover and even prevail over one of Tuesday's setbacks.

The SOF deal with Reinsdorf is another matter altogether. But remember, that has not been formally registered with the court. And the Reinsdorf bid still doesn't deal with most of the lesser creditors and purports to seek concessions with major creditors. But the latter pitch worked with SOF, so others may fall in line.

Another Balsillie asset is that many local businesses, plus the conservative Goldwater Institute, are loudly objecting to the major concessions, up to $23 million per year, which the City of Glendale is reportedly surrendering to Reinsdorf.

And still to be determined is whether Moyes is a $100-million creditor or, as the NHL contends, he kisses that money goodbye in further equity loss.

So, while the SOF-Reinsdorf alliance damages Balsillie's cause and Baum is clearly leaning away from any rulings that would engulf him in antitrust issues, Tuesday's setbacks may be life-threatening but they are not yet fatal.

SteelTown

Aug 13, 2009, 11:31 AM

What PSE is asking the court to order the NHL to provide

August 13, 2009
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/617452

1. Documents reflecting all relocation and indemnity charged and received by the NHL in franchise moves by the Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers and all nine expansion teams since 1990.

2. Any NHL Board of Governors reports on proposed expansion sites since 1990, any proposed expansions to Hamilton, and any documents which refer to potential indemnification fees.

3. NHL summaries of the purchase agreements for all 15 franchise sales since 2000.

4. Hockey Related Revenue reports from all teams sold or relocated since the new CBA in 2005, plus the Sabres and Leafs in that time period.

5. Gate receipts since 1996 for the Kings Ducks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils, who share territory previously reserved for one team, plus similar information from the Leafs and Sabres, who would share territory with a Hamilton team.

6. All documents pertaining to a potential second franchise in southern Ontario, including an NHL-confirmed expansion study on Hamilton.

7. Any documents which show expenses occurred by the Sabres and Leafs to develop goodwill in the Hamilton market.

8. All "consent" agreements signed by new team owners since 1990, to see which of them have the same seven-year non-relocation covenant which the NHL demanded Balsillie sign after his Pittsburgh and Nashville offers.

9. The investigation reports which were considered by the Board of Governors before they rejected Balsillie last month as unfit to own a team.

10. Any agreements between the NHL, or its members, and Balsillie which have been allegedly breached by Balsillie.

11. Information on all prospective owners who had ownership or transfer applications denied for a lack of 'good character and integrity.'

12. All documents which could refer in any way to an NHL team's territorial veto rights

SteelTown

Aug 13, 2009, 11:34 AM

Integrity? NHL governors live in glass house

August 13, 2009
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/617458

John Spano

Originally agreed to purchase 50 per cent of the Dallas Stars in 1996, but deal collapsed. In 1997 bought New York Islanders, but two months later missed a major payment to former owner John Pickett. Eventually charged with fraud and sentenced to six years in prison.

William (Boots) Del Biaggio III.

Brought in to the Nashville Predators in the fall of 2006 by Gary Bettman to top up a local purchase bid after Craig Leipold cut off negotiations with Jim Balsillie. Agreed to pay up to $70 million for 27 per cent of the team. Later revealed that both Leipold and L.A. Kings owner AEG lent $17 million to Del Biaggio. In 2008 he was convicted on fraud charges and will be sentenced, to at least six years in prison, on Sept. 8.

John Rigas

Bought the Buffalo Sabres from Northrup Knox in 1996 but indicted for bank, wire and securities fraud in 2002. Sentenced in June 2005 to 15 years in prison on fraud and conspiracy charges relating to using Adelphia Communications money for personal uses.

Bruce McNall

The former Argonauts owner gained full control of the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. Traded for Wayne Gretzky, and was elected chairman of the NHL's board of governors in 1992. In 1994 was charged with defrauding six banks of $236 million. Sentenced to 70 months, he was released from prison in 2001 and was on probation until 2006.

Sanjay Kumar

Co-owner of the New York Islanders until Charles Wang bought him out in 2006. Started serving 12-year sentence for securities fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007.

Jeffrey Sudikoff

The former radio broadcaster and partner Joseph Cohen bought 72 per cent of the Los Angeles Kings in 1994, succeeding Bruce McNall. Club was sold to AEG a year later. In 1999 Sudikoff was sentenced to one year in prison for insider trading with his company, 1DB Communications of California.

Henry Samueli

The Anaheim Ducks owner pleaded guilty in 2008 to lying to regulators during a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. A judge rejected a plea bargain in which the technology billionaire would avoid prison, and his sentencing was postponed from last month to April 2010.

The NHL board of governors rejected Jim Balsillie's bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes on July 29 saying that he was unfit to own a league franchise based, in large part, on a lack "of character and integrity." But the men pictured here have all owned NHL teams, most of their ownership bids being approved in the Gary Bettman era under the same rules and scrutiny that purportedly apply to Balsillie's .

Distill3d

Aug 13, 2009, 4:25 PM

^Sadly not mentioned, but lest we forget:

Peter Pocklington:

By the mid-1990s, the Edmonton Oilers were a lackluster team with a dwindling fan support and financial hardships who were unable to afford or retain top players. Pocklington threatened to move the team to the States several times if season ticket sales remained low. Pocklington did not endear himself to fans, as he paid himself around $2 million CAD annually in management fees out of the Oilers' funds.

Meanwhile, Pocklington became bankrupt, owing millions of dollars to Alberta Treasury Branches. ATB forced Pocklington to sell the Oilers in 1998. Businessman Leslie Alexander almost bought the team, planning to move it to Houston, but at the deadline the club was purchased by the Edmonton Investors Group consortium which kept the team in Edmonton.

United States Marshalls have raided Pocklington's California home three times to satisfy creditors who have received judgments in breach of contract and fraud actions against Pocklington. Pocklington filed for bankruptcy, claiming $20 million in debts but assets of only about $2,900. Since then, several creditors (including the Province of Alberta) have filed a motion alleging that Pocklington has concealed assets. Pocklington was arrested in Palm Desert, California on March 11, 2009 and charged with making false statements in bankruptcy and making false oaths and accounts in bankruptcy. He is alleged to have failed to disclose the contents of two bank accounts and two storage units. On March 13, 2009 bail was set at $1 million, which was soon posted by Glen Sather.

(from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pocklington))

rrskylar

Aug 13, 2009, 4:26 PM

^ Love it! Butt-man did squat to try to keep the Jet's in Winnipeg, his credibility is zilch!

SteelTown

Aug 14, 2009, 11:31 AM

MLSE boss gets favourable ruling
Balsillie loses chance to question Peddie on what role Leafs might play on relocation

August 14, 2009
Andrew Bagnato
The Associated Press
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/618041

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president Richard Peddie will not have to answer questions in the court fight over the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Lawyers for Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and Coyotes' owner Jerry Moyes had wanted to question Peddie over what role the Maple Leafs might play in the proposed relocation of the Coyotes to Hamilton.

Yesterday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum denied that request in an order naming officials who will give depositions in the complicated Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly -- who have already been deposed once -- will answer questions, as will Boston Bruins' owner Jeremy Jacobs and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold. Balsillie also will be deposed, with his lawyer Richard Rodier and Moyes.

The judge also authorized a deposition from "an unnamed, but to be disclosed, NHL representative regarding the impossibility of relocating the Coyotes for the current season."

Balsillie has offered $212.5-million US to buy the team contingent on moving it to Hamilton for the coming season, but he has indicated he would withdraw his bid if he can't move the team immediately.

Meanwhile, Baum ordered the NHL, over the league's objections, to provide numerous documents related to relocation -- material that Balsillie's lawyers say is necessary for his bid to proceed.

Baum said the league must produce any NHL study of expansion into the Hamilton market in the past 10 years, and it must disclose all expansion and relocation fees it has charged since 1999.

The league contends the relocation issue is moot because its board of governors rejected Balsillie as an owner.

Meanwhile, the judge set up bid procedures and a schedule leading up to the Sept. 10 auction. Today is the deadline for applications from bidders to keep the team in Glendale.

The NHL wants to find an owner to keep the team in Arizona, where it has lost tens of millions of dollars in recent years. A group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf has bid $148-million US and is working on an agreement with the city of Glendale for new terms on a lease.

Ice Edge Holdings has also been preparing a bid to keep the team in Glendale.

In a separate order yesterday, Baum denied a motion by the Goldwater Institute, on behalf of eight Glendale taxpayers, to file a conditional bid objection.

The Goldwater Institute had argued that the taxpayers have a right to know the details of Glendale's arena lease renegotiations with Reinsdorf's group, but Baum ruled that they "do not have a direct financial stake in the outcome of this case."

Distill3d

Aug 14, 2009, 3:46 PM

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly -- who have already been deposed once -- will answer questions, as will Boston Bruins' owner Jeremy Jacobs and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold. Balsillie also will be deposed, with his lawyer Richard Rodier and Moyes.

Leipold is exactly what the NHL says Balsillie is, lacking the good character and integrity. After all, this is the man that promised the Nashville Predators to Balsillie, and then pulled out of the deal. Something was amiss when Leipold was selling the team after several money losing seasons and a lack of fan support. But as soon as Jim started talking relocation and taking deposits for season tickets, the deal was closed. Leipold then later went on to purchase the Minnesota Wild. So, honestly, I think this guy is almost as big of ass as Bettman.

I'd be asking some questions here if I was Judge Baum. First one would be why did you pull out of the deal with Balsillie? Why should that have mattered if you were selling the team because it was losing money and there was no fan support, would it not make sense to make a profit on an investment? If Minnesota did no have a team, would you have considered relocating the Predators to there? Does your purchase of the Minnesota Wild display good character and integrity in the eyes of the Nashville Predators fans and community?

phxatty

Aug 14, 2009, 10:08 PM

Elmira Guy

Aug 14, 2009, 11:48 PM

Keep up the hope fellas. Your prince is coming. What a joke and what a clearly uninformed bunch. I am not saying you do not know hockey, but your ignorance of the situation in Phoenix is amazing. You have all drank the Ballsack Koolaid.

And yet we're supposed to believe that you know everything about hockey (as you suggested in the last paragraph of your previous rant), about the NHL, sports economics, municipal economics, and the market in southern Ontario.

No one ever attacked you for wanting to keep the team in Phoenix. I understand why you don't want it to leave.
But you reside in a city that will never be more than a minor player in the NHL. Get used to it.
In fact, you'd better get used to the constant threat of the team moving, because unless thousands of new Coyotes fans suddenly materialize out of nowhere, your club is doomed.

Oh, and it's Balsillie. Tampering with names is pretty damn juvenile.

Au revoir

MolsonExport

Aug 15, 2009, 3:35 AM

Keep up the hope fellas. Your prince is coming. What a joke and what a clearly uninformed bunch. I am not saying you do not know hockey, but your ignorance of the situation in Phoenix is amazing. You have all drank the Ballsack Koolaid.

Well, you just dug yourself a hole (i.e., lost all credibility) with this unfounded, personal rant against the forumers in this thread.

DHLawrence

Aug 15, 2009, 4:02 AM

Well, you just dug yourself a hole (i.e., lost all credibility)

You mean he had some to begin with?

MistyMountainHop

Aug 15, 2009, 7:44 AM

You mean he had some to begin with?

About as much credibility as the offers to keep the team in Phoenix!

Distill3d

Aug 15, 2009, 8:00 AM

You mean he had some to begin with?

like I stated previously, the only relevant post he made was about Balsillie winning the auction and Bettman stating he owns a team, but doesn't have a league to play in. Hate to say it, but we're all going to have to face that realization....

Mister F

Aug 15, 2009, 3:00 PM

like I stated previously, the only relevant post he made was about Balsillie winning the auction and Bettman stating he owns a team, but doesn't have a league to play in. Hate to say it, but we're all going to have to face that realization....
Hold on now...are you (and others) saying that the NHL would contract to 29 teams and kick a team out of the league solely because they don't like Balsillie? Do you have anything to base that on or is it just speculation? Has that ever happened in the NHL or any other league? I find it extremely unlikely.

theman23

Aug 15, 2009, 4:48 PM

Oh, and it's Balsillie. Tampering with names is pretty damn juvenile.

Au revoir

I don't see why you're singling him out. There are plenty of "Butt-man" jokes in here.

kirjtc2

Aug 15, 2009, 4:59 PM

Distill3d

Aug 15, 2009, 6:15 PM

Hold on now...are you (and others) saying that the NHL would contract to 29 teams and kick a team out of the league solely because they don't like Balsillie? Do you have anything to base that on or is it just speculation? Has that ever happened in the NHL or any other league? I find it extremely unlikely.

I'm saying its a totally plausible scenario. Bettman doesn't like Balsillie THAT much that he would do it, just to force the sale of the team to someone like Reinsdork. However, I don't see that happening until Balsillie wins the team and Bettman appeals the courts decision and loses the appeal.

Distill3d

Aug 19, 2009, 9:04 PM

NHL renews bid to take over Coyotes

DANIEL NOLAN
THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
(Aug 19, 2009)

The NHL is renewing its bid to assume control of the Phoenix Coyotes and have it run by vice-commissioner Bill Daly, thereby further thwarting efforts by Jim Balsillie to buy the team and relocate it to Hamilton.

The NHL first filed this court request in May after the team skated into the bankruptcy court, and revived it in a court filing yesterday after court-ordered mediation did not produce any results.

The NHL has argued Jerry Moyes -- who wants to sell the team to Balsillie for $212.5-million US -- gave up control of the team last fall through financial dealings with the league and it should be recognized as the rightful operator of the money-losing franchise.

In its new document, it wants to assert "lawful control" of the team to prevent further financial harm to it, and the interest of legitimate creditors, by Moyes and his "favoured bidder" Jim Balsillie.

"These cases (Moyes, Balsillie) were not filed in good faith to stave off an impending financial crisis or to effect a reorganization for the good of the creditors," the NHL alleges. "Rather, they are part of a self-serving scheme to advance the interests of just two parties."

It alleges Balsillie is the first benefactor and notes he has failed in two previous attempts to acquire an NHL team and hopes to use the bankruptcy process as a "side door" to avoid consent from the NHL board of governors (which he has not yet obtained and, in fact, been rejected by the board in a 26-0 vote.)

The NHL alleges Moyes is the second party along with the Waterloo billionaire to cook up "an emergency to justify an extraordinary expedited sale process and to establish false deadlines" to have the team change hands and leave Phoenix. It says the motive for Moyes, "who claimed to have lost a fortune (but did not)" is that he hoped to profit through a sale to Balsillie at the expense of the City Glendale (where the Coyotes play) and other creditors.

Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion, is facing off against two other bidders for the team, but they plan to keep it in Arizona.

The NHL sites e-mail from Balsillie lawyer Richard Rodier that there was a scheme to avoid an open bid.

"The concept is very simple" said one e-mail to Moyes' lawyer. "We basically take over the team."

source (http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/620788)

So, it IS a Balsillie vs. the NHL thing...thanks Gary for proving just what kind of a moron you really are.

SteelTown

Aug 20, 2009, 11:31 AM

Oh snap!

Balsillie stickhandles
Takes some shots at NHL's 'good character' argument

August 20, 2009
Ken Peters
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/621548

The National Hockey League "may not like" Jim Balsillie but that's not enough of a reason to reject him as an owner.

That's the latest salvo the Waterloo BlackBerry baron fires off in a barrage of court filings that blast holes in the league argument Balsillie lacks the necessary "good character and integrity" to join the league's ranks.

Indeed, Team Balsillie suggests the league has never used the lack of character argument "in the entire history of the NHL to reject any applicant."

And, in an indication of how Balsillie's desert duel with the NHL for control of the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes is turning personal, the prospective Hamilton franchise owner portrays himself as "an outstanding citizen" while highlighting the foibles of previous NHL owners.

"Since 2006, Mr. Balsillie has continued to be recognized for his philanthropic contributions, leadership and good moral character," the Balsillie court brief suggests, adding an honorary degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2008 reflected his contributions to a cancer care centre and a children's museum.

"The NHL does not mention any of this good character evidence in its NHL Denial Motion," the court submission states.

But then Balsillie takes the gloves off.

The prospective Hamilton owner suggests the NHL's preferred Coyotes bidder Jerry Reinsdorf sued the NBA in 1990 when the league tried to limit the number of broadcasts of the Reinsdorf-owned Chicago Bulls.

"Mr. Reinsdorf's challenge of NBA rules under antitrust laws apparently does not negate his 'good character and integrity' to serve as an NHL owner and the NHL Board of Governors has conditionally approved his ownership transfer application," the Balsillie brief maintains, adding the same standard of ownership "must be applied even-handedly to Mr. Balsillie."

Balsillie cites the fact the NHL did not remove New York Rangers co-owner Jim Dolan after he sued the league over perceived restrictions relating to the teams' websites.

But there is more.

Balsillie cites the examples of Nashville owner William Del Biaggio, who pleaded guilty to fraud, and former Las Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and served 70 months in federal prison.

"The NHL may not 'like' Mr. Balsillie but that is not a basis for rejecting him as being morally unfit to become an NHL owner," the Balsillie brief concludes.

Balsillie's argument on the character and integrity issues is pertinent since the NHL has rejected him as a prospective owner on that basis.

Arizona bankruptcy court Judge Redfield T. Baum has set a Sept. 2 hearing to determine Balsillie's suitability to become a league franchise owner.

Meanwhile the NHL is seeking access to e-mails between Balsillie and his lead counsel Richard Rodier leading up to the bankruptcy and during its course, including their "strategy" discussions. Team Balsillie is fighting the move.

Canadian Mind

Aug 20, 2009, 4:01 PM

Go Jim Go!

MistyMountainHop

Aug 20, 2009, 7:00 PM

Oh, snap. Well done, Jim.

SteelTown

Aug 21, 2009, 1:50 AM

Eugene Melnyk slams Balsillie’s conduct
‘I clearly believe the sport of hockey is better off without him’

August 20, 2009
Canada News Wire
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/621847

The following is a statement by Eugene Melnyk and a reprint of an NHL statement issued earlier today:

"As a businessman, I know about playing tough and getting your elbows up.

I also know lessons that most of us learned early in our childhoods - you play fair; you play by the rules and you help others when you can.
I have watched with some dismay Jim Balsillie’s fall from being a deserving business icon to what now appears to be a desperate man willing to say anything or do anything to buy an NHL franchise.

I used to privately feel sympathy for his plight, but as I’ve watched his conduct with and towards the league and other owners, I clearly believe the sport of hockey is better off without him.

In a recent legal filing, he dragged me into his hurricane of legal filings and panicked pleas and cited me as someone who is lacking the personal integrity to own the Ottawa Senators hockey franchise.

I’ve tried to reach Jim through his office to find out why he would say something like this about me - we barely know each other - but I’ve received no response.

I will say in response publicly that his willingness to drag down anyone he can get his hands on along with him is discouraging and saddens me.

Jim and I both found great success in our Canadian businesses. And that is where the comparisons stop.

When I sought to purchase the Ottawa Senators, there were great obstacles but I played by the rules and respected the NHL as an institution. I have spent my adult life helping others - supporting charities, orphanages, day care centres, supporting our troops and our athletes.

I do these things to give back to my country and to really deserving men, women and children in Canada. I mind my own business and don’t drag in others when I get into trouble.

It is well documented that I was required to pay fines to the OSC over civil administrative oversights like filing paperwork on time. This is a far cry from the sanctions imposed on Jim Balsillie by the Ontario Securities Commission arising from his role in the improper grant by Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM, TSX: RIM) of more than 1,000 stock options involving millions of shares over a period of almost ten years, his role in the systematic and repeated issuance by RIM over many years of misleading disclosure concerning RIM’s stock option dating practices, and the benefits Balsillie derived personally from stock options that were granted improperly to him .

These sanctions are widely acknowledged to be among the most severe ever imposed by a Securities Commission in Canada (see http://www.osc.gov.on.ca/Enforcement/Proceedings/AlphaListing/ep—r—index.jsp)

I’m comfortable in my own skin, Jim. You should look around at the friends you are losing and the damage you are causing to yourself, the NHL and all Canadians."

NHL Statement

The following is a statement issued to media earlier today by the NHL spokesperson Bill Daly:

"I’m not going to comment specifically except to say that none of the cited situations are even remotely comparable to Balsillie’s situation.

With respect to Mr. Melnyk in particular, Balsillie’s attempt in any way to disparage his reputation and his good standing as an NHL owner is nothing more than a malicious act of desperation. During his time in the League, Mr. Melnyk has been a model owner and good and loyal business partner to the rest of the League’s Clubs. He has consistently and effectively advocated in the best interests of his franchise, while at the same time acting consistently with, and in support of, broader League interests and initiatives.

None of the circumstances cited in Balsillie’s legal filings have in any way affected Mr. Melnyk’s ability to be an effective owner, or have otherwise adversely impacted the reputation of the National Hockey League. Mr. Balsillie knows full well why he was unanimously rejected by the NHL Board of Governors. He has consistently and repeatedly demonstrated a total disregard of League rules and structure. He has turned his back on numerous commitments and representations made to the League and to our owners demonstrating a clear lack of personal integrity. And he has spent considerable time and resources deliberately attempting to destabilize and undermine both the League and several of our franchises, which has caused significant damage to our business as a result. Why would any team or owner in our League want him as a business partner?"

Distill3d

Aug 21, 2009, 3:58 AM

Coyotes saga could impact leagues
Thursday, August 20, 2009
THE CANADIAN PRESS

The outcome of the NHL's battle in the desert over the ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes could send a cold shiver through other major professional sports leagues in North America.

The right to retain the final say over who can, and maybe more importantly, who cannot own a team is something the people running pro hockey, football, basketball and baseball are loath to relinquish, according to lawyers and sports insiders.

"The sports leagues are sort of a self-selected, closed group," Eric Schaffer, a senior bankruptcy partner at the Pittsburgh law firm Reed Smith, said this week in an interview. "They decide who is going to be admitted to their league, they police themselves.

"They also want to make sure they retain the ability to be the exclusive arbiters of who is going to be in their membership."

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, has offered US$212.5 million to buy the Coyotes but the deal is contingent on moving the team to Hamilton.

The NHL wants to keep the team in Arizona and favours a US$148-million bid from Jerry Reinsdorf, who owns baseball's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Bulls.

The NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball have all filed documents asking the court to respect the NHL's authority over ownership transfer and relocation.

"All the leagues are vitally interested in this," said one former longtime sports executive. "I think (baseball commissioner) Bud Selig would be apoplectic if he didn't have the right to reject an ownership bid, as would (NFL commissioner) Roger Goodell."

The NHL owners voted 26-0 to reject Balsillie as an owner, saying he was perceived to be untrustworthy.

Bankruptcy judge Redfield T. Baum has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 2 in Phoenix to determine whether to uphold the NHL's rejection of Balsillie. If Baum decides to ignore the vote, Balsillie could participate in a Sept. 10 auction for the Coyotes.

Schaffer said if Balsillie is successful in taking control of the Coyotes and move them to southern Ontario, it would put a huge dent in the armour professional leagues have coated themselves with.

"If someone can force his way in through the bankruptcy process, it goes to the fundamental nature of the league and how it governs itself," said Schaffer, who was involved in the Pittsburgh Penguins bankruptcy case.

"What is potentially at risk here is the ability of an outsider to force his way in. Or the ability to turn a sport franchise into just another commodity that can be bought and sold without the control of the league."

While the NHL is adamant it does not want Balsillie as an owner, a bankruptcy judge may be more interested in which potential buyer can satisfy the team's creditors, said Schaffer.

"The bankruptcy courts don't really care about a third party,"he said. "If a third party is going to try and tamp down the value (of the team) and thereby restrict the ultimate distributions to the creditors, the courts have got an inherit basis against that.

"From the league's perspective, this is their nightmare."

Reinsdorf may have gained the upper hand in this area by reaching a deal to pay a large portion of the US$80 million owed to the Coyotes' largest secured creditor.

Schaffer said the judge may also have concerns that Balsillie's purchase hinges on relocating the team.

Time is running out on moving the team for this season. Also, if Balsillie does win this court fight, it sets the stage for more litigation.

"At some point that is a problem Balsillie has," Schaffer said. "The test that is applicable under the bankruptcy code is, what is the highest and best offer.

"The highest is usually the best but not always. If the highest is an offer that can't close, or it can't close without a year or two of litigation, it may not be the best."

News of the court case has even reached Australia where it came up as part of a sports law class being taught at the University of Sydney by visiting Penn State professor Stephen Ross.

Ross, a sports law and antitrust scholar, said a victory by Balsillie would be a good thing because the major professional sports leagues have too much power over ownership.

"Sports leagues have illegal monopolies by preventing new entry from deserving clubs," he said in an email to The Canadian Press. "Sports leagues harm consumers by being run by the clubs themselves, in their own self-interest, instead of the best interests of the league as whole."

Many Canadian hockey fans would probably be thrilled if the Coyotes are reincarnated in Hamilton.

But they may want to be careful what they wish for. If leagues lose their power over franchise ownership, teams could begin switching cities like cars changing lanes on the freeway.

"It takes away one of the anchors a league has," said the former sports executive, who preferred to remain anonymous. "It's really to protect the interest of the league as whole."

Schaffer sees a scenario where even a flagship team like the Montreal Canadiens could move if another city waved enough money and incentives in front of owners, and the NHL could do nothing to block the transfer.

Ross said Balsillie wouldn't be in this fight if the NHL used a system of promotion and relegation, like European soccer leagues.

"Balsillie wouldn't have to fight to buy Phoenix, but could just enter a Hamilton franchise in the second-tier league and invest in player and coaching talent so they could win the league and get promoted to the NHL," he said. "If the NHL were a corporation run by a board of directors solely concerned with the total profitability of the league, they would surely prefer a team with higher live gate and higher TV ratings in Hamilton than one in Phoenix.

"Only because the NHL is a 'closed' league that is run by owners in their parochial self-interest do we find ourselves in this situation."

source (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/08/20/coyotes_fallout/)

FINALLY! Someone else says what I've been saying for the last couple years. The NHL should have a second tier league for markets like Phoenix, Atlanta, and Tampa. That way they can actually develop the market in these regions, and have teams in safe markets like Hamilton, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis.

rrskylar

Aug 21, 2009, 6:56 PM

^ Stop and give your head a shake, do you really think an NHL caliber player would want to play in a lower tier, would stats in that lower tier count the same as is the first tier NHL, would players be paid less in the lower tier, would fans in lower tier cities even show up if they never had a chance to see NHL stars, would NHL owners who paid for an NHL team want an NHL-lite team they paid full price for?

Seems to me there already is a lower tier in place called the AHL.

SteelTown

Aug 21, 2009, 7:52 PM

Hamilton Bulldogs in their 13th season are the longest serving Canadian franchise in the American Hockey League.

Distill3d

Aug 21, 2009, 7:57 PM

^ Stop and give your head a shake, do really think an NHL caliber player would want to play in a lower tier, would stats in that lower tier count the same as is the first tier NHL, would players be paid less in the lower tier, would fans in lower tier cities even show up if they never had a chance to see NHL stars?

Seems to me there already is a lower tier in place called the AHL.

So why then are teams like Phoenix, Florida, and Atlanta not moved down to the AHL after 5 bad seasons in the NHL? Why are teams like the Milwaukee Admirals, Manitoba Moose, or Houston Aeros not moved up to the NHL after 5 good seasons in the AHL? Its because the AHL is a farm system, not an equal second tier to the NHL.

SteelTown

Aug 21, 2009, 10:43 PM

Good day for Balsillie

Latest round: Win for Balsillie, setback for NHL
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/westsideinsider/60900

In the endless bankruptcy battle over the Coyotes, the judge came down Thursday on the side of Jim Balsillie, the Blackberry billionaire trying to buy and move the team to Canada.

All week long, the National Hockey League filed briefs, met and conferred and otherwise sought to get its hands on emails exchanged by Balsillie and his chief aide, Richard Rodier, but the judge said 'no.'

The league will battle at a Sept. 2 court hearing to show that Balsillie should not be considered a qualified bidder for the Coyotes since the league's owners unanimously rejected him as a team owner.

The NHL wanted the emails, which they said among other things would show how Balsillie strategized to use the Bankruptcy Court to muscle his way into a club that doesn't want him.

The judge, in his denial, said, "Bidders should not be exposed to litigation-type discovery because they make a bid to purchase assets in a bankruptcy case."

Judge Redfield T. Baum also denied the league's request for info on whether Balsillie reported the league to the Canadian Competition Bureau, prompting an investigation.

To add insult to injury, the judge also rejected the league's efforts to keep Rodier out of the NHL's deposition of Balsillie next week.

To paraphrase the judge, Rodier can attend the questioning but he has to shut up.

Canadian Mind

Aug 22, 2009, 1:54 AM

Good to see. Basillie isn't an idiot, he and RIM wouldn't be where they are today if he was. He has done a very good job with this little chess game.

koops65

Aug 22, 2009, 3:10 AM

vid

Aug 22, 2009, 4:33 PM

The NHL, and Bettman in particular, make themselves look more and more like asses every day. I'd still like to hear WHY they think it's better to keep a money losing team that has low fan support in Phoenix, rather than move it to Hamilton (or any other large city in Canada for that matter) where it will most likely make money and enjoy massive fan support?????

Because the US south has more people and a growing population, and somehow they think that will translate into bigger revenues "in the future", when they "discover hockey". :koko:

Berklon

Aug 22, 2009, 6:37 PM

theman23

Aug 22, 2009, 6:59 PM

While I understand the NHL wants to "grow the game" by placing teams in non-traditional markets - I really don't understand why they ignore places that are hockey hotbeds.

Why not maximize the revenue generated by putting teams in markets that support the game, while at the same time trying grow the game in non-traditional markets? May as well make the league as strong as possible to make up for those markets that still haven't taken to the game. It's like they enjoy throwing money out the window.

Balsille making money for himself in southern ontario isn't going to help out the other NHL owners too much. The potential for a future TV deal with ESPN is probably far more interesting to most owners.

Because the US south has more people and a growing population, and somehow they think that will translate into bigger revenues "in the future", when they "discover hockey".
Why do you have "in the future" in quotes? Is planning for future growth really that strange a concept to you?

Come on guys, Phoenix is a huge market. The south is the new USA. If the NHL ever wants to be taken seriously in the USA, they need teams in this region.

vid

Aug 22, 2009, 7:35 PM

Why do you have "in the future" in quotes?

Because I doubt hockey is ever going to be more than an afterthought in that part of the world. It has no future there. It barely has a present.

Canadian Mind

Aug 22, 2009, 7:36 PM

Come on guys, Phoenix is a huge market. The south is the new USA. If the NHL ever wants to be taken seriously in the USA, they need teams in this region.

Who cares if they are taken seriously in the states? As long as they are taken seriously in the hockey hotbeds, I don't give two fucks about the south.

Distill3d

Aug 22, 2009, 7:40 PM

Come on guys, Phoenix is a huge market. The south is the new USA. If the NHL ever wants to be taken seriously in the USA, they need teams in this region.

Phoenix may be a huge market, but its proven itself not to be a hockey market. Its time to cut the losses and move on.

rrskylar may tell me to give my head a shake, but an equal second tier league, that plays in smaller venues, would be better for developing the game. No, the AHL isn't what I'm talking about. Something like the old WHA. Only this time the NHL can run it. Markets like Atlanta, Hartford, Hamilton, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, Quebec City, and Winnipeg could all be served by this league. Similar to Premier League Football in England, teams could move back and forth depending on success in either league.

The problem with the NHL at the moment is that its gotten too big and expanded into markets where it has no chance for success. That also translates poorly in to the more successful markets. Look at Edmonton for example. Its a traditional hockey market, but its not able to field a successful team because there are teams in more attractive warm weather climates (like Anaheim) for top name players to sign with. So, now Edmonton has to sign guys like Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky to inflated contracts just to keep them in town.

rousseau

Aug 22, 2009, 9:43 PM

Who cares if they are taken seriously in the states? As long as they are taken seriously in the hockey hotbeds, I don't give two fucks about the south.
Exactly. Who the fuck cares about hockey being taken seriously in the U.S.? What the fuck ever happened to the NHL taking the hockey hotbeds like Hamilton and Quebec and Winnipeg seriously?

This whole issue has gotten me riled up, and I don't even like hockey, fer crissakes!

SteelTown

Aug 22, 2009, 9:54 PM

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/240914-interview-with-top-prospect-ryan-ellis

Interview with Ryan Ellis, drafted by the Nashville Predators at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Born in Hamilton. Building up a team for Hamilton?

theman23

Aug 23, 2009, 12:59 AM

Who cares if they are taken seriously in the states? As long as they are taken seriously in the hockey hotbeds, I don't give two fucks about the south.

I'm guessing that at least 24 of the NHL board of governors care. Thats 24 more than those who care about lining Balsille's pocket.

vid

Aug 23, 2009, 1:07 AM

Then the NHL's board of governors doesn't care about hockey.

Berklon

Aug 23, 2009, 2:17 AM

Balsille making money for himself in southern ontario isn't going to help out the other NHL owners too much. The potential for a future TV deal with ESPN is probably far more interesting to most owners.

The NHL will NEVER get a major TV contract in the US. The NHL started US expansion in 1968 with the league having 10 US teams. Hockey is still not even a top 4 sport in the US and often gets beaten in TV ratings by poker, horse racing, etc. It's been 40 eff-in years already!. How long will this charade go on?! Hockey will NEVER be a major sport in the US. Noone cares! One more healthy team in the league and one less unhealthy one is good - even if someone gets rich in the process. The NHL doesn't seem to have a problem lining MLSE's pockets. If Southern Ontario isn't good enough for another team to the NHL, then we won't be seeing Calgary, Edmonton or Ottawa for much longer in this league.

Come on guys, Phoenix is a huge market. The south is the new USA. If the NHL ever wants to be taken seriously in the USA, they need teams in this region.

13 years and counting. How long will it take?

The Dallas Stars won a cup, Colorado Avalanche won two and the New Jersey Devils won three... yet now that they suck, they're attendance is getting effected a lot. Is this what we have to expect from the US in terms of support? They seem to have to win or noone gives a crap - and even winning doesn't guarantee anyone will care. This isn't exactly healthy for the league. This happens because hockey is an afterthought. They don't like hockey enough to watch a bad team - they have a very low threshold.

It's time for the NHL to let go of this fantasy that hockey will be big in the US... it will NEVER happen. The sooner they realize this, the better off they'll be.

The NHL better realize that they're biting the hand that feeds them. The more they take Canadians for granted, the more Canadian hockey fans will abandon them.

Canadian Mind

Aug 23, 2009, 2:46 AM

I'm guessing that at least 24 of the NHL board of governors care. Thats 24 more than those who care about lining Balsille's pocket.

They all care about lining their own pockets. What they envision is teams that make them 100 million annually because every person in the 4-5 million population Pheonix are fighting over a limited number of stadium tickets, thus makign tickets 500 bucks per seat.

What they fail to realise is that you will never get everyone in Pheonix and area interested in hockey. Right now they'd be lucky if 1 in 10 people in th Pheonix area are interested in hockey.

As someone mentioned above, maybe a smaller second-tier league to build interest in cities like Pheonix to build interest would be profitable, but I don't see it happening.

theman23

Aug 23, 2009, 4:50 AM

Then the NHL's board of governors doesn't care about hockey.

I don't know about that, but I'd like to know how you reached that conclusion.

The NHL will NEVER get a major TV contract in the US. The NHL started US expansion in 1968 with the league having 10 US teams. Hockey is still not even a top 4 sport in the US and often gets beaten in TV ratings by poker, horse racing, etc. It's been 40 eff-in years already!. How long will this charade go on?! Hockey will NEVER be a major sport in the US. Noone cares! One more healthy team in the league and one less unhealthy one is good - even if someone gets rich in the process. The NHL doesn't seem to have a problem lining MLSE's pockets. If Southern Ontario isn't good enough for another team to the NHL, then we won't be seeing Calgary, Edmonton or Ottawa for much longer in this league.
Obviously the NHL is not ready to throw in the towel. Its Bettman's job to raise the profile of the sport, what do you expect him to do in this situation?
As for the bolded part:Who would it benefit?

13 years and counting. How long will it take?

The Dallas Stars won a cup, Colorado Avalanche won two and the New Jersey Devils won three... yet now that they suck, they're attendance is getting effected a lot. Is this what we have to expect from the US in terms of support? They seem to have to win or noone gives a crap - and even winning doesn't guarantee anyone will care. This isn't exactly healthy for the league. This happens because hockey is an afterthought. They don't like hockey enough to watch a bad team - they have a very low threshold.

It's time for the NHL to let go of this fantasy that hockey will be big in the US... it will NEVER happen. The sooner they realize this, the better off they'll be.

The NHL better realize that they're biting the hand that feeds them. The more they take Canadians for granted, the more Canadian hockey fans will abandon them.

Phoenix has been a terrible team for the majority of those 13 years. With few exceptions, crappy teams get crappy support in North America. "Hockey mad" Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal all had attendance problems when their teams were in the dumps recently. Crappy baseball teams get crappy attendance in the USA. Same thing with basketball. Why would you expect any different from hockey?

They all care about lining their own pockets.
So what reason is there to give Balsille a team?

vid

Aug 23, 2009, 5:06 AM

I don't know about that, but I'd like to know how you reached that conclusion.

They're throwing most of the league's energy at people who don't want to support it.

Its Bettman's job to raise the profile of the sport, what do you expect him to do in this situation?

Raise the profile of the sport in markets where it actually has a chance and meet demand in markets that will actually turn a profit for the league. If he wants to expand the league, expand it in Europe, or do the dual tier league as suggested by other members. Honestly, it's the lack of vision of companies like the NHL is portraying that has killed the forestry sector.

The fact that Phoenix, a city nearing the size of Toronto, has lower average attendance than Edmonton, a city one fifth the size of Toronto, should be setting off alarm bells here. There really are a considerable amount of people in Phoenix who not only don't give a shit about hockey, but they never will! Take out the Canadian ex-pats and support for the team is even lower. Phoenicians just don't give a shit about the sport. The Coyotes might as well be a soccer team. (They probably wish they were--soccer has been growing in popularity.)

Phoenix has been a terrible team for the majority of those 13 years. With few exceptions, crappy teams get crappy support in North America. "Hockey mad" Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal all had attendance problems when their teams were in the dumps recently. Crappy baseball teams get crappy attendance in the USA. Same thing with basketball. Why would you expect any different from hockey?

We're not discussing relocating the Calgary Flames or Vancouver Canucks, are we?

So what reason is there to give Balsille a team?

They'll be able to line their pockets even more.

Distill3d

Aug 23, 2009, 5:53 AM

Raise the profile of the sport in markets where it actually has a chance and meet demand in markets that will actually turn a profit for the league. If he wants to expand the league, expand it in Europe, or do the dual tier league as suggested by other members. Honestly, it's the lack of vision of companies like the NHL is portraying that has killed the forestry sector.

The problem with expanding into Europe is that most of the arena's are smaller than current NHL arenas. Besides that, who says people in Paris or Prague are going to watch NHL games anymore than people in Phoenix or Atlanta? If we thought that the NHL had issues competing as a major league in the US, wait until it has to compete with soccer in London, Barcelona, and Milan.

Nicko999

Aug 23, 2009, 2:42 PM

Phoenix has been a terrible team for the majority of those 13 years. With few exceptions, crappy teams get crappy support in North America. "Hockey mad" Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Montreal all had attendance problems when their teams were in the dumps recently. Crappy baseball teams get crappy attendance in the USA. Same thing with basketball. Why would you expect any different from hockey?

You forgot to add Toronto!:)
BTW:
the Canadiens have sold out 180 consecutive games

And we have 21 273 seats to fill, more than any team in the league.:rolleyes:

rousseau

Aug 23, 2009, 4:10 PM

You forgot to add Toronto!:)
BTW:
Erm, even I know that the Leafs have sold out every home game since 1946 or something. What're you talking about?

Nicko999

Aug 23, 2009, 4:37 PM

Erm, even I know that the Leafs have sold out every home game since 1946 or something. What're you talking about?

Try again...
In active NHL streaks, the Maple Leafs stand third behind the Wild and the Canucks as they approach 235 consecutive sellouts at the Air Canada Centre.
they haven't sold out since 1946.

theman23

Aug 23, 2009, 6:27 PM

I feel like we're going in circles here.

They're throwing most of the league's energy at people who don't want to support it.

How do you prove any part of this statement, and how does it mean that they don't care about hockey? I'm not seeing your logic.

Raise the profile of the sport in markets where it actually has a chance and meet demand in markets that will actually turn a profit for the league. If he wants to expand the league, expand it in Europe, or do the dual tier league as suggested by other members. Honestly, it's the lack of vision of companies like the NHL is portraying that has killed the forestry sector.

They seem to think it has a chance in Phoenix.

The fact that Phoenix, a city nearing the size of Toronto, has lower average attendance than Edmonton, a city one fifth the size of Toronto, should be setting off alarm bells here. There really are a considerable amount of people in Phoenix who not only don't give a shit about hockey, but they never will! Take out the Canadian ex-pats and support for the team is even lower. Phoenicians just don't give a shit about the sport. The Coyotes might as well be a soccer team. (They probably wish they were--soccer has been growing in popularity.)

Phoenix also hasn't made the playoffs for 7 straight years and they've never been a serious contender. Why would you make such an unfair comparison?

We're not discussing relocating the Calgary Flames or Vancouver Canucks, are we?
The point: Crappy teams generally draw crappy crowds.

They'll be able to line their pockets even more.
They don't seem to think so.

You forgot to add Toronto!
Though it might change if the Leafs continue missing the playoffs, the Leafs have never had trouble drawing as far as I know. You probably aren't old enough to remember, but all those teams I mentioned were unstable and had trouble with attendance in very recent history.

Canadian Mind

Aug 23, 2009, 8:18 PM

I feel like we're going in circles here.

How do you prove any part of this statement, and how does it mean that they don't care about hockey? I'm not seeing your logic.

The shitty record pheonix has when it comes to selling tickets at games.

They seem to think it has a chance in Phoenix.

Previous coyote owners thought that. The most recent one is currently in bankruptcy court trying to sell the team because it is a bad asset.

Phoenix also hasn't made the playoffs for 7 straight years and they've never been a serious contender. Why would you make such an unfair comparison?

The point: Crappy teams generally draw crappy crowds.

If attendance is to be based off of performance records, then the team should be outright disbanded.

They don't seem to think so.

Because they keep looking at the whole population of pheonix as the potential market, instead of the 10-20% that might actually have a vested interest in a winter sport in the middle of a dessert.

Though it might change if the Leafs continue missing the playoffs, the Leafs have never had trouble drawing as far as I know. You probably aren't old enough to remember, but all those teams I mentioned were unstable and had trouble with attendance in very recent history.

And they all sprung back. Pheonix isn't. It's sort of like comparing a man stricken with Malaria to one with AIDS. One suffers and eventually gets better, the other ontinues to suffer worse and worse and worse until he eventually dies.

Distill3d

Aug 23, 2009, 9:21 PM

Phoenix also hasn't made the playoffs for 7 straight years and they've never been a serious contender. Why would you make such an unfair comparison?...

...The point: Crappy teams generally draw crappy crowds.
...

...Though it might change if the Leafs continue missing the playoffs, the Leafs have never had trouble drawing as far as I know. You probably aren't old enough to remember, but all those teams I mentioned were unstable and had trouble with attendance in very recent history.

Nobody likes a hypocrite. Toronto has sucked for the last, what, 40 and change years? Yet they still draw sell out crowds. I pointed out earlier that 200 people have to die in order to get bumped up on the list to get season tickets for the Leafs. Unlike the Coyotes where you could give them away and no one is going to show up. Pretty sure that the Leafs aren't filing for bankruptcy any time soon.

Phoenix's ECHL team (Phoenix Roadrunners) are near the bottom of the ECHL for attendance as well. I mean granted, it IS the ECHL, but they still only average 3025 people/game (http://www.mib.org/~lennier/hockey/leagueatt.cgi) in an arena that seats 16,000 for hockey games. Even the teams with smaller venues still manage to put more fans in the stadium. Phoenix is also the largest market in the ECHL.

So, really how much more proof do we need that Hockey isn't working in Phoenix?

Jamaican-Phoenix

Aug 24, 2009, 12:21 AM

Many Canadian hockey fans would probably be thrilled if the Coyotes are reincarnated in Hamilton.

But they may want to be careful what they wish for. If leagues lose their power over franchise ownership, teams could begin switching cities like cars changing lanes on the freeway.

"It takes away one of the anchors a league has," said the former sports executive, who preferred to remain anonymous. "It's really to protect the interest of the league as whole."

Schaffer sees a scenario where even a flagship team like the Montreal Canadiens could move if another city waved enough money and incentives in front of owners, and the NHL could do nothing to block the transfer.

This is a very good point that has not been thought of or discussed. We should be careful.

Distill3d

Aug 24, 2009, 12:46 AM

^Seriously, time to lay off what ever you're drinking. Flagship teams like the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, Bruins, Rangers, and Red Wings will NEVER leave their respected metropolitan areas. There's only two ways they would leave

1) If arenas were built in adjacent cities like Laval, Mississauga, Aurora, Cambridge, Hoboken, or Windsor. Even then, they would still be know as Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, New York, or Detroit.

2) If their cities become somehow incapacitated like New Orleans did. And even then, they would only be gone as long as it took to clean up, or build a new arena in their home city.

That said, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are as much apart of the Canadian Identity as universal health care and maple syrup. You really think that the Government of Canada wouldn't have what ever owner threatened to move either team out of town nailed for high treason? I mean, I know that sounds far fetched, but we do live in a democracy. Having the Habs or the Leafs leave the country could sway an election. If you don't think I'm serious, just remember that when Edmonton traded Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles, it was actually debated on the floor of the House of Commons in order to find a way to block the trade, or have him traded to another Canadian team.

Jamaican-Phoenix

Aug 24, 2009, 12:55 AM

theman23

Aug 24, 2009, 4:32 AM

Nobody likes a hypocrite. Toronto has sucked for the last, what, 40 and change years? Yet they still draw sell out crowds. I pointed out earlier that 200 people have to die in order to get bumped up on the list to get season tickets for the Leafs. Unlike the Coyotes where you could give them away and no one is going to show up. Pretty sure that the Leafs aren't filing for bankruptcy any time soon.

Phoenix's ECHL team (Phoenix Roadrunners) are near the bottom of the ECHL for attendance as well. I mean granted, it IS the ECHL, but they still only average 3025 people/game (http://www.mib.org/~lennier/hockey/leagueatt.cgi) in an arena that seats 16,000 for hockey games. Even the teams with smaller venues still manage to put more fans in the stadium. Phoenix is also the largest market in the ECHL.

So, really how much more proof do we need that Hockey isn't working in Phoenix?

Please. Toronto has been a contender many times since their last cup win. We were a contender during the early 90s and pretty much the entire Pat Quinn era. Not to mention the tremendous amount of history the Leafs have. How are they a fair comparison for Phoenix, a relatively new team that has never been a contender? They're a young franchise that has had terrible management. This is a team that has a marketing gimmick for a coach. It doesn't take much to see the NHL's side of the story here.

Who gives a shit about the ECHL? Toronto probably had half a dozen ECHL teams that no-one knew existed.

Distill3d

Aug 24, 2009, 4:56 AM

They're a young franchise that has had terrible management. This is a team that has a marketing gimmick for a coach. It doesn't take much to see the NHL's side of the story here.

This isn't without precedence. The Colorado Rockies were mismanaged, had some talent, and a marketing gimmick for a coach. However they still relocated to New Jersey after 5 horrible seasons in Denver. Why should they be treated any differently than the Phoenix Coyotes?

SteelTown

Aug 25, 2009, 1:12 PM

Balsillie issues Sept. 14 ultimatum
Approve Coyotes sale or he can back out

August 25, 2009
Bob Baum
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.thespec.com/Wire/Sports_Wire/article/623984

PHOENIX - Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie has submitted an amended proposed agreement to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes for US$212.5 million and immediately move them to Hamilton, with or without the NHL's consent.

The document filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court says Balsillie can walk away from the deal if the contentious issues in the complex case have not been resolved in his favour by Sept. 14. That's four days after the scheduled auction of the team and one day before the Coyotes are to play their first pre-season game.

The persistent co-CEO of Research In Motion, the company that makes the BlackBerry, wants Judge Redfield T. Baum to rule his bid valid even though the NHL board of governors voted 26-0 against his application to become the team's owner.

The NHL says it is impossible to move the team for the coming season.

The league wants a new owner who would keep the team in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, where it has lost more than $30 million each of the last three seasons. The NHL contends that with better management and an improved product on the ice, the Coyotes can be successful.

The league is funding the team while the bitter ownership battle goes on.

Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of baseball's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls, heads a group that plans to offer $148 million to buy the team and keep it in Glendale. Another group of Canadian and American investors, under the name Ice Edge, is investigating making a bid that also would keep the team in Glendale.

The two groups have been negotiating a new lease agreement with the city of Glendale that would have to be approved by the city council.

A mountain of legal documents has been filed since Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes surprised the league by taking the team into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5 with a plan to sell the franchise to Balsillie.

Balsillie's proposed purchase agreement requires either NHL approval of the sale or a court order superseding the owners' rejection of him. It also requires the league to come up with a relocation fee. If the NHL doesn't, Balsillie says the court should determine a "reasonable and appropriate" figure.

The league says relocation is moot because Balsillie has been rejected as an owner.

A Sept. 2 hearing is scheduled to, among other things, hear arguments on the validity of Balsillie's bid.

Balsillie's proposed agreement would allow him to withdraw if the sale has "been stayed or postponed or prohibited in effect in whole or part by any court or governmental body."

The NHL has said it would immediately appeal any ruling that overturns the board's rejection of Balsillie as an owner.

Meanwhile, Balsillie also faces stern opposition from the city of Glendale, which contends the team cannot get out of its lease without paying a $794 million penalty. Balsillie and Moyes say bankruptcy law caps the amount Glendale could receive at a relatively low figure.

The city filed a 32-page document on Monday night outlining why it believes the lease should stand. Glendale echoes the NHL's position that the bankruptcy filing was a ruse.

"After many months of planning," the city argued, "Mr. Moyes bought into a scheme hatched by James Balsillie and Richard Rodier to buy an NHL team through an admitted 'side door."'

The city says proof of the "scheme" is in documents filed under seal.

"When brought to the light of day," the city's argument read, "those facts will lead to the inescapable conclusion that these cases have been prosecuted in bad faith and for purposes (and, even more strikingly, in a manner) not permitted under the Bankruptcy Code and other applicable law."

Last week, the city asked for an emergency hearing on a motion to unseal the Moyes documents. Moyes' lawyers said in a filing that the parties should get together and decide what material should be made public.

Balsillie has made failed attempts to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators. Glendale cited a ruling in the Penguins case that upheld the validity of the lease.

The city also wants a hearing on Moyes' status as the lead unsecured debtor in the filing. Lawyers for Glendale dispute Moyes' contention that he loaned the franchise some $300 million and would recoup $104 million under the Balsillie deal.

Glendale contends the lost money was equity, not a loan, and therefore he should be removed as a debtor. Under the anticipated Reinsdorf offer, Moyes would get little if anything.

waterloowarrior

Aug 25, 2009, 11:05 PM

NHL files bid to buy Coyotes

AP/THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/article/686398
Aug 25, 2009 06:57 PM
Be the first to comment on this article...
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOENIX–The NHL has filed a bid in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and keep the team in Arizona.

Deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly said in a news release that the league took the action "to maximize the likelihood that the club ultimately will be sold to an acceptable purchaser who is committed to operating the franchise in Glendale.''

The news release did not say how much the league was offering to buy the team, which is scheduled to be sold at auction on Sept. 10.

Daly said that if the bid is successful, the league intends to sell the team to a third party outside of the bankruptcy process.

vid

Aug 25, 2009, 11:23 PM

Wow. :rolleyes:

Distill3d

Aug 26, 2009, 12:13 AM

NHL files bid to buy Coyotes...

...Daly said that if the bid is successful, the league intends to sell the team to a third party outside of the bankruptcy process.

...WOW...

Ladies and gents, we're witnessing the end of the NHL...

Canadian Mind

Aug 26, 2009, 12:55 AM

Good riddance.

Mille Sabords

Aug 26, 2009, 1:25 AM

This just in from TSN:

Report: Reinsdorf withdraws bid to purchase Coyotes
TSN.ca Staff
8/25/2009 9:18:15 PM

The Arizona Republic is reporting that Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has pulled his bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes after the NHL made their offer to buy the team on Tuesday.

In a statement Reinsdorf said that his group could not finalize a new lease deal with the City of Glendale, Arizona which owns Jobing.com Arena where the Coyotes call home.

Reinsdorf's group reportedly placed the blame on current Coyotes' owner Jerry Moyes, who the group characterized as an "unwilling seller."

Distill3d

Aug 26, 2009, 1:30 AM

^yeah, funny that happens on the same day that the NHL says it will purposely out bid whomever to purchase the team out of bankruptcy court. I knew the Reinsdorf deal smelt like rotten potatoes in tropical heat.

SteelTown

Aug 26, 2009, 1:55 AM

So now it all comes down to Balsillie and NHL, something Bettman denied.

koops65

Aug 26, 2009, 2:18 AM

Can anyone explain why the NHL didnt fight tooth and nail like this when other teams moved in the past?

SHOFEAR

Aug 26, 2009, 2:31 AM

Distill3d

Aug 26, 2009, 2:46 AM

Can anyone explain why the NHL didnt fight tooth and nail like this when other teams moved in the past?

You mean like when they cancelled a season so teams like Edmonton, Ottawa and Calgary could survive?

ohh wait...I forgot..it's a ll a big conspiracy against canada. yawn.

I didn't see any mention of Canada or Canadian teams in that post. There have been more American teams that have folded, merged, or relocated in the past than Canadian teams. Only 2 Canadian (Quebec and Winnipeg) teams have moved in the last 35 years, compared to 7 American teams (California, Kansas City, Cleveland, Atlanta, Colorado, Minnesota, and Hartford). I would think that to be a valid question on both sides of the border.

MrOilers

Aug 26, 2009, 3:01 AM

Can anyone explain why the NHL didnt fight tooth and nail like this when other teams moved in the past?

I have no idea. Bettman has a real fetish for Phoenix.

SteelTown

Aug 26, 2009, 3:15 AM

This should be interesting with just two bids submitted by the deadline, Balsillie and NHL. I wonder if the NHL bid is all cash like Balsillie. We should see who Moyes and Michael Dell now support which bid.

"The NHL bid apparently was the only one filed by the deadline that would keep the team in Arizona. Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie filed an amended purchase agreement on Monday offering US$212.5 million, contingent on moving the franchise to Hamilton."

http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/624518

SteelTown

Aug 26, 2009, 11:22 AM

Oh snap again! haha

Balsillie tightens screws on desperate NHL

August 26, 2009
Steve Milton
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/624643

Maybe Eugene Melnyk would like to re-consider which side he calls "desperate".

Last week, the Ottawa Senators owner said Jim Balsillie had become desperate, and that he backed Balsillie -- where were you when the vote was taken, sir? -- until he started naming names of NHL owners guilty of worse things than Balsillie ever could dream of.

But, on the long and winding road through the city that NHL hockey should never call home, there has been no more desperate move than last night's announcement the league has now joined the bidding for the Phoenix Coyotes.

Or they will join the bidding, because, as of deadline last night, there was no firm bid and the NHL is becoming notorious in this bankruptcy case for making broad, read-my-lips statements that eventually don't quite play out as announced.

So Team Balsillie had exactly the right instincts when they turned up the heat on the court by announcing that he owns the team by Sept. 14 or he and his $212.5 million walk. That cuts the league off at the give-us-more-time pass.

Balsillie correctly smelled that the Jerry Reinsdorf bid was in trouble, if not dead. And last night, Reinsdorf pulled out of the running. And IceEdge? Unless they get real help, they're still a joke.

The NHL can blame the lack of true sales action on a guy 3,000 kilometres away if they want, but no one believes them. This team isn't worth any real money, except in moving vans.

If the Reinsdorf bid had been going swimmingly, and it's tough to swim in the desert, the NHL wouldn't need to do this. But they want control of their league back, and we can't blame them for that even if we don't like, in fact hate, their attitude toward Hamilton.

But, until they satisfy the sharp eye of Judge Redfield T. Baum , this league, or at least 1/30th of it, is not the NHL's. The court holds the gavel and will keep it until it's done all it can.

If Reinsdorf's bid was worth, by some accounting, $148 million with very little of it actual cash because of deals he was expecting to make with creditors and yet he still wasn't sure he'd win at auction, how much must the NHL bid to win back its team?

And whose money will it be? It's not so much a question of purchase price, but how much the team will lose over the next year or two. It will be at least $30 million this season, which is a million bucks per NHL owner, outside of the purchase cost.

Those losses could be carried by a capital gain if the team is eventually sold, but only if it's sold to move, and how does that look on the NHL?

Not that the NHL cares how things look at this point. How could they? Their pants have been pulled down in public and, well, their underwear wasn't all that clean. That's desperation, folks.

Here's a tip for owners in Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver (Toronto is another story, of course). Try to put a rein on the NHL's "character issue" stuff. It's starting to really backfire. The league has taken a huge hit in this country and the only Canadians who think Balsillie lacks character are the guys who voted against him.

While Balsillie's people said last night that they were surprised at the NHL's move, they can't be too worried, at least about last night's developments.

Among the herd of elephants in the room is this potent pachyderm: Balsillie has never actually said whether he's willing to go beyond his opening bid. He hasn't had to because, for now, that would be bidding against himself.

But we all suspect that if he's allowed to stay in the running after the Sept. 2 hearings, he'd go much higher.

And how high would the NHL be willing to go against him? Then we'd see who's really desperate.