The NHL is maintaining that Coyotes’ majority owner Jerry Moyes was not in control of the team at the time that he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (the move which led to Jim Balsillie’s bid for purchase and relocation of the team), and thus that the filing is not valid (which makes you wonder why Moyes would proceed in the first place). I’m not a lawyer or anything, but that seems pretty black and white. If this document exists then the filing wasn’t legit, and the NHL will win on May 19th. You would think that the league would be happy or at least confident in knowing that they possessed such a valuable document; but that’s not the case. Instead, Bill Daly and Gary Bettman have mounted a full on campaign to villanize Jim Balsillie which seems to be geared towards turning the other 29 NHL owners against him. Why bother you ask? After all, if the filing wasn’t legit then the process will not even get to the owners vote on relocation.
On the other side we have Jim Balsillie who has continued progress toward prepping Hamilton for the arrival of the desert dogs. While the league has been scrambling like the Republican party of the Obama/McCain faceoff last fall, Balsillie has been working out agreements with the city of Hamilton for the permanent use of Copps Coliseum. Both parties seem to be working towards the same event, an event that occurs well after these bankruptcy proceedings – and that is the vote on relocation. Sounds like the league doesn’t have an ace up their sleeve after all. Don’t be surprised if, much like in the Obama/McCain election, Phoenix will lose.
As for the owners, perhaps the league is trying to cast a negative spotlight on Jim Balsillie as a way to confuse them from questioning their actions regarding Jerry Moyes. Bill Daly has been putting words into the mouths of the other 29 owners, stating that he doesn’t believe that they will take too kindly to the way Mr. Balsillie has gone about acquiring his hockey club. The truth of the matter is Balsillie made a bid, and with that bid he has stated that he is willing to pay a lot of money for the Coyotes franchise but only on the condition that the team be moved to a viable market. If this doesn’t fly with the league, then they don’t get his money plain and simple. This isn’t a charity venture it’s a business venture. There is no gun being held to the proverbial head of the National Hockey League.
It’s my feeling that the owners should be more concerned with the behaviour of the league in how they have dealt with both Balsillie and Moyes. The league apparently has the right to strip owners of their authority when they do something that the league doesn’t like. As an owner investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a team I would not feel secure in that role any longer. I would also not feel secure in a league that cries about enforcing the “rules” when they change the rules as it suits them. I would not want to do business with an organization that feels they can “insert clauses” as they see fit and blow smoke up the behinds of fans and owners alike.
I’m not sure why anyone would listen to Bettman’s radio show. You can’t trust anything coming out of the mouth of the league. After all, only a matter of weeks ago Bettman was in Phoenix claiming that everything was fine and that Jerry Moyes was controlling team! They seem to be lying to us worse than a politician desperate for votes. Trust no one. http://makeitseven.ca
