Broke Yotes!!

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/637352

Interesting article on how similar this issue is when comparing it to the Blues being sold to a Saskatoon businessman in 1983.

And it makes you wonder.
What if the Coyotes actually had some good management?
They need to fire Wayne Gretzky immediately. He's not a good coach.

I'm not sold on Don Maloney yet but he could be good.

However, if I bought this team, I'd fire everyone and start from scratch.
Get a well known, well respected hockey person as president and then fill in the holes.
A GM like Yzerman would help as would a coach like Pat Quinn, who plays an uptempo game, could help rebuild this team.

The only issue I think the Coyotes can't remedy is the location of their arena.
From the articles I've read in the Arizona Republic it sounds like the Jobbing.com arena in Glendale cuts off a lot of good fans in Phoenix by a good 2-3 hour commute. That's not good.

But maybe if the Yotes can get this team turned around and make the product exciting, more interest could be created and get this ship turned around. Who knows?

But listening to what's transpired recently, it really does sound like the judge is going to allow this team to be relocated so the highest bid can be attained. Both the NHL and Ballsillie seem to like this. With the NHL taking control of the team, getting $300-$400 for this club would benefit the league and help them control who gets it better.

[tyler289]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I really hope Ballsillie gets the team, because it'll stick it to Bettman and his douchebaggery.

[SPTO]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Ah Wild Bill Hunter...Someone should mention this comparison to McCown. BTW I listened to that Balsillie interview last night. The guy sounded damn near orgasmic over what happened the other day! Other then that it was a rather ho-hum PR interview other then the fact that Balsillie is willing to let the courts settle the whole issue.

[Donovan]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Wild Bill Hunter was the biggest reason the Oilers came to Edmonton in the WHA days, if it wasn't for him there would be no team. He also was NHL board of governors approval away from bringing the struggling financially St. Louis Blues to Saskatchewan in the late 70s, he had a rink ready to be built and the team would have played in Saskatoon in the middle of the province.

The guy was a dreamer, but he got it done. Hall of Famer in the builders category.

[mgoblue]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I really hope Ballsillie gets the team, because it'll stick it to Bettman and his douchebaggery.

I'm the opposite, because I don't want to reward Balsillie's "Veruca Salt" attitude. He doesn't want a NHL team, he only wants a team if he can do everything exactly how he wants. I don't like rewarding that "rich kid" mentality of getting everything how and when you want it.

[SPTO]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

I'm the opposite, because I don't want to reward Balsillie's "Veruca Salt" attitude. He doesn't want a NHL team, he only wants a team if he can do everything exactly how he wants. I don't like rewarding that "rich kid" mentality of getting everything how and when you want it.

Unfortunately I think Bettman created this monster. Balsillie was going to buy the Penguins. In fact, the deal had already been made but then just a couple days later Bettman added clauses to the agreement that Balsillie wouldn't agree to. IIRC it wasn't a slam dunk that the Pens would move under Balsillie's ownership but if the situation got bad enough he would've indeed moved the team. Balsillie's bid was tied into one of the two casino operations that was going to be tied into the Pens. Anyways, Bettman added clauses and such and that's where their personal animus comes from.

It isn't right but I can see why Balsillie is acting this way.

[Donovan]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Balsillie seems pompous yes, and he clearly likes marching to the beat of his own drum, but can you really blame him for going this route when he's been snubbed several seperate times before? He's escalated his attempt to buy a team every time, Pittsburgh was legit, Nashville he made the mistake of taking season tickets in Hamilton to show the league the fan support he would get. And now he's done this, but he cleary does want an NHL team or he wouldn't bother spending millions in lawyers and personnel to get this done, or invest so much of his own time.

If he gets rejected he'll have ample opportunities to do this again with other teams (he's said if it fails he will try buying another team) since half a dozen franchises are in or will be in financial peril. He could be a thorn in the NHLs side for the next decade, popping up every year or two.

Good on him.

[mgoblue]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Unfortunately I think Bettman created this monster. Balsillie was going to buy the Penguins. In fact, the deal had already been made but then just a couple days later Bettman added clauses to the agreement that Balsillie wouldn't agree to. IIRC it wasn't a slam dunk that the Pens would move under Balsillie's ownership but if the situation got bad enough he would've indeed moved the team. Balsillie's bid was tied into one of the two casino operations that was going to be tied into the Pens. Anyways, Bettman added clauses and such and that's where their personal animus comes from.

It isn't right but I can see why Balsillie is acting this way.

Balsillie seems pompous yes, and he clearly likes marching to the beat of his own drum, but can you really blame him for going this route when he's been snubbed several seperate times before? He's escalated his attempt to buy a team every time, Pittsburgh was legit, Nashville he made the mistake of taking season tickets in Hamilton to show the league the fan support he would get. And now he's done this, but he cleary does want an NHL team or he wouldn't bother spending millions in lawyers and personnel to get this done, or invest so much of his own time.

If he gets rejected he'll have ample opportunities to do this again with other teams (he's said if it fails he will try buying another team) since half a dozen franchises are in or will be in financial peril. He could be a thorn in the NHLs side for the next decade, popping up every year or two.

Good on him.

I'm starting to blame both of them (Bettman and Balsillie)...Bettman surely is far from perfect, but it can't sit well with me when it looks like Balsillie's just trying to move any damn team he can. You know he won't leave a team there, with Pittsburgh you knew he was gonna move them no matter what...and Pittsburgh is a team with a real fan base...I dunno, just can't get behind him, even if he has the right intentions. The ends don't justify the means.

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

XMHome Ice reported this morning that there might be an agreement in place between Moyes and the NHL as to 'who own da Coyotes'.

That's interesting news. I wonder what this means as far as relocation or the NHL buying the team instead of Ballsillie.

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

From the Hockey News:

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/26390-Campbells-Cuts-Bye-bye-Balsillie.html

As it turns out, the mediation process between the NHL and the Phoenix Coyotes is not taking the conventional form of mediation and that’s probably not very good news for prospective owner Jim Balsillie.

Last week, Judge Redfield Baum ordered mediation talks between the NHL and Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes and is awaiting a progress update on Wednesday. Normally, mediation involves the two sides sitting down with a third-party mediator in order to find some common ground and discuss what can be done to come to a solution.

But the two sides have decided to bypass having a mediator and are having discussions themselves. That is a significant development because, if both sides had agreed on a mediator, he would have had the power to include Balsillie in the mediation talks. With both sides doing it themselves, Balsillie has effectively been frozen out of the proceedings.

“(There is) no mediation, per se,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email to THN.com. “The parties are working together to present a plan on how the club will be operated pending a sale. There may or may not be several open items we’ll need to seek the court’s guidance on.”

One expert contends it’s quite likely the NHL made it worth Moyes’ trouble to not have Balsillie involved, which means there’s a good chance the league has already made some major concessions to Moyes. That could lead to a scenario where the league might still control the franchise, with Moyes having some say, but not the right to put the team into Chapter 11 bankruptcy once again.

Which might effectively kill Balsillie’s third attempt to buy an NHL team and move it to Hamilton.

[SPTO]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Oh man.....

Balsillie is not going to like this AT ALL.

I dunno, isn't this kind of circumventing the judge's order though?

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Oh man.....

Balsillie is not going to like this AT ALL.

I dunno, isn't this kind of circumventing the judge's order though?

Yeah, I think Ballsillie is sweating right now.
I'm sure the NHL is going to give Moyes a flat sum to walk away and give control to the NHL. I'm not sure how legal that is, but I'm not a lawyer so I'll continue to spread unfounded rumors.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow what these private meetings have resolved.

[Bolts_26]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Hey guys, I have not really been able to follow this situation as of late.

So if Ballsillie get's the team, is he moving it?

[Money99]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Hey guys, I have not really been able to follow this situation as of late.

So if Ballsillie get's the team, is he moving it?

Yes he is.
He has it written in the purchase agreement that he will only buy the Coyotes if he can move them to Hamilton.
And he set up a website called www.makeitseven.ca (as in 7 Canadian teams in the NHL).

Not only that, but he put forth paperwork to the bankruptcy court that his offer will be withdrawn by the end of June if the sale doesn't go through.

So because of that, this has happened:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/641276

Reacting to the real possibility that billionaire Jim Balsillie might withdraw his $212.5 million offer for the Phoenix Coyotes, bankruptcy court judge Redfield Baum acted today to speed up court hearings.

The judge ordered all parties to file their legal arguments on relocation by June 5 with a hearing set for June 9 – 13 days sooner than the June 22 date he'd previously set.

According to TSN, Billy Daly has said they will appeal any decision that has the Yotes relocating.
I know I shouldn't read too much into anything, but to me that sounds like they believe there's a good chance they'll lose this battle with Ballsillie.

But at least we'll know by mid June whether or not the Yotes will be moved.

This will also set a precedent of whether or not the courts can decide if professional sports teams can be relocated without the need for league approval.

Moving forward, if the judge allows relocation and the NHL appeals, what happens next? Is Ballsillie allowed to go forward running the team, in Hamilton, while the NHL tries to stop it in appeals? Because if that's the case, I'm sure Ballsillie will use his infinite wealth to stall things in court forcing the NHL to make up the schedule with Hamilton being one of the 30 teams.

[Bolts_26]

Re: Broke Yotes!!

Wow man!

Thanks for all the info!

It seems like this could become a great move, yet I'm not too sure about it.

I know that the Yotes are loosing money and need to sell, but there is still some pluses to having the team in Phoenix.

Also, It may be hard to set up a new franchise and get a fan base considering that, throughout the six Canadian teams, most Canadians have a team that they are loyal too.

Hopefully this will work out for the best but it will be interesting to follow this situation.