Broke Yotes!!

[SPTO]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Wow, what a mess! I guess the first step for the NHL is to determine whether Moyes had the rights to file bankruptcy. If he did, then the NHL's next move is to make sure the bankruptcy court can't uphold Ballsillie's relocation clause. If both those things fall into place, the Yotes are coming to Canada.

The thing is, I'm sure the NHL wouldn't have had a problem if Moyes had done this with another "Boots" Del Biaggio type (basically a fraud) just to keep the team in PHX. For some reason Balsillie and Bettman hate each other's guts and it's very personal. The way I see it the NHL can't suddenly retroactively say "oh the owner couldn't do this blah blah blah" because then what's the point of operating a team if you can't do anything business related?

As for the relocation? If the NHL tries to block that then Balsillie has the option of filing a grievance under the anti-trust exemption laws. I don't think Bettman wants to get into a legal battle that brings up anti-trust because then previous dealings where Disney (original owners of Anaheim) had to pay money to Bruce McNall just to have the team play there! That seems a bit shady given how anti-trust works doesn't it?

Needless to say I don't see the NHL winning this one.

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Yup. It's going to be war of Rocky IV proportions.

What an odd choice of words considering my EASHL alter-ego is Ivan Drago.

[armi5718]

Oh my GOD! Ballsilie also tried to buy the Predators and move them to Hamilton. When he did that he sold tickets via ticketmaster for the "Hamilton Predators" and sold out almost the entire arena for that season! MOVE THE COYOTES! Why is Bettman trying to hold hockey in the desert when it belongs in Canada?

Seriously, Bettman is an AWFUL representative for the NHL. 2 lockouts under his supervision, numerous teams stolen from Canada and moved to the south. The game has changed COMPLETELY since he took control. Smaller ice, smaller goalie pads, different nets, that trapazoid bs. Hockey as governed by a basketball fan/lawyer. Garbage!

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by armi5718

Oh my GOD! Ballsilie also tried to buy the Predators and move them to Hamilton. When he did that he sold tickets via ticketmaster for the "Hamilton Predators" and sold out almost the entire arena for that season! MOVE THE COYOTES! Why is Bettman trying to hold hockey in the desert when it belongs in Canada? Seriously, Bettman is an AWFUL representative for the NHL. 2 lockouts under his supervision, numerous teams stolen from Canada and moved to the south. The game has changed COMPLETELY since he took control. Smaller ice, smaller goalie pads, different nets, that trapazoid bs. Hockey as governed by a basketball fan/lawyer. Garbage!

Bettman's whole job is to make the NHL profitable and appear as a great investment for other billionaires.
So when someone tries to relocate a struggling team it shines a light on the cracks within the armor and he freaks out.

This whole scenario is going to get insanely ugly.
Bettman swore up and down that the Coyotes were fine, they weren't losing that much money and the NHL wasn't assisting it financially any different than it does the other 29 clubs.

Suddenly the Coyotes owner goes behind the leagues back, declares Chapter 11 and works with a rival (Ballsillie) to purchase the club so he can move it.
It's a slap in the face to Bettman and the owners because it only shows what a bunch of liars they are. Bettman keeps trumpeting that the emperor is wearing fancy clothes when the whole world knows he's naked.
With the filing of Chapter 11 it proves he's lying and that the NHL isn't as strong as he wants it to be.

This is why Bettman and his lawyers will do everything in their power to keep the Coyotes in Arizona or at the very least make sure Ballsillie doesn't own them.

I think Bettman learned his lessen from the 90's when relocation was a common thing. The value of franchises went down and it made the league look foolish and weak.

That's why he's fought so hard of late to keep teams like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Tampa Bay stay where they are.

The truth is, there's too many teams. If there were only 20 the game would be better because every club would have a handful of stars instead of one a piece or none at all like Phoenix.

[tabulaRasa]

Hartford Coyotes?
Let´s see what happens, but isn´t this another : I am Bettman, I will stop you from moving the team - and end of story

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gary Bettman

"We fix the problems. We don't run out on cities. "This is not about whether we want a franchise in southern Ontario. This is not about whether Mr. Balsillie would make a suitable owner and one the league would approve.

This is taken from some fine coverage of the situation by James Mirtle over at www.fromtherink.com via Bettman's interview with CNBC. Cough, Winnipeg, Hartford, Quebec, cough...

[Fiddy]

lol side note, mirtle is a bum!!

but this can def get really ugly..

[Money99]

This is an interesting article about what might be going on behind the scenes:

http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/se...obeSports/home

I've read other articles that are insuinating that Ballsillie has quietly been swaying owners in his favor.

The one thing going for Ballsillie is that owners see $$$ first. So they'll see a very rich owner take over a poor team so they won't have to keep it floating. That alone should gain Ballsillie some allies.