As much as we admire every NHL fan base - especially one as resilient as the group that sticks by the Phoenix Coyotes - it’s getting tougher and tougher to believe that the league can fit this square peg in a round hole. Wednesday was another ugly day in the proceedings, as Nick Kypreos reported that the Coyotes would relocate to Winnipeg once their playoff drive concludes while league exec Bill Daly denied the rumors.
Thursday’s batch of news indicates that the league’s repeated measures to delay an inevitable decision might have run their course, forcing what some are calling “The Bettman ultimatum.”
On the brightest side (even optimism has traces of harsh reality in this case), the Phoenix Business Journal reports that there still remain some options to keep the Coyotes from relocating. Even if their front office staff told Gary Lawless that the team has a 50-50 chance of moving to Winnipeg, it’s not set in stone just yet.
There are two main options to pay off the $100 million in bonds that would help seal the $175 million deal with Matt Hulsizer, the chief issue that is holding up the sale.
- The NHL itself could buy some of the bonds to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix.
- Conversely, the City of Glendale could reach into its $400 million Enterprise Fund to help buy up the bonds themselves.
Of course, with each option, it comes down to the sides actually agreeing to fork over a big chunk of cash.
Would the 29 NHL owners be willing to pay off some of the bonds for another team? It seems far-fetched if they are unwilling to pay Wayne Gretzky the $8 million he was supposed to receive as the Coyotes’ fired head coach. (It’s tough to stomach stories about the league stiffing the most important player in its history a day after the NHL boasted its best business year ever with $2.9 billion in projected revenue, but whatever.)
The City of Glendale might be more likely to spend that money, although the city seems to have taken a few hits already, including covering the $25 million the league lost when it kept the team in Phoenix for another season.
I hate to ask this question, but is this all really worth it for a team that isn’t exactly selling tickets like hot cakes? At what point will everyone realize that Phoenix just isn’t that into the Coyotes? It never feels good to see fans lose their team, but reality must factor into the equation too.
Lawless discusses the possibility that Gary Bettman and the NHL will be forced to make a decision in the very near future in this Winnipeg Press column. In fact, Lawless claims that the league might be forced to make the call by the end of the Coyotes’ first round series or at least the Stanley Cup finals.
Bettman may reportedly use a transfer agreement with True North (the group looking to bring a team back to Winnipeg) as leverage, forcing Hulsizer and the City of Glendale to match a deal in a short window of time. Lawless points out that the Winnipeg group wouldn’t be out in the cold if the Coyotes do stay in Glendale/Phoenix, though, as the league would be forced to cough up a few million in compensation for True North’s “role and efforts” in leveraging Hulsizer and Glendale.
It’s important to note that most (if not all) of this information is based on speculation and anonymous sources, but the truth is undeniable: the countdown is absolutely on. We’ll keep you up to date as the Coyotes soap opera keeps spinning.
(H/T to Puck Daddy.)