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New Jersey Devils claim that bankruptcy report is inaccurate

New Jersey Devils Re-Sign Ilya Kovalchuk

Ilya Kovalchuk of the New Jersey Devils poses for photographs during a media opportunity announcing his contract renewal at the Prudential Center on July 20, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey.

Bruce Bennett

Earlier today, The New York Post released an exclusive article that claimed the New Jersey Devils could be headed for bankruptcy after failing to pay back a loan on Sept. 1. The story illustrated what might be a significant issue for the franchise, especially since the Prudential Center could be prone to losses if the NBA’s lockout robs them of New Jersey Nets games.

The Devils’ brass didn’t respond to interview requests from the Post, but they did release a statement about the matter today. The team reiterated their statements that their ownership situation should be resolved. The plan is that co-owner Jeff Vanderbeek will buy out Brick City LLC (both parties currently own 47 percent of the shares) and then the franchise will be able to complete a refinancing process.

Here is the team’s statement that refutes the article, via Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice.

“Today’s New York Post story is inaccurate. The notions that the Devils are facing bankruptcy or that “the Devils have told their banks to get lost” are patently untrue. The Devils value their relationship with their banks and are confident a refinancing will be completed shortly. As stated previously, ownership is close to finalizing an agreement that would lead to a buyout of Brick City’s share of the company. The organization is also pleased to report that new season ticket sales are up 130% over last year and last week’s on-sale for single game tickets were 260% above last year’s similar period. Finally, the start of training camp was incorrectly reported in the article as tomorrow. In fact, training camp starts on Friday for the rookies and Saturday for the veterans.”

Hopefully it’s true that the Devils aren’t in as dire a situation as the Post reports. The NHL has enough problems on its hands with teams such as the New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets struggling. The last thing it needs is to hear rumors fly around about a team that won three Stanley Cups since the mid-90s.

It might be a while before there are any other significant developments in this story, but we’ll keep an eye on the situation either way.