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Report: Dallas Stars sale inching closer to completion

DallasStars

When the NHL Board of Governors gets together on June 21, we know that they’ll be voting on whether or not to approve the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers and their move to Winnipeg. While that’s likely to be the top thing on their agenda, they might have another team sale to vote on before it’s all said and done.

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News is reporting that the sale of the Dallas Stars to Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi may finally be completed and also up for approval at the Board of Governors meeting later this month. For the Stars, it’s a deal that’s long been waiting to be completed as former owner Tom Hicks is eager to get out of owning the team.

Should the sale be done that quickly, Campbell says it might have another effect that’s pleasing to Stars fans.

It’s believed the banks that are running the Stars and Gagliardi are deeply into negotiations that will see Gagliardi buy the team and half the lease to the American Airlines Arena in Dallas for about $160 million.

Having an owner in place for that board of governors meeting would be a boon to the Stars and would give them a chance, contrary to published reports, to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Brad Richards before July 1. Without an owner in place, there’s virtually no way Richards will stay in Dallas.


We’ve been discussing Brad Richards here a lot lately and for good reason as he’s set to be the most pursued free agent of the summer on July 1. A report came out yesterday saying that the Stars and Richards were going to part ways thanks to the ownership mess. That report led us to wonder about where he’ll land next year. Should this sale go through before the end of June, the chances that the Stars can retain his services re-enters the picture.

Of course, given all the talk that’s gone down today you have to wonder if perhaps the ownership mess isn’t the only reason why the Stars and Richards are parting ways. Either way, this drama might be far from over and if Gaglardi can complete his purchase of the team and get it approved later this month, the sweepstakes for Richards could hang in the balance.