Lost in yesterday’s flurry of elbow-related news were a couple of tweets from TSN’s Darren Dreger regarding the future of the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale.
Dreger reports the NHL will be looking at Plan B if no progress is made to sell the league-owned franchise to local interests. He adds that two to three groups are still “in (the) mix” to keep the Coyotes playing at Jobing.com Arena.
As for what Plan B might entail, Dreger says Quebec City, Las Vegas, Seattle and Kansas City are relocation options.
Suffice to say time is running out before a decision has to be made, one way or the other. When the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg last year, the formal announcement was made May 31. Considering a deal with that many moving parts isn’t consummated overnight, well, you do the math.
There’s also reason to believe this deal could be more complicated. With the Thrashers, it was a fait accompli that Winnipeg would get them if they didn’t stay in Atlanta. With the Coyotes, a beauty contest (in the business sense, nothing to do with bikinis) might be required.