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Judge Keeps Coyotes in Glendale For Now

US Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum (great name, sounds like something out of the Wizard of Oz) yesterday ruled against a proposal that would have seen the team sold to Jim Balsillie who wants to move it to Hamilton, Ont. The judge ruled against an auction date of June 22, and Balsillie placed a June 29 "drop dead" date on his offer. Round One goes to Bettman, sort of.

Why sort of? Judge Baum ruled the timing of Balsillie's offer untenable, but in doing so he noted that the NHL has already approved Balsillie as an owner, way back in 2006 when he was trying to buy the new Stanley Cup champion Penguins, implying that the league may be stuck with that approval should Balillsie's bid be the highest come time for the auction. Although he was approved as an owner, I should note that the sale did not go through as the league never approved his proposal to move the Pens to Hamiltion. Balsillie withdrew his offer when he was unable to resolve the relocation issue with the NHL. Round Two to Balsillie, sort of.

However, he also said that the NHL would be entitled to a relocation fee if the franchise was relocated to Hamilton, given that it was a considerably more valuable location than Phoenix. He did not say how much the fee would be, as he did not have to reach that conclusion yet. He strongly urges the parties to attempt to resolve everything through mediation but unless Bettman is prepared to concede a relocation to Hamilton and a fee somewhere south of $100 million, mediation will be fruitless. Still, Balsillie is not giving up.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on June 16, 2009 (boomark / email).