FanHouse JimBalsillie

While the National Hockey League continues to fight for what they feel is right for the Phoenix Coyotes, it appears they have some friends in high places.

Commissioner Gary Bettman isn't going into this fight alone. Filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Monday included statements from the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.

Two years ago, the Washington Capitals were just another NHL franchise. In fact, they were a pretty poor one. They didn't draw well, they didn't win, and they weren't making money.

The situation was so bad that you could have conceivably thought their future in Washington was in peril. One coaching change and the development of a true superstar later, the thought of the Capitals moving is almost as stupid as thinking the Montreal Canadiens could head out of town.

So let's think twice before we assume that the Coyotes have to leave Phoenix to be successful, on ice and off of it. Though the team is drawing extra scrutiny because, unlike the Caps, they play in a warm-weather market, the proof is there that the climate and location aren't the issues here.

It has become quite clear that the NHL intends to keep the struggling Phoenix Coyotes where they are. Unless the bankruptcy court decides in favor of a bid from Blackberry founder Jim Balsillie, there is little chance the franchise will relocate.

This sentiment was made even stronger Friday, when league deputy commissioner Bill Daly spoke to The Canadian Press.

The Phoenix Coyotes are in limbo. With a hearing Thursday in front of a bankruptcy court judge looming, the NHL appears dead-set against allowing the agreed-to sale of the team to Jim Balsillie stand.

Commissioner Gary Bettman was in Arizona Tuesday, and the league will represent the team at the Thursday hearing. Word now is that the league is working with Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to put together a bid for the team.

The NHL has worked very hard to play up the good about this season. There has been plenty to get excited about: interest is up, and the playoffs have been wonderful so far.

However, there is a harsh reality looming in Arizona. While the league can claim health for 29 of its 30 franchises, there is one team that doesn't appear immune to the economic problems facing so many. The Phoenix Coyotes have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and it appears their future in Glendale is in serious doubt.

Earlier this week, I took another look at the transaction that allowed William "Boots" Del Baggio to acquire a minority stake in the Nashville Predators. The next step in unwinding Del Baggio's stake in the Predators will take place in a San Francisco court later today, as Del Baggio's creditors stake their claim to his remaining assets in order to settle his debts in a bankruptcy proceeding.

To recap, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, then owner of the Predators, loaned Del Baggio the money to purchase the minority stake in the team. AEG floated Del Baggio $7.3 million while Leipold loaned him $10 million.

Apparently, AEG and Leipold have already determined how to split $2.3 million from a Del Baggio bank account and believe that they should have first crack at Del Baggio's stake in the Predators, which is reportedly worth $35 million.

After hearing the news this week, you might be asking the same questions that I am. How is it that crooks and hooligans such as William "Boots" Del Biaggio and Henry Samueli are allowed into the exclusive NHL Owner's Club and a seemingly stand up guy (unless you're from Nashville/Pittsburgh) who actually has money thanks to Blackberry, Jim Balsillie, is not.

Yes, Balsillie tried to grab the Predators and run to Hamilton. Yes, he tried a similar escapade with the Penguins. Patience is obviously not something in his vocabulary. But when you look at what some NHL owners have done in recent days, you begin to wonder what in the world the selection process to become one entails. I imagine it's got a lot more to do with sweet talking NHL HQ and having the appearance of riches than what your management principles and moral values are.

Now don't get me wrong. There are a ton of great owners in the NHL (Charles Wang, Ted Leonsis, Mike Ilitch are just a few that come to mind). The majority are stand up guys and the two that have run into trouble are the small, small minority here. All I'm wondering is how, 12 years after John Spano managed to buy the Islanders with barely $2 million to his name and subsequently went to jail for fraud, that the NHL hasn't tightened it's approval process.

Say the NHL wanted to grant four expansion franchises around North America, and gave YOU the power to put a team in any city in which a team could feasibly be profitable. Where would you put these teams? Who deserves an NHL club?

Over at The Bleacher Report, writer Dhavel Patel picks four Canadian clubs out of his five selections, with Milwaukee, a city few regular NHL fans have ever considered, as a possible destination for an NHL club.

Ice Hockey is the biggest sport in this state and they do have the resources to support an NHL franchise, so why no NHL team. This is one of the strongest hockey states in the USA and Milwaukee is a metro area with close to 2 million people

I know little about the area, but don't the Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) and Milwaukee Brewers (MLB) both have attendance issues? Can the region really support yet another pro sports franchise team? Still, the idea that Milwaukee would be hockey-hungry is intriguing.

With recent numbers showing that the six Canadian teams are producing a large bulk of the NHL's revenue, there is no doubt in my mind that Canada can, and should, get at least one more franchise.

So, with that in mind, who would I select with my four choices?

It is no secret that many Canadian hockey fans would rather contract genital herpes than have another southern NHL club win the Stanley Cup.

After seeing the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques move to Phoenix and Denver, respectively, it's no small wonder why Canadians feel such a disdain for the US of A.

Well, one Nashville writer, David Climer, is sick and tired of Nashville, and fans of Southern US hockey clubs, being looked down upon.

That is one of the lessons we have learned in the tug-o-war over the Predators. Hockey is a far bigger deal in Canada than in the U.S. Consequently, many Canadians look down their noses at teams in the U.S. - especially those in non-traditional hockey markets like Nashville.

That attitude has led to considerable bombast in the Canadian media. Often, the Our Sport rhetoric is as thick as a Saskatchewan accent.

When Jim Balsillie made his first stab at buying the Predators, he was hailed as a hero in his homeland. Why? Because he was willing to use some of his fortune to transport an NHL team across international lines and station it in Hamilton, Ontario - sooner or later.

Yes, Balsillie was hailed, and still is, for trying to bring a team back North of the 49th parallel. It's nice to see some rich bastard actually make an effort to bring another club back to Canada, rather than just talk the talk.

The Predators? They have cheap ticket prices, a great team (or they did until now), and still draw around around 13,000 per night. You move that team to Hamilton or Winnipeg, and you'll be selling out quickly, even with jacked-up ticket prices.

Remember Christmas 1977, when young "Star Wars" fans were given empty boxes with characters on them because there weren't enough action figures produced in time for the holiday shopping blitz? Thirty years later, you can give the gift of nothing once again: The Canadian Press reports that Ticketmaster began taking deposits for "Hamilton Predators" season tickets on Thursday, despite the fact that billionaire Jim Balsillie hasn't even been approved by the NHL as the owner of the Nashville franchise and the fact that Gary Bettman staunchly claimed that the Predators weren't "going anywhere." (You can stop laughing now.) James Mirtle, who's doing a bang-up job on the NHL Awards tonight, posted a Predators ad from the Globe and Mail and explained the logistics of becoming a Hamilton season-ticket holder. Ben over on the frequently awesome Sens Army blog quickly sliced up that ticket ad with some Photoshop satire, and was nice enough to green-light its reprinting here on NHL FanHouse:



Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres offered a solid "no comment" on the potential Hamilton franchise, as the Associated Press points out that Hamilton is "located just outside a 50-mile radius that, under an NHL bylaw, is considered Buffalo's market."