Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange
The Never-Going-To-Happens?  |
I have no idea why the league and other owners (outside of Buffalo & MLSE) have been so steadfast in their opposition to Balsillie owning a team and moving it to southern Ontario. Does the league still hold the delusions that hockey is going to work long-term in some of the markets they've moved into?
The situation in Phoenix seems to be the closest Balsillie has gotten to becoming an owner, and it may still happen, there's just gigantic legal questions to be answered first. The one thing we can all assume is that the $212.5 Million offer from Balsillie is far above market value for the Coyotes franchise, and much more than what Chicago White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, was prepared to pay (Bettman was in Phoenix to approve the sale of the team to Reinsdorf before all this happened).
When current owner Jerry Moyes moved the team into Chapter 11, presumably after Balsillie approached him with his offer, he took the team and league into uncharted territory, AFAIK. The league appears to be arguing that Moyes had no right to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but now that it is done, can it be undone? If it can't then unless someone tops Balsillie's offer (which is an unlikely outcome), for the benefit of the teams creditors, doesn't his offer have to be accepted?
The problem is, does an bankruptcy court have the right to okay the offer given the condition that the team must move to southern Ontario? The question is especially complicated when you take into account that the Balsllie offer is presumably so much higher than market calue. Does the court force the move? Or do the accept a lower offer, which keeps the team in Phoenix, but doesn't satisfy the creditors?
It's going to be very interesting how this plays out. How much longer can the NHL say no to someone who has the money to own a franchise, and has an interest in the hockey product he'll be buying?