Late Game Hat Trick

The prospect of keeping the Coyotes in Arizona was on thin ice, but on Friday afternoon the NHL skated into position, and offered to the buy the team and operate it in Phoenix for one season.  The move comes on the heels of of the Coyotes’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May, which blindsided the NHL in terms of the both the filing, and also a proposed move to a colder climate – Canada.

Initially, the Chapter 11 plan proposed a sale of the franchise for $212.5 million to PSE Sports and Entertainment.  PSE wanted to move the team to Ontario, where it would eventually be owned by Toronto businessman Jim Balsillie, the Blackberry mogul.  That deal, however, appears to have been iced. According the WSJ, the NHL bodychecked those plans, and is prepared to buy the team and park it in Phoenix – at least for the next 10 months. 

Insiders doubt that the NHL will figure as the white knight in this tale.  Ultimately, if there’s a better price to be paid, the team may inevitably move to Canada. The NHL offer may only delay it by one season – at that point, it would need a buyer with a commitment to keep the team in Phoenix.  The league has already failed to persuade Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to buy the team out of bankruptcy.

The NHL seems desparate to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix depsite a habit of mismanagement and an owner that’s been eager to dump the team for years. The NHL may want to fix the problem, but perhaps in this case hockey is better off in the Great White North than in the desert.