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Winnipeg pops up again in Coyotes discussion

NHL would consider moving team to Winnipeg but not Hamilton: affidavit

By: Tim Campbell

16/05/2009 4:05 PM | Comments: 21

WINNIPEG — It should be no great revelation when Winnipeg is mentioned in a discussion of the NHL's future.

The city was mentioned again in court documents filed Friday night in Phoenix in the case of the bankruptcy proceedings for the Coyotes and the NHL's challenge to that move.

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The Globe and Mail, in an item published on its website earlier today, quoted an affidavit from a lawyer working for Coyotes majority owner Jerry Moyes which attributed several comments to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Earl Scudder, Moyes' lawyer, said he had a conversation with Bettman in early April informing him of interest from a potential buyer from Canada, one who wanted to move the team to southern Ontario.

Scudder alleges Bettman told him the league wouldn't approve the Coyotes' move to Hamilton because of the age (nearing 30) of Copps Coliseum and that, "if the team did return to Canada, it would be to Winnipeg."

Scudder also alleged Bettman said a new team in southern Ontario would have to be an expansion club, the Globe and Mail reported.

The complicated case moves into the courtroom next week.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Free Press today that if Bettman made such a comment, it's not shocking.

"I don't think I would have been a party to that conversation specifically," Daly said in an email. "But there were conversations over time about what might happen if there were absolutely no other options in Phoenix.

"And, certainly, we have consistently maintained that we would be open to exploring the possibility of bringing NHL hockey back to Winnipeg."

Scudder's comments in the court filing also didn't surprise True North Sports and Entertainment chairman Mark Chipman.

"We don't know if he (Bettman) said it but if he did, it's not inconsistent with what he's said in the past and certainly that he's not opposed to going back to Canada," Chipman said today.

Chipman, whose company controls the NHL-suitable MTS Centre, said most of the news from the court case underscores the value of the southern Ontario market for the NHL and that the league wants to protect all its future interests there.

But Scudder's comment does not mean there is any plan to bring the Coyotes back to Winnipeg, Chipman said.

"I'd rather not comment any further on this because it opens a can of worms that leads to nowhere right now," Chipman said.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

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21 Commentscomment icon

the team and the dream is dead. lay it to rest. it's about time.

public taxes spent on supporting losing ventures such as "proffesional sports teams" should not bode well with anyone. at least, not as long as you want other, real problems in the city fixed.

jmho

I think it would be good for both the NHL and for Winnipeg if the NHL returned to this region. I live in Toronto but my father was born and raised in Winnipeg and I always enjoyed my visits there. An NHL franchise makes more sense in Winnipeg than in a desert community. I hope Hamilton gets another team as well, but, not the old Jets.

Give it a rest already. As cool as it sounds to have the"Jets" back, or any other team, they were proped up with millions of tax dollars the first time around. They have lost millions more in Phoenix and there is no reason that they will not lose more if they were moved anywhere else in North America. We may have a state of the art arena now, but the Moose have a problem drawing even 10 thousand to games, and sadly the top bowl is hardly ever used. What has the attendence numbers been for the A.H.L. playoff games here?? Maybe 7 thousand?? People may go to games for the first few months of a new N.H.L team, but once they did not want to pay big dollars for the support of overpaid hockey players, it would die real fast and the same crap will happen all over again. Asking for more concessions, sourced of revenue and dumping more tax dollars into a private bussiness. As much as I like H.H.L. hockey, "Sorry" not this time around.

KelvinAlum

Please do some research. A depressed economy, stagnant population growth, no building, a poor arena deal an spiralling salaries....that was why the team left. It had nothing to do with fan support. 13 million dollars was raised in a few days from fans trying to save their team. Now....top 3 economies in the country, a top rated facility(one of the 20 busiest in the world) above average population growth, a league salary cap and any new ownership group would include the Chipmans(the guy with that big building on Portage that is essentially printing money right now) You were probably one of those guys who hugged the Eatons building and tried to save the garbage filled parking lot the ballpark now sits on. It's called progress. Hop on the bus and enjoy or get run over.

No one really cares about the Moose - they will be forgotten the day after they leave.

Bring them back. What a story. We get back our old team. Disney could not have made a better story.

Pegger - world class entertainment??!!! Hockey is nothing but a bunch of grown men beating on each other while occasionally chasing the puck with their hockey sticks. It's disgusting. This city cannot afford to support an NHL franchise - that's why we lost the Jets in the first place.

sportsfan: You are right. The younger kids HAVE grown up knowing only the Moose. Having grown up supporting the WHA Jets with my dad taking me to the games and thereby becoming a life-long fan, I totally understand where you're coming from.
However , as I recall, during those WHA days the one wish was that ONE DAY we would be a part of the NHL. If Winnipeg were to by some miracle get NHL hockey back, I have no doubt that those same little Moose fans would more than willingly embrace it. After all, if they're willing to support minor league hockey surely they would eat up the best that hockey has to offer.
Having said that, I still will never trust a word that Lucifer er... I mean Gary Bettman, says.

I for one think that Winnipeg has a better chance of supporting an NHL team than economically depressed Hamilton. That being said, I agree with the comments that Bettman is only saying this to spite Balsille and derail his "make it seven" campaign. If Bettman had his way, he would "make it zero".

Commander, don't be so quick to toss out the Moose. Sure an NHL team in Winnipeg would be cool, but understand that every hockey fan in Winnipeg under 20 years old has grown up knowing only the Moose. These are the players they have watched live, these are the players they have idolized all their childhood. Road hockey games no longer ring with names of Hull, Hawerchuk or Selanne, but instead of Goren, Jaffray, Keane and Schneider. An NHL team would alienate another Winnipeg hockey generation.

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