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Summer could be chilly for NHL

Plenty of bad news looks ready to emerge

By: Randy Turner

4/06/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 9

To suggest that events in the NHL are getting a little bizarre these days screams out for perspective.

It's like saying, "You know, that Ozzy Osbourne is getting a little difficult to understand lately." Or, "Gee, that wacky North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is sure unpredictable recently."

The common response to both aforementioned queries would be: "Lately?!" and "Recently?!"

To speak of the goings-on in the NHL requires the same qualifiers. After all, we've seen NHL commissioner Gary Bettman soft-shoe through his league addresses before, shrugging off any notions of impending doom that forever lurk, real or imagined, on the NHL horizon.

Still, the underlying dysfunction and uncertainty seem to be reaching a critical mass -- more so than your average run-of-the-mill crises -- with each passing day.

First, the Coyotes were fine. Then the team declared bankruptcy and the "alleged" owner Jerry Moyes grabbed a US$212-million life preserver from carpetbagger Jim Balsillie. Then court documents exposed the staggering depth of the Coyotes' losses, which according to Moyes totalled $316 million. Ohmygod.

These are the kind of losses, one presumes, that would make even a GM executive mutter, "Wow, that's some lousy management."

Regardless, the question remains: Is the plight of the Coyotes, which has understandably been a black hole for coverage out of the Toronto media, only masking potential financial firestorms elsewhere?

Just this week, for example, came reports out of Miami that the Panthers were in the process of being sold for an estimated $240 million to a curious outfit called Sports Properties Acquisitions, a publicly held company based in New York, commissioned to purchase sports teams. Apparently, the deal involves parcels of land for development and the otherwise lucrative BankAtlantic Center.

The actual Panthers, on paper, probably aren't any more valuable than the thousands of foreclosed homes in Florida. The GM, Jacques Martin, just bolted for the head-coaching job in Montreal and there's almost zero chance of signing free agent defenceman Jay Bouwmeester.

However, the prospective new owners have vowed to keep the team in Miami. Goody for them. Just like Bettman supposedly has possible owners on the line to buy the Coyotes and keep them in Phoenix.

Except that one of those interested parties was, ta-dah, Sports Properties Acquisitions -- at least, before they surfaced in Florida.

In Tampa Bay, the word on the street is the Lightning are desperate to unload Vinny Lecavalier, who is due to make $10 million this season. They're slashing ticket prices.

And there's already speculation that the Lightning's new ownership group might not make it to October. Other than that, everything's just hunky-dory.

In Ohio, the Columbus Blue Jackets, held up as an ideal expansion location since the team began playing in 2000, are now pleading poverty and claiming to have lost more than $80 million in the last five years. The Blue Jackets' owners want local governments to buy the arena using a tax on beer, wine and liquor. Why? So they can get a cheaper lease. We're sure that will go over well in a recession.

Politician: "Hey, everybody, now that we've spent billions on bailing out banks and automakers, we're going to raise the price of beer so we can keep a hockey team owned by multimillionaires." Taxpayer: "Grab the pitchfork, Mabel."

Of course, the Blue Jackets' owners don't want to talk about possible alternatives if the team doesn't get concessions from the city or state, such as relocating the team. That would be gauche.

Meanwhile, reports came out of Atlanta last month concerning the possible sale of the Thrashers to a group led by Vancouver developer Tom Gaglardi after the current ownership admitted to hiring an agency to "explore inquiries" from possible investors.

Everyone denies any teams will be moved. They'll tell you (insert team's name here) will survive. The future is bright.

Perhaps. But wasn't that what Bettman, et al. were saying about the Coyotes a few months ago?

Indeed, you get the sense that once the last two remaining battles are over later this month -- Detroit vs. Pittsburgh and Bettman vs. Balsillie -- there's going to be some major news coming out of NHL headquarters.

And we haven't even mentioned the situation in Nashville, which has grown eerily silent, or owner Tom Hicks's missing debt payments in Dallas, or Charles Wang threatening to move the Islanders to Kansas City.

One of these days, it's going to blow. Just like the day the Coyotes stunned the NHL by declaring bankruptcy.

Yes, it's getting a little bizarre out there. And it promises to be a busy summer, indeed.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 4, 2009 C1

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9 Commentscomment icon

If... and that is a big if, if Winnipeg was to get an NHL team, I would rather wait for a bunch of the present teams to fold, and or the NHL to restructure itself, and then maybe we could have a pick of what WE want, as opposed to WHAT we get.I really don't want the Coyotes back here. I would much prefer some other team as we all have to move on in some point in time.

Having said that, I still wonder about the price of those tickets and if Winnipeggers would be able to keep any team going for a long period of time. Our city would have to grow by leaps and bounds, and be more economically viable than it is now.

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating. During the 1930s, the NHL had 10 teams including the New York Americans and the Montreal Maroons, who won the Stanley Cup in both 1926 and 1935. However, the combination of the Gt. Depression and World War 2 caused 4 of those teams to disband by the early 1940s. Although there may not be any major war now, economic conditions certainly aren't good, especially for losing teams in non-traditional hockey markets. So just as big corporations like GM and Chrysler are restructuring and downsizing, the NHL should be considering the same, and never mind looking around for new markets where hockey is no more welcome than in Phoenix or Miami. And even well-established areas like Milwaukee and Cleveland, who've had the AHL for years and have large enough populations, know too much about the game and the NHL to get conned into overpaying for a franchise.

JesusofSuburbia: Even if all the non-traditional and sunbelt NHL markets fold, heh, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa still have NHL hockey and we don't. Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa still get to enjoy seeing Crosby & Ovechkin and teams like the Red Wings, Penguins, and Rangers, and Winnipeg misses out. Winnipeg still is forced to settle for "2nd best".

And I don't hear people in Calgary, Edmonton, or Ottawa whining about the NHL TICKET PRICES either, but that's another rant for another day.

When the Jets left for Phoenix there were several factors that needed to change in order for any hope of them returning.
We needed a new arena and they needed a salary-cap/revenue-sharing agreement - Done.
Add in a stronger Canadian dollar and the leagues failure to secure a lucrative U.S television contract thus making it a gate driven league - Done.
The only thing left is waiting for the inevitable collapse of out of place franchises which is what we are seeing now.
Of course I'm not expecting the return of the NHL to Winnipeg in the immediate future but it's certainly a lot closer than it was when the Jets left. (Okay, so we're at the moon but we're reaching for Mars - It's still closer)!
Having said that, I do find myself in agreement with holtom2000 in that I'd settle for just folding some teams and having a stronger but smaller league.
It would be much easier to accept Winnipeg NOT having a team if those franchises were no longer around. Their existance is a never-ending kick in the groin to more deserving Canadian cities.

Which of these teams will relocate to Winnipeg?

My money's on Atlanta, Nashville, or Tampa Bay. I wouldn't be surprised to see any of these pick up and move or file for bankruptcy tomorrow.

holtom2000,

I do agree with you, those teams need to go but there are no "talentless plugs" in the NHL. It would put even more talent into the AHL though.

i guess my post doesn't warrant being printed,is it because it maybe made sense,it's not just the nhl owners and bettman running the ship,the players association have a large piece of the pie and a lot at stake by downsizing

love the sarcasm about Columbus. ha!

Instead of relocating all these teams, how about they just go away, and we'll be left with real hockey teams in real hockey markets. An added bonus? We can get rid of some of the talentless plugs currently making up the fourth line on a lot of NHL teams.

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