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We can't deny it anymore -- NHL could return

By: Randy Turner

19/05/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 9

It's fast becoming apparent that Winnipeg might have to get over its denial when it comes to the possible return of the NHL.On Friday, as news spread out of the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy hearing that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated that if the team had to be relocated in Canada, the league would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton -- the reaction, as always, was cautionary.

First, we stressed that Bettman's "alleged" comments came in the form of an affidavit quoting a third party, Coyotes' lawyer Earl Scudder.

Second, we stressed that Bettman qualified the statement, that "if the Coyotes had to be relocated to Canada," the NHL would prefer Winnipeg over Hamilton.

Well, turns out there's no need to stress anymore. According to documents filed in court, the Globe and Mail reported Monday that Bettman e-mailed deputy commissioner Bill Daly on April 4, after talking to Scudder, and wrote: "I told (Scudder) that at some point, if we don't have an alternative, I will have to start looking at the moving (of the Coyotes) option."

When Scudder asked about Southern Ontario and Hamilton, Bettman said, "I responded that it's a league opportunity, the building (Copps Coliseum) is too old etc. and, frankly, if this team had to move it should first be offered to Winnipeg."

Note that Bettman did not qualify the latter statement with a "if we have to move to Canada." He said if the Coyotes had to be relocated, they should be offered to Winnipeg. Period.

It really makes you wonder what the folks at True North Sports and Entertainment aren't telling us. Do you think the NHL -- which has several (probably more than we know) financially troubled franchises other than Phoenix -- hasn't lined up a list of potential locations in a worst-case scenario?

Do you think Bettman or Daly haven't called Chipman or a True North representative, or even met with them, to say, "Hey, remember when you guys (Chipman and TNSE president and CEO Jim Ludlow) flew to New York 18 months ago to pitch Winnipeg as an NHL city to our board of governors? Just wondering, are you still interested? Do you have the financial wherewithal to afford an NHL team?"

Of course, Chipman's group probably doesn't have the $212.5 million Jim Balsillie has offered Jerry Moyes for the Coyotes. But they sure would have the $130 million the NHL has been offered for the Coyotes by Chicago White Sox/Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

And even Reinsdorf's lone bid is a suspicious "letter of intent," reported to be a possible front for a franchise in Las Vegas. So what are the Coyotes really worth, anyway, given that the NHL probably has a few more franchises it's trying to desperately unload under the radar?

Chipman has always stated that he never wanted to bid on a single NHL team. The only way it might work for Winnipeg, he said, was if there were as many as three or four teams available in a buyer's market. And, most of all, it had to be stealth.

So while it might be difficult for even the most optimistic observers, maybe events are occurring that have officially opened the NHL's door for Winnipeg's return. All behind-the-scenes, of course.

And why should anyone really be surprised? After all, we've been talking about that possibility in this space for over two years, since the fundamental economic restructuring of the league, the new collective bargaining agreement where the players and owners become partners (with salary caps linked to revenue) and since the emergence of Canadian-based teams as the league's financial backbone.

We've also talked about the inevitable collapse of teams in non-traditional markets, such as the Coyotes, and the impending effects of a debilitating recession in America on already struggling NHL teams.

But it was always in the hypothetical. Always "What if?"

And given the sensitivity to the subject, always in the context that Winnipeg, if offered a team, would have to prove it could afford the NHL's significant dues long-term.

So here's a question: "What if" it's actually happening? Now.

What if the realities which have been long predicted have confronted the NHL in a perfect storm, as to make Winnipeg -- and this is a seismic shift -- a preferred location for Bettman?

Because that's exactly what Bettman's email to Daly said: "If this team had to move it should first be offered to Winnipeg."

And that was in a private email from a commissioner to his deputy, not just grandstanding at some all-star game, giving Winnipeg a shout-out because Bettman knows it would play well in the sticks.

And how could it have ended with that single email? Hence, shouldn't Winnipeg have already been offered the Coyotes, tentative to the team's future in Phoenix?

Besides, by every indication that can be measured by economics or common sense, it looks like the Coyotes aren't long for Arizona. A judge in Phoenix is scheduled to rule today on whether Balsillie can move the team to Hamilton or whether the Coyotes had ceded ownership to the league, which has been paying the bills since November 2008.

It's important to remember that Bettman and the NHL, for some perverse reason, would rather the Coyotes stay in the desert. Whatever. How the Coyotes can survive now, after all of their financial dirty laundry is being aired in court, is frankly inconceivable.

But it's even more important that for the first time since the Winnipeg Jets left for Phoenix in 1996, the commissioner of the National Hockey League is on record saying this city should be first in line for an NHL team.

Winnipeg, you can't deny it anymore.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 19, 2009 C1

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9 Commentscomment icon

I can't help but wonder how much meaning is in the words "offered to Winnipeg." I have not heard a single word about this on TSN or seen it in "print" on any other websites outside of those with a Winnipeg flavour.

I am sick of all you people saying that Winnipeggers are too cheap to be able to support an NHL team.

The Jets left because we could not get any help from the NHL or the Goverments to build a new arena.

Using the Moose attendance as a comparison is ridiculous. NO AHL TEAM SELLS OUT EVERY GAME. The Moose have the best attendance record in the AHL.

I am 28 years old, and when I was 13/14 and the Jets were here, I would earn money to be able to pay the $100.00 ticket price and go with a few friends. I know at least 10 couples under 30 that would purchase season tickets if we were to get an NHL team back.

Just because YOU can't afford tickets, don't put all of us in one basket saying "Winnipeg" can't afford it. The support and yearning for another NHL team is here, and the true hockey fans will put their money where their mouth is.

BUYER BEWARE WHY WOULD ANYBODY WANT A 3RD RATE TEAM SUCH
AS THE COYOTES WHEN YOU HAVE A WINNING AHL TEAM THAT AVERAGES
9K ATTENDANCE AT THE BEST OF TIMES YOU NEED 20K.OUR CITY IS
A SOLID MINOR LEAUGE FRANCHISE THAT MAY JUST WIN THE CALDER
CUP WHICH REMINDS ME OF OUR JETS WHEN THEY WERE WINNING THE
AVCO CUP.

We said the same thing about Ikea for years; never, never, never. Look what is being built in 2011. The financial structure of the NHL has changed (it had to, or risk collapsing under its own weight, similar to the housing market in the US). This could be a reality sooner than we think.

Darren Ford (www.JetsOwner.com) has been saying it since 2003.

Nice to see you catch up, Randy. :^)

We moved to rurual MB from Winnipeg in 1992 and I remember exactly which country road I was driving on, when I heard on the radio the Jets were officially leaving Winnipeg. My heart sank and I have followed the NHL only very casually ever since.
I don't care how misguided our hopes might be to wish for the return of the NHL. All I know is that if the conversation completely stops, then the dream is dead...I still hang onto any thread of hope that the NHL would return to Winnipeg, not to put the city back on the map, I could care less about that, but to have a home team to watch, cheer for, and read about. That is my dream!

Love how the SUN website has over 60 comments and there's 1 here. I know it won't get posted, but don't you think it totally hinders the discussion when everbody's thoughts have to pass a certain criteria? There's a lot of discussion going on over there. IN MY OPINION, it suggests that more readers are spending time over there.

Believe me, I know there isn't a chance in hell of this post seeing the light of day, but you gotta wonder about the FP website. C'mon...you know what I'm talking about.

What if? What if we got an NHL team back and tickets weren't cheaper than $50 each? What if we didn't sell out the MTS Center every home game? What if the NHL salary cap kept going up and and up and up like it has every year since the lock out? What if???

Sorry Randy, even if a team magically turned up for the 2009/10 season, our frugal city/citizens would never be able to support it, and the owners in turn would never be able to suck up the millions in lost cash each year.

I loved the Jets, I was so passionate for that team. The Jets were my entire childhood/teen years. If they came back, I could barely afford the cheap season tickets. I wouldn't blow $50-150 per game. Forget it! Maybe for a playoff game, maybe.

Unless the salary cap permanently drops and ticket prices go way down, we'll NEVER have an NHL team again.

I have many mixed motions about this story, as I'm sure a lot of people do. NHL back in Winnipeg, great, but I'm really sick of listening to it, either get it done or let it die. Your story is interesting, but it's based on little fact and a lot of fill in the blanks.

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