Coyotes fate in hands of judge

ORLANDO, FL – And now we wait. Following two days of posturing, finger pointing and sometimes contentious arguing, the fate of the Phoenix Coyotes is now in the hands of  Judge Redfield T. Baum who will now decide whether the NHL or Jim Balsillie will take over the team – or maybe neither one. Baum told the parties that he would take a week or longer to issue a ruling that would be “easily understood in another court” as both sides have said they would appeal should the decision not go their way. Both Balsillie and the NHL were able to amend their bids. Balsillie, who dropped his self-imposed September 21 deadline for buying the franchise, amended his $242.5 million offer to guarantee that the city of Glendale will receive $50 million in return for releasing the team from its 30-year lease with the city to play at the Jobing.com Arena. His offer to purchase the team stands at $192 million. The NHL offer is now valued at $155 million with the addition of the forgiving of $15 million in money that current owner Jerry Moyes owes to the league out of a total of $30 million in debt. The league bid for the team is $140 million, a figure they expect to recoup by reselling the team outside of the bankruptcy process. “All I was looking for was a level playing field, a chance to really have a fair shot at buying a team,” Balsillie said following the hearing. “I think we got it here today and I couldn’t be more appreciative of this opportunity.” Balsillie’s new offer will be discussed by the Glendale City Council at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday night according to city attorney William Baldiga. He did reiterate the city’s “enthusiastic” support of the NHL offer. There is also a chance that Baum could rule that neither side will be named winner of the auction. If that happens, the NHL said it would petition to operate the team – it already is providing financing to continue operations right now – while a search for a new owner is undertaken. “I know the judge is taking these matters seriously,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We’re obviously hopeful and optimistic that he (Baum) comes to the result that we’ve been urging since day one which would be a vindication of the league’s rules and procedures.” Friday’s court session was expected to be filled with fireworks as Balsillie and Bettman were expected to be called to the witness stand to answer questions. However, the league and city attorneys chose to waive questioning Balsillie. In return, the lawyers agreed not to challenge Bettman with questions about the league’s 26-0 vote to deny Balsillie entrance into the pantheon of NHL owners. Bettman was asked directly about the timing of the league’s bid on the Coyotes. Moyes’ attorney Tom Salerno was interested in why Bettman did not bring up the bid during an August 20 deposition for the hearings. Bettman answered that on June 24, he and the NHL Board of Governors explored making a bid as an option but the decision to actually ask for approval and make a bid came on August 24th, one day before the league announced its offer. Jeff Kessler, the attorney for Balsillie’s PSE group, attempted to establish that the NHL knew as early as July 29th (the day of the 26-0 owners’ vote) that it was going to throw its hat into the ring in an attempt to “block another bidder”. Bettman responded by saying that he contacted the league’s executive committee 48 hours before the bid and did not disclose the potential “last resort” option for fear of scaring off bids by a group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf and by Ice Edge Holdings. He also added that Reinsdorf and Ice Edge have expressed interest in talking to the league about buying the Coyotes later on should the NHL win the auction. Earlier in the day, Kessler and NHL attorney Tony Clark sparred over Balsillie’s image and his manner of doing things. “If Mr. Balsillie wants to understand why he has been rebuffed in his sincere and indisputably passionate desire to be a team owner, what he needs to do is he needs to look in the mirror. He brought this about on himself by his refusal to abide by the rules,” Clark said. “To own a team you need to be wealthy and love hockey. Mr. Balsillie has that in spades but you also have to play by the rules and Mr. Balsillie hasn’t.” The exchange prompted Baum to warn both sides to not make their arguments personal. Baum also heard from Steven Abramowitz, the attorney for SOF Investments – the lead secured creditor of the Coyotes – as well as Paul Sala, the creditors’ committee attorney. Both said that while they were happy that both offers would satisfy their clients, they preferred the NHL’s bid over Balsillie’s. The auction comes just as the NHL is opening training camps – including the Coyotes – with preseason games starting within the next few days. For Bettman, the camps couldn’t have come at a better time. “In some respects, it’s hard for me to believe it’s September because I’m not sure where the summer went,” he said. Maybe we can start paying a little bit of attention to what goes on on the ice.” That may be so but with the decision in the hands of Baum, Bettman’s emerald city might not be on solid ice. For daily updates, fans can go to www.tsn.ca . PHN will also stay on top of the story and provide updates when news becomes available. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com