NHL heading to Winnipeg!!!
 

Coyotes sale to Reinsdorf dead, team headed to Winnipeg?

Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Coyotes-sale-to-Reinsdorf-dead-team-headed-to-Winnipeg-93042624.html


6/05/2010 10:35 PM | Winnipeg Free Press

The sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Chicago businessman Jerry Reinsdorf appears to be dead, and this increases chances the team might be moved to Winnipeg.

ESPN is reporting that the city of Glendale has returned to the previously shunned Ice Edge Holdings group in a desperate bid to keep the team in Phoenix.

ESPN said the Glendale City Council is expected to file documents Friday morning accepting a new lease proposal from Ice Edge and agreeing to work exclusively with the group moving forward, sources said.

Ice Edge CEO Anthony LeBlanc confirmed late Thursday night he has met with city of Glendale officials a number of times this week in the hopes of reaching an agreement on a new lease proposal, ESPN said, but "no decision has been reached by either side in regards to next steps if any," LeBlanc said.

The desperation move comes less than a month after backroom politicking led to the city council rejecting Ice Edge's proposal in favor of Reinsdorf's, owner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox, ESPN said. His group's proposal has now been abandoned. But the about-face by the city of Glendale does not ensure the team will remain in Phoenix.

ESPN says the city must guarantee a number of conditions with the NHL, including covering operating losses incurred next season, before the league will consider agreeing to sell the team to Ice Edge. One source said the league wants conditions met by the end of this week, although NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com that timeline is not accurate. It's believed Ice Edge was waiting for those conditions to be met before signing the agreement with the city.

If Glendale does not agree to the league's conditions, it is possible the NHL will instead move quickly to make a deal with True North and move the team to Winnipeg. Canadian billionaire David Thomson is one of its partners.

Sources tell ESPN.com there is a purchase agreement ready if the Glendale situation disintegrates.

ESPN said that when the city refused to accept the first lease proposal from Ice Edge, it was assumed the bid to buy the team was dead. However, about a week ago, city officials reached out to Ice Edge and told them the Reinsdorf deal was not going to move forward.

The bid by Chicago businessman Jerry Reinsdorf to buy the Phoenix Coyotes is dead and the city of Glendale has returned to the previously shunned Ice Edge Holdings group in a last-minute bid to keep the team in Phoenix, sources close to the deal told ESPN.

The Glendale City Council is expected to file documents Friday morning accepting a new lease proposal from Ice Edge and agreeing to work exclusively with the group moving forward, sources said.

The desperation move comes less than a month after backroom politicking led to the city council rejecting Ice Edge's proposal in favor of Reinsdorf's, owner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox. His group's proposal has now been abandoned. But the about-face by the city of Glendale does not ensure the team will remain in Phoenix.

Sources told ESPN.com the city must guarantee a number of conditions with the NHL, including covering operating losses incurred next season, before the league will consider agreeing to sell the team to Ice Edge. One source said the league wants conditions meant by the end of this week, although NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com that timeline is not accurate...

The situation in Glendale remains fluid; if the city does not agree to the league's conditions, it is possible the NHL will instead move quickly to finalize a purchase agreement with Canadian billionaire David Thomson and move the team to Winnipeg. Sources tell ESPN.com there is a purchase agreement ready if the Glendale situation disintegrates.

If the team moves to Winnipeg, the Ice Edge group would then move the existing AHL team, the Manitoba Moose, to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Although there have been questions about Ice Edge's ability to come up with funds for the purchase price, believed to be between $140 and $150 million, sources told ESPN.com funding is in place and will be secured as soon as the exclusivity documents were filed with the city of Glendale.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5169892

its over....the city of glendale cant legally cover the losses for next year.

the moose to thunder bay is interesting....will that be better for increasing the fan base than saskatoon would have been?....whats the population base around Tbay?....vid?

Let's keep our fingers crossed! I'm not sure if Thunder Bay is large enough to sustain AHL level hockey though. Maybe Saskatchewan.

just transfering this for safe keeping.


Quote:
Originally Posted by feepa
next tuesday? nothing is going to happen until after the playoffs if anything does happen, which it wont. not this off season, or next off season.

are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by trueviking
are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

you're on.

...here we go again...

I still think the AHL would rather the Moose move to Albany to fill the void left by the River Rats moving to Charlotte. But that just my opinion, you know, why put a team in an untested market when a familiar and safe market is open? Not sure if thats why were in the same predicament with Phoenix at the moment or not.

In light of new "unofficial" AHL development, I would like retract my above statement about the Moose moving to Albany making more sense than Thunder Bay. Seems they've found a team (Lowell Devils) to relocate and fill that void.

If Albany was such a safe market for AHL, they never would have lost their team in the first place.:rolleyes:

Gary Bettman has got to be having chest pains right about now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWR7PsyillA

^:haha:

Go Winnipeg! I can't wait until we add a new Canadian rival to the mix. Either Quebec or Winnipeg would be great, but both would be better! I will have tickets for their first appearance in town for sure. It would be good for the Sens too as we have so much trouble scrounging up interest for Tuesday games against Phoenix/Atlanta/insert crappy Southern team here. Another Canadian team will mean another likely sellout.

Seriously, this discussion again?

this will be the last time...then we can start a thread about how the jets are going to kick the flames asses....

first place in the smythe division next year!

they should get teemu back for one more year.

Wow, is this for real???

Yes, and it's more real now than ever. And as TV said, were gonna kick some serious Flames ass next year! :cheers:

TSN doesn't seem so sure about this.

Bolding mine. Someone knows something they're not telling. ESPN says the deal is 100% dead, TSN says Ice Edge is basically plan "B".

I believe the population metro TBay is about 125K, correct?

While I hope for more Canadian teams, I have a feeling this won't go through. I'm still hoping though. It would be sweet, delicious irony if the Phoenix Coyotes moved BACK to Winnipeg.

It'd be even sweeter watching the Jets kick the Oilers ass... they were the biggest thorn in the Jet's side. And now they are, by far, the worst team in the NHL. :tup:

other sources

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle1559735/

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey...rs-in-jeopardy

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puc...urn=nhl,239343