From TSN’s Bob McKenzie:
The first thing you need to know is that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in Phoenix today, ostensibly to put the finishing touches on an intent to purchase agreement from Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, whose intention was to apparently keep the financially-troubled Coyotes in their current home of Glendale, which is also home to Reinsdorf’s spring-training baseball facility (a mile away from the Coyotes’ Jobing.com Arena). That offer was expected to materialize within the next few days.
We don’t know a lot about the Reinsdorf deal but suffice to say it likely wasn’t in the $212.5 million range.
In any case, today’s events clearly caught everyone, from the Coyotes’ staff to the NHL head office, completely off guard.
Read the entire story here.
This situation continues to get more messed up by the hour. Ostensibly, it is Balsillie’s lawyers versus the NHL lawyers and both sides think they have a very valid case.
In terms of Reinsdorf, I am surprised he’d purchase this team, even if it is a sweetheart deal and is close by the White Sox spring training complex. This team has proven to be a black hole and even if Reinsdorf is extremely wealthy, which he is, nobody likes losing money.
I’m sure this situation will continue to change throughout the day, so we will do our best to keep you abreast of the situation.
