June 16, 2009

Judge blocks "unapproved" Coyotes move to Hamilton

So much for a knock-down, drag-out fight over the NHL and antitrust law: Phoenix bankruptcy court judge Judge Redfield Baum rejected BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie's $212 million bid for the Phoenix Coyotes, essentially on technical grounds, saying there wasn't enough time before Balsillie's June 29 deadline to evaluate if it was the best deal for creditors.

Baum did, though, appear to uphold the NHL's assertion that it has the right to control franchise movement (something current Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes claimed violates U.S. and Canadian antitrust law), writing in his opinion, "From the outside looking in, it appears that each of the leagues has not suffered or been materially damaged when one of its members made a quick and unapproved move as the then Baltimore Colts and San Diego Clippers did in 1984 and the Seattle Pilots did in 1970," and saying that for Moyes to try to use bankruptcy to break his contract with the NHL that the Coyotes will play in Phoenix would be "akin to a purchaser of a bankrupt franchise in a remote location asserting that it can be relocated far from its original agreed site to a highly valuable location, for example New York City’s Times Square."

Since an "unapproved" move is what Baum objected to, and the only people who've expressed any interest in buying the team and keeping it in place for the time being include three out-of-towners and a guy who won't even give his name, you have to wonder if this means an approved move could be in the cards. As Stephen Brunt writes in today's Globe and Mail:

There's a deal to be made — it's a buyer's market — though it's hard to imagine who would step forward to assume the long-term arena lease, and the inevitable, massive annual losses that would seem to entail.

All of which would suggest that one way or another, the NHL is going to have to work out a deal with someone: who will buy the team, pay lip service to the idea of making hockey work in Phoenix, and then relocate somewhere more palatable to the league's current interests.

Of course, it's also conceivable that Balsillie will file another lawsuit, or readjust his purchase offer, or try to buy the Toronto Maple Leafs so he can grant himself territorial rights to Hamilton. The guy brought down New York's state senate — anything is possible with him.