The Winnipeg Skyline Courtesy City of Winnipeg

It is very curious that on the very same day the NHL bids on the Coyotes that Reinsdorf backs out of the same.

And on the very same day that Reinsdorf via the NHL was to provide Moyes a binding letter of intent to purchase the team from him, that Moyes beats them both to it and pushed the team into bankruptcy court in the first place.

It seems to me that the Moyes-NHL-Reinsdorf connection are alot closer linked than whatever the media has dug up so far.

Have we all been OFFside in thinking that these groups have been rivals reaching for the Coyotes?

If not, then leaks are commonplace between the parties but kept from the media and hockey fans alike.

Yesterday’s news confirmed many suspicions on how this auction is to conclude. Should the NHL's bid be more than Balsillie's then it makes it easy for the court to rule in the NHL's favour as no remaining roadblocks threaten to hold up that cash going to the creditors in short order. If the NHL bid is less than Jim Balsillie’s then the NHL has put the court into a very difficult decision. And you can bet that the court will take that into account when making a ruling.

This scenario would show to the world that the NHL itself values one of its 30 member clubs less than the free market system does. Not exactly a great position to be found in for the NHL. Since we have not heard a triumphant bid price from the NHL, we can assume that they "lowballed" the court with their bid.

Say the NHL ends up with the team, somehow. Clearly, the City of Glendale won't budge on substantial bailout of losses. Nor should they. This negative response was reportedly what led to Reinsdorf's bid being pulled. So who is going to buy and keep the team there? Even if the team was sold to them for $1? After all the free publicity that this story has generated, any interested owner would have come out of the woodwork by now. Even the NHL was trying to prod ownership bids to come forward during this process and clearly by their silence they failed to ride to the NHL's rescue. Gary Bettman's email shows how true it was and still is: that it will be hard to find an owner excited to buy a team that loses $40 million a year.

Based on assumption that the NHL gets the team and this lack of forthcoming owner to hold the team in Arizona, the team will play this season schedule (lame duck as it is and has been now for several months) and then it will move next spring.

And if you believe Gary Bettman's April 4th email, as negative as it was for the NHL's own face-saving, then you have to conclude that Winnipeg leads consideration as Plan B.

No doubt there will be other cities involved should relocation be considered by the NHL. Winnipeg and Houston are neck and neck for the lead, followed by Portland then Quebec and Seattle. Here is a summary of the NHL's options for quick relocation and how they stack up against each other!

http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/facts_figures/Market%20Analysis%20Quickest%20Reloc.pdf

For a city by city discussion, in no particular order:

1) KC's beautiful rink has no main tenant. So you can imagine how happy the Isles and other Board of Governors will be to lose their leverage for a new rink should their relocation option house the Coyotes. That would be a very interesting board meeting to say the least. Also, other than Boots, who still holds exclusive right to bring an NHL team to KC, just who has the cash and NHL's favour to become an owner for KC? There hasn't been a single mention in any media outlet of a would-be KC owner since Boots was disgraced. AEG controls many of the revenue streams as rink manager that normally would go to a hockey team. But an even bigger question is the fanbase and its’ motivation to spend NHL type dollars on tickets in a city, very overcrowded with sporting options already.

(See the full analysis on KC here: http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=330 )

2) If the NHL can motivate Les Alexander in Houston, then this team probably moves there in a heartbeat. There is also real chance that expansion has already been pegged for this Texas town like Hamilton and/or Southern Ontario. But ownership is a huge question. Les has the money but hasn't been heard from since the mid 90's when he tried to move the Oilers. Even Mario couldn't really use Houston as bait while trying to get a new rink deal done in Pittsburgh. The beautiful rink is ready in Houston, the rivalry with Dallas is sure to help both franchises and the move wouldn't even trigger divisional realignment much less cross conference realignment. And you could argue that the US TV footprint remains roughly the same moving the Coyotes from Phoenix to Houston. It’s very hard to argue with that package, assuming the owner is still interested in the NHL.

(See the full analysis on Houston here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=329 )

3) Seattle offers a quick relocation but no ownership is present. The rink needs a lot of upgrades which was the main reason the Supersonics play in Oklahoma now. So it is a fit but better options are available for the NHL.

(See the full analysis on Seattle here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=333 )

4) Hartford is very much in the same situation as Seattle, with a much older rink. Much better options for quick relocation can be found.

(See the full analysis on Hartford here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=328 )

5) Quebec City even with an aged rink is probably ahead of both Seattle and Hartford due to the fact that recent rumblings of ownership potential have went public. But the current rink has few suites than either of those cities. Of course the rabid fans of Les Nordiques offers a risky yet attractive option to the NHL. Much more sound of an option with a new rink.

(See the full analysis on Quebec City here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=332 )

6) Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has chased the Coyotes before to relocate to Portland and then later he chased the Penguins to do likewise. He owns the Trailblazers and a nice rink called the Rose Garden. But he may turn up his nose to the NHL now, since being snubbed by the NHL twice before in just that last 8 years. Seems like the NHL past by its’ own opportunity here when it had the chance.

(See the full analysis on Portland here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=337 )

7) Hamilton does have a suitable rink that needs upgrades including luxury suites. No doubt at all the fanbase is ready willing and able. Outside of Balsillie, there are few owners that wish to tread down this same path due mainly to the compensation that Toronto and Buffalo would require under the NHL constitution. Ron Joyce of Tim Horton’s fame lost his expansion bid to Ottawa and Tampa Bay and hasn’t been heard from since. Without Balsillie, Hamilton’s NHL hopes extinguish it seems.

(See the full analysis on Hamilton here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=326 )

8) Toronto offers a market that could not only support a second team but would easily become at least the fourth lucrative market for the NHL. This also means the relocation fee would be enormously prohibitive to any team. This occurs only if MLSE is on board with it, assuming their rink houses both teams. Getting MLSE approval could cost at least $20 million plus per season. Should a second rink be built outside of the Maple Leaf catchment and farther away from Buffalo then this becomes the best expansion destination for the NHL by far. Owners vying for this entry would be aplenty. Clearly though this location offers zero chance of quick relocation for the Coyotes.

(See the full analysis on Toronto here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=334 )


9) Winnipeg offers a great fanbase without question. A newer rink that can generate the revenues that can hold its own with the rest of the league is in place for the first time in history. Potential ownership for many years now have taken the quiet almost subservient role that the NHL wants to see in its’ prospective owners. While Gary Bettman's April 4th email does raise hopes that Winnipeg is at the top of his relocation list, other factors may allow him and the NHL to find an alternative. In short, while the thoughts of the private email seem genuine, there is nothing yet concrete to allow Manitobans hopes to rise much. However, there may be another driver in Manitoba’s favour. It may be very spiteful of the NHL board of governors to move a team back to Manitoba just to show other prospective owners how the NHL expects business to be conducted. Another spiteful angle is the successful conclusion to the “make it seven” campaign as the NHL sees fit, not via a rogue approach.

(See the full analysis on Winnipeg here:
http://www.manitobamythbusters.com/php/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=202&MMN_position=101:101 )

If you have handicapped the field of quick relocation cities differently, log into the forum and tell us and why. www.mbmbforum.com

Chris
Chair, Manitoba Mythbusters
www.ManitobaMythbusters.com
www.myNHLincludesWinnipeg.com

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