The OFFside Blog: Start The Official Countdown!
On again, off again saga running out of time

The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that the the IEH's own PR rep can't even clearly state if they are working on a lease deal or not. We finally see the COG at odds with IEH over whether they have met term obligations or not. Not to mention whether they are even working on a lease deal or not! For almost two years IEH and COG has similarly dithered.

See the article here: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2010/07/26/20100726phoenix-coyotes-ice-edge-deal-trouble.html

I believe the end is near for IEH.

In 2010, we finally gained an end date for this club: December 31, 2010.

Start the official countdown! 157 days after today (Tuesday July 27th)

And remember that $25 million "deal" allows either party (COG or the NHL) to walk away if things change substantially for either. (See one of the last few clauses of the deal.)

You heard it here for first: Considering they may not have any ownership options left, the COG may very well likely exercise their right to back out of the $25 million lame duck season and allow the NHL to port the team THIS SUMMER realizing that truly the game is over.

So 157 days is the LONGEST we may wait. With September 1st soon approaching, nearly the start of training camp, and being only 36 days away, Winnipeg may indeed still celebrate "Homecoming 2010" long before New Years Eve.

If you can stand the heat in the Arizona desert kitchen, feel free to post your feedback at our forum!

Chris
President, www.myNHLincludesWinnipeg.com
~ The Reality May Surprise You! Excite You! ~

Edit: I correct myself! Stephen Brunt after reading this article first speculated on Team 1040am that COG may balk at the $25 million lame duck season and allow the team to leave this summer.