Balsillie is Making Moves

Just a quick update today, as I have fallen ill with what appears to be either the flu or a terrible cold. Jim Balsillie, President and CEO of Research in Motion, the company that produces the BlackBerry, has taken what many consider to be his first “legal and legitimate” step in moving the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario. According to league sources, as well as many media outlets, Balsillie officially filed an NHL mandated relocation application claiming his rights to move the team, as well as his plans for where he will be moving the team.

While this may be just a formality in the process that won’t be ruled in court until June 9^th, it is a proper step that must be taken in order to complete the process. How the league reacts to this paperwork will be interesting, considering that the paperwork itself is filed 8 days prior to the court ruling.

To further the interesting news, Balsillie released his plans for the massive renovations to the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton this past Saturday. These massive renovations will be coming straight from the pocket of Balsillie himself, and they will be turning the Copps Coliseum into a beautifully refurbished hockey arena capable of handling NHL games, and hopefully many other events. Could this really be the beginning of the end for the Phoenix Coyotes?

Justin’s Opinion:

This process has been rather quick, in my opinion. Although they were in financial trouble since the beginning of the year, it was not believed that Moyes would file bankruptcy and receive the offer as quickly as he did. If all continues to unfold the way it has thus far, it might not be too long before we see Balsillie finally granted his first NHL team, and the Phoenix Coyotes cease to exist. At that point, the only question would be if Phoenix is around for one last year, or if the move is made immediately.