The Chances of Balsillie Becoming Owner of the Coyotes

By Glen Miller

Most of us are familiar with the happenings in Phoenix in regards to the attempted sale of the team by owner Jerry Moyes to Research in Motion Co-CEO Jim Balsillie. Balsillie is also the founder of the website “Makeitseven.ca”, which is a website dedicated to bringing a seventh team to Canada. Balsillie has never hidden his intent to buy and ultimately move an NHL franchise to Canada; presumably to the Hamilton, Ontario market.



Of course, the NHL Board of Governors has rejected Jim Balsillie’s application for ownership contending, among other things, that Balsillie engaged in shady tactics in his previous attempts to buy an NHL team. Craig Leipold, former owner of the Nashville Predators and current owner of the Minnesota Wild, is on record at a Board of Governors’ meeting describing Balsillie’s attempts in 2007 to (in his opinion) purposely lower the value of the Predators’ franchise in an attempt to make it less desirable for the NHL to keep the team in the Nashville market.
Stories have also recently surfaced that Balsillie fueled some of the rumors that George Gillet was looking to sell the Montreal Canadiens and that he was interested in purchasing them. Gillet denied that he was looking to sell the storied franchise but ultimately did agree to sell the team back to the Molson.



Despite the rejection of his application by the NHL, Balsillie will still be allowed to participate in the auction to buy the Coyotes which concludes September 10th. Clearly Balsillie will not be outbid by anyone in his attempt to buy the Coyotes. This will set up an intriguing battle potentially between the NHL and the court system that is overseeing the Coyotes bankruptcy proceedings. Judge Redfield Baum is acting as if he has the authority to pick the next owner of the Coyotes without the approval of the NHL. Especially since he said that all bids to purchase the struggling Coyotes franchise would be accepted; even specifically mentioning that Balsillie’s bid would be considered.



If Judge Baum selects Balsillie’s bid as the winning bid then the NHL will surely challenge Baum’s authority in the matter. They will argue that since Balsillie’s application for ownership was reviewed and unanimously rejected by the NHL Board of Governors, the Judge shouldn’t disregard the wishes of the league. Already the other major professional sports leagues (NBA, MLB and NFL) have come out in support of the NHL’s attempt to secure an ownership group willing to keep the team in Phoenix and thus be able to continue to exercise control over the process of ownership approval.



I can’t blame the NHL or its current owners for feeling this way. The NHL has to fairly represent the business interests of all 30 member teams in the league and not just the interests of one. That mentality is crucial to the long term success of the league. Of course having a team like the Coyotes losing $30 million annually isn’t beneficial to the other teams in the league as it could certainly affect the franchise values of all teams in the league. However the NHL can’t simply allow anyone with the money and the desire to own a team, join the exclusive fraternity of NHL Ownership. The NHL has to be concerned with how their owners conduct business. They have to act on a united front in their dealings with the Player’s Union and other professional leagues (such as the KHL). A potential owner who has already demonstrated disdain for how the fraternity operates and a willingness to act in his own best interests is not likely to win the Board of Governors over.



Additionally, the NHL has other factors to consider when teams are up for sale and/or relocation. The League has already had issues with part owners (William “Boots” Del Baggio and Len Barrie) either struggling to meet their financial commitments or with just flat perpetrating fraud in order to obtain their finances. They also have to consider to whose territory a relocated team will be entering and how much financial damage that could potentially do to the team already located in that market or territory.



I can certainly understand the reservations the Board of Governors hold for Balsillie. A number of reports out of Nashville and even Phoenix pertaining to some of his tactics in his negotiations to buy those teams have cast a shadow on his business ethics. Even if Balsillie’s offer trumps that of his primary competition, Jerry Reinsdorf, given their respective reputations in the sports world, Reinsdorf is a far more appealing candidate for owner.



I would be highly upset if Judge Baum overlooked all of the questions surrounding Balsillie’s tactics in this and previous attempts to purchase an NHL team. It shouldn’t always be about who has the deepest pockets or is willing to spend the most. Credibility should be the most important criteria when considering potential owners. The NHL has already goofed on several instances and can’t afford to make another poor choice. Reinsdorf has a track record of building successful organizations and I feel that he should be the one entrusted with the future of the Coyotes team whether he elects to keep the team in Phoenix or even if he wanted to move the team. For me it isn’t a question of whether the team should move or not; it’s about installing the right person as owner to make that decision.