Minnesota Wild have been Sold

[joesakic19]

It was just announced today that the Minnesota Wild have been sold.

SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (?MSE?), the parent company of the Minnesota Wild, announced today that an agreement has been signed to sell the Minnesota Wild and its related entities to Craig Leipold. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the final sale requires approval by the National Hockey League and other regulatory approvals.

Bob Naegele has been the majority owner of the Minnesota Wild since the NHL granted an expansion franchise to the team in 1997. Mr. Leipold, a resident of Racine, Wisconsin, recently completed the sale of the Nashville Predators, a team he owned since the expansion franchise was awarded to Nashville in 1997.

?Our goals were to return the NHL to the State of Hockey, to establish a winning tradition dedicated to the hockey fans of Minnesota, and to ensure the long-term success of the Wild,? said Naegele. ?It is now time to pass the torch on to a new owner who will insure that long-term success. Craig is as committed to winning the Stanley Cup as I have been, and he represents proven, committed leadership, hockey passion and Midwestern values that have been the bedrock of our organization?s success to this point ? and will serve as the foundation for the success of the future.? (MORE: Open Letter to Fans, from Bob Naegele)

Said Leipold: ?I love the sport of hockey and am very excited to continue the tradition of Wild hockey here in Minnesota ? the State of Hockey. I have admired Bob Naegele and the entire Wild organization since the first puck dropped in 2000. It is a true privilege to become part of the organization and the hockey community in Minnesota. I want to thank Bob for this unique opportunity, and I am pleased that he will consider continuing as my partner in the organization.? (MORE: Craig Leipold Bio)

Doug Risebrough, General Manager of the Minnesota Wild and President of MSE, stated: ?The Minnesota Wild owes a substantial debt to Bob Naegele, whose vision and courage resulted in an NHL franchise returning to Minnesota. He?s been a leader and has demonstrated that success can only come through true partnership with others. We thank Bob for our history, and we turn with excitement to Craig for our future. We appreciate his commitment to continuing to build a team with a winning tradition and the shared goal of bringing the Stanley Cup to Minnesota.

About the Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild, an expansion team that played its first full season in 2000-01, is in its seventh National Hockey League season and currently holds seventh place in the Western Conference point standings. The Wild enjoyed a successful 2006-07 regular season, earning a berth in the 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinals against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. The 2007 Playoffs represented the team?s second post-season appearance, with its first appearance in 2003 culminating in a trip to the Western Conference Finals. The Wild has played each of its home games before capacity crowds, and the team has set NHL attendance and winning percentage records among recent expansion era teams.

Here's the link to the story... http://wild.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page...rticleid=349473

[ShinyHubCaps]

He's from where I'm from!

The Wild are a doomed team. If the NHL ever did like people have speculated and downsized its franchises, the Wild (and the Predators, for that matter) would be gone. Not a good move.

[rams80]

He's from where I'm from!

The Wild are a doomed team. If the NHL ever did like people have speculated and downsized its franchises, the Wild (and the Predators, for that matter) would be gone. Not a good move.

Say what?!

The Wild (contrary to the North Stars) have done very well reaching out to the community and have large support among local fans. I believe they routinely sell out their games. This team should be fine.

[CityOfWalrus]

He's from where I'm from!

The Wild are a doomed team. If the NHL ever did like people have speculated and downsized its franchises, the Wild (and the Predators, for that matter) would be gone. Not a good move.

how in the world would the NHL get rid of the Wild?

The Wild constantly sell-out games, have a solid core of young players and some of the top rising stars on thier team, are basically in the capital of hockey outside of canada... The Wild aren't ever leaving the league.

[ShinyHubCaps]

Well I was referring to an article by Dallas Morning News's Tim Cowlishaw where he said that if they dumped teams, it would be on a number of things, including performance and attendance. I must have gotten my teams mixed up. I know there were 4 teams that he marked for elimination, and the Predators were one of them. I thought that the Wild was on there for their performance, but I must be mistaken. I'm not a hockey buff by any means.

[Joshawaggie]

Wow, the Wild aren't going anywhere if that was bases off attendance. They are in the tops of the league!

[STL FANATIC]

Anybody have any issues with Leipold buying a team so soon after he sold Nashville?

I've got no qualms with it.

But I've heard some people suggest you shouldn't be able to do it so soon, and I've heard some Nashville fans that feel shafted by the man.

[Mac the Knife]

Why? All the man did was sell one business, and bought another in the same field. Happens all the time in other sectors.

[CJR]

Anybody have any issues with Leipold buying a team so soon after he sold Nashville?

I've got no qualms with it.

But I've heard some people suggest you shouldn't be able to do it so soon, and I've heard some Nashville fans that feel shafted by the man.

Wasn't one of the conspiracy theories back when the Balsillie deal with Nashville fell through that Bettman covertly nixed the deal, telling Leipold that if he took less money from the local group he (Bettman) would somehow help Leipold buy the Wild? At the time, the Wild weren't even known to be for sale. And after a long sale process for the Preds, Leipold now says he regretted selling them? He had plenty of time to back out. Seems convenient to me.

Conspiracies aside... How long before this shuffles things up in the AHL? Gotta assume that Leipold would want Minnesota to be affiliated with Milwaukee but this purchase includes the AHL's Houston Aeros, which complicates things.

[rams80]

Conspiracies aside... How long before this shuffles things up in the AHL? Gotta assume that Leipold would want Minnesota to be affiliated with Milwaukee but this purchase includes the AHL's Houston Aeros, which complicates things.

Not necessarily. I know of at least one other instance of a NHL team owning an AHL franchise, but being affiliated with another.

That said, Milwaukee's affiliation agreement runs to 2009-2010, so any change would be awhile off.

Another intriguing move, though (since we have musical affiliate chairs) would be Minnesota and Dallas swapping affiliates (Houston and Iowa).

[jkrdevil]

Well I was referring to an article by Dallas Morning News's Tim Cowlishaw where he said that if they dumped teams, it would be on a number of things, including performance and attendance. I must have gotten my teams mixed up. I know there were 4 teams that he marked for elimination, and the Predators were one of them. I thought that the Wild was on there for their performance, but I must be mistaken. I'm not a hockey buff by any means.

And why would you ever take anything like that written by a sports writer seriously? The NHL is not going to "downsize" a team may move at one point (which happens in all leagues) but they aren't going to get rid of teams. The NHL isn't in that bad of shape no matter what idiots like Cowlishaw and such with no information say.

[tBBP]

Well I was referring to an article by Dallas Morning News's Tim Cowlishaw where he said that if they dumped teams, it would be on a number of things, including performance and attendance. I must have gotten my teams mixed up. I know there were 4 teams that he marked for elimination, and the Predators were one of them. I thought that the Wild was on there for their performance, but I must be mistaken. I'm not a hockey buff by any means.

Tim Cowlishaw? Ain't he one of them people that be on Around The Horn?

(And yes--by posting that I do admit to being one of the six or seven people in this community who actually watch that program...)

[leedsunited]

Huh? The Wild are wildly successful in terms of franchise viability. Any columnist suggesting otherwise doesn't know jack, quite frankly.

This was OBVIOUSLY Bettman's bone to Leipold for not accepting Balsillie's better bid on the Preds. "Hey, don't sell to the Canadian, go for the lower offer, i'll make it worth your while with a more stable, more financially sound franchise later on. Heh heh."

Bettman = evil bastard.

[STL FANATIC]

Huh? The Wild are wildly successful in terms of franchise viability. Any columnist suggesting otherwise doesn't know jack, quite frankly.

This was OBVIOUSLY Bettman's bone to Leipold for not accepting Balsillie's better bid on the Preds. "Hey, don't sell to the Canadian, go for the lower offer, i'll make it worth your while with a more stable, more financially sound franchise later on. Heh heh."

Bettman = evil bastard.

Bettman = great for the NHL

NHL = great for the game of hockey

Bettman = great for the game of hockey

[leedsunited]

Huh? The Wild are wildly successful in terms of franchise viability. Any columnist suggesting otherwise doesn't know jack, quite frankly.

This was OBVIOUSLY Bettman's bone to Leipold for not accepting Balsillie's better bid on the Preds. "Hey, don't sell to the Canadian, go for the lower offer, i'll make it worth your while with a more stable, more financially sound franchise later on. Heh heh."

Bettman = evil bastard.

Bettman = great for the NHL

NHL = great for the game of hockey

Bettman = great for the game of hockey

That can be debated ad nauseum - and already has on this board.

The point is that bettman engaged in some back-room chicanery to get leipold to back off the balsillie bid. Whether or not that's fine with you depends on what you consider to be good for the NHL at large.

Now what did Bettman promise Del Biaggio in exchange for strengthening the local Nashville bid?

[STL FANATIC]

Bettman MIGHT have told something to Leipold. We certainly don't know that as fact. Not even as almost fact.

[CC97]

Huh? The Wild are wildly successful in terms of franchise viability. Any columnist suggesting otherwise doesn't know jack, quite frankly.

This was OBVIOUSLY Bettman's bone to Leipold for not accepting Balsillie's better bid on the Preds. "Hey, don't sell to the Canadian, go for the lower offer, i'll make it worth your while with a more stable, more financially sound franchise later on. Heh heh."

Bettman = evil bastard.

Bettman = great for the NHL

NHL = great for the game of hockey

Bettman = great for the game of hockey

hmm...

We certainly don't know that as fact. Not even as almost fact.

I agree.

[Viper]

Anybody have any issues with Leipold buying a team so soon after he sold Nashville?

I've got no qualms with it.

But I've heard some people suggest you shouldn't be able to do it so soon, and I've heard some Nashville fans that feel shafted by the man.

This sort of "musical franchises" isn't exactly unheard of in the other major leagues, so I've got no problem with it either.

In any event, one of the first things Leipold said after the sale announcement is that he won't be messing with the team's management, so that's a relief.

As for a shake-up of AHL affiliates, I'm thinking a simple swap of the Admirals (to the Wild) and Aeros (to the Preds) is most likely.

[-kj]

I'm a bit wary, given the footing the Preds were on when Leipold sold them.

The news seemed to come completely out of the blue.

[CJR]

The news seemed to come completely out of the blue.

Agreed, which is why I mentioned it in the conspiracy theory part of things. That no one said anything about this possibly happening except for the guy who also said Bettman told Leipold to nix the Balsillie deal seems odd to me.