Back In The Game?

[crashcarson15]

If I am Jim Balsillie right now, I say "Ok creditors, Glendale, and the NHL, how much money do I have to pay so that you guys are all :censored:ing happy, how much money do I have to pay so that the lease agreement is done, and how much money do I have to pay the NHL to buy this team and move it to Hamilton. I don't care how much it is cause I'll make it all back anyway, I'll pay however much I need to pay. And if it makes you happy I'll play in Phoenix this year to prove to you that the team can't make money here. Then next year I'll play in Hamilton." Can you imagine Gary's reaction to that?!?!

Yeah, I can. He'll just sit there and say "no thanks."

Post of the Day.

[Gothamite]

What a frigging joke this whole situation is.

[Puck]

What a frigging joke this whole situation is.

We're "calling it" because people didn't show up to a split squad pregame?

So, do we call Major League Baseball dead when less than 100 show up for a Cubs/Dodgers pregame?

[Gothamite]

No. Did you read the article?

I'm calling the situation a farce because, among other reasons:

1. The coach isn't showing up for training camp because the league won't honor his contract.

2. The owner is being turned away from city council meetings.

3. The team isn't spending any money on local advertising because they don't know where they'll play the season.

The situation is a frigging joke.

[Puck]

No. Did you read the article?

I'm calling the situation a farce because, among other reasons:

1. The coach isn't showing up for training camp because the league won't honor his contract.

2. The owner is being turned away from city council meetings.

3. The team isn't spending any money on local advertising because they don't know where they'll play the season.

The situation is a frigging joke.

The coach isn't showing up because the GM asked him not to, not because the league won't honor it. Stories which say this have been going on the past week.

The "owner" being turned away is pretty obvious as to why, because the "owner" wants to be paid while the city believes the NHL can find a buyer.

As far as advertising, they Coyotes have always sucked at it anyways. The last two years have had Gretzky standing next to a Snowman Puppet. That's not effective advertising at all. And, why would the team put in a dime of advertising until it knew more about the situation at hand? That seems utterly reasonable thing to me.

EDIT: Plus, devil's advocate, the fact there's been talk about the team leaving has been far more press (even if it's ultimately bad) than they ever had before. The whole trial and talk, like it or not, free advertising.

Lost in, pretty much every story about the Coyotes in this, is that there is an actual fanbase there. Is it as rabid as the Pittsburgh situation a few years back? No. Is it as rabid as it would be in Hamilton? No. But it's there. There's just a crappy product out there and fan reaction to it is what fan reaction to crappy products should be you don't buy into it. Florida, believe it or not, is probably a far worse situation than the Coyotes, but because of the shenanigans and other terms that would be hidden behind swearing filters, Phoenix has the spotlight on it.

[Gothamite]

You don't think the coach might be needed at training camp? You're not concerned that relations between the owners and the city have degraded so much that he's being thrown out of a public meeting?

That's a pretty kind spin. I know this is your team and all, but you have to face reality. It's a sorry mess, no matter who ends up with the team.

EDIT: Yes, the Florida Panthers are in even worse straights. But that's not exactly an endorsement of the Coyotes. It's like the Lusitania saying "Heck, at least we're not the Titanic."

The fact that they've never turned a profit in the desert speaks towards a really tough market. Since 2001, the Coyotes have been hovering at the bottom of the attendance table: 27th, 29th, 29th, 19th, 22nd, 24th, 29th, 28th. A bad situation, and the NHL isn't willing to commit to staying in Arizona even if they do win the auction. It appears that Bettman is far more anti-Basillie than he is pro-Glendale.

[rams80]

Since all indications are that Gretzky and his ridiculous contract will be terminated by the end of the month regardless of who owns the team then, I don't see why he needs to show up to training camp. If Gretzky were in the plans for this coming season I might feel differently, but he isn't.

The same goes to Moyes. With the added proviso that he put all of this into motion and has cost the city a ton of money.

[Gothamite]

Until the deals are done, everybody still has to live together. The fact that all parties are already burning bridges, when the Coyotes will have to play at least part of the season in Glendale, is what makes this such a farce.

Attendance data over the past eight seasons shows us that the fanbase is already tenuous, and all this turmoil can only make that worse. It's a messy, ugly divorce, and the longer it goes on the less likely it'll be that the NHL could keep them in town even if they want to.

[rams80]

The only parties burning bridges are the parties who are not going to be involved for much longer. Heck, if we believe Reinsdorf's claims, Moyes has been attempting to foil negotiations for a "local" bidder to buy the team. Moyes is lucky they still allow him to walk away from the door.

[The_Admiral]

if we believe Reinsdorf's claims

rofl

[Brian in Boston]

Can you imagine Gary's reaction to that?!?!

Bettman isn't making decisions on this matter unilaterally. ALL of the NHL's owners are involved in the decision-making process as well. As such, your question should be: "Can you imagine the NHL owners' reaction to that?!?!"

The fixation with Gary Bettman is almost laughable. He's the "boogeyman" for some of you.

[TFoA]

Can you imagine Gary's reaction to that?!?!

Bettman isn't making decisions on this matter unilaterally. ALL of the NHL's owners are involved in the decision-making process as well. As such, your question should be: "Can you imagine the NHL owners' reaction to that?!?!"

The fixation with Gary Bettman is almost laughable. He's the "boogeyman" for some of you.

I think that's been brought up 10s of times in this thread, 100s of times in the any discussion involving the Bettman, and yet Bettman's still going to be seen as the dictator of the NHL. YOu might as well not mention it anymore because folks are NOT going to listen to that.

That said, the Coyotes management is a mess right now. Like the writer said, it's a damn shame because the Coyotes aren't going to be all that bad this year on the ice.

[Corvus]

EDIT: Yes, the Florida Panthers are in even worse straights. But that's not exactly an endorsement of the Coyotes. It's like the Lusitania saying "Heck, at least we're not the Titanic."

Solid gold!

[rams80]

EDIT: Yes, the Florida Panthers are in even worse straights. But that's not exactly an endorsement of the Coyotes. It's like the Lusitania saying "Heck, at least we're not the Titanic."

Solid gold!

So Balsillie's a U-Boat captain?

[SenatorJake]

EDIT: Yes, the Florida Panthers are in even worse straights. But that's not exactly an endorsement of the Coyotes. It's like the Lusitania saying "Heck, at least we're not the Titanic."

Solid gold!

So Balsillie's a U-Boat captain?

No, Balsillie would be some some kind of deep sea explorer trying to excavate the ruins of this once proud franchise.

The U-Boat you mention would be the lack of fan and corporate support.

[rams80]

EDIT: Yes, the Florida Panthers are in even worse straights. But that's not exactly an endorsement of the Coyotes. It's like the Lusitania saying "Heck, at least we're not the Titanic."

Solid gold!

So Balsillie's a U-Boat captain?

No, Balsillie would be some some kind of deep sea explorer trying to excavate the ruins of this once proud franchise.

The U-Boat you mention would be the lack of fan and corporate support.

He put the bankruptcy sale into motion (ie, fired the torpedo) that detonated the coal dust and illegally transported war munitions (lack of fan and corporate support)

[SenatorJake]

He put the bankruptcy sale into motion (ie, fired the torpedo) that detonated the coal dust and illegally transported war munitions (lack of fan and corporate support)

I'm satisfied with that analogy. Now our next assignment is to compare the Florida Panthers current ownership woes to the Spanish civil war.

[FiddySicks]

Until the deals are done, everybody still has to live together. The fact that all parties are already burning bridges, when the Coyotes will have to play at least part of the season in Glendale, is what makes this such a farce.

Ok so hold on a second, I haven't been keeping up on all of the details of this, but the Yotes would really up and move mid-season? Where would they move to? Would they really ditch Phoenix mid season for Hamilton?

When was the last time that happened in pro sports?

My head hurts

[CC97]

Until the deals are done, everybody still has to live together. The fact that all parties are already burning bridges, when the Coyotes will have to play at least part of the season in Glendale, is what makes this such a farce.

Ok so hold on a second, I haven't been keeping up on all of the details of this, but the Yotes would really up and move mid-season? Where would they move to? Would they really ditch Phoenix mid season for Hamilton?

When was the last time that happened in pro sports?

My head hurts

Balsillie's camp has suggested they would move to Hamilton mid-season if they could... Moving mid-season happened in the WHA a few times, not sure if the Hornets situation (New Orleans - Oklahoma City) counts - probably not

[STL FANATIC]

That's a pretty kind spin.

Spin?

You're going to continue to call Moyes the owner and it's other people putting the spin on it?

In some messed up technicality Moyes might still be the current owner, but for all intents and purposes, the court owns the Coyotes right now. Moyes has essentially nothing to do with the current operations and will have less than that within 2 weeks.

So if you're going to suggest that Moyes not being allowed into Glendale City meetings is some kind of new negative thing here, you're the one doing the spin.

Clearly there's a large mess here. The franchise is essentially at rock bottom. But where Moyes is and is not allowed has not a thing to do with it anymore.