My Money is in my Other Pants

I am a reasonably smart man. OK, I am kind of smart..fineI am a man. Ooooo shiny.Anyway, what I can’t figure out for the life of me, is why the NHL is so vehemently against Jim Balsillie owning a NHL franchise.

Craig Leipold, a man who himself was forced out of NHL ownership in Nashville, only to be inexplicably allowed to buy another NHL team in the Minnesota Wild, went so far as to say “Based on my owner experiences with Mr. Balsillie, I have formed a highly unfavorable opinion regarding him, including his suitability as an NHL owner. That isn’t a ringing endorsement from a guy that knows about losing a lot of money in areas where hockey won’t work.

I would love to know what the deal is with Balsillie. From everything I have read about him, he seems to be a decent guy. Obviously he LOVES hockey, has a crap load of money to throw around, and doesn’t appear to have a drawer full of child porn or anything. Leipold, and Boston Miser Owner, C. Montgomery Burns, I mean, Jeremy Jacobs are beating the drum the loudest against Balsillie owning a team. The NHL is asking his bid to be discarded from the pile of bids that will be received in September when the Coyotes go up for auction. In fact, the other 30 owners voted 26-0 against his bid being accepted. 3 abstained from voting, one was unavailable in case you were wondering about my math.

The objection in this case appears to be some coercion on the part of Jerry Moyes, the current Phoenix Coyotes owner, and Balsillie regarding the Chapter 11 filing of Mr. Moyes. The league is accusing the two of trying to go around the NHL’s usual procedure for NHL team ownership by having Moyes file bankruptcy with a plan in place to sell to Balsillie. That does seem a bit convenient on both parties’ parts, but is it enough to totally blackball the guy? Jim Balsillie has tried twice before to buy a NHL franchise the legal way and has been shot down twice because he wanted to move said club to Hamilton, ON. Can one really blame him for trying to sneak in the back door?

What I really don’t get is the huge objection to having a team in Hamilton. OK, I could have seen a little outcry if the Pittsburgh Penguins had won the first cup in team history for the Hamilton Blackberries, as Pittsburgh is a hockey town with a bit of history, but he’s tried to move 2 teams that don’t work where they are to an environment that seemingly would be perfect for a NHL team. It appears to me that moving the franchises out of the toxic environment they are in, i.e., Phoenix, or Nashville, and into Hamilton would be a good financial move for the NHL. I can see the Leafs, and the Sabres having a bit of a beef over it, and maybe the Senators, but moving a team to the region doesn’t mean lifelong fans of the aforementioned teams would instantly become fans of the new Hamilton squad. Put it this way, if the Whalers ever come back, I will not be the first person in line for tickets. I didn’t like them then, why would I like them now is my point.

From my seat in the stands, having a team in Hamilton would be a way to generate money for the NHL and the owner of a team. The Coyotes have lost millions over the years, and they haven’t been very good on the ice either. I am sure there is way more to this story that the general public doesn’t know about, and probably never will know about. What I would be interested to see is if it’s Jim Balsillie the league doesn’t like, or is it the idea of a team in Hamilton? I am going to get together a couple hundred million, and try to move the Coyotes to Hamilton. Let’s see if the league will let me do it. Um, can I borrow a couple hundred million from one of you guys?