Hulsizer not likely to buy St. Louis Blues

Matthew Hulsizer (in middle)

((ht: st.louis post-dispatch))

At this point, we think it is safe to say Matthew Hulsizer isn't able to afford the purchase of an NHL Hockey team.

His latest failure comes in St. Louis where the NHL has terminated his purchase agreement to buy the St. Louis Blues. That agreement required Hulsizer to bring at least $40 million to close the purchase and according to the St.Louis Post-Dispatch, he's not been able to scrape together the money to do it. His minority partner, Dave Checketts, was able to cover his share and more, but ultimately, Hulsizer's failure is likely to end the deal.

If Hulsizer's name sounds familiar to you, the Hockey fan, it's because he was the man trying to buy the Phoenix Coyotes in late 2010 and early 2011. That heavily leveraged deal essentially had the city of Glendale, Arizona fronting a large chunk of the purchase price to the NHL. That deal also collapsed and the Coyotes are on their 3rd season of being owned by the league.

As for the Blues, there are rumblings that current minority owner Tom Stillman has put together a group of local investors who are ready, willing and able to buy the team. The league has told them they must match the $130 million price Hulsizer offered and the Dispatch says they can do just that.

Read more from Stltoday.com RIGHT HERE

This seems like a no-brainer. We argued during Hulsizer's flirtation with the Coyotes that he didn't have the money to pull off a deal to buy a team.

And we were right.

We don't want to disparage Mr. Hulsizer, his intentions may have truly been honorable and genuine, but owning a pro-sports team is not for the timid or those lacking in cash. It's a big-boy game and one that only a select few can afford to play.

The thing that makes us happy is that it appears the Blues will be locally owned. Hopefully the league will allow the Stillman deal to proceed and it will keep the team in a town that is nothing short of Hockey-Obsessed.