Is The NHL Heading To Vegas...? It May Be Being Shot As We Write...

((HT: VegasChatter))

This isn't the first time that the HQ has floated this story, but the idea is that the WorldWideLeader is already looking at the story and may be shooting a "30 for 30" with the Maloof Brothers.

Without an arena and a team...

But...

Vegas Chatter is saying that the "Birth of a Franchise" story is already being shot with the development of the new AEG arena front and center. The arena, set for opening in spring of 2016, would be the apparent home for a new sports franchise- when its completed.

Two weeks ago, NHL Number Two Bill Daly was asked about Vegas by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Las Vegas is intriguing, Daly admits. In fact, out of curiosity, Daly queried a bunch of service industry folks — bartenders, waiters, drink servers, dealers, pit bosses — last weekend about whether they felt a professional sports team could thrive there.

“I got a variety of different responses,” Daly said. “The demographics of the market are pretty good in terms of average annual income. Las Vegas natives earn good salaries, good livings. I think they genuinely like sports. It’s a nighttime city, so it would have to be uniquely scheduled in terms of focusing maybe on industry nights as opposed to your typical Thursday-Saturday nights where everybody would be working.

NESN's "The Instigators" think Seattle and Quebec City are better ideas...

Victor Coleman Now Paired With Chris Hansen For Seattle NHL Idea

((HT: KING-TV))

Chris Daniels has an update on the development of possible partners for Chris Hansen, his new arena in Seattle, and the idea of bringing a new hockey franchise to the city of Seattle.

Vancouver-based real estate magnate Victor Coleman has apparently signed a "non-binding" (translation: no cash changing hands publicly) agreement on the South Downtown area that Hansen wants to put an arena in for his NBA franchise that he wants to bring to town-that he doesn't have yet.

Coleman was part of the gaggle of city leaders that met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Bill Daly secretly to talk about the Seattle destination for any hockey franchise that wants to relocate.

Are you listening Phoenix...???

Coleman has even put ideas about revenue streams on paper for Hansen to look at...

Here's the latest from Daniels on Coleman
The team that is playing at Jobing.com/Gila River Casinos Arena is on a very short leash with its owners at present with no end of money hemorrhaging- at present.

The folks down on Glendale need to pay serious attention to all that's going on up there as they get closer to solutions for bringing a team to Seattle and creating a natural rivalry with Vancouver- Coleman's home base...

Round 47 Of "Are The Coyotes On The Clock?"

((HT: Sports Exchange))

Glendale (Arizona) Mayor Jerry Weiers is asking the state attorney general to investigate the closed door meetings that the City Council had with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and League Number Two Bill Daly last year.

After days of meetings in 2013, the Council voted by a slim margin to approve the $225-million agreement that keeps the Coyotes in Glendale and the Jobing.com Arena. Weiers voted against the deal and is concerned that the City Council and the NHL violated Sunshine Laws.

If an investigation is opened and a violation is found, the deal could be voided- an issue the HQ raised when all of this went down in the first place. If the deal is torched, the city council would have 30 days to do everything all over again- in an open meeting this time around.

"I think it's a clear violation," Weiers told The Arizona Republic in a Tuesday article. "That meeting is wrong on so many levels. It's like playing poker and showing your opponents all your cards."

Here's the short version from News 12
And the HQ wonders again if the folks in Seattle are watching the activity in town... The full article from the Republic is hyah and is an nice, in-depth look what may be a bad situation for all parties involved.
As we have maintained from the beginning...

More On Bettman's Visit To Seattle, Phoenix Already On The Clock...??? (UPDATED W/Prospective Owners)

((HT: KING-TV))

Chris Daniels broke the news about the Gary Bettman-Bill Daly visit to Seattle last week and now there's a bit of an update...

Here's Daniels original salvo


Now, in a series of Tweets, Daniels has a little more info...

NEW: Seattle Mayor Ed Murray tells me #NHL initiated last wk’s meeting, & asked city to alter #SeattleArena MOU. Murray says he told them No 

MORE: Mayor Murray says he believes the Seattle City Council has no interest in changing MOU, said he brought up Key Arena. 

Seattle Council President Tim Burgess reiterated that he believes #SeattleArena won’t work with an #NHL first scenario.

The HQ's feelings here are that they're trying to find a quick home for somebody if something falls down. Phoenix makes the most sense with the attendance out that the LeBlanc group has. But keep an eye on the Florida Panthers and their wont to have the city pony up to $60-million for improvements to their arena in the town of Sunrise.

What makes the most sense over time is Phoenix slides up to Seattle and Florida will go to Quebec City- but that's just us thinking out loud now...

PM UPDATE: The Score, reporting Daniels again, has the proposed ownership group all figured out.

Victor Coleman and Jonathan Glaser are thought to be the driving force behind the bid. Coleman is CEO of Hudson Pacific Properties, which owns a long list of properties in and around Seattle.

Coleman and Glaser, along with Jeff Marks, met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

So, there you go... now we know... and we also know they're very serious in Seattle...

Bettman Visited Seattle For Arena Update Last Week

((HT: KING-TV))

Chris Daniels reported that the NHL Commish, Gary Bettman, and #2 Bill Daly were visiting with Seattle political-types last week to check on how things stand with the idea of a new arena in town...

Are you listening Phoenix...???

They met with King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. The only caveat that Bettman has ever said was that the town needs to address it's arena issues- even as he admitted the NHL would like to put a franchise in the market at some point.

Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer have agreed to partially fund a new arena, which is undergoing an environmental review.

The Hansen-Ballmer Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) says construction can begin on a new arena after the review and when an NBA team is approved for the market. It doesn't say anything about an NHL team, even though Hansen-Ballmer aren't interested in the league and others are.

The key thought from Hansen:

A new NHL team would likely have to play at least one year in Key Arena, depending on the status of a new complex. It's unclear if the NHL would be willing to commit a team to Seattle without some sort of guarantee a state-of-the-art, hockey-friendly facility was definitively on the way.

Bryan Stevens, spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development, said on Tuesday that the environmental review on the project is now not scheduled to be completed until "sometime this fall". He added, that he believed, that there had been "no measurable movement" in the last few weeks.

Here's a piece that was done back in June 2013 by Daniels suggesting that Key Arena was ready if needed

Doesn't Look Like There's A Plan B For Hockey In Sochi

((HT: Sportsnet))

Okay, so we now have the answer that some probably didn't want to hear...

If it goes sideways in Sochi, Team USA goalie Mike Smith might have had it right by not adding any family to his travel itinerary for the Games. The US government has said that there will be ships, planes, and helicopters at the ready for evacuations...

The only vision the HQ has, really, is the last images of the fall of Saigon where people were rescued from the embassy roof.

We hope we're wrong...

But the Hockey Central guys- Millard, Kypreos, and Maclean asked Bill Daly about a Plan B...
Which, apparently, doesn't exist...

Rogers Gets The Next 12 Years Of The NHL Up North...

((HT: Sportsnet))

And this is huge in a few ways...

1) The dollar figure- C$5.2-billion over 12 years... the largest deal in league history...

2) Sportsnet gets the "Hockey Night in Canada" brand, but can sub-lease it back to the CBC for four years...

3) It completely boxes out TSN nationally- the top-ranked cable network in the country and puts CBC under the thumb of Sportsnet- as it barely hangs on to any kind of sports branding...

Any kind...

Which means that the future of Don Cherry is in flux right now... and he can't even tell you what his future is...

4) CBC, run through public funding, can't flip the profits they make from hockey and turn them into other shows...

So, Sportsnet outspent everyone and CBC continues to fall behind in sports programming, but one of the first things the commissioner had to do was survive "Prime Time Sports" with Bob McCown....

Here's The Bettman with Bobcat...

And Now It's The NHL's Turn On Concussions...

((HT: NHL/Puck Daddy))

We know how much the NFL and its players have gone hammer and tong over the concussion issue...

Now, it is the NHL's turn to handle it. Ten former players have filed a suit in a DC court claiming the league knew about the risks involved in contact within the sport. The players claim the league didn't do anything proactive until 2010 when the league made it a penalty to go after another player's head...

The list of plaintiffs: Gary Leeman, Bradley Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richard Dunn, Warren Holmes, Robert Manno, Blair James Stewart, Morris Titanic, and Rick Vaive...

Here's some of what Vaive dealt with in the league...


And Leeman...


Just for examples...

The law firm of Namanny, Byrne, and Owens is filing a class action lawsuit with the Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin, and White firm of Baltimore, Maryland.

Their full release is here, but the highlight is:

In 2004 the NHL introduced a series of updates to the rule-set to encourage a faster, more exciting, and ultimately more marketable product. As a result, the number of violent in-game collisions and occurrence of head trauma have increased. When coupled with the NHL’s refusal to protect players by banning full-body checking or penalizing on-ice fist fights, the league has created a dangerous atmosphere for players. The complaint alleges that the NHL either ignores or consistently lags behind other hockey leagues in adopting protections for players in accordance with current medical knowledge of concussions. Instead, the NHL continues to glorify and empower players known as “enforcers”- players with the singular intention of injuring the opposing team.

Here's the NHL's retort:

"We are aware of the class action lawsuit filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of a group of former NHL Players. While the subject matter is very serious, we are completely satisfied with the responsible manner in which the League and the Players' Association have managed Player safety over time, including with respect to head injuries and concussions. We intend to defend the case vigorously and have no further comment at this time."

And, so it begins... and won't be over with for a long time...

So, Did Glendale Violate Open Meeting Laws...???

((HT: AZCentral.com/Giblin))

It was a question the HQ had in all of its coverage leading up to the city of Glendale prostituting itself to the National Hockey League to the tune of keeping the (now) Arizona Coyotes at jobing.com arena a few weeks ago...

As the league set its ideas in motion, Commissioner Gary Bettman and Number Two Bill Daly met with city council members in groups of two or three (or individually) as a way to get around the Open Meetings Law, having any minutes available for future reference, or having (frankly) any kind of record on paper to see just what back door dealings were cut to keep Glendale with a hockey team, keep the league from having to move a hockey team at the last minute, and keep Renaissance Sports and Entertainment from getting a hockey team.

Meetings held in secret and out of the public eye are always on the up-and-up, aren't they...???

A complaint has been filed by a Glendale resident with the state Attorney General's Office on just that very idea.

A July 2 letter by Assistant Attorney General Christopher Munns was sent to interim City Manager Dick Bowers.

It said, according to Giblin:

“The complaints allege that the council violated the Open Meetings Law by conducting sequential meetings of council members in a number less than a quorum in order to discuss official town business without needing to comply with the requirements of the law,” Munns states in the letter.

Munns asked Bowers to provide additional information about the serial meetings by July 26.

If Glendale violated the Open Meetings Law, penalties range from fines of as much as $500 per person, repaying the state for their attorney fees during their investigation, and removal from public office...

How that would affect the deal with RSE is anyone's guess...

While the interim city attorney for the city of Glendale only describes the meetings as meet-and-greet, resident Ken Sturgis, who said he filed a complaint, thinks otherwise...

“It’s hard to believe that this kind of contract that was put together and presented later wasn’t talked about. I find that very hard to believe,” he told Giblin.

As does the HQ... but what will happen probably won't have much impact on what has already gone down...

Here were the questions Glendale mayor Jerry Weiers had a few months ago- and, probably, still does...
((HT: AZPBS))

Coyotes Plan B: Seattle...???

((HT: Yahoo!Sports/Leahy))

In the Puck Daddy section, Sean Leahy now seemingly has more details on the Phoenix Coyotes situation...
Let's back track a few days here to Mike Sunnucks work in the Phoenix Business Journal...

Thursday's article had Glendale's concerns over the deal with Renaissance:

• The lack of equity and personal investments from Renaissance principals in their bid.

• The bid’s reliance on financing and loans from the National Hockey League and private equity investment firm Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG).

• Renaissance using funds from an arena deal with Glendale to pay debt service on their financing.

• A possible relocation of the team to Seattle or another market after a few more years in the West Valley.

We may not even get to point four...

On the "Satellite Hotstove" segment last night on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada," FOSG Elliotte Friedman and Glenn Healy explained how we're getting to the idea of Phoenix to Seattle...

The Vancouver Canucks were looking for a home for their AHL franchise after they bought the Peoria Rivermen, and understandably, they wanted to put the team in Seattle. Strangely, it ended up in Utica, New York because the Key Arena folks said that the arena wasn't available for hockey.

Introducing your Utica Comets... complete with $5-million in state aid to renovate the arena in town that only seats 4,000 people...
((HT: WKTV-TV))


Even as KING-TV's Chris Daniels reported last week that the Key Arena has its ice-making equipment still in place and was functional:

Deborah Daoust spokesperson for Seattle Center, says ice making equipment and chilling system at #KeyArena is still operational

Reason being, according to Friedge and Glenn Healy, through Leahy:

Plan B for the NHL and Coyotes, if the latest candidate doesn't go through with the purchase, is to sell the team to investors Ray Bartoszek and Anthony Lanza, who previously engaged in discussions to purchase a 49-percent stake in the New York Mets in 2011, for $220 million. According to Glenn Healy, if those two do not get what they want by July 2 from the city of Glendale, then they would move the team to The Emerald City. Part of the new ownership group would be former NHLer and current NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick, who would help run the hockey operations department.

Whither Chris Hansen in all of this...???
Daniels sat down with him after the SacKings quest stopped...
((HT: KING-TV))

Let's see how Tuesday winds itself up...
Quoting Ol' JR: "Business is about to pick up..."

NHL Kinda Admits Glendale May Have Problems (UPDATED With Seattle POV And Bettman On Seattle)

((HT: TSN))

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Commissioner Gary Bettman had their press conference of the "State of the State" in Chicago before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. And they're now admitting that there might be a problem in Phoenix with the Coyotes and their lack of an owner.

Maybe...

Maybe big enough to do something about it...

Like move them... or something... if a new ownership group (aka- Renaissance) can't reach a deal to keep the team in Glendale at jobing.com Arena.

Commissioner Bettman said at the press conference that "time is getting short" finding a solution to keep the team in Arizona. And Daly admits that the new schedule release will be pushed back because of the Coyotes' situation- and there might not even be a team to call Phoenix's next season...

"It certainly means that it's possible that the team won't play there next year," Daly said.

But the place where the Coyotes could land- if at all- is an unknown...

Asked if there must be some kind of an answer by the June 27 NHL Board of Governors meeting, Bettman told the assembled media "maybe."

You'll recall that Daly and Bettman held meetings with the Glendale City Council late last month- separately, not as a group of seven. Some say that the reason was to avoid the Open Meetings Law in the state of Arizona. Others say it was because the scheduling just... didn't... work... out...

Choose your version...

The city of Glendale is budgeting only $6-million where the Anthony LeBlanc-led group Renaissance Group is looking for a figure closer to $15-million. The city is looking to award the contract for managing jobing.com by June 25th. Four companies have bid, but none of the names have been made public.

Which is another problem in Glendale...

All this could go down...
Two days before the BOG Meeting...

Here's Dan Bickley talking about the shenanigans from a while back...
((HT: azcentral.com))
“The puck is in the City of Glendale’s end,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. Indeed... PM UPDATE: Chris Daniels from KING-TV in Seattle, who monitored the whole SacKings to Seattle idea, has checked with the folks that run Key Arena... through his Twitter... Deborah Daoust spokesperson for Seattle Center, says ice making equipment and chilling system at #KeyArena is still operational Key Arena hosted a 'Stars on Ice' show back in 2012. Obviously, not hockey. Daoust also says the Key Arena dates, that were being held for an NBA team, have been freed up. Not being held for any other reason So, the short version is that Seattle looks like they're clearing the runway just in case... And, so is Quebec City... Here's an interview that Bettman did with KING-TV when discussing Seattle...

Worst Kept Secret In Glendale: NHL, Coyotes, Possible Owners Meet

((HT: azcentral.com/KPNX-TV))

The group that wants to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, Renaissance Sports and Entertainment (otherwise known as the Gosbee/LeBlanc group), the National Hockey League, and the city of Glendale all met together to see if there is a future relationship among the three of them.

The hook in all of this is, probably, going to come down to how much RSE wants to run jobing.com arena since the two figures could be as much as ten million dollars apart- per year. The Arizona Republic has the figure close to $6-million where prospective owners want as much as $15-million.

But the city of Glendale has a fiscal year that starts July 1 and the National Hockey League wants to have a printed schedule out by mid-June. The league and Renaissance have agreed on a price, according to Bill Daly.

Here's the look at the not-so-secret secret meetings...

More when we know more...

Jamison Misses Coyotes Deadline... World Continues Rotating As Planned...

((HT: Azcentral/KPNX-TV))

So... Greg Jamison missed his deadline to secure and/or announce his partners (his deep-pocketed partners) to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes from the National Hockey League. Along with that went the subsidies approved by the old City of Glendale government which would have given Jamison US$300-million to keep the team at City Center for the next 20 years- or until he would become unhappy with the contract as it would have been drawn up.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly sent out the following statement after last night's deadline came and went: “We remain hopeful the Coyotes sale process will be resolved successfully and we will continue to work with the city of Glendale to move the process forward.”

The city released a statement saying the sides will work to reach a new agreement that is in the best interests of the city and its residents.

Here's new Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers sounding no alarm whatsoever...
Jamison has every intention of pursuing the team even with the passed deadline. The team itself came up with the following paragraph Friday: The Coyotes issued this statement: "Today, we were informed by the National Hockey League that Mr. Jamison was unable to close on his purchase of the Coyotes. Mr. Jamison will continue to work with the NHL and the City of Glendale to close a deal that will keep the Coyotes in the Valley. Although there is no set timetable, hopefully it will be soon. The Coyotes will continue to be owned by the NHL and nothing changes for our organization. We will work hard on and off the ice to provide our fans with a winning team that they can be proud of. We would like to thank all of our great fans and corporate partners for their incredible patience and loyalty throughout this process. We know it's been difficult and we appreciate their support." So, who knew Jamison as going to miss the deadline...??? Pretty much anyone paying attention... including a place like Markham, Ontario ((HT: ABC15))

DEVELOPING: NHL Offers New Proposal As Clock Ticks

((HT: Sportsnet.ca))

The National Hockey League is in, what "Puck Daddy" is calling, Day 104 of Stupid...

And he's right...

But, during a traditional time of not doing anything, someone did something...

The NHL has presented a new proposal to the Players' Association.

The league's offer, apparently, calls for player contract limits of six years- boosting the max length by all of one year...

Teams can also, in the new idea, buy out one guy on their roster outright- which is similar to the move in the NBA for really overpriced contracts for players who are either old, underperform, or both... but it still would count against the revenue share...

There are no plans for the two sides to meet, and it's been two weeks since both sides sat down at the same table to break bread (or each other's skulls).

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun is saying that "sources" are wanting to open camp on January 12th, but Michael Grange, through his Twitter sayeth quote:

It is really hard to take seriously that the latest proposal from #NHL as 'movement' -- two sides have been inches apart for months

The guys from Sportsnet and "Hockey Central" discuss the drop-dead date for the season and the lack of urgency from both sides in the whole deal...

Here's Daren, Mayday, and Nick...
Bill Daly gave out this statement early this afternoon: "In light of media reports this morning, I can confirm that we delivered to the Union a new, comprehensive proposal for a successor CBA late yesterday afternoon. We are not prepared to discuss the details of our proposal at this time. We are hopeful that once the Union's staff and negotiating committee have had an opportunity to thoroughly review and consider our new proposal, they will share it with the players. We want to be back on the ice as soon as possible."

DEVELOPING: NHL Set To Cancel Winter Classic...

((HT: Sportsnet))

According to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos and his Twitter feed, the NHL is going to choke its golden goose and cancel the Winter Classic- scheduled for the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan on New Year's Day as well as associated events at Comerica Park...

Sources saying sponsors r being notified the #NHL Winter classic gm' will be cancelled. An official announcement coming as early as 2pm est

The crowd expected for the game was expected to surpass all attendance records for a hockey event...

The HQ would LOVE to see how the league is going to explain this one off the books...
And the HQ would like to congratulate all parties involved on their mangling of the labor issue and the associative Pee-Ahr nightmare...

More when we know more...

Another Conservative Group May Chase Coyotes Legal Solution

((HT: Phoenix Business Journal/Sunnucks, Sporting News))

Mike Sunnucks is writing that Steve Voeller, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, doesn’t like Glendale’s Coyotes deal (surprise) with Greg Jamison and said his group is considering a referendum on a ballot-to-be-named-later and possibly even recalling the Glendale City Council.

The Enterprise initiative would, probably, be separate from anything the Goldwater Institute may do...

So, now you have more than one group interested in challenging the deal the city of Glendale made with Jamison and the HQ is fairly certain that any challenge that would come from outside Glendale would be challenged by Glendale itself.

See the challenge...???

From Sunnucks:

"The city is in compliance with the laws applicable to the Jobing.com Arena management agreement. This agreement will provide the maximum benefit from the arena to the citizens of Glendale over its term,” said city spokesman Jerry McCoy.

Lisa Halverstadt of the Arizona Republic talked with Bill Daly Friday:

"At this point, the lawsuit has not impacted the process," Daly said, adding that he reserves further judgment until after a Tuesday court hearing on the case.

Daly also said the NHL expects to release its 2012-13 schedule in "the relative near term" and that the schedule will likely assume the Coyotes play in Glendale.

"Both the business and the hockey operations departments have direction with regard to the parameters within which they are expected to operate," Daly said.

More when know more...