The Coyotes best season? A 40 win season in 2001-2002. This was the high point of franchise history and shortly there after the team dropped like a rock from any playoff contention and has remained there since.
Shortly after the announcement, Jim Balsillie and PSE Sports & Entertainment LP placed a bid to buy the team for $215.5 million dollars. Balsillie is a name familiar to Pens and Nashville Predators fans alike as the shmuck who keeps trying to buy every damn team in the NHL. He failed in both bids to buy the aforementioned teams and is now tossing his hat into the desert. The one stipulation to this purchase is that Jimmy boy gets to move the team to his promised land in southern Ontario.
Not so fast Mr. Silly balls... Gary Bettman, czar of all things NHL, stepped in.
The NHL, which has said the Coyotes won’t relocate, later issued its own statement saying it’s investigating the circumstances surrounding the filing. The league also stripped Coyotes Chief Executive OfficerJerry Moyes of authority to act on behalf of the club.
Once again Gary, you're fucking with hockey. In his attempt to expand hockey's appeal to audiences beyond their current niche markets (see also Canada and cities above the Mason-Dixon line), Gary is potentially hurting the league. Yes, the Jets left Winnipeg because they ran out of money, but they also had the smallest arena in the league and played in a time when player salaries would make Bill Gates look like a beggar... ok, maybe not, but you get the idea.
While Balsillie may be the bizzaro Mark Cuban of hockey, this move has to be done. The Coyotes were never really feasible in this market that already has the Suns and Cardinals with established fanbases. Their original arena was shared with the Suns, and when they finally did build a new one, they consistantly had trouble filling the seats. The possibility of the Coyotes going bankrupt was prominent throughout the season, and the NHL bailed the club out with a loan in late February after having already repeatidly loaned them money.
Bettman's attempts to keep the current franchises in their cities is not going to work, and above all else he fails to realize that the other clubs must approve an ownership change before it can happen. LET HOCKEY GOVERN ITSELF YOU POMPOUS JACKASS! Many of the ownership groups in place have a better idea of where and how this sport should develop and what will be best for the sport. Along with this, not only is the fate of hockey in North America on the line, but with the current profit sharing agreement... so are their asses. No one ownership group is stupid enough to make a move that would bring down the NHL, and to be honest Jimmy boy cannot do much worse in Southern Ontario than all parties did in Phoenix.
Moving a club back to Canada isn't a bad idea Mr. Bettman... it just isn't yours. Remove your head from your ass and let the actual club owners figure this one out.
While Balsillie may be the bizzaro Mark Cuban of hockey, this move has to be done. The Coyotes were never really feasible in this market that already has the Suns and Cardinals with established fanbases. Their original arena was shared with the Suns, and when they finally did build a new one, they consistantly had trouble filling the seats. The possibility of the Coyotes going bankrupt was prominent throughout the season, and the NHL bailed the club out with a loan in late February after having already repeatidly loaned them money.
Bettman's attempts to keep the current franchises in their cities is not going to work, and above all else he fails to realize that the other clubs must approve an ownership change before it can happen. LET HOCKEY GOVERN ITSELF YOU POMPOUS JACKASS! Many of the ownership groups in place have a better idea of where and how this sport should develop and what will be best for the sport. Along with this, not only is the fate of hockey in North America on the line, but with the current profit sharing agreement... so are their asses. No one ownership group is stupid enough to make a move that would bring down the NHL, and to be honest Jimmy boy cannot do much worse in Southern Ontario than all parties did in Phoenix.
Moving a club back to Canada isn't a bad idea Mr. Bettman... it just isn't yours. Remove your head from your ass and let the actual club owners figure this one out.
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