Posted by admin on 16th, 2009
PHOENIX (AP)—The Coyotes are staying in Phoenix, at least for now.
A bankruptcy judge has rejected the proposed sale of the franchise to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who would have moved the team to Hamilton, Ontario.
Judge Redfield T. Baum issued a 21-page ruling late Monday afternoon, concluding the June 29 deadline imposed by Balsillie did not allow enough time to resolve the complex case.
“Simply put, the court does not think there is sufficient time (14 days) for all of these issues to be fairly presented to the court given that deadline,” the judge wrote.
The ruling is a victory for the NHL, which had argued Balsillie was using the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to make an end-run around the league’s rules over who owns teams and where they are located.
“We’re pleased the court recognized the validity of league rules and our ability to apply them in a reasonable fashion,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement Monday night. “We will turn our attention now toward helping to facilitate an orderly sales process that will produce a local buyer who is committed to making the Coyotes’ franchise viable and successful in the Phoenix-Glendale area. We are confident that we will be able to find such a buyer for the Coyotes and that the claims of legitimate creditors will be addressed.”
But Balsillie, who has failed in two other bids to buy NHL teams, refused to concede defeat, saying he wants to work with the league and move the franchise.
“We look forward to hearing from the NHL soon on its view of our relocation application and an appropriate relocation fee, so as to allow the court to determine if that fee is reasonable,” Balsillie spokesman Bill Walker said. “We still think there is enough time for the NHL to approve Mr. Balsillie’s application and move the team to Hamilton by September.”
Walker said the judge’s ruling “invited mediation.”
“Mr. Balsillie is willing to participate in such mediation if the NHL is also willing to do so,” Walker’s statement said.
Baum called the case unprecedented in U.S. bankruptcy history.
“The legal issues trigger not only bankruptcy law, but antitrust law and commercial law in the context of a professional sports team, as a Chapter 11 debtor, which team has for years incurred, and is continuing to incur, very serious financial losses and problems,” Baum wrote. “No cases have been found that precisely or even closely fit this scenario.”
Walker’s statement ignored several aspects of the ruling that were made against Balsillie.
Baum shot down the claim by Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes and Balsillie that failure to allow the team, over the objection of the NHL, to move would violate antitrust law.
“This court can not find that antitrust law, as applicable nonbankruptcy law, permits the sale free and clear of the relocation rights of the NHL,” Baum wrote.
He added, “It is not an antitrust violation for professional sports leagues to have terms and conditions on relocations of its members.”
An antitrust claim requires a “bona fide dispute,” but there is none because Balsillie only sought the NHL’s permission to relocate the franchise after it was brought up in court, Baum wrote.
“This court is unconvinced that it should order that the NHL must decide the relocation application to meet the June 29 deadline,” the judge wrote.
Baum also rejected claims by Moyes and Balsillie that while assuming the contract the Coyotes have with the NHL, they can disregard the portion of the agreement that requires the games be played in Glendale.
The judge compared that claim to “a purchaser of a bankrupt franchise in a remote location asserting that it can be relocated far from its original agreed site to a highly valuable location, for example New York City’s Times Square …”
The judge’s decision is also a win for the city of Glendale, which had spent $183 million to build an arena for the Coyotes and had contended the franchise could not use bankruptcy to evade its lease.
Baum said that because he was rejecting the motion, he need not rule at this time on whether Moyes and Balsillie could void Glendale’s lease. The city said it was pleased with the ruling.
“Clearly the court recognized the significance of these issues and the unique interests of the City of Glendale and its taxpayers,” the city said in a statement. “The court based its decision on the law and facts and not on countless rumors and innuendo regarding this matter.”
This is the third time Balsillie—whose company makes the Blackberry—has tried to buy an NHL team. His made previous attempts to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.
Moyes took the NHL by surprise when he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5, proposing to sell the team to Balsillie for $212.5 million, contingent on the franchise moving to Hamilton, Ontario.
The NHL said that commissioner Gary Bettman was on his way to deliver a letter of intent to Moyes from Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of baseball’s Chicago White Sox and the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, to purchase the team and keep it in Glendale. However, any bid to buy the team will be far less than the offer Balsillie made.
“I think people are going to be shocked when they see the value of this team remaining in Glendale,” Moyes’ attorney Thomas Salerno said. “It’s going to be materially less than the offer we have on the table.”
Salerno said Moyes is disappointed and is evaluating his options. Moyes says he has more than $300 million invested in the team and would have recouped about $100 million if the Balsillie sale had gone through.
The NHL says four parties, including Reinsdorf, have filed preliminary applications to investigate purchasing the team and keeping it in Arizona. However, if no buyer can be found, the league would look to relocate the franchise.
Moyes and Balsillie contended that the team would never succeed in Arizona and would flourish in hockey-crazy Ontario. But the move raised territorial rights issues because of the proximity of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.
Baum had raised the specter of a fee due to the NHL and the two teams if the franchise moved.
The Coyotes have lost more than $300 million since the franchise moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1996, and at least $36 million each of the last three seasons, but the NHL contends the franchise can be viable with better management and more success on the ice.
Associated Press writers Jonathan Cooper and Mark Carlson in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Posted by admin on 16th, 2009
Reproduced from Yahoo!
PITTSBURGH (AP)—Pittsburgh Penguins fans have been lining up along the Stanley Cup victory parade route since dawn and police say they’re prepared even if the crowd is as big as the one that turned out for a Super Bowl victory parade in February.
The Penguins’ parade begins at noon Monday and will cover the same route that drew an estimated 300,000 fans to the city two days after the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII.
The Penguins won the franchise’s third Stanley Cup on Friday with a 2-1 victory in the seventh game of the finals in Detroit.
Players and coaches are expected to address the crowd at a stage erected at the end of the parade route downtown.
Posted by admin on 5th, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Markus Naslund wrapped up a 15-year NHL career when he retired Monday after just one season with the New York Rangers.
Naslund, who left the Vancouver Canucks last summer as a free agent, signed a two-year deal worth $8 million with the Rangers but decided to skip the final season when he will be 36.
The five-time All-Star spent parts of 12 seasons with the Canucks and was brought to New York by general manager Glen Sather after the Rangers failed to re-sign captain Jaromir Jagr.
Naslund played all 82 games this season, recording 24 goals and 46 points, but he had only one goal and two assists in the Rangers’ seven-game loss to Washington in the first round of the playoffs.
“I would like to sincerely thank Glen Sather and the New York Rangers for giving me the opportunity this past season in New York,” Naslund said. “I would also like to thank the Vancouver Canucks and all of their fans for their support over the 11-plus seasons I was a part of their organization, as well as to the Pittsburgh Penguins where I began my NHL career.”
Naslund scored a career-high 104 points—including 48 goals—during the 2002-03 campaign when he won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player as chosen by his peers, but his numbers went down each of the next five seasons.
Naslund, who served as captain of the Canucks for eight seasons, was chosen with the No. 16 overall pick in the 1991 draft by Pittsburgh and spent three seasons with the Penguins before being traded to Vancouver in 1996.
The announcement by the Swedish left winger will help the salary-cap challenged Rangers, who will now have more flexibility to add to an anemic offense that scored only 11 goals in the postseason loss to the Capitals.
In 1,117 regular-season NHL games, Naslund had 395 goals and 869 points. He reached the 40-goal mark three times and scored at least 30 in six seasons.
Naslund played in 52 postseason games, recording 14 goals and 36 points.
This article is re-published from Sports.Yahoo.com . All ownership belongs to Yahoo!
Posted by admin on 19th, 2009
With a few games gone, we’re starting to get an idea of how the first round of the Playoffs will play out. Here are how things stand right now.
Eastern Conference:
Boston Bruins Vs Montreal Canadiens
Games played: 2
Boston lead the series 2-0
NY Rangers Vs Washington Capitals
Games played: 2
NY Ranges lead the series 2-0
Carolina Hurricanes Vs New Jersey Devils
Games played: 2
Series tied 1-1
Pittsburgh Penguins Vs Philadelphia Flyers
Games played: 2
Pittsburgh lead the series 2-0
Western Conference:
San Jose Sharks Vs Anaheim Ducks
Games played: 1
Anaheim leads the series 1-0
Detroit Red Wings Vs Columbus Blue Jackets
Games played: 2
Detroit lead the series 2-0
Vancouver Canucks Vs St Louis Blues
Games played: 2
Vancouver lead the series 2-0
Calgary Flames Vs Chicago Blackhawks
Games played: 2
Chicago lead the series 2-0
Posted by admin on 21st, 2008
Top News Stories:
- Avangard Omsk returns to ice after Cherepanov death
The Avangard Omsk hockey team on Monday played its first Kontinental Hockey League game since the death of promising winger Alexei Cherepanov.
With Cherepanov’s parents in attendance, captain Alexander Svitov and alternates Anton Kuryanov and Alexander Popov skated with Cherepanov’s jersey No. 7 before it was raised to the rafters. An announcement was made that his No. 7 will never be worn again.
“It was tough on those three guys,” Omsk coach Wayne Fleming told TSN of Canada on Monday. “They didn’t have a lot of time to wipe their tears before the puck drop and away they went. And there was no warmup music at all. There was no talking among the players as both teams went about their warmup rituals and practice drills.”
(View the full story on Yahoo! Sports)
- Avery returns to the Garden
Sean Avery hurried out of Madison Square Garden nearly as quickly as he left the New York Rangers as a free agent.
“I love you guys,” Avery said to a large throng of reporters in the
tight visitors dressing room, “but I have to go take my teammates out
to dinner.”
Avery made his presence felt upon his return to Manhattan after 1
1/2 seasons of being the resident Rangers pest. He didn’t show up on
the scoresheet Monday, but he walked out into the New York nightlife he
relishes after he and the Dallas Stars skated off with a 2-1 victory.
(View the full story on Yahoo! Sports)
3 Stars of the day (NHL.com):
- Ryan Smyth – Colorado Avalanche (2G 0A 2Pts)
- Dany Sabourin – Pittsburgh Penguins (SV35 SA36 Sv% .972)
- Mike Modano – Dallas Stars (1G 0A 1Pts 1GWG)
Injury Updates:
- Devils C Holik out 3-4 weeks
The New Jersey Devils on Monday announced that veteran center Bobby Holik will be sidelined three to four weeks with a broken right pinkie. Holik, who left in the second period of the team’s 4-3 shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday, is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. In a corresponding move, the Devils recalled left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond from Lowell of the American Hockey League. (Yahoo!)
- DiPietro feeling good
DiPietro (knee) said he was “feeling good” after Monday’s practice, the New York Newsday reports. (Yahoo!)
Transactions:
- Rangers add LW DiDiomete
The New York Rangers on Monday agreed to terms with left wing Devin DiDiomete. Known as an enforcer, DiDiomete notched 23 goals and 56 points with 216 penalty minutes over 56 games last season with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League. The 20-year-old DiDiomete also had six goals and six assists with 62 penalty minutes in 21 playoff contests. (Yahoo!)
- Flyers assign RW Downie, C Ross to minors
The Philadelphia Flyers assigned right wing Steve Downie and center Jared Ross to the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League on Monday. Both have played sparingly as the Flyers have gotten off to a miserable 0-3-2 start. Neither has recorded a point. (Yahoo!)
- Carolina send Zach Boychuk to WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes
Zach Boychuk is on his way back to the Western Hockey League. The Carolina Hurricanes announced Monday that the 19-year-old forward would rejoin his junior team in Lethbridge for the rest of the season. (Yahoo!)
- Red Wings place RW McCarty on waivers
The Detroit Red Wings on Monday placed veteran right wing Darren McCarty on waivers, according to a published report. The Detroit News reported that if the 36-year-old clears waivers, he could be sent to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League. All other NHL clubs have until noon on Tuesday to claim McCarty, who has been part of four Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings. (Yahoo!)
Trade Rumors: (bought to you by spectorshockey.net)
- EAGLE TRIBUNE.COM: Mike McMahon reports Phil Kessel’s improvement this season has turned him into the “sniper the Bruins need him to be”, silencing his critics and putting the rest the trade rumors that dogged him since last season. McMahon suggests the Bruins need to re-sign Kessel before he become a restricted free agent next summer.
- ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Dan Wood reports on the media circus that’ll dog Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke during his club’s swing into Toronto this week, where he’s rumored to be in the running for the job of Maple Leafs general manager when his current contract expires with the Ducks at season’s end. Burke isn’t keen on discussing his future but added he’d make a decision on re-signing with the Ducks by no later than Christmas.
- DETROIT NEWS: reports the Red Wings have placed popular forward Darren McCarty on waivers.
- VANCOUVER PROVINCE: reports the Canucks have recalled forwards Kyle Wellwood and Matt Pettinger and are confident both will clear re-entry waivers.
- SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS: reports the Sharks have placed their 2004 first round pick Lukas Kaspar on waivers.
- View the full article on Spectorshockey
Game Results:
| Pittsburgh vs Boston |
|
| Pittsburgh |
2 |
Final SO |
| Boston |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Dallas
vs NY Rangers |
|
| Dallas |
2 |
Final |
| NY Rangers |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Florida
vs Montreal |
|
| Florida |
1 |
Final |
| Montreal |
3 |
|
|
|
|
Colorado
vs Los Angeles |
|
| Colorado |
4 |
Final |
| Los Angeles |
3 |
|
Source: Yahoo! Sports | TSN.ca | ESPN | NHL.com
Technorati Tags: nhl, ice hockey, game results, trade rumours, trade rumors, nhl contracts
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