The NHL has "planned a meeting to end all meetings
concerning the Penguins' ownership crisis, one that would
finally resolve the feud" between co-Owners Howard Baldwin
and Roger Marino, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. The meeting will take place in
N.Y. at an "undetermined date" within the next ten days and
will include Baldwin, Marino and a few of the teams'
creditors. Though the NHL is unable to "impose" a decision,
it has indicated it will "push hard for a resolution." NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman first wants to meet with Baldwin
in the next three days to review his five-year plan "to make
the team profitable again," which he put together with the
help of his lawyers and Boston consulting firm Beacon
Sports. Though Baldwin "has yet to secure enough investors"
in his bid to buy out Marino, he said that league support of
his plan will help him convince investors to join his group.
Baldwin: "It's a good plan, a solid, viable plan." Baldwin
is also talking with Civic Arena manager SMG, who filed suit
against the Pens for failure to pay a $545,000 installment
on a $1M promissory note. Baldwin has been meeting with SMG
and "wants to work" with them. SMG President Wes Westley,
on their relationship: "Howard is somebody we can work with,
but not the other guy [Marino]" (POST-GAZETTE, 9/15).
THAT OTHER GUY: Marino told Joe Starkey of the
Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW that he believes Baldwin misled
him with "wildly inaccurate" financial projections for the
team. Marino: "His plan said we would earn $2.7 million
last season, and we end up losing 17 something million.
What kind of a plan is that?" (TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 9/14).