A day after it was reported that he had reached a deal
to sell the Devils to YankeeNets for $175M, Devils Owner
John McMullen said the team "is not for sale," according to
Mark Czerwinski of the Bergen RECORD, who writes that
McMullen spent yesterday "engaging in more of those verbal
flip-flops" regarding a possible sale. McMullen: "I would
... be crazy to say that I wouldn't be interested in selling
the team at some point. But, no, I've never advertised it
for sale, and it's not listed with any broker. I love the
team. But there comes a point where you have to use your
head. We can't survive under the present economic
conditions" (Bergen RECORD, 1/14). But two Devils sources
have "assured" YankeeNets officials that McMullen's "public
denials should not be interpreted as backpedaling from
negotiations" (STAR-LEDGER, 1/14). In Toronto, Damien Cox
notes the reported $175M sale price of the Devils compared
to the recent sale prices of several NHL teams, including
the Blues and the Kiel Center for $100M and the Penguins for
$70M, and writes that "seeing the value of one of its 30
franchises jump by that much would warm the heart of any NHL
owner" (TORONTO STAR, 1/14).
N.Y. NOTES: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes that
prospective Jets Owner Robert Wood Johnson IV "might have
bought" the team for around $510M instead of $635M if
Charles Dolan had not been bidding. In order to "help
defray the huge cost, Johnson may add a partner -- a family
member is being mentioned as a possibility" (N.Y. TIMES,
1/14). In Newark, Dave Hutchinson writes that selling a
minority share in the team "would open the possibility of
Johnson's offering [Bill] Parcells a piece of the franchise
as an incentive to remain as head coach in 2000" (Newark
STAR-LEDGER, 1/14)....The Jets sale marks the eighth sports-
related deal brokered by investment bank Goldman Sachs in
the '90s, more than any investment bank in the world. The
total value of the deals is $2.2B (BLOOMBERG, 1/13).
