Bettman Orders Burke, Lowe To "Cease and Desist" Bickering

Bettman Orders Ducks, Oilers GMs To Cease Public Feud

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in a conference call yesterday with Ducks Exec VP & GM Brian Burke and Oilers GM Kevin Lowe "ordered them to stop" their feud, according to Eric Stephens of the L.A. TIMES. The Ducks said in a statement, "The NHL, in response to Kevin Lowe's comments over the weekend, has ordered both Burke and Lowe to both cease and desist." Lowe Friday on Edmonton's CFRN-AM "ripped Burke ... calling him a 'moron' and a 'media junkie.'" Lowe's "tirade was in response to Burke's criticism of Lowe last week." Burke "blamed Lowe for the sharp rise in salaries for talented young players." Stephens notes "no fines or penalties were handed out" (L.A. TIMES, 7/8). Burke last Thursday said, "It sure looks to me like the (salary cap thresholds) are being driven by 6-12 teams. This may not be sustainable. Let me put it this way: We won the Stanley Cup last year and still lost millions of dollars. And we had a great rise in revenue; it's not like we weren't looking after our house. But we still weren't eligible for revenue sharing" (VANCOUVER SUN, 7/5).

DONE DEAL: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman reports in a "sign that confidence in the [NHL] continues to grow, CIT Group Inc. said Monday it had completed" a $100M loan agreement with new Oilers Owner Daryl Katz for the purchase of the team. Katz, who had reached a deal to purchase the Oilers for $200M in February, was able to complete his purchase in "about three months," while Oren Koules' $200M purchase of the Lightning "took nearly two years to close, partly because of financing problems." Katz said that the purchase of the Oilers "was timed to take advantage of a booming local economy." CIT Managing Dir of Media, Entertainment & Sports Gordon Saint-Denis: "The debt markets have been a little finicky. But this is a deal for a hockey team in Canada, where hockey is king, and Edmonton has been doing very well from an economic standpoint" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/8). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Daniel Kaplan wrote the interest rate yield the Oilers paid as part of the agreement "was far higher than in sports deals past." The Oilers also agreed to terms, "or covenants, that had not been a part of many loans during the more-robust credit environment of a year ago." The team is "paying 325 points over the Bankers Acceptance Rate, a Canadian interest rate benchmark." Last week the rate was at 3.12%, meaning the Oilers' rate was 6.37% (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/7 issue).