Prospective Coyotes Owner Matthew Hulsizer “has provided a new proposal to Glendale” for the purchase of the team, according to a source cited by Scott Burnside of ESPN.com. The proposal “would give the city more options for financing the deal and is more attractive than the deal Glendale previously agreed to, which is presumably still on the books.” Sources said that there is a “divide within city government with some members of the council wanting to move forward with this new proposal while others, including city manager Ed Beasley, wanting to wait to see if Hulsizer will kick in more of his own money to buy the team or another owner will come forward to buy the team and put less of a financial burden on the municipality” (ESPN.com, 6/9).
NOT PLAYING BALL: In Toronto, Mark Zwolinski reports the NHL has “denied a report that it has held talks with” RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie “about acquiring a franchise.” A Forbes report said that Balsillie “has received assurances from the league that will open the door to an NHL franchise in the future, but it comes with conditions.” One of those conditions reportedly is that Balsillie must not “create any more spectacles or bad publicity for the league.” But NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly in an e-mail Thursday said, “We have not had any conversations or communications with Mr. Balsillie or any of his people regarding the potential acquisition of an NHL club” (TORONTO STAR, 6/10).
CLARIFICATION: A report from The Hockey News about a possible ownership change of the Wild, cited in today’s Morning Buzz and SBD, has been pulled from the publication’s website for further review, according to THN’s Editor-in-Chief Jason Kay. As such, the story has also been pulled from www.sportsbusinessdaily.com.
