NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday "slapped down speculation" that a potential new investor in the Coyotes "would result in the team" relocating, according to Peter Corbett of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Bettman prior to the Coyotes' season opener against the Jets said that interest in the Coyotes from an investor -- whom he declined to identify -- "indicates the club is stronger than when the NHL sold it last year to the current ownership group," IceArizona, headed by team President & CEO Anthony LeBlanc. Bettman: "Someone has decided that this is a good place to invest. That's good for the game, the league and this community." Corbett notes it has been "widely reported" the potential investor is Philadelphia hedge fund manager Andrew Barroway. Bettman said rumors about the team leaving town are "somewhere between unfair and disappointing." He said of the team reaching an agreement with the new investor, "I don't view this as something that is going to linger for weeks or months, if it happens. Both sides have to decide if they're going to be comfortable getting married" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/10). Bettman said that the NHL "did not play any role in soliciting investors for IceArizona or the Coyotes." He said, "There's been no need" (FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com, 10/9).
REASONS FOR SKEPTICISM? The AP's Jose Romero wrote of the Coyotes, "New team name, new building name, same ownership drama" (AP, 10/9). In Phoenix, Paola Boivin writes the emergence of Barroway as a potential new investor "could be a good thing," as an infusion of revenue "could mean more opportunities to add personnel to a team that was a limited player (again) in the offseason." But Bettman's "defiance that everything is hunky-dory was off-putting, too." Bettman: "Actually at this point I don't understand the (fan) exasperation. Everything we've told you for the last four years has come to fruition, just the way we told you it would. ... So for people to still be cynical at this point or question either our intention or IceArizona's intentions, I think is grossly unfair at this point." But Boivin notes ownership issues have "hounded" the Coyotes "throughout a lifespan that included four years of NHL ownership." Boivin: "So please, don't blame fans for their skepticism" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/10). Meanwhile, the AP's Romero noted the Phoenix area "could get an NHL All-Star Game in the near future." Bettman said, "I don't have a date, but we owe you a game." Bettman also said that the league "will play an outdoor game at some point in Winnipeg," and "only a date for that is needed" (AP, 10/9).
ISLAND OF ADVENTURE: On Long Island, Neil Best notes the Islanders yesterday confirmed the "finalization of the sale of the team" from Charles Wang to Jonathan Ledecky and Scott Malkin, with the new owners "scheduled to be introduced at a news conference Wednesday at Nassau Coliseum." Ledecky and Malkin under the terms of the deal "initially will own a minority stake, then assume majority control two years from now, with Wang becoming a minority owner" (NEWSDAY, 10/10).
INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE: FOXSPORTS.com's Julie Stewart-Binks cited a source as saying that a formal announcement of a return of the World Cup of Hockey "could come as soon as Wednesday during the commissioner's annual state-of-the-league address." Bettman on Monday said, "My personal view is that we should do a World Cup in the offseason, at least initially." He added, "We think it's something that is important for us to do, that would be extremely well received all over the world" (FOXSPORTS.com, 10/7).
