Report: Barroway's Coyotes Deal "Falling Apart," GM Ordered To Shed Payroll

The deal giving Philadelphia hedge-fund manager Andrew Barroway majority control of the Coyotes “appears to be falling apart, with Barroway seemingly on the verge of backing out,” according to sources cited by Larry Brooks of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that the team’s current ownership has “directed GM Don Maloney to shed payroll … which would mean stripping the club with the league’s third-lowest payroll into a bare-bones operation” (N.Y. POST, 12/6). However, Fox Sports Arizona’s Craig Morgan on his Twitter feed cited two team sources as refuting the report. A source said of the initial report, “That is completely inaccurate. IceArizona has never directed Don Maloney to shed payroll." The source added, “Barroway remains on the agenda for the upcoming NHL BOG meetings & the deal remains on track” (TWITTER.com, 12/6). However, Morgan did report the NHL BOG's approval of Barroway's deal to purchase 51% of the team is “delayed, perhaps until the All-Star break in late January” (FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com, 12/5).