Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs said she has "never supported" having the Coyotes leave town, but she added, "Now I believe that the only realistic thing to do is to take a look, for all of us as the elected officials, to look at what would life be like with no team in the arena.” When asked what had changed, Scruggs said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman "felt that the Goldwater Institute’s threat of a lawsuit might make the sale to Mr. Hulsizer invalidated in the future.” Scruggs: “In many ways the city of Glendale has no control over our future. We have some, but we don’t have final control. The decision is with the National Hockey League." She added she did not have "a lot of confidence" the Coyotes would still be in Glendale after the '11-12 season (KPNX-NBC, 7/7).
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: In Buffalo, Jim Fink wrote Sabres Owner Terry Pegula, a little more than four months after buying the team, "is proving -- on an almost daily basis -- that he is a man of his word and dedication when it comes to all things related or connected to the Sabres." Since he bought the team, Pegula has "invested nearly $120 million on player signings, improvements to HSBC Arena and creating a new sense of goodwill that goes well beyond his vision of 'hockey heaven' when it comes to the Sabres" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/7). In N.Y., Jeff Klein writes, "After the chaos of John Rigas’s tenure as the owner and the austerity of Tom Golisano’s reign, the Sabres were a tough sell to free agents. Pegula has changed that in his remarkably upbeat few months as owner" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/8).
GEORGIA ON MY MIND: YAHOO SPORTS' Greg Wyshynski reported since the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, the Predators have been searching their "own ticket database to find sales made in the Atlanta area to gauge interest." The package geared toward Thrashers fans allows them to pick "five of eight games" on the Predators schedule, including a preseason game against the Jets, and in return receive a free lower bowl ticket for the March 24 Jets-Predators game at Bridgestone Arena. Wyshynski: "It's a genius move by Nashville" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/7).
CLOSING TIME: The Devils announced Wednesday that the ECHL Trenton Devils "will suspend operations beginning with the 2011-12 season." A source said that the Devils "sought a buyer for the ECHL franchise, but were unable to find one and are moving forward with restructuring the organization’s minor league system." The ECHL also "failed in finding a new owner for the Trenton franchise" (NORTHJERSEY.com, 7/6).
