To Know Me Is To Love Me What The Hell Is Wrong With The NHL ?

To watch the NHL operate is to inadvertently watch a dying industry unravel in-front of your very eyes. Whatever the hierarchy sets out to do. Only they can screw things up to the very mindset that even their most earnest fans are no longer seemingly interested as to what’s going on. Very much like the US automotive industry is completely devoid of innovation and creativity. The very same can be said when it comes to the National Hockey League. And for God’s sake please don’t try to suggest that the Ford Motor Company is the epitome of good financial health ! They’re but a hair’s breath away from falling into the same abyss as GM and Chrysler LLC were in. If you consider mortgaging your future to the hilt , wherein you’re carrying in excess of $25 billion worth of debt . Then clearly there’s got to be something missing in your rationale. Never-mind the fact that sooner or later , they too, will be coming to the trough for a government handout.

A vocal Wayne Gretzky implores his team to make a play. The Phoenix Coyotes at the time were playing the Carolina Hurricanes. Gretzky as the team's coach and senior managing partner of the Coyotes have fallen hard times financially and are in bankruptcy proceedings. pictures appears courtesy of getty images north america/ Streeter Leckar ....................

How can one explain the extraordinary mess that’s now taking place with regard to the Phoenix Coyotes ? Never-mind the fact that another of the sports franchises is in the midst of an unseemly mess concerning two of its principal partners. Unless I’m mistaken the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Len Barrie and principal partner, Oren Koules , are about as close to reaching a compromise . As the Palestinians and Israeli’s are close to eking out a peace accord. The animosity between the two it has been stated , has reached its zenith. The two barely talk to one another and meetings between the two when it comes to dealing with the business side the franchise, has been less than cordial , to say the very least.

Oren Koules (left ) and Len Barrie (right) part of the current ownership group of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The relationship between the two has been very icy as of late and communication between them has been almost none existent. The two are fighting over the control of the franchise. And NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has mandated that two reach some sort of accord as to the outright ownership of the franchise. Either with each buying the other out or the franchise being put up for sale to an independent third party. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Chris O'Meara .............................

Courtesy of Canwest New Service in conjunction with Canada.com

Barry still wants Lightning

Len Barrie dismissed a weekend media report that he is about to skate away from his co-ownership of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

“We’re working on this and it will be decided by Friday” said Barrie.

The NHL has presented Barrie and dueling co-owner Oren Koules a chance to buy each other out.

Barrie’s deadline to pull together a deal is the end of September, after which Koules can make a pitch to the league. The Lightning franchise is valued at approximately US$ 200 million. Barrie wasn’t doing much talking Monday.

“We are bound by Gary’s gag order,” noted Barrie guardedly, referring to commissioner Gary Bettman’s blackout directive. “But I will say we are pressing forward.”

Street and Smith’s Sports Business Daily is reporting that Barrie may be teaming up with St Louis real estate magnate Tony Sansone Jr. in order to put together a bid.

Barrie, however, realizes nothing is guaranteed in this high stakes game of puck control.

“If I got my $40 million back , that wouldn’t be a bad day, either, in this (economic) climate, said the real estate developer from Victoria.

Koules, a Hollywood producer, is thought to have more financial heft than Barrie, but neither man is able to buy out the other ?

“Can we work together ?” said Barrie, rhetorically re-stating a query.

“That’s an excellent question. If neither is able to take out the other, we might have to.”

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The Coyotes having been placed within bankruptcy proceeding by its ownership. It had sought to sell itself off the highest bidder via the Federal Bankruptcy court proceedings. Two bidders entered the fray , but seemingly, the NHL appeared to be all too biased right from the get-go, as to whom they thought would be a desirable option as an owner. On the one hand you had Jim Balsillie , the founder of RIM , makers of the Blackberry. And on the other, you had Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls’ owner Jerry Reinsdorf . Balsillie made it abundantly clear that should he win the battle to purchase the franchise then he’d relocate the team to Canada.

Courtesy of Yahoo Sports and AP :

Reinsdorf out, NHL and Ice Edge in Coyotes case

By Bob Baum AP Sports Writer

Phoenix-(AP) A group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf has pulled out as a potential buyer of the Phoenix Coyotes just as the NHL and a partnership of Canadian and American investors have filed separate bids in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to purchase the team and keep it in Arizona.

The NHL announced its bid filing a few hours before word came that the investors’ group, known as Ice Edge Holdings ,had met Tuesday’s court-imposed deadline.

Ice Edge chairman Kenneth McCullough said in a news release that the plan was to “revitalize NHL hockey in Arizona and the southwestern United States.”

Reinsdorf’s said it was unable to meet the deadline for submitting a form offer. It also complained of “an unwilling seller” and “an organized publicity effort designed to provide negative and misleading information to interested parties.”

The Reinsdorf group said in a statement those tactics were a factor in the inability to reach an agreement with the city of Glendale on an acceptable lease to play in Jobing.com Arena.

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White Sox and Bulls' owner Jerry Reinsdorf shows off the trappings of success as sports franchise owner. With 6 NBA world championships and a World Series championship as well. Reinsdorf is one of the more successful owners within professional sports. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Mary Rylands

The NHL was dead set against Balsillie’s intentions , stating that it was in the franchise’s best interest to remain the Phoenix area. Well , considering that the Coyotes rarely sold out in their home venue. One can surmise that interest in hockey within the city of Phoenix was about as welcoming as the bubonic plague. And that’s even with hockey great ,Wayne Gretzky , within their midst , as a principal partner in the ownership of the franchise. They’ve performed poorly as a team, from a business standpoint their fan-base has diminished greatly over the years , since their introduction to the area. All this and seemingly the NHL still believes that they can make a go of it, still,within the city of Phoenix. For his part Reinsdorf, was willing let the franchise remain within Phoenix. But he’d have a hands on approach as to the innermost dealings of the franchise , by bringing in his own people. Somewhere along the way however, having to deal with the NHL as well as the legal system and the ownership group of the Coyotes has proven to be far too much for Reinsdorf to bear. He could never get a straight answer from either party and it wasn’t as if the asking price would’ve proven to a problem for someone of Reinsdorf’s enormous wealth. So Reinsdorf has walked away from the table and left it all in the hands of the NHL .

Though I’ve never been an avid fan of the sport of hockey. I have to admit that when it comes to sports my first interest as such is from the business aspect of it all. It’s my belief that in order to have a successful sports franchise. You first have to have sound business principles in place as well as experienced individuals to carry those duties out. It would appear that in the NHL and for that matter in each of the four major high profiled sports. The owners and the respective hierarchies aren’t that much different from the sometimes cumbersome and archaic individuals to tend to think of themselves as captains of industry. That being said the lessons that have been learned recently as to the malaise within the financial sector , the automotive and industry and economy as a whole. And there may well be good reason to believe that the sanest individuals about , may well be those who forsook the chance to delve deeply into fairy tales being told as to the health and wealth of the country and the economy. The same too can be said as to the state of play within the National Hockey League as a whole.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman seen here speaks at a Reuters Media Summit in November 2007. At the time Bettman was discussing whether or not the league would be contracting , expanding or indeed relocating teams to new cities . picture appears courtesy of reuters/photo/ Brendan McDermid ....................

Commissioner Gary Bettman and the hierarchy of the NHL couldn’t find their own sphincters, if they were handed a flashlight in a dark room with an anatomically enhanced diagram to guide them. For all sense and purpose the state of play for hockey and its relevance is no better than it was before their walkout or since their return.

It Just Screams Idiocy

I’ve never been much of a hockey fan. As I could never get into the sport and having seen how naive and asinine both the hierarchy of the sport and players are !. It’s been of no surprise to me to see the sport fall from grace in the eyes of many.

The Stanley Cup trophy perhaps the most revered trophy of the four major sports in North America. It's certainly the one with the most illustrious history behind it all. picture appears courtesy ap/photo/ Doug MacLellan ...........

And though the recent Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings was thrilling and filled with excitement. It still doesn’t hide the fact that the sport is still in trouble. And it must’ve come as a surprise to many that there was an up tick in viewing for the Finals. It was a thrilling seven game series with the Penguins proving to be victorious. And to top it all Sid ‘The Kid’ Crosby , one of the fresh faces of the NHL had won a Stanley Cup trophy. He may well not be viewed as the best player in the NHL. With the viewpoint being that mantel belongs to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman who at this moment has be overly cautious as to what has to be taking place concerning both the Coyotes and the Lightning. Albeit that it'd appear that the sale of the Montreal Canadiens went through smoothly . picture appears courtesy of getty images / Richard Carnhouser ............

What has been intriguing to me as of late is the tumultuous rumblings now going on within two franchises within the NHL itself. The franchises in question are the Phoenix Coyotes and the Tampa Bay Lightning . It’d appear that both of the franchises are either being mismanaged or the very fact that neither is in a financially stable position. Never mind the fact that the sport’s hierarchy has done as is humanly possible to rein in expenses and put in place a salary cap . That in ofitself hasn’t stop many of the teams resorting to their old ways. And that is to sign several of their big stars to financially exorbitant long term contracts.

And less we forget all of the salaries paid to the players in terms of this is guaranteed . Unlike in the NFL where the only money that’s guaranteed to a player is that of their signing bonus and roster bonus as an added incentive. Their salary in effect is pro-rated over the course of the contract wherein the signing bonus or upfront money is guaranteed.

With that in mind what’s now unfolding within both the Coyotes’ organization and that of the Lightning organization should be of great concern to the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. In particular that of the Coyotes whose situation and fate may well end up being decided within the Federal Court System. As for the Lightning their’s is a situation that has that of an overly ambitious partnership group where neither of the major partners has any previous experience in the ownership of professional sports franchise.

And whilst the present approach by Bettman may well be to watch from afar. I’m sure that he’s placing this all under close scrutiny within the hierarchy. If nothing else he has to have his own observers in place to make sure that nothing untoward is taking place that’d hurt the integrity of the sport and damage it further in the eyes of the public. It was bad enough having to see both the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the NHL show their intransigence which led to an enforced stoppage and lockout. It became a PR disaster and nightmare that they still haven’t yet recovered from.

Jim Balsillie Co Chief Executive and Co Founder of Research In Motion (RIM) , makers of the PDA device the Blackberry. Balsillie initially made a $200m bid for the Phoenix Coyotes. The bid was rejected and he's yet to decide whether or not he'll make a higher offer for the franchise whilst it remains within bankruptcy proceedings. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Anna Harris ..........

With that in mind what happens next within these two franchises may well yet prove to let us know whether or not the sport still has a long term viability as a going concern. The hits that it has taken has blunted the resolve of even the most ardent fans of the sport. And in this economic climate with rising unemployment , less revenues coming in via major corporate sponsors. And a downward trend in terms of viewership in all forms , in terms of its presentation on television and cable. The malaise of both the Lightning and Coyotes may leave the fans wondering if it’s in their best interest to still follow the sport.

The scenario is now being set whereby there are said to be two interested parties in now assuming control of the Phoenix Coyotes. With team in having filed for bankruptcy protection . It will be left to a judge to preside over who will end up owning the team. The two rival bidders who aim to assume control are Jim Balsillie and Jerry Reinsdorf. Balisillie as you may well be aware is the co-Chief Executice of Research In Motion (RIM), makers of the Blackberry. Reinsdorf as you may well be aware is the owner of both the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox. He made his fortune as in the real estate business. Albeit that it was somewhat under dubious means by taking advantage of a relativlely little known legal statute passed within the US Supreme Court. (Frank Lyon Co. v. United States)

And while we’re left to await the judge’s decision on the matter. The question one has to be asking is if Wayne Gretzky as one of the principal partners in the ownership of the Coyotes cannot make the franchise a going concern in Phoenix. Then how was it viewed as a viable maneuver to begin with in the first place ? And whilst no one would deem it appropriate to question the integrity of Gretzky. It has to be said that this may well be the one blot on his already stellar resume’ that he would no doubt like to see go away. Financially it may well have cost him far more than he’d bargained for . But mentally what can than this have done to his resolve ?

Wayne Gretzky, principal managing partner , co-owner and coach of the Phoenix Coyotes watches as his team plays the San Jose Sharks. The Coyotes are now in bankruptcy proceedings and now looking for a new owner. Likely bidders for the NHL franchise are Jerry Reinsdorf , owner of The Chicago Bulls (NBA) and White Sox (MLB). And the other potential bidder is Jim Balsillie the co-founder of Research In Motion (RIM Inc.,) Makers of the Blackberry . picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Bruce Bennett ..........

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s situation can be best described as having ‘too many Chiefs and not enough Indians’. Wherein the principal owners of the newly acquired franchise were merely Hollywood big wigs . Oren Koules, a tv and film producer and his partner Len Barrie came in made the splash that one’d only normally associate with the big league within Hollywood. Unfortunately no one within the Tampa Bay area really know who they were. Nor did they really give a damn.

Principal ownership partners Oren Koules (left) and Len Barrie speak with the locally convened press. After it has been formally announced that the two had purchased the franchise from former owner Bill Davidson. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Martin Owens …….

What has since transpired within the franchise has been there for all to see. The team’s GM Brian Lawton has been less than forthcoming when it comes to addressing a number of issues concerning the team and its personnel. So much so that many former favorites on the team were basically shown the door . All in order to cut costs and as they’d put it make the team more competitive and much younger in terms of the roster.

What they did achieve however, was to produce a last placed team within their division. And most certainly one of the worst performing franchises both on and off the ice last season. This all coming from a franchise that had won the Stanley Cup in thrilling fashion as recently as 2004 , defeating the Calgary Flames ,in seven games. And at the helm of it all was former coach John Tortorella.

Obviously with new ownership ,one at times expects to see sweeping changes being made. And this was decided upon by the partnership of Koules , Lawton and Barrie. In doing so they appointed former NHL player , coach turned tv hockey analyst Barry Melrose. And for Melrose this was an inauspicious start . But the fanfare that said to be Melrose appointment soon turned into an unbelievable nightmare. He couldn’t seem to communicate with the players on the team. And more often than his form of coaching amounted to throwing temper tantrums and the berating of the players. Inconceivably the idea of hiring Melrose to coach the team back fired . He was summarily dismissed by Lawton. Rick Tocchet was promoted and the team struggled to show any semblance of being competitive.

Melrose at the dais takes questions from the locally convened press after the offer to coach the Tampa Bay Lightning. Also in picture principal owners Len Barrie, Oren Koules (center) and minority stake owner Craig Sher. Melrose was summarily dismissed by GM Brian Lawton after an abysmal start to the season. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Stuart Mattheson ……

While much of this was happening what was not known was that the two principal partners in Koules and Barrie were having financial issues. As Barrie had yet to place the initial $5m that was said to be a down payment as his part of the deal in purchasing the franchise. It has seemingly led to an acrimonious feud between the two . That for all sense and purpose has been an embarrassment for the franchise as well the NHL, itself.

Tampa Bay Lightning GM Brian Lawton . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Jim Russell ...............

And though the two in public appear to be the best of buddies. It’s said that behind closed doors the acrimony , name calling and internal turmoil still goes on. Furthermore with the franchise now seeing dwindling revenues there’s a great deal of speculation that they’re either prepared to listen to offers for the team’s best player in Vincent ‘Vinny’ Lecavalier. And for the die hard fans of this franchise it’d thought to be sacreligious were that to happen . He’s seen as the face of the franchise and one the last holdouts of from their Stanlely Cup winning roster.

Now while all of this plays out in the public domain. One can either choose to take sides. Or merely watch these events play themselves out. One thing is for sure the fans of both franchises are watching closely as the asinine idiocy that’s taking place plays itself out to reach finality about it. As to what it says about the game’s hierarchy and the sport itself . To me it screams nothing more than idiocy and stupidtity from the get go !

Seemingly there’s little intelligence amongst any of the owners within the sport. And there’s even less intelligence being shown by the game’s hierarchy !