Bankrupt Woes

In a time when gloom and doom headlines about the economy fill the news, it is tempting to focus solely on the few positive stories out there. One of these certainly is Zac Greinke, the pitcher who is putting Kansas City on the baseball map. Indeed, with majors-leading numbers like a 6-0 record, 0.40 earned run average, and 54 strikeouts, Greinke is the feel-good story of the young baseball season.

However, I feel there is a much more important story that needs to be told. So here it is: news came Tuesday that the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Looking further into this story reveals some very compelling storylines. Turns out that the NHL was not happy about how the situation has been handled, and has removed team owner Jerry Moyes from any authority to run the club.

How can the league office pull off such a dictatorial move? Apparently the team received a loan from the league recently, which gave the NHL more power over the team's destiny. The team is definitely in trouble monetarily, as the team owes more than $500,000 to the city of Glendale, Arizona for stadium rent and other services and more than $300,000 in broadcasting dues.

Jim Balsillise, Co-CEO of Research in Motion, which makes the Blackberry product line, has put together a $212.5 million deal to purchase the struggling team.

Sounds like a sweet deal, right? Not according to the NHL. As a condition of the purchase, Balsillise wants to move the team to southern Ontario, Canada. For some unknown reason, league commissioner Gary Bettman does not want this scenario to play out. In fact, it has been well documented that he is angered by the Coyotes attempts to sell out to Belsillise.

It seems somewhat puzzling that the NHL would be opposed to the Coyotes working to fix their economic woes by packing up and moving to Canada. Why would you not want a billionaire to buy a financially troubled team and move it to an area that gets excited about hockey? Yet for some reason, Bettman seems determined to find another buyer for the team in an effort to keep them in Glendale.

According to a report on nhl.com, Bettman and the league office are investigating whether Moyes had the authority to file for bankruptcy in the first place. Apparently, Bettman views Moyes' actions as challenges to league authority, and believes that the economic situation of the team could be reversed with new ownership, providing some insight into his opposition to the club relocating.

Looking at the potential economic benefits of moving to southern Ontario, it seems that the team could get a windfall of cash compared to their current location in the desert.

Regardless, it will be interesting to watch, simply because of all the variables here. The team currently has a 30-year lease for its home stadium, the Jobing.com Arena, and it is yet unknown how the bankruptcy filing will affect this contract. To make things even more interesting, the great Wayne Gretsky is part owner, head of hockey operations, and head coach of the team. The Great One was born and raised in Ontario, just in case you wondered. Coincidence? I think not.