The Phoenix Coyotes is turning out to be the source of most NHL news these days. The events are taking on a soap opera like appearance, with law suits flying and most probably major scheming going on behind closed door. Oh, how much would I give to be there in the middle of all of this right now!
So far, in the Saga of the Coyotes… (as far as I know. I try as I might to keep up, but there’s a ton of news. And it all depends on who’s side the story is spun. No one knows, but everyone guesses.)
The franchise went belly-up, despite being heavily subsidized by the League. Offers were made, most notably by one Canadian by the name Bilsillie. The League is holding back nothing to keep the Coyotes off Bilsillies hands, including making a bid for it themselves. Why? For one, Bilsillie wants to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario. The league wants it to stay. Two, they don’t like him, he’s considered “deficient in both character and integrity”. Third, there’s the Toronto Maple Leafs. Which is a whole new can of worms, but I’ll get to that later.
The bankruptcy court for the Coyotes is supposed to be on Sept 10. The only thing we know for sure is that that won’t be the last day in court, no matter how the judge rules. Both sides have said they’ll take it to the next level.
Why should the Coyotes stay in Arizona? It’s not like the region’s that crazy about hockey, as the slighter than dwindling fan interest has proved. Ontario on the other hand is the home ground of the game. The Canadians are always in favor of more hockey, so why should they be deprived that?
Standing lease, for starters. The city on Glendale has contracts with the franchise that are still standing. Should the team relocate, lawsuits on breach of contract would follow.
Also, one cannot help pointing out that in the past 10 years, the League has kept franchises such as Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators afloat. While Nashville is taking a hit, being in the “Sunshine Belt”, the case for the other three teams can be made. Should they too have been moved when the going got rough? And yes, two of those did file for bankruptcy.
In the end, the League is supposed to have a say in relocation issues. In this instance, they’re arguing, among other things, the concern over the travel schedules of the other 29 teams. The court acknowledged these concerns. Point for the League.
As for the Leagues dislike of Bilsillie in particular, the guy should take a hint. This is the third franchise he’s buying, and once again he was voted against 26-0 by the NHL Board of Governors in July. Maybe hockey’s not your sport, Dahlin’! Or try learn to play by the rules. The League has a right to approve the offers when it comes to new owners of teams, and they intend to hold on to that right, as we’ve seen here. The Board of Governors ruled against you!
Additional curve ball into the mix is the anti trust laws. The pro sports have been in and out of court since the 50’s trying to make the case that they are not in violation of the antitrust legislation, that they do not have monopoly power and that there’s no blockage of entry. Now, some argue, that Mr. Bilsillie is very efficiently being blocked by the NHL from the pro hockey markets. Prospective lawsuits to come, mark my words. The problem with lawsuits and court cases regarding monopoly power and market entry and antitrust issues is that once one league loses, we can anticipate the collapse of all major professional leagues. Bye bye NBA, good bye football. Dangerous and big issues are at stake, and I’m not at all surprised the other three big leagues are keeping a close eye on this.
The BOG vote on the whole ownership issue does seem like a monopoly power. Unless it’s a majority vote. And either way, that rule has withstood the antitrust battles. It’s proven to be if not good, at least law-abiding.
Now, the Maple Leafs… They’ve been suing the League over what’s the procedure to allow new teams in a previous teams ‘home territory’. A bit of background, if you please. The NHL Constitution says each team has a right for it’s ‘home territory’, an area around the place where it plays, and no other team can come there without its permission. Now, in repeated antitrust hearings the NHL has said that they are not in violation of the antitrust laws, as it takes a majority vote to allow the new team. The Maple Leafs say it has to be unanimous. Hamilton, Ontario, is in Toronto’s home territory. As it happens, it’s also on Buffalo’s. So while Sabres haven’t, as far as I know, joined the Maple Leafs in the court battle, they have an equal case.
Allowing the situation to get where the Toronto Maple Leafs veto the relocation of Coyotes, a certain action at that point, it seems, would be the first knock on the foundation of pro sports leagues in North America. They’d start to crumble, and eventually be demolished, after that.
And we can’t have that.
The questions keep piling. Who’s right and wrong is no longer the main question, but on whose rules we’re playing and, maybe most importantly, who are we playing with. The NHL says they don’t want to play with Bilsillie. They said so, 26 to 0. Now the court will have to decide whether or not they can still be forced to do so. And if so, where.
