The NHL plans to extort Balsillie if his Phoenix bid is approved

June 10, 7:44 PMSports Business ExaminerJosh Lobdell

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Gary Bettman wants a 100 million dolalr check to move the Coyotes  out of Phoenix AP Photo/Aaron J. Latham

Gary Bettman is doing everything in his power to keep the Phoenix Coyotes right where they are. In a move that further proves that Bettman is the worst Commissioner in sports, Bettman plans to charge Jim Balsillie a 100 million dollar relocation fee to move them from Phoenix to Hamilton, Ontario.

This is a bad deal on several different levels the first of them being financial. The Coyotes have not turned a profit since 2001. It is obvious that the people of Phoenix really don’t care about their hockey team, but Bettman refuses to accept the idea that the team may do better somewhere else.

Think about it like this NHL in the desert or back in Canada where the sport is extremely popular? On top of that Hamilton is a great sports town that would likely take an NHL team and give it a chance to strive, all the while building up a natural rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabers. Bettman would rather keep a team in an area of the country that doesn’t support it than move it to a part of the country where the population will, and positively affect two other clubs. While the Maple Leafs don’t really need the help the Sabers do.

It seems Bettman is so dead set against this move because it wasn’t his idea. He would rather have NHL teams in cities like Phoenix, Nashville, Columbus, and Atlanta.

Now to prove his point he wants to chare Balsillie a 100 million dollar relocation fee on top of the 212 million dollars he bid for the club. Let’s think about that for a moment.

This is a club that is in the middle of a federal bankruptcy hearing. Instead of Balsillie spending money to repay Coyotes creditors he is going to have to give up 300 million dollars for a failing hockey club. On top of that he is going to have to spend some more oh his money to get a stadium for his team to play in.

The 100 million dollar relocation fee is a punitive measure that is going to rob Coyotes creditors of additional payments and to hurt the long term viability of the club should it move. This is a no win situation for Bettman and his goons who run the NHL.

It seems every day that Bettman remains at the helm of the NHL the league as a whole become a little less significant. Already they have slipped to the fifth or sixth most popular North American sport behind not only NASCAR but quite possible the MLS as well.

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• Third time may be a charm for Jim Balsillie