Given the circumstances, I can definitely see that happening. Everybody gets out OK in the Ballsy arrangement (except for the city of Glendale - who get screwed).
"This is not about whether or not we want a franchise in southern Ontario," Bettman said in New York yesterday. "This is about league rules."
But league rules are where things get tricky. Bettman is only the commissioner, although his opinion holds sway with many teams.
Franchise relocation is a matter for the board of governors, representing all 30 teams. If a majority side with Balsillie, he'll get his way.
Balsillie was said to have been on the phone to governors last night, attempting to drum up support." - The Star
Actually, it isn't about league rules, its about Gary's ability to invoke them at his whim. In short, its about Bettman's ability to call all the shots.
"Having a second team in a hockey-mad area, even one that encroaches on the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, is not something Bettman seems interested in. Why else would he thwart Balsillie's previous bids to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators? Because he dislikes Balsillie and the way he operates? If that's the case, then Bettman should be shown the door in a bum's rush.
The commissioner's job is to make the game popular and profitable. Right now, he can barely keep it stable and that can only mean the pressure from the inside may soon be as great as the pressure from the outside.
You think NHL owners are eager for protracted litigation against moneybags Balsillie? You think the owners would prefer to lose bundles of cash funding a team in a questionable locale rather than have one managed by a rich owner in a solid market?" - Al Maki
This is the key question - how much support for either guy exists on the BOG?
Based on what I culled from the above;
- It certainly looks like a better than 50/50 proposition that Balsillie will gain control of the Coyotes. His bid is likely to be the highest - and even if another bid exceeds his he has the coinage ($2.9B) to simply counter again till he exhausts the opposition.
- The fight could come down to the board of governors approving the move. Ballsy and Bettman are both working the phones to get owners on side. Working Bettman's favour is that he has been a loyal attack dog for the owners and got them the lockout agreement. Working in Ballsy's favour is that he is bailing the governors out of a bad situation in Phoenix, as well as putting a bid in for the Coyotes that floats their own franchise values upwards.
- Ballsy can lose this fight and still win again at some point in the future. Bettman can't. If the Governors back Ballsy in his bid it is essentially a loss of face for Bettman he can't recover from - like a non-confidence motion in Parliament, it would be a clear indication that he doesn't have the backing to remain in the Captain's chair.
- Bettman needs to do some Judo. Sooner or later Balsillie is going to get his hands on one of the troubled teams, and from there its only a matter of time before he maneuvers himself into the S.Ontario market. The biggest objectors to this situation are likely to be the Leafs and Sabers (most other markets could probably care less). If Bettman were to use a little finesse, he could get Ballsy to pay a chunk of change (say $75M) to the Leafs and Sabers for the infringement, and hand over the team. Everybody would be happy - except for Gary. Bettman would have to swallow his animus for Ballsy and suck it up, but it would ultimately be in the best interests of everybody if he didn't defend a loser like Phoenix over a winner like Ballsy.
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