The Hamilton Jets?

I ran across a legal analysis of Ballsy's coup attempt, and it has some interesting things to say;

1. Ballsy is likely to win the fight over whether or not Moyes can declare bankruptcy without NHL approval (he would have to pay back the loan he took plus interest though - something easily possible given the payout he gets for the sale)

2. The conditional purchase would almost certainly violate the NHL rules governing the movement of the club - meaning that Ballsy could rescind the offer all together (because he can't move the team) or allow him to make a lower offer to take ownership - but have to abide by the league's rules on when or if he could move it.

But then the author hit upon what is likely Ballsy's plan;

"A couple hours after publication of this article, it was brought to my attention that there is a third possible option: the Bankruptcy Court could decide to consider the relocation dispute at the same time it decides on which bid to accept.

In other words, the Court could determine that any future effort to block the relocation of the team would be an illegal anti-trust violation, and therefore decide that the condition in Balsillie's bid is no longer a hurdle to accepting it. If it would be illegal for the NHL to block the relocation, then the court can accept a bid predicated on that relocation without violating the rights of the NHL to govern its franchises.

It is up to the bankruptcy judge whether or not he/she will consider both issues simultaneously. Therfore, it is hard to predict how likely this third scenario is. However, this is probably what Jim Balsille is hoping for.

This option would allow Balsillie to avoid the risk of buying the team then fighting the NHL to move it. If he wins the relocation dispute, the practical effect is minimal. But if he loses, he can find that out before sinking a ton of money into an unhealthy franchise in a city he doesn't care to be in." -Jim Graham at Bleacher Report

So here is what we look for;

- A ruling that the Moyes bankruptcy proceeding is leagl

- A second ruling that the NHL's relocation procedures are anti-trust violations.

If Ballsy can get those two things, he wins.