stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 yea, why would they want a passionate hockey guy who would DRASTICALLY overpay for a team as an owner and do anything to ice a winning team... yea, the NHL doesn't need more of those... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ilmickeyli 40 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 QFT! He's got a great business sense, has the cash, and the passion. But he's "not fit" to be an owner? WTF! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jollymania 162 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 (edited) He seems like a self centered *******, despite his amazing offers, maybe that's why, if he did it with less flamboyance he would get the people he needs on his side. Edited August 4, 2009 by jollymania Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcom007 1,465 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 They prefer owners who can't pay their bills and get caught up in corruption. Why would they want a guy who can actually afford to own a team? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcom007 1,465 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 He seems like a self centered *******, despite his amazing offers, maybe that's why, if he did it with less flamboyance he would get the people he needs on his side. He's shrewd for certain but I think the side you're seeing is a result of the ridiculous games the league has forced him to play since he started on his quest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uk_redwing 495 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Bettman prefers owners who will kiss his ass. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shoreline Report post Posted August 4, 2009 As much as Bettman is a moron for not letting Balsillie buy any NHL team, or move the Preds/Coyotes, Balsillie is also a moron who was interested in undermining the state of contracts. If you wonder why that was important, look no further as to why other leagues were there at the NHL's behalf to defend the league from Balsillie's recklessness. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doggy 130 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Ya really butchered his name, ey? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShanahanMan 473 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 The Nhl mindset is that because they've invested so much time and energy into the Phoenix organization, they just cant accept that fact that its a failure. Stubbornness at its finest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shoreline Report post Posted August 4, 2009 The Nhl mindset is that because they've invested so much time and energy into the Phoenix organization, they just cant accept that fact that its a failure. Stubbornness at its finest. I'm just surprised the board of governors is tolerant to a guy that favors idealism over profitability. And guaranteed if Bettman doesn't get the hard cap in the last CBA, he's toast. f*****. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Sillyballs has come off as an arrogant ass three separate times now, and he's shown himself more than willing to uproot any amount of hockey history to get his little Hamilton toy. I don't care if Hamilton gets a team or not, but frankly I hope it's never with him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drwscc 212 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Ummm...guys. Bettman works FOR the BOG. He is basically their mouthpiece. If you had bothered to read the recent articles, the BOG decided Balsille was not fit. Bettman does what the BOG tell him to do. So, failing team in Phoenix is the BOG fault, not Bettman. Also, I love the fact that because there have been a few lousy owners in the NHL over the past 20 years that they are all "can't pay their bills and get caught up in corruption." Balsille killed his chances himself. He didn't want to play by the rules, so he doesn't get his team. Simple as that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
p_diddy_datsyuk_13 2 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 The NHL does not want Balsillie to have a team because his only ambition is to move to Hamilton. The league is afraid, and rightfully so, that a move to Hamilton would put the nearby Buffalo Sabres out of business, and they are right. Buffalo is a small market team that draws heavily from across the border, and a team in Hamilton would claim A LOT of those fans. It is not that the league does not want Balsillie to have a team, but rather what his plans are once he gets that team. If he were to suggest a move to back to Winnipeg, or to Quebec City, then this would not be an issue, but the fact that he would move the team into a competing market is what sealed his fate as a potential owner. This is something that not been mentioned this time around, but WAS MENTIONED by people league-wide the last couple times he tried to buy a team. They will not allow him to move a team to a competing market. This is not a move by the NHL itself, but collectively by the owners of the rest of the teams in the league, which was unanimous due to the other markets nearby, INCLUDING DETROIT!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Ummm...guys. Bettman works FOR the BOG. He is basically their mouthpiece. If you had bothered to read the recent articles, the BOG decided Balsille was not fit. Bettman does what the BOG tell him to do. So, failing team in Phoenix is the BOG fault, not Bettman. Also, I love the fact that because there have been a few lousy owners in the NHL over the past 20 years that they are all "can't pay their bills and get caught up in corruption." Balsille killed his chances himself. He didn't want to play by the rules, so he doesn't get his team. Simple as that. Hear hear. I love how Bettman is the boogeyman for everything, whether it's his fault or not. Sillyballs has tried to buck the system no less than three times. You wouldn't walk into an exclusive club, apply for membership, and trash the club's rules and ways of doing business. That's basically what NHL ownership is. It's not Bettman who won't let him in, it's all the owners, because they very understandably don't like him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shoreline Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Hear hear. I love how Bettman is the boogeyman for everything, whether it's his fault or not. Sillyballs has tried to buck the system no less than three times. You wouldn't walk into an exclusive club, apply for membership, and trash the club's rules and ways of doing business. That's basically what NHL ownership is. It's not Bettman who won't let him in, it's all the owners, because they very understandably don't like him. The problem is the NHL doesn't own these teams until the owner signs it over to them. It also involves taxpayer money, more often than not, for the venues. I don't think it's that black and white. If you think of teams like franchising, Mountain Mikes does not take over a chain if it does not comply with rules. It simply throws it out of the chain and doesn't allow it to use it's name or partake in business with it. The NHL simply takes over teams that are in financial messes, rather than letting them go defunct. In this case, in all honesty, there is no right. The NHL/BOG/Bettman is wrong and so is Balsillie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crymson Report post Posted August 4, 2009 NHL HQ wants as few capable, intelligent owners as possible who are capable of realizing the blase incompetence of the commissioner and his cronies and are capable of taking any sort of action against said persons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ZetterbergFourty Report post Posted August 4, 2009 I'll keep this short and sweet. You're fckin right he should be an NHL owner. Bettman and Co. need to stop this blockade. Givem a fckin franchise already! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evilmrt 636 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 The NHL simply takes over teams that are in financial messes, rather than letting them go defunct. In this case, in all honesty, there is no right. The NHL/BOG/Bettman is wrong and so is Balsillie. Agreed. Balsillie did not take a tactful and smart approach to this at all. Ice Edge Holdings seems to be picking up on this, as they will probably be in great position to move the Coyotes to Canada (Western Canada, though?) through making an ATTEMPT to succeed in Phoenix, which we all know is virtually doomed to failure with all that has happened. I'm not sure what the deal with Saskatoon is...maybe just to make it look harmless enough, and then put them back in Winnipeg (or even Ontario). My issue with Bettman and the BOG is how they justify throwing profits from other teams at a sinking ship? Like you said, under the typical business model, the Coyotes would be cut loose. How does propping up the Phoenix Coyotes benefit Ilitch? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HenryMalredo 2 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 The big thing was Ballsile taking reservations for tickets in Hamilton while claiming that he would make a good faith effort to keep the Preds in Nashville. Regardless of how much money he has, or how his reputation is as a businessman is, that does not look good. I think Hamilton will get a team a some point (Southern Ontario is the only part of Canada that could support another NHL team), but it will be an expansion team (the owners love expansion fees $$$$$$$$$), and it won't be owned by Ballsile. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BeeRYCE 2 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 A guy with money that actually knows hockey, and is passionate for it... That statement alone probably makes him better than several other NHL owners. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedFX 48 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Being right in the middle of the Preds fiasco, take it from me. He's an *******. While he may or may not be a terrible owner, any team he becomes associated with will instantly become my most hated team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcom007 1,465 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 For those who think Balsillie is undermining the NHL's rules in obtaining a franchise - think again...Anyone remember when Balsillie attempted to purchase the Pens?...He slipped-up by mentioning how he'd like to move the then hapless Pens from Pittsburgh to a more profitable location such as southern Ontario; just at that point in time a clause was entered that would've kept the team in Pittsburgh for an additional 30 years...Balsillie wanting not to keep the team there for that length then backed out. Balsillie can be a brash a-hole; no questioning that...But he's a guy with a ton of $$$, and is passionate about the game (the same can't be said about a fair # of the current owners in the NHL)...Why on earth would the league want to keep a struggling franchise welfare child stuck in the desert that'll continue to lose $$$ - no matter who's the owner/coach/GM/etc/etc is? People forget that Balsillie has been approved by the owners in the past. There are a lot of sides to this story and none of them are too rosy. The Pens one really is kinda the ugliest for us as the end result there was a team that won the Stanley Cup against us this year. But skipping the petty stuff, reality of the matter is that the Penguins ownership have been given a lot of special treatment that other owners have been none too happy about. It's just a tad irritating when the NHL has loose rules interpreted by circumstance while likely rigging lottery's and so on and so forth to keep a team up. And then the arena mess...Lemieux wasn't an ******* at all when he threatened to move the team to Kansas City or Vegas again and again, even visiting/campaigning in the cities to get people riled up only to use as political clout to get public money for a new arena. Lots of rambling there, I know, but the bottom line is that all of these guys throwing around hundreds of millions of dollars are shrewd to say the least. If we met any of them and observed them in business settings, we would likely think they're all assholes. Some more than others. There are multiple examples of horrible owners within the NHL and multiple examples of Bettman and company (read: owners, since I guess people aren't clear who Bettman works for???) proving that their judgment of potential owners is less than impeccable. So in referencing all parties involved here, I believe that it's fair to say that there are a lot of assholes, a lot of dumb decisions made, a lot of public showboating and most certainly a lot of behind the scenes madness that trumps anything we've seen or heard of. But what I keep coming back to is the fact that the Coyotes have lost over $300 million over the course of their residence in Phoenix. I also can't help but acknowledge that the NHL in general is not exactly the most profitable professional sports league across the board and there are money issues in many markets. So you've got a guy who's willing to throw out $212 million, over $60 million more than any other bidder. You can be sure he's going to do all he can financially to support the team and ensure their success as he's passionate enough to throw out an obscene number to purchase the team upfront and just his ability to do so prove that the guy's got deep, deep pockets. I don't know why the league wouldn't do everything in their power to work with him and help the Coyotes pack for Hamilton. While Balsillie certainly hasn't helped his case by creating a spectacle, he never should've been put in a place where he had to go about it in such a manner. It's beyond obvious that hockey in the desert is an utter and complete failure. In this day and age, the league should be doing all they can to get that team out of there and get it in the hands of someone, somewhere in a situation that will yield profits as opposed to massive losses year after year. Sure, they're going to piss some folks (big and small in terms of clout) off in Phoenix, but if you're going to piss people off either way, might as well not piss off the one's that could actually help the situation as opposed to the one's anchoring the situation that has become a train wreck. It's just ludicrous. Again, I'm not saying that Balsillie has gone about this in the best manner, but like I said, it never should've gotten this far. It's a shame that the league is hanging on to markets that are failures. If Bettman and company had done absolutely no wrong ever, I would be more up in arms over Balsillies actions. But the thing is, they've done plenty wrong and Balsillie has enough clout/money/power to call it out and bring the issue to the forefront. I'm surprised the league hasn't done more to work with him if only for that reason. This isn't good press for anyone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcom007 1,465 Report post Posted August 4, 2009 Being right in the middle of the Preds fiasco, take it from me. He's an *******. While he may or may not be a terrible owner, any team he becomes associated with will instantly become my most hated team. Again, my bet is that you'd say the same about any owner if the circumstances brought their business dealings to the attention of the public's ever-scrutinizing eye. Whenever hundreds of millions of dollars are in the fold, you can be certain that the core of the dealings yields nothing short of an ugly situation. These sort of massive dealings bring out the worst in people because there's just so much at stake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sixer 37 Report post Posted August 5, 2009 Agreed, should definitely be an owner! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted August 5, 2009 You guys aren't looking at this from the owner's perspective guys... First off if your passionate about hockey and want to win... you don't want competition. He's competition. Second, sorta the same as the first... is he wants to put a team smack dab in the middle of several other team's fanbase area. No owner want's that either... hense... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
