Judge rejects BOTH bids for Coyotes!

[eva unit zero 271]

Where was good old Gary for Winnipeg and Quebec and Hartford...oh thats right he was expanding the NHL into more of America. Now the clown is all upset because his pet project in Phoenix failed, and thats the only reason he is making a stink.

You are wrong on multiple levels.

One, Bettman does not decide which teams to move or not move, nor the locations they move to. He represents the interests of the League, as decided by the Board of Governors, in that respect. Phoenix having a team had nothing to do with Bettman's personal opinons.

Two, with regard to the franchises that moved;

Winnipeg was owned by a local owner, and ownership that would keep them in Winnipeg was sought first, before failing to raise necessary capital. An ownership group in Minnesota intended to proceed with a bid but also could not fully assemble the necessary pieces to proceed. After that, the team was sold to an ownership group who moved the team to Phoenix a season later. All potential ownership groups followed the league's rules for potential ownership.

Quebec is the most similar situation to Phoenix, with one significant difference. The Nordiques' owner tried everything he could to keep the team in place, and the only interested buyer was a group from Denver. The group from Denver followed the league's rules to purchase and relocate the team.

Hartford was a significantly different situation. While Winnipeg and Quebec were moved by new owners, Hartford had been purchased by Peter Karmanos and he had kept them in Hartford until the Whalers organization and the city of Hartford could not come to terms regarding a new arena that the city of Hartford had agreed to build but is widely believed to have never actually intended to build. Karmanos then followed the league's rules regarding relocation and moved the team to Raleigh.

Are we noticing a pattern here?

If Balsillie had just been patient and followed the league's rules he might have himself a team in Hamilton. He had previously been approved as a potential owner during the sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins but lost out to Lemieux.

Now because of his immaturity, attitude, and disregard for league procedure, he may never get the opportunity to own an NHL team.